Year in review 2023
I started the year by cleaning the milling machine. That worked well and it has stayed in good condition all year. No specific milling projects this year but it has been used regularly for little tasks needing a straight edge or a slot cutting.
Making
There has been quite a lot going on this year at home from furniture modification to 3D printed connectors for blinds. So not all of these projects made it onto the blog. House maintenance such as replaced lights, door handles and extractor fans were scattered around the year and we also trimmed some doors with the router so they would close on top of some new lino.
I did start the year with another PSTOIC medal, this year the “something” analogue provided inspiration in the form of valve styled medal.
Later in the spring, I welded together a work light. Which proved useful in the loft but could do with some refinement. I also started on another light project but that one is not yet concluded. And some PCBs were made to experiment with current sensors but so far that’s not been done either.
The garden did provide inspiration for some projects with some large planters being made from scrap wood. And a tool rack being added to the wall to keep the garden tools tidy. The garden also provided a bunch of work such as gravelling a large bank and populating it with small shrubs.
Repairs
Like the house maintenance not all the repair projects made it onto the blog, some chairs were re-glued, a smashed glass clock face was replaced with perspex and some old gutters were swapped out. Some serious wood rot was also treated just before winter, a job that started as “just needing a bit of paint”.
One fun repair was some feet for a miniature tripod although that nearly turned to disaster when some flexible filament jammed up the printer.
Another disaster averted was repairing a wall where we’d tried to hang a punch back. Again the 3D printer came to the rescue and provided some packing which then allowed the holes to be filled and sanded.
The garden also provided some repairs in the form of sanding down and sealing some garden furniture with teak oil. I love the smell and the results from that little project.
Travelling
There have been some interesting trips this year, starting with a visit to a Dr Who exhibit in Edinburgh. Interesting to see how the props and characters have evolved through the decades.
Another look at history was a stop into the Dumfries & Galloway Aviation Museum, an old airfield filled with aircraft and artefacts explaining the activities on the site, along with a drink and a snack to sustain me on my journey home.
Following the history theme, Godshill Model village provided a look back in time in miniature, wrapped in some excellent examples of gardening.
A different kind of history was showcased at the Play Expo in Glasgow. They had a large number of old computer games, arcades and pinball on show in the arena along with a trade show of games and accessories. I had to restrain myself from buying up parts to contribute to more unfinished projects.
A bigger trade show was Makers Central which was much bigger than my previous trip in 2018. As the trip was longer, I stayed over and made full use of the two days, meeting old friends, learning new skills and hearing interesting talks.
The end of the year saw trips to the Warner Brothers Studio Tour in Watford and the Raspberry Pi Shop in Cambridge.
Element 14
Films inspired on of my Element14 projects this year with the “HALexa” device staring at the start of a video about building a voice assistant. A second video for Halloween looked at reverse engineering a smoke machine so that it could be triggered from a movement sensor.
And finally
One project that had been running all year when time permitted was a Rokr Chocolate Factory marble run. We added the final parts to the assembly in December.
I’d also like to give a big thanks to the companies who have sponsored the blog through the year. I made the decision to remove the big company adverts from the blog due to concerns over privacy, so the adverts you see now are just images and links from sponsored articles. I think it also works better from the sponsor perspective as they are not in competition with a massive corporation.
Next Year
As always, I hope to finish off some of the projects that have been started and some of those will be leading to interesting videos. There is also a big change happening which I hope to be able to talk about more next month.
Posted in: Yearly Review
Tags: 2023
Metal sculpture in brass, mounted on an 1800s French Coin
