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An ordinary manual cheese grater.

How's this for a late answer? It worked/works very well, and holds together perfectly. That's probably because of how fine the soap is grated. Separation of the pieces almost always happens because they are too big.

Thanks! Quite useful for us 3D beginners,

Nicely done!

Nicely done! The side panels can of course also be done in a woodworking shop by those who still want a smooth finish but does not have a laser cutter.

Thanks! Mine is still going strong and being used daily.

Slowly, I'm afraid, but the units are sitting on shelf waiting, so one of these days...

Nicely done!

Nicely done!

Thanks, huuduc52!

I also still have to try the acetone method. And I know the blob spraying all too well. Of course the answer is to make sure the nozzle is properly unclogged before you start spraying. ;-)

Thanks, pgs070947, for your insight. I agree about first trying solvent before cleaning the nozzle by mechanical means.

Interesting method, the7smiths, of which I have not heard before. Perhaps it works by sealing off air from the inside of the nozzle, preventing the paint to dry out?

Thanks, bgreen3, makes sense!

Interesting, elkaddalek, about repressurising the can, did not even know one can do that. Clearing the nozzle by turning it upside down, however, won't work with most Rust-Oleum cans because of their ability to spray at any angle.

Thanks, techcon! I'll also try it your way.

Pleasure, KetKa. Greetings from South Africa!

Indeed!

BertH1, unfortunately that won't work with most Rust-Oleum cans, which are designed to spray paint even upside down.

Thanks jgturner74, I'm going to amend the instructable to include your suggestion.

My pleasure! Hope it works! Maybe also try some of the other suggestions in the comments.

Hope it works!

Thanks, gm280, I'll amend the instructable to include your suggestions. By the way, my answer above your comment was in fact directed to you. Somehow I messed up the order.

Thanks for your comment. I have a can of carb cleaner somewhere, and will surely try that. The wire poking method did not work for me so far, and thus the more aggressive drilling solution.

A great and useful instructable. Thanks!

Hardwood dowels are very strong used in this way. My guess is if something breaks, it won't be the dowels.

Detailed and clear instructions. Thanks!

Nice idea! jThanks!

It should work.

Nice design and very useful!

Surely will. My TEG's are on their way from China!

I live in a country with an abundance of sunshine, so I find this very interesting. Thanks!

An extremely thorough instructable, and a fascinating subject. I feel however, that you're limiting your audience somewhat by mainly focusing on a 3D printed top (you do mention the possibility of making it out of wood near the end). The design of the top seems quite straightforward to me, and I'm sure there are many ways the DIY'er will be able to construct it in other ways than printing.

Nice design, and it seems a formidable ring light! Just one thought: I'm sure the main design could also be cut out by hand using an electric jigsaw and working carefully. The holes can drilled with the appropriate size spade or Forstner drill bit.

Very nice design, with an authentic look! (Looks like you can also hide a body in there, if need be. ;-) )

I also used the SimplySpeakers kit to replace the 4 woofers on a pair of Wharfedale speakers (only 10 years old in my case). I could not believe how good they sounded after the repair! How do your's sound now?

The connection diagram is at the beginning of Step 6. There is not really a circuit, as he uses already built components, commonly available.

Congratulations, nicely done! My kind of project!

Very nice and congratulations! I love the versatility that LED's bring to any project where lighting is necessary. I will surely try something similar in the not too distant future!

Congratulations! I like the old console look! I also like to work with subgrade ply because it is so cheap, and is about the only ply I can buy where I live. I've found that a solution for a somewhat better appearance is gluing a strip of solid wood to the edges of the ply that will be visible. That helps to give the appearance of solid wood.

Excellent and useful instructable for us electronic noobs. Also the best explanation I've ever come across of how a Joule thief works. I'm going to try this with a small wind turbine. Thanks!

Just let your imagination run wild!

Thanks Charles! You're of course quite right about horizontal designs. This design was however driven by how easy soda bottles could be implemented.

ward1955, I'm also going to put up some more just for the looks.

ShonJ1, I'm sure you're right. It does not turn very fast, except in strong winds, but it seems to generate good torque, even at low speeds.

My thoughts: I think there's no question that you'll get better performance higher up, but at some stage you'll have to take robustness into account. This was designed more for ease of build and recycling of used soda bottles than durability. One way of making it stronger would be to extend the centre shaft so that the bottles' tops can also be attached to it directly. But if one begins to change the design that much, it's maybe time to think about starting with sturdier materials/design in the first place.

It sounds as if you did it exactly right, and I agree with you about the higher humidity in the middle.

This is a turbine in the sense that it generates useful mechanical power thanks to its blades rotating in the wind. The resulting power can indeed be used to generate a small amount of electrical energy by adding a small generator, or driving a small mechanical device. That's why I gave it good quality bearings, as well as a threaded driveshaft. I'm glad however that you find it visually attractive.

Thanks! I'm busy with an idea for using it's power, but still have to see whether it works.

Like your design for the gears. I've racked my brains for a cheap way to turn wind power through 90 degrees, and I think your design is what I need.

Thanks, I'll definitely follow your recommendations!

Thanks, will definitely try this!

Thanks! I'll try this some time!

Thanks!

Excellent idea, and extremely useful. I especially love the embellishment! (I made myself something similar to the helping hands part of your project from parts I had lying around.)

E.J.Z. yes, they should work well. Just remember that wood and especially cardboard are not as weatherproof as PVC if you hang them outside.

Yes, bananas work very well, as long as you peel it beforehand. The skin is too thick for the birds to penetrate as they do with apples etc.

Nice! I like the simplicity of the design!

I wonder if ordinary double sided tape would not also work? It's quite thin.

A very thorough and well presented instructable for a very, very useful tool. Congratulations!

Thank you, 4DIYers! Yes, it's a pleasure to watch and feed them.

Thanks, glad you like the design!

Thanks, very informative!

Very detailed and useful instructable! I'm going to make this feeder without further ado!

Thanks very much, Stamatelos!

Thanks, Yonatan24, Yes, it works really well, and setting it up is extremely fast. When I build another one, I'll also fit a lock screw on the side, for instances when heavy vibration could possibly lead to the wedge moving.

And to add to that, taking it out every 10 seconds while microwaving to see how hot it is, should give one a kind of safety measure.

I agree with you. I think it depends on how wet the wood is. If bone dry, a few seconds should be enough, and too long a time would certainly damage the oven because the energy is not absorbed. But if the wood contains any moisture, it would be difficult to time the procedure. Fine Woodworking gives this warning to woodturners who dry wood in microwave ovens: "Never ever ever microwave wood for longer than a minute at a time. Wood combusts very easily, and WILL catch on fire in your microwave if you are not careful." May something between 15 and 30 seconds should be safe, depending on the power of the oven and the size of the wood?

My pleasure!

Daniel, video is now on YouTube at https://youtu.be/cDXnDt6es7s

Great! I'm going to make a similar one, though a bit smaller, for a desktop mic.

Daniel, don't despair. I'll get on it right away!

I'll also cover that.

Daniel, sorry to hear that you are having trouble. I'll see what I can do.

Thanks so much, Timothee!

Yes, they should have a good selection. Best bet would be a packet with a selection of thicknesses.

I did think long and hard about it, and since it is used on similar levels about everywhere these days, even by politicians etc, I decided to take a chance. But if you think it is offending, I'll gladly change the title, because it's in any case not my usual style.

What a nice creation! Congratulations, I'm envious (from a fellow hoarder)!

Nicely detailed instructable, with a very useful end product!

Good work, looks nice and very useful!! I'm inspired to try something similar.

Congratulations! Excellent work!