Descending Ashtray

We have been making great progress towards completing the Labyrinth game. I had hoped to complete all major structural elements tonight, and we are pretty much there. There has been a lot of head-scratching around the “ball return” mechanism of this game. We threw out many, many ideas, but eventually settled on the simplest one, and I am glad we did.

It’s probably easiest to explain by taking a look at the actual Labrinth game:

As you can see, the object is to follow the line throughout the game, eventually ending at the number “60″ at the bottom-center. In our conception of the game, successfully navigating the maze would result in dropping your ball through a hole at number 60, and following a tube down to a position on the green closer to the hole than if you had failed to reach 60. Here’s how our version looks from above, with the top removed (I really like the metal strapping look).

Andrew came up with an ingenious method of securing the hose to the game surface, completing the circuit. Now a ball drops through the game top, down the hose, and ends up next to the golf hole. Awesome!

With the game top attached, the ball will exit about where Andrew is standing in this photo:

Other, non-winning balls will simply roll out on the opposite side and have to putt around the box.

It’s getting hard to capture the whole picture of this thing with my camera. I took a lot of these pictures while on a ladder. The long side is 8 feet long now, with the platforms Bruce and I made last night added. Only about 15 things remain on my punch list. I think we will easily be finished on Monday, though I am still unsure if I will be able to seal this thing in time.

And of course, I am now starting to wonder what I will do with this piece when it’s all done. Sell it on eBay? Find an indoor mini-golf course that will give it a home? Any bars interested?

These two albums are perhaps a little more main stream then what I usually listen to but I think they are good and seem to be growing on me.

Bob Dylan - Modern Times
One thing I do have to say about Bob is that I think it is admirable that he is still writing new music. (Unlike Johnny Cash who really tended to do alot of cover songs in his later years.) His voice seems to be getting raspier but his lyrical choice still has the same “Dylanesque” quality.

Thom Yorke - The Eraser
Hard to distinguish from a Radiohead album, perhaps more emphasis on vocals. Still has alot of electronica sounds but once again some people were just born with an amazing voice!

Sorry, the bad puns start flying once the homebrew kicks in.

Dan, Bruce and Andrew came over tonight to help assemble the Labyrinth game’s X-Y tilting mechanism. Although it’s still got a ways to go before it’s complete, it is really starting to take tangible shape. I laughed uncontrollably for several minutes when we finally put the game board in the box. What a ridiculous idea, but marvelous at the same time.

Tomorrow I’ll attempt to add the knob and tilt mechanisms, plus balance the table a bit more. About two weeks to go!

I spent most of today working on this case for the Labyrinth game. It’s really starting to take (enormous) shape. This box housing the game board and golf ball diverting mechanism is 32 inches tall, 57 inches long and 47.5 inches wide. Pretty big!

I also began work on the two oversized knobs which will control the x/y tilting mechanisms. Here’s how I did it, and it’s also a good explanation of how to cut perfect parts of the same size/shape, again and again and again …

I began by using one of my router-based circle cutting jigs to cut a 7.5-inch diameter circle template from 3/8 in. MDF.

Once that was done, I screwed the template to a blank of 3/4-inch thick particle board, 8-inches square. The idea is to form these into 7.5-inch diameter circles, and glue 3-4 circles together to create one 3.75-inch thick piece, creating a scale knob for the game.

I used the bandsaw to trim the blank to rough size, following the template as a guide. It’s important NOT to cut the template, since that will cause future blanks to receive the same error. I try to get as close as possible, but maintain about a 1/8- to 3/16-inch margin for error. The idea is to use the bandsaw for most of the waste removal, and sweeten the shape with the router in the next step.

With a pattern-cutting bit mounted in the router table, it’s time to cut the blank to final shape. A bearing on the bit at the same height as the table surface follows the contour of the template. Above the bearing are two cutting blades, or “flutes.” The flutes are the same diameter as the bearing, and allow you to perfectly machine the blank’s shape to the template’s. I’m using a bottom-bearing pattern bit, but another version is available with a bearing at the top (used often for trimming laminate to match a countertop’s final edge). You can see from the photo that this process produces quite a bit of dust. Many router tables have some kind of dust collection system, but I’ve not gotten to that yet. It’s always a good idea to wear a mask when doing this anyway, as it does produce a lot of fine dust that wouldn’t be great for your lungs.

Once the routing is done, all that remains is to remove the template from the finished blank.

I produced 9 or ten identical circles in about half an hour, most of which was spent setting up the router jig and changing the bit in the table-mounted router. This method also works well for any odd-shaped piece which you’d like in multiples, and is used commonly in production furniture making. Smaller diameter bits can capture more detail in the blank, but can’t remove material as quickly. I’m using a 1/2-inch diameter bit here.

It is coming up in November. I was looking at some old archives and it was interesting just to read our thoughts and ideas from last year. It really is like a sketchbook or journal. I think it has helped inspire me and it is fun to be apart of. Thanks, Dave!

Maybe we could do something to commemorate the past year?

This evening I had the pleasure of watching Kon-Tiki, a 1950 documentary that tells the story of Thor Heyerdahl on his quest to cross the Pacific Ocean in a balsa boat. Making some leaps in history, he had the theory that the Polynesian Islands were peopled not by early Asians, as most scientists believe, but by early South Americans. His impression was formed by the stylistic similarities between early South American statues and Polynesian statues, itself some interesting food for thought.

Even if you can’t make the leap by that evidence, Heyerdahl suspected he might be taken more seriously by undertaking a voyage across the Pacific using marine technology known in South America at the time (as recorded by early Spanish explorers such as Magellan). After assembling a boat of 9 enormous balsa logs cut from the Ecuadorian forests, Heyerdahl and 5 companions set out from South America following the Trade Winds … I won’t give the story away, but aside from a charming 1950s soundtrack, look for enormous sharks, huge whales, parrots speaking Spanish with Norwegian accents, flying fish, dolphin hunting, poisonous eels and deadly coral reefs. Really just a great film overall, very inspirational. Kon-Tiki (the name of the boat and the film) won the 1951 Academy Award for Best Documentary.

What made it even better was the large bowl of homegrown popcorn I enjoyed while watching. Homegrown popcorn, Sarah and I both agreed, is crunchier and more flavorful than store-bought, but doesn’t pop as many kernels. But, you get about a bowl from each ear. 18 stalks planted grew about 40 ears, I’d say.

Also ended up finishing the second frame for the labyrinth tonight. I will never by wet 2×4s again. Nor will I ever again violate my rule: no lumber from Home Depot.