Author: rexplex

With a bachelors degree in history, I turn wrenches for a living. I’m most at peace when I hear the wind in the trees or the gurgle of a brook. I’m a believer in the Renaissance Man, as epitomized by DaVinci engineer, artist, soldier, statesman. As Heinlein said, “A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyse a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”

8 Strand Herringbone Braid exploration.

I like the 8 strand herringbone braid because it’s unique in appearance, easy to produce, and easy to customize.

First off, it has a square cross section. Most things made from cordage are either flat like the Solomon Bar (cobra stitch) or round like the snake knot.

Four flat sides

Secondly, because you are working with 8 strands, there are a lot of ways to play with your colors.

Continue reading “8 Strand Herringbone Braid exploration.”

Embellishing the cobra stitch/ Solomon’s bar.

Transform the classic paracord cobra stitch into a vibrant accessory with creative color combinations and unique knotting variations.

All the cool paracord kids call it the cobra stitch. Ashley calls it the Solomon Bar (ABOK 2496). In any case, it’s simple & fast to tie and makes a great sized lanyard or bracelet.

Basic Solomon Bar.

But it’s boring AF. So I had to see about making it fancy.

Continue reading “Embellishing the cobra stitch/ Solomon’s bar.”

Band saw cabinet build

I’m going to try to document this build a bit more thoroughly than I did with the drill press cabinet.

Step one is to cut the main pieces out. I may be crazy, but I’m not stupid enough to try to wrangle a sheet of 3/4” plywood onto my portable table saw.

I use a circular saw to cut the pieces slightly oversized out of the 4×8 sheet. Then over to the table saw to cut them to the exact size.

This one is just right.

Make sure you keep track of which parts are which.

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Adding cradle vise to the drill press

So I wanted to be able to safely drill into the end of a piece of round stock, but couldn’t figure out a decent way to hold my work that kept my fingers away from sharp steel bits spinning at high speeds.

Then I went to Harbor Freight and found this cradle vice.

But now I need to be able to secure the vice to the drill press table and the hole on the vice don’t line up with the holes on the table at all.

I mean, I can bolt the vice down, but it won’t line up with the bit.
AT ALL!

A piece of 3/4 plywood will allow me to put holes anywhere I want to, so I grab a a scrap and cut it to match the table.

Continue reading “Adding cradle vise to the drill press”

Free Lathe

There’s tons of old tools sitting in people’s basements & garages. Tools that granddad or dad used to use, but that the current generation doesn’t have time or space for. Once people learn that you enjoy restoring and using old tools, they start being offered to you, as most people would rather see their tools being used than collecting dust & turning to rust.

Look what I dragged in.

A buddy of mine is retiring and moving into a condo. Last week at a party he asked me if I wanted his grandfather’s lathe.

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Hatband for the straw hat

Sorry, this one happened too quickly for pictures. Seriously, once I started tying it just flew between my fingers.

The construction of the snake knot has the cords reversed on the inside. (Red is wrapped around black.) This means that the colors of the True Lovers Knot in the center are opposite the snake knot for a bit of visual contrast.
Continue reading “Hatband for the straw hat”