Christopher Finke writes about software, woodworking, and other creative endeavors.

Category: Maker

  • Today’s Functional Print: Guitar Strap Button

    In today’s “validating my 3D printer purchase” news, I’ve printed a replacement strap button for a child’s guitar. Designed in OpenSCAD in about ten minutes, it took eight minutes to print and has an approximate retail value of $2.62. The original remaining button (left) and the printed reproduction (right). The OpenSCAD script and STL file…

  • Meet Akisbot

    Akisbot is the Akismet mascot; he was originally designed by Dan Hauk, but this 3D version was modeled and printed by yours truly. Here’s Dan’s design that I used as a reference during fabrication: I designed the entire thing in OpenSCAD, and I’ve published all of the source files on GitHub, so you can print…

  • OpenSCAD is Awesome

    I’ve been getting into 3D printing, and until recently, I was using SketchUp to create all of the models for my 3D prints. However, whenever I needed to do anything even mildly involved, like align the center of a sphere with the center of the top of a cylinder (or even create a sphere in…

  • Printing Construction Equipment for Fun

    For Father’s Day, my wife and kids got me this “Construction-grade Backhoe Loader” kit from WOOD Magazine. The kit contains hardware and wheels; you build the rest of the backhoe yourself: I planned on doing this project with my sons (ages 5 and 3) until I realized that the fine detail woodworking involved would bore…

  • I saved a pair of sunglasses with a 3D printer

    My sister-in-law’s sunglasses lost an accent from one of the earpieces, leaving the left temple loose. Could I fix this?, she asked. Twenty minutes and 63 millimeters of plastic filament later, my purchase of an Orion Delta 3D printer was 100% validated. The accent on the print bed. The accent installed. With the temple opened.…

  • I Built a Rolling Workbench

    Just looking for the plans to make this? You can get the PDF plans for this rolling workbench with a table saw cutout on Etsy or download the the SketchUp file for free. This weekend, I finally got tired of having this guy be my only workspace in the garage. Any time I wanted to…

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