Monthly Archives: April 2012

Another Shop Vac Muffler – Less Difficult, More Foam!

Posted by on April 29, 2012 No comments

foam-baffle-muffler-shop-vacOnce I had my ZTW foam cutter working (here’s my original post), inspiration immediately struck!  Why not make a muffler with foam baffles to bounce the air and sound around before leaving into the atmosphere?  With the foam cutter and some Styrofoam that an item I recently purchased was packaged in, this was really easy to do.

As seen in the pictures after the “more”, I traced the inside of some 4 inch PVC pipe that was used in my original cloth-based muffler to the Styrofoam.  Using this pattern, I then cut out four foam baffles to make the air snake around in the muffler before hitting my ears.  The holes cut out were then used as spacers between the baffles, and everything was attached with a cord to keep things in their respective positions. Read more »

Light Painting Using a Radial Engine Model

Posted by on April 25, 2012 1 comment

After posting about my radial engine model (see this post), someone commented that if a light was hooked up to it, it might make some cool light-images.  I’d considered this, but generally put it on the back burner since I didn’t have a ready-made light source for it.  After one was fortuitously sent to me in the mail by a car dealership, the time seemed right to take these photos.

I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect, but the pattern would be consistent with what, I suppose, would be happening at some point between the crankshaft and piston in an internal combustion engine’s connecting rod.

Pretty neat images.  As with most of my latest photos, I’m using Read more »

CodeKase, A Used Car Dealership Gift to You!

Posted by on April 22, 2012 12 comments

codekase light onToday I was asked if we should toss an advertisement from a car dealership.  It had some sort of key thing attached to it, so instead of just throwing it away, as was my first instinct, I decided to investigate further.

Apparently the “key-thing” was a “CodeKase”, which makes a number light up when the tag is pulled.  This works like a flashlight (it is a LED light), and the components inside are two batteries, a little LED, and a diffuser.

To take one apart, all you really have to do Read more »

Jcopro Twitter Feed

Posted by on April 19, 2012 No comments

Twitter iconAfter getting bored with the jcopro.net Facebook page (do they have to redesign it every 2 days?), and having some success from the RSS feed (thanks those that subscribe!), it is now time for Jcopro.net to step into the modern age.  That’s right, there is now a Twitter feed available focused on this site: @JeremySCook.  I’ve never used Twitter before, but feel free to start following me.  The plan is to give updates on this site as new stuff is published, and possibly give some 140 words or fewer messages about other technology that I think is interesting!

That being said, I’m not cutting off the RSS feed, and have recently changed it to include full articles instead of just a snippet.  Let me know what you think about that if you want in the comments!

Build a Zen Toolworks Foam Cutter Kit Frame for Under $5

Posted by on April 17, 2012 2 comments

The Zen Toolworks hot foam cutter kit is itself well-built, however, building the frame for it is left up to you.  If you prefer though, you can just use my design.  It should be very cheap, at whatever you can get a 2 x 4 for and some nails or wood screws.  You’ll also need some drill bits and a saw.  The following video shows everything being set up:

3 of these 2×4 pieces are around 13 inches in length, the other is 3 1/2 inches.  The shorter piece acts as a spacer so that the arms can be angled into the space between the legs.

To begin with, Read more »