After months of inaction due to creative and logistical roadblocks, I’m finally back to work on the Pelvis hi-fi amp. Which is not to say that it will be done next week or anything–it’s still fighting for time with the bathroom remodel, and Karin’s been cracking the whip there. No rest for me until I’m done with:
- floor
- drywall
- tubular skylight
- medicine cabinet
- vanity/sink
- paint
- baseboards
Workbench!!
But meanwhile, I am able to embezzle a few minutes here and there, and I’ve just overcome one of the major obstacles in the way of keeping a side project going; I’ve built a workbench! No more soldering and computing at the same tiny desk, components and chassis fighting for space with keyboard and mouse. Now I’ll be able to leave the project in whatever state it’s in, no worries about having to clear it away to get to the computer. Ahhh.
danger: no user serviceable parts on this workbench
black steel in the hour of chaos
Speaking of the top plate, I’ve finally got the steel cut to size. A local metal fabricator did that for me. Then I realized that one side was not quite square. I filed away at it for a bit with various hand tools, but it quickly became obvious I could spend months just getting the plate square doing it by hand. Clearly I needed to invest in an angle grinder. I haven’t deployed it yet, but I expect it to make quick work of the errant edge. Then a little cleanup with the hand tools and it’ll be square as Ward Cleaver and I’ll be ready to drill.
The trick will be figuring out how to grind without setting the lab on fire. Probably have to roll up the carpet at least.