For example, here’s a building I made for my model railroad (still to be built), based on a kit. The burglar bars, railing in front, and lighted sign I had made from etched brass – by designing it in Inkscape, then sending the design to a company in G.B. that etched it for me. The lights are controlled by an Arduino. Great fun! But it took me several months getting everything just right . . . 
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That is excellent work.
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Thank you! 
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My aquaponics build is for the most part, finished. Pretty sure I made every single mistake at least once. Just letting the pump run. I can add some fathead minnow tomorrow, after the chlorine has come off the water.
ETA: Still haven’t added the fish, but at least the water is clear now. (Earlier the rock bed had yet to settle in; now it has.) Also added a couple of buckets of pond water to get the bacteria established. Should be ready tomorrow.
ETA: After several tries, 3 fry are now in the tank. And a pollywog, a few snails, a water plant (can’t remember the name), plus a small clump of algae.
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I wanted a sundress in a classic blue toile print. And then I found this fabric. Victorian mermaids and narwhals!!
Edit: I had all day yesterday to work on it. Now it just needs a zipper and a hem. For some reason I have 2 dozen zippers that are too short for a dress, even though I mostly make dresses.
I feel like it needs something though. Piping at the neckline? Rickrack at the hem?
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Could you do one of them peter pan collars, with piping?
I actually thought of using a pattern that had one for this fabric. I don’t think it will work on this dress though; it’s actually a boatneck but my dress form has narrower shoulders than I do so you can’t really tell.
I decided last night it needs a nautical rope belt so I spent 2 hours going down an internet rabbithole of elaborate sailing knots.
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The house used to have an oil tank in the basement. Last summer me and Pedro the Cruel recycled the 100+ gallons of gooey, stinky and algae infested fuel oil and chopped up the tank with sawzalls, then recycled most of the steel (part of that tank is now part of Pedro’s homemade elec-trak bucket loader, but I digress).
Anyway my weekend project was using the old fuel fill holes, which nicely penetrate the 18" thick stone basement walls, to run plastic conduit out to a new outside outlet. I made several mistakes and buggered it up on the first try, but I’ll get it the second time 'round, no fatal errors. I’ve never used plastic conduit before, but the wall’s got slaked lime mortar in it, so it’d eat metal pretty quick. I was able to use my regular conduit benders by heat-gunning the plastic as I bent it.
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Ok, this one is gun related, but in a way that should not bother anyone too much.I am finishing up a build of an early 19th century Tennessee Full Stock Long Rifle. I have used only hand tools, to be faithful to the techniques and tools of the period.
When I first built the rifle, the big challenge for me was the metal work. I made the stock serviceable, but my carving skills were not up to the task. So I am going back and redoing the stock with nice clean lines, and I will be adding some abalone and ivory inlay as well.
This was a big challenge for me, it got me into blacksmithing, and the carving and inlay techniques are very much what are done in musical instrument making.
But many gun makers go through a phase where they want to see if they have the skills to make a primitive firearm, using the tools of the period, and make the powder and projectiles as well.
Anyone who is interested in a similar project, needs only to purchase volume 5 of Foxfire.
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I’m not much interested in guns as tools or sporting equipment, but I love the craftsmanship. That long forestock is lovely! What’s going on with the Texas patchbox?
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The theme was Texas. The front site is in the shape of the Alamo. I have always liked full stock muzzle loaders, although they are sort of pointless. The stock here is 57.5 inches long. It runs right to the end of the barrel, although I am thinking of shortening it a little so that I can put a bronze nosepiece there. But that would only be a quarter inch or so.
I often do themes on things I make. The first banjo I made was called “holy roller”, and the fretboard inlays were things like snakes and bottles of poison, which is a reference to Mark 16:18 in the New Testament.
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Hey there, my cross stitch pattern- Little Mouse and dandelion just done. I’m so happy to share with you guys. LOL
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Did you make the design yourself?
No. I just bought it from Amazon. It’s a stamped cross stitch. So I just stitch it.
It’s very easy for a beginner.
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Still, it looks like the stitches are very consistent. Once you get confident, try some counted cross stitch. My Mom was very serious about Xstitch, and I admire her abilities.
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It was 108F here today, so I waited until the sun was almost down, so this video is very dark, Nonetheless, here’s the aquaponics build:
Lots of room for improvement here, in terms of shade in the heat, a secondary sump etc. Still, it works
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WOW great.
I agree, excellent work. You have a lot of great detail there.
(My dad is into model railroading. He’s in a club with a bunch of other enthusiasts. No kit is ever good enough for him out of the box.)
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Thanks!
It’s a great hobby – or set of hobbies, as you can do carpentry, electrical stuff, electronics, computers, scenery, buildings, railroad cars, etc., etc., not to mention operating the railroad like a real one. In a club it’s great because everyone has their preferences and expertise.
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I finished the percussion rifle. The final touch was the front site. I cut the blank out of Sterling silver and soldered it to the bronze dovetailed piece 20 years ago. At the time, I just did not feel up to cutting the dovetail into the barrel, and was pretty bad at metal engraving. So it has just been moved around with the unfinished rifle for all these years.
But this week I finished it. here is the front sight:
Not a perfect Alamo. But I think it is recognizable, and probably among the top ten Alamo-shaped gunsights produced this week.
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