Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 11hWe had a small gathering for Hoffman's fermentation project this morning, tasting the same beans processed and roasted all the same way except for different fermentation steps. It wasn't quite as interesting as the decaf project, but still a lot of fun. The room […] [Original post on clacks.link] 010 1
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 15/10/2026The new sight glass fits! Unfortunately, I just noticed there is a bearing needed for mounting the turret head that did not come with my box of parts, so now I have to wait for a replacement for that. 000 0
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 13/10/2026I will never understand automotive information system logic. 200 2
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 10/10/2026They don't look too different, but after lengthening the arms by 10 mm, adding a well-defined bend outwards to match the width of my head perfectly with a heat gun and a printed jig, and then giving the ear-grabber-hooks a more pronounced curve... I think these […] [Original post on clacks.link] 001 1
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 08/10/2026Still waiting on the sight glass, but the oil seals came in, so the turret has been reassembled with all its spindles. A couple of the bearings in there were feeling a bit chunky, so I replaced all those as well. And new snap rings, too! (Yes, it only ever had 5 […] [Original post on clacks.link] 010 1
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 07/10/2026I've been thinking about making an exoplanet orrery, because ultra-short period planets could fix the biggest problems with orreries: scale. It really bugs me that you can't (practically) show the planets and their orbits and the sun all on the same scale in our […] [Original post on clacks.link] 000 0
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 05/10/2026I've added number set symbols to my collection of technical concept emoji, for those interested: www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/eokvzxxf24j5… 011 1
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 05/10/2026Not a wildly productive weekend, but I got the balancing spring in the Burgmaster lever mechanism cleaned up, regreased and remounted. It had snapped at some point before I got it, but close to its inner attachment point, possibly because its lube had gone crusty […] [Original post on clacks.link] 010 1
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 05/10/2026It's okay to do a little phrenology just to dial in the fit of custom eyeglasses, right? 120 2
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 30/09/2026There are a couple more super huge ones I want to track down, but the reduced shank/Silver-Deming drill bit collection is now complete up to 1". To celebrate, I finally installed the drawers in amongst all the other cabinets on the old workbench. 020 2
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 30/09/2026@futurebird I've been poking at this in Inkscape ever since you posted it, and I finally figure it out! 001 1
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 29/09/2026Help, I'm becoming a weird coffee person... but I think I've dialed in the grind setting acceptably. 030 3
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 27/09/2026With the help of a janky homemade spanner, I've managed to get all the individual drill spindles removed from the Burgmaster head. This means I can replace their cracked oil seals and the broken sight glass on the front. ...how exactly I'm going to do this has […] [Original post on clacks.link] 320 3
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 21/09/2026There is still a lot of work to be done, but the adjustable glasses -- the idea that got me playing with custom, homemade glasses in the first place -- are actually vaguely functional. All distance, all close up, or classic progressives in between, all at the turn of a knob. 152 5
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 20/09/2026I finally got the Burgmaster base properly mounted on the stand. This was all half way through modifications to put the turret drill on a small X-Y mill table when I bought the parts, so it's a weird mishmash. I had to add some adapter plates between the table […] [Original post on clacks.link] 000 0
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 13/09/2026And a bit more lathe work and some keyway broaching, and it's done! Feels like it should work just fine. It'll be an improvement on the original, to be sure. 000 0
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 13/09/2026Tonight I got back to working on the Burgmaster turret drill restoration, cutting the teeth on what will become the replacement gear for moving the quill up and down. One of those evenings where 90% of the time is spent dialing in a setup, but it seems to have […] [Original post on clacks.link] 101 1
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 06/09/2026Update: everything turned out fine, and I'm on my way home. I took the opportunity on my way out to finally stop to get some proper pictures of one of my favorite trees in the world, this lonely juniper in a pullout on Nevada 447 in the absolute middle of nowhere. 031 3
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 04/09/2026It's been raining on and off for the last 12 hours, turning the lovely dust into the stickiest mud known to science. I've instituted the lifeboat contingency, and will be hiding in the back of the uhaul until conditions improve. And honestly, it's not bad! I've […] [Original post on clacks.link] 101 1
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 03/09/2026There have been more than a couple technical difficulties, but the bike RV is rolling, at least a little bit. #biketooter 341 4
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 31/08/2026I ended up deciding to just get a very early start tomorrow, but everything is loaded up and ready to go. I was definitely right not to attach the roof of the hexayurt quite yet. Also, it turns out the truck dimensions uhaul quotes includes the little cubby above […] [Original post on clacks.link] 010 1
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 30/08/2026Final prep has been even more frantic than expected, after the chain broke in two(!) places when I put my weight on it. Not a welcome development, but I'm glad it happened before I'd left! I've managed to replace it with the last of my spool of #40 industrial […] [Original post on clacks.link] 100 1
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 29/08/2026It's only tacked together, but the hexayurt is complete. Still to do: Fully tape up the seams, except joining the roof, as it probably won't fit in the uhaul with that attached. Connect the walls to the deck, add the tape loops to the roof for the straps which […] [Original post on clacks.link] 000 0
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 28/08/2026Whew! The blade jammed twice and broke once, but it's still a remarkably planar cut. 010 1
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 28/08/2026I think I'm going to be here for a while. 100 1
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 27/08/2026Newton could predict mountaintop observatories, but not adaptive optics. 100 1
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 27/08/2026Still not quite as far along as I was hoping, but the frame is painted, the fridge tray, rear trailer jacks and deck all permanently mounted (that is, with lock nuts or loctite), and the chain cleaned and cut down to a better length for the tiny front sprocket I […] [Original post on clacks.link] 030 3
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 25/08/2026The new drawer slides arrived much later in the day than I was hoping, but now I've got the fridge tray sliding. I wish I had another month for fun little features like this, building a perfect little living space is really fun! But from here on out it's going to […] [Original post on clacks.link] 110 1
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 24/08/2026Today I got the solar power bank mounted in the bike RV. I also got the tray made for the 12V fridge, but then I realized the 2 spare drawer slides I had were of different sizes, so I can't actually mount that until a matched set arrives tomorrow. Yesterday I got […] [Original post on clacks.link] 120 2
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 23/08/2026I did finally finish printing the trays for all the silver-deming/reduced shank drill bits, and they've been installed in the set of metal drawers I found for them up at the shop. Still some gaps to fill in, plus plenty of extra room for even bigger ones >> 1" if […] [Original post on clacks.link] 010 1
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 22/08/2026Just got back from the Angine de Poitrine show in Portland. Amazing performance, some of the best crowd energy I've experienced at a show in a very long time, and it was all so delightfully weird and silly. I even liked the opening act (Population II)! 030 3
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 20/08/2026New trick I just discovered, trying to dry some paint faster: it can stay balanced like this as long as the fan is running. 100 1
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 19/08/2026Doing some filming at work with a totally normal tripod that is definitely not ridiculous overkill. 000 0
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 19/08/2026I always knew I'd need some kind of deployable legs for stability when actually inside the sleeping compartment of the bike RV, but now that's it coming together I've realized it might also need wheelie bars to keep it from tipping backwards when I'm not the […] [Original post on clacks.link] 000 0
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 18/08/2026The plywood decking has been shaped and drilled for bolting down. Actual bolting will have to wait a few days until after I've finished some work on the frame and painted everything. 110 1
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 17/08/2026I've got the bed extended for the bike RV project. Really not sure I'll be able to finish it in time, though, given how delayed the steel was in arriving. 110 1
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 16/08/2026WARNING: Only to be operated by Lain's dad 000 0
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 16/08/2026Of course, I realized I could also get decimal sizes on there only after starting the process. But I'm impressed with how good it can look, now that I've dialed in the settings! 000 0
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 13/08/2026A recent auction greatly filled out my silver-deming/reduced shank drill bit collection, whose organization I was already unsatisfied with. So I've been figuring out basic multi-color prints to solve the problem. 210 2
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 03/08/2026Good news! The rack on the quill looks to be in good shape, despite the stripped teeth on the drive gear. I *really* didn't want to have to repair/replace/remake that thing. This will also help a lot in figuring out what the gear parameters are, because I am […] [Original post on clacks.link] 000 0
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 02/08/2026I started getting the Burgmaster mounted on the collection of base parts that came with it tonight. The previous owner's dad had been in the process of retrofitting it onto a X-Y table, so it's all a bit weird. But that's fine. What's less fine is that I […] [Original post on clacks.link] 210 2
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 02/08/2026One of the things I learned about demoing the 9 prototype Life Cells at Open Sauce was that the alignment from just the magnets wasn't good enough. The pogo pins could still bridge across the pads if you didn't get it just right. Ideally, you should be able to […] [Original post on clacks.link] 021 2
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 01/08/2026Reading Hannah Arendt in 2026 is brutal: 001 1
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 30/07/2026I finally dug out the box of almost-complete-except-the-most-important-assembly Burgmaster turret drill parts, and it looks like that head I picked up on the way to Open Sauce will work! Next I need to figure out if the motor still works. And do a deep clean on everything. 110 1
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 30/07/2026Huh, I could have sworn the prescription lens blanks were 60mm. Sorry, everyone I misled! 401 4
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 28/07/2026Sometimes you can't sleep until you've gotten a very silly idea out of your head. 12030 30
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 26/07/2026So, another problem arrived today. Not as wildly, unbelievably great of a deal as the taps and dies, and the size distribution is lumpier than I was hoping. (25 of the 1-1/2"/38mm, 43 of the 2-1/8"/54mm, 1-6 of everything else.) But still a very good deal, even if I'll have to give half of it away. 110 1
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 25/07/2026And done! Just over 50 kilometers, looks like. And I still have to get home. The train will be too crowded for the cargo bike now, so that's another 13 km ahead of me. 000 0
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 25/07/2026There is also 2 full 5 gallon buckets in the cargo box. Last task, let's go! 121 2
Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 25/07/2026Checked in and ready to carry some simulated emergency response cargo! 1104 10