anyone interested in d.i.y. projects?

[headbanginghorseman]

d.i.y. = do it yourself

i am looking for someone to swap project ideas/pictures with. i am an avid sewer, metal worker, and potter. i enjoy altering and distressing clothing, and sometimes delve into making accessories such as jewelry and belts.

i would love a creative mind to talk craft with.

hope to hear from someone soon c: good day, everyone!

 

[Badjedidude]

WELLLLLLLL... just a few example DIY projects I've completed in the last year are:

1. A poker table.
2. A plastic/acrylic computer case.
3. Chain-mail necklaces, jewelry, armor.
4. Working on a crotched pillowcase right now.
5. Lightsaber prop/replica.
6. Built a special AK using kits/various pieces. Now my camping gun.
7. Several frames for pictures/art pieces.

...and I'm sure there are several more that I can't remember. As you can see, I really like to work with my hands.

 

[headbanginghorseman]

pretty cool! how did you assemble the chain-mail pieces?

 

[Badjedidude]

I use 12-guage electric fence wire. You can usually buy it in 1/4 mile spools for like... $15 where I live. I take one of those and wind the wire onto dowel rods (generally around 1/4 inch thick) to make coils of rings. Then I cut the coils into individual rings and assemble from there. Here's a good site that shows how it's done:

http://www.chainmailbasket.com/making_maille.php

I've been doing it for around 8 years or so now, so I'm pretty good at making different patterns and articles of clothing/jewelry or armor.

 

[headbanginghorseman]

that's pretty cool, but i imagine it quite time-consuming. how long does it usually take you to complete a piece?

 

[Badjedidude]

Depends on what the piece is.

This simpler weave (known widely as Persian 3-in-1) will take about 5-10 minutes per inch if you're totally focused:

A piece like a coif or a shirt (usually done in a weave called European 4-in-1) can take as many as 50-300 hours, depending on the complexity of the cut, the design, and the sizing requirements:

 

[headbanginghorseman]

do you sell any of your pieces? i imagine quite a few people would enjoy owning something as unique and cool as that.

 

[Badjedidude]

Yeah. I usually make quite a haul when I take my stuff to sell at various Renaissance Faires, and my jewelry cane be sold pretty much anywhere else just through word of mouth. It's a tidy little side income... especially considering that shirts like the ones I posted above can be sold for as much as $500. I make more doing jewelry, though. I can make it faster and sell it more quickly and easily.

 

[yesm]

this is like real life world of warcraft/everquest lol

i want a forge :/

my hands are functionally useless...

i am not a man

i can build a computer and talk alot of bullshit, that's about the extent of my DIY...

 

[mintymint]

I've put together a couple of electric guitars, but it didn't involve the woodworking, just the assembling of all the parts and doing the wiring etc. Oh and yeah I dunno if building computers counts but I like doing that too When I was kid I made a few RC airplanes from scratch, also built some custom video game controllers.

 

[headbanginghorseman]

that's so cool! you're quite the entrepreneur!

---

I've put together a couple of electric guitars, but it didn't involve the woodworking, just the assembling of all the parts and doing the wiring etc. Oh and yeah I dunno if building computers counts but I like doing that too When I was kid I made a few RC airplanes from scratch, also built some custom video game controllers.

that's really fascinating! i wouldn't even know where to begin on something like that.

 

[Yeah!]

I make effects pedals and fun sound toys! Electronics is fun!

 

[Badjedidude]

^^^That's kinda cool. I've always been interested in building/kitting effects pedals for my guitars.

I'm just not really THAT much into electronics... capacitors and frequencies and blah blah blah. lol

Is there a website that you've found helpful with this?

 

[nerdygirl]

I'm trying to figure out if I'm a DIYer or just artsy. Prolly a little of both. My main focus right now is clothing and yard projects. I have a hard time convincing myself to buy stuff when I know I can just make it myself.

 

[Yeah!]

^^^That's kinda cool. I've always been interested in building/kitting effects pedals for my guitars.

I'm just not really THAT much into electronics... capacitors and frequencies and blah blah blah. lol

Is there a website that you've found helpful with this?

I started when I was very young, opening up my pedals and poking at the insides. I noticed that sounds changed when I touched certain bits, and wound up modifying a lot of my gear. They were a mess, because I didn't understand switches or routing at the time. When I eventually did get around to reading a book on electronics, I'd figured out a bunch of it myself. I would have loved the book Handmade Electronic Music: The Art of Hardware Hacking by Nicolas Collins way back then. It has some handy little circuits. The best thing to do is buy a bread board, a bunch of bits and go crazy seeing what happens, it's really fun! I once used a blender as part of an effect, instead of just taking the part out. Use your imagination!

 

[Badjedidude]

Haha wow! Crazy!