Wood working tools and bits

Just some bits and tools I like

Pneumatics Safety

Do not use PVC for compressed air purposes. Several good links that show why you should NOT use PVC pipe to distribute your compressed air system, or to make any sort of pressurized device, such as a home made pneumatic cylinder, air cannon, spud gun, etc. Although PVC has a PSI rating on it, it […]

CNC router bits

These are bits I use alot when machining wood and foam on one of my cnc routers 1/4″ Whiteside https://amzn.to/2NrfAUC 1/8″ Whiteside https://amzn.to/3hZtRWyh 1/2″ Whiteside https://amzn.to/2Z9z3i6h 1/4″ V Groove https://amzn.to/2Z9c7iV 1/2″ V Groove https://amzn.to/2Z9zyJ0 3d carving tapered bit set https://amzn.to/2Z9Wdou 1.0mm tapered https://amzn.to/389TIqo Spoil board surfacing bit https://amzn.to/2A3Yr00

Setting up a Harbor Freight Bar Bender for 90 deg bends in aluminum

I love my little harbor freight bar bender. I use it for a lot of parts. We even use a few of them at my day job for bending lots of parts we shouldn’t be able to in quantities that exceed expectation. We have actually worn a few of them out bending 1000’s of 3/8″ stainless […]

Harbor Freight Bar Bender Set up, 90 deg, steel

In the previous post about setting up the Harbor Freight Bar Bender, we bent some 5051 aluminum using the right angle attachment. Here, we will be bending 1/8″ x 1″ cold rolled 1018 steel. With this material, you can not use the right angle attachment, as the steel will actually fracture on the back side. On […]

Fiberglass molding a new sculpture

Originally posted August 5, 2014 on http://gadgetsblogofdoom.blogspot.com/ Chris and I have only done a few molds in fiberglass. This is the first proper one, done on a WED clay sculpture.  After sculpting, Chris added a mold wall using .02″  x 4″ aluminum sheeting. I sheared it into strips and he inserted it into the clay. […]

Haunted House Fire and Building Codes

I get asked alot about what codes have to be followed to be able to open a Haunted Attraction or Escape Room. This artcle talks about Haunted Attractions specifically, but most of the information applies to Escape Rooms also. Links: https://community.nfpa.org/community/nfpa-today/blog/2016/09/30/nfpa-1-fire-code-requirements-for-haunted-houses-firecodefridays

Video players for attractions, escape rooms, and haunted attractions

Study on costing for various fire retardants and treatments

Back in 2010, when we were planning a haunted attraction that never came to be, The Nightmare Express, I did some costing on various options of fire retardants and treatments. Below is my data and my conclusion on what ended up being the most cost effective options. Update 2019, we have switched to using Master […]

Fabrication clamps and welding

For some reason, I tend to weld a lot of rectangles, and cubes, out of steel tubing. 99% of the time, it’s 1″ x 1″ x 1/8″ wall. For along time, I have been using these Wilton 90 degree corner clamps that I bought at Lowe’s, for something like $30 a piece. They are light […]