Propane Torch Stand

 I don't have a good place to store my propane torch. I want it to be outside near the grill but safe from rain. Taking it off and reattaching it every time I use it wastes some fuel. So I decided to build a stand for it that clamps onto the propane tank and includes a cover to protect it from the rain.

The stand is made of 1/2 inch square tube, and the joints are MIG welded. The cover is a steel can, screwed on so that it can be replaced if it rusts.

Quest 3 Controller Straps

I recently upgraded from the Quest 2 to Quest 3 VR headset. The controllers have wrist straps to prevent the player from flinging them across the room by accident. With the Quest 2 (and Rift CV1) I made custom wrist straps from tshirt yarn. This makes the wrist straps more comfortable and washable. I planned to do the same thing with the Quest 3, but the connection is more complicated.

The wrist strap on the Quest 3 is attached with a plastic L-bracket that slides in inside the battery cover. My plan was to make an adapter to use my custom wrist straps. I decided to re-create the L-bracket out of metal and then find a way to attach a loop of tshirt yarn to it. First, I tried using a strip of steel bar stock. It's too hard to easily drill a hole in it. I tried annealing it by heating it with a propane torch and then letting it cool slowly. Even after that it was still difficult to drill and I would have had to grind it down a lot to get it into the correct shape.  

I decided to try using a nail instead. I tested how to grind the head of the nail down to match the shape of the L-bracket. Then I attempted to heat the nail and bend it into a loop. The short nail I tried first didn't make a large enough loop, so I switched to a ring-shank fencing nail. It's almost thin and soft enough to bend without heating. My mom tried doing that, but the loop was too large. 

I used the propane torch to heat up two ring-shank nails and then I bent them into the right size loop with pliers. This time I ground the nail heads into the right shape after forming the loops. That turned out to be perfect.     

Eggnog Extract

 

Eggnog extract- I added 1tsp nutmeg and 1 tbsp cinnamon to a jar of Everclear. I used the 95% concentrated alcohol as a solvent. Disclaimer- Everclear is very strong and should be diluted in the final drink. It's even illegal in many places (California, Hawaii, Florida, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Washington) 

After the extract sat for a few hours, I added 2 tsp vanilla extract. The flavor is good when mixed with milk and simple syrup, but could be improved with a hint of caramel. 

Propane Torch Cooking and Adapter Hose

I love making roasted marshmallows. Other than a few cub scout campfires, the only way I could roast marshmallows was over a burner on the gas stove. But my dad complains about the smell. So I kept saying that I should find a way to roast marshmallows outdoors. We do have a propane grill, but it doesn't have a side burner attachment. Our weather is hot and dry, so there's usually a burn ban that prevents us from having bonfires. I used to have a metal bucket "candle" but it wasn't good for food. This summer, I bought a propane torch. It was only $10 from a Habitat for Humanity ReStore, and included a small propane bottle.

This summer, I found a lot of projects for my new torch. Even though it's not specialized for food, it works great for roasting marshmallows, carmelizing sugar, melting cheese, and roasting bell peppers. It can be used to start a wood or charcoal fire, plus the normal industrial uses like soldering.

Unfortunately, the small propane tank that came with the torch is not a cost-effective way to buy propane. These are not designed to be refilled so most people just buy a new tank for convenience. The small tanks cost at least $6 for 14 ounces of propane. Our barbecue grill uses 20 pound tanks, which cost only $12 to refill! I searched for an adapter, and found adapters to use the torch on a larger tank, and adapters for refilling the small tank from a larger tank (disclaimer- once the single-use tank has been refilled it's not legal to transport). My dad found someone online selling both. This reminded me of Hank Hill selling "propane and propane accessories".

Highlighter Refilling

 

My favorite highlighters are clear with liquid ink so you can see how much is left. When they started to run out of ink, I decided to try refilling them. At first, I tried diluted ballpoint pen ink. Next, I tried printer ink because I got a couple of old printers from a neighbor to take apart. 

The printer ink had to be diluted. I wanted it to be dark enough to show up but light enough to barely cover like a highlighter. I drilled a hole in the back of each marker just big enough to get the tip of a pipette in. After filling the ink reservoir, I sealed the hole with a teflon tape covered screw. This is slightly risky if they don't seal correctly, but none have ever leaked.    

The pink highlighter is refilled with orange printer ink. This was from an unopened cartridge someone was recycling. It's probably for a specialized printer that uses more than the standard CMYK set. The yellow highlighter was filled with blue, then cyan, and then magenta printer ink. The green highlighter was refilled with cyan printer ink. The pink and green will gradually change to the new colors the more they are used.

Ikea Strainer Repair

We've bought three copies of a strainer from IKEA. Overall , we like the design because the handle stays cool and it fits over one side of the sink perfectly. However, two have broken because the handle isn't strong enough. The handle is spot welded to the mesh side of the strainer instead of to the rim, so after some normal use the mesh rips. And then we go buy a new one.....

New strainer- handle attached to mesh but not rim.

Torn mesh, handle pulled off.

After repair- handle welded to rim

Now that I'm able to weld, I decided to repair the first two broken strainers. For the first one I repaired, I replaced the handle (which has fallen off and gotten lost) with a piece of rebar. For the second one I repaired, I welded the handle to the rim. The strainer is made of stainless steel and I'm using mild steel wire (ER70S-6 .030dia), so this is not the best idea because the weld could rust or crack. However, it seems to be strong enough and it was cheap and quick to repair it. 

Barbenheimer Limeade Pair

I'm having fun this summer making interesting flavors of drinks and sodas. I have plenty of supplies to create with- flavor extracts, plastic squeeze bottles and upcycled glass bottles with pour spouts for syrups, soda stream machine, and frozen fruit. I also bought a whole bag of limes because they were a good price at a Mexican grocery store. 

For some of the drink flavors, I added frozen dragon fruit mostly for the very bright pink color. That reminded me of the current "Barbenheimer" trend, so I decided to make a pair of limeade soda flavors to match.

Pink Limeade

1/4 cup frozen dragon fruit (can substitute strawberries, cherries, raspberries, or watermelon)

1/8 lime

simple syrup

seltzer or unflavored soda

Atomic Mango Limeade

1/4 cup frozen mango

1/8 lime

 pinch hot pepper salt (or cayenne or other dried hot pepper)

simple syrup

seltzer or unflavored soda 

Muddle or blend the frozen fruit (along with any powdered flavors). Add the lime wedge and muddle. Add simple syrup and then soda.

Here is the affiliate links for the muddler and pour spouts that I used:

Muddler https://amzn.to/3Kf4n78

Pour spout https://amzn.to/44EdJl3

And a link to my Youtube video of making both drinks:

https://youtube.com/shorts/6GLEudqyUt8

New Shielding Gas Tank

The first welder my dad bought for me at a garage sale included a small cylinder already filled with 75% Argon 25% carbon dioxide. This shielding gas is needed to make smooth welds because it prevents porosity from oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen. 

When I tried the welder, my welds just didn't look good. I wasn't sure if the problem was my technique or the equipment.

Eventually, I bought a new welder, but I still had problems. Next, I bought a new regulator. It makes the gas flow at a consistent adjustable rate. That seemed to fix the problem. 

I tried it with the old welder, and it worked ok with it too. But then I ran out of shielding gas and needed to buy more.

Exchanging the cylinder would normally cost around $30 (for comparison, the old welder was $75 including the cylinder). However, there was also an additional $30 charge to recertify the cylinder, which must be done every 5 or 10 years. The old cylinder was about 30 years overdue!, the new one is good for 10 years

After I hooked up the regulator to the tank there was a leak, so I returned that regulator, and got a new one which worked perfectly.

I have it chained to the wall so that it does not fall over and turn into a rocket.

Spoon Extender

I recently bought a jar of honey grapefruit and orange tea at a new Costco location near me. It can be added to hot or cold drinks (including soda) or even used as jam. It tastes great so I have already used about half the jar of this "fruit goop". This created a new problem - my spoons are not long enough to reach the bottom of the jar.

My creative solution is to make a Spoon Extender. I welded together some square steel tubing and then tapped a hole for a bolt. Then I added a wing nut. It's like a small specialized clamp, and it should work with any type of spoon. I plan to add a rubber or felt grip on the end to protect the spoon from getting scratched. I welded the end of the handle shut to make the handle more comfortable to hold.

Improved Welding Wire Spool Holder

My dad complained about how much space my previous spool holder took up, so I decided to build something that would have a smaller footprint. The base is made from 3/4 inch angle iron, and the upper frame is made out of rebar. I used a stainless bolt and welded on a matching nut to hold the spool. This worked out fine even though welding dissimilar metals is not the best idea. I drilled a small hole in the top of the welder for the wire to pass through. Once the wire was inside the welder it needed to turn a corner, so I used an empty spool as a guide/pulley.

Learning Welding

My dad picked up a MIG welder complete with shielding gas tank a year or two ago. The first thing I needed was safety equipment (gloves and helmet). Once I started welding, I noticed that my welds looked bad, so I got a spool of flux core wire. To use this wire I needed to swap the polarity, but this welder cannot be swapped. I got a new welder, but my welds still looked bad. It turned out that the regulator was not allowing enough shielding gas flow. I got a new regulator, and my welds instantly improved. 

My first functional project is a watermelon cage to protect the watermelon in the garden from raccoons. I started with 2 10ft pieces of 3/8 rebar, and then cut it into smaller pieces. After I welded a frame, we attached chicken wire to the outside. 

Welding Wire Spool Adapter

 

I was running low on solid mig wire. I found that an 11 pound spool would be the cheapest per pound. But it turns out that it won't fit in my welder. I suppose I should have read the whole instruction manual, but the spool didn't seem that large, and I didn't open the box at the store.

I had to decide whether to return the wire and buy several smaller rolls for a higher price, or find a way to force it to work. I tried to brainstorm some solutions- wind the wire onto smaller spools, make an adapter, mount the spool on the door, or shave off part of the rim of the spool. Eventually, I found a way to make a lazy susan to hold the spool on the open door of the welder. 

I used roller ball feet to make the lazy susan spin smoothly. Here's an Amazon Affiliate link to the bearings I used: https://amzn.to/3pyEBE1 First, I tried a cardboard circle underneath to support the spool. This showed me that the concept was good, but I needed a stronger base. Next, I used the bottom of a powdered drink mix can. For the center axle, I used a steel drink can. I cut it to make a smaller diameter to fit. Ironically, I couldn't use the new welding wire to weld the lazy susan together.

After I finished this project, I posted a photo to Reddit to get advice to help me learn to weld better. One person said "you can't weld something that isn't clean, all the paint and [stuff] on the outside of the can will [mess] up your weld." They also suggested using better materials to start with, so my next project will be finding more materials to experiment with.

Soda Stream with Large Tank Adapter

My dad bought two sodastream machines at a garage sale for $1 because he knew I wanted to try making my own soda flavors. He didn't realize all the accessories that I would need to go with them. Each machine came with a standard soda stream tank, but no bottles. So first we needed to buy a set of soda stream bottles (Amazon Affiliate link: https://amzn.to/445Rx3m ). 

I knew I would eventually need more CO2. Refilling the sodastream brand tanks is cheaper than buying sparkling water, but still expensive. Purchasing new tanks is $30 and exchanging them for full tanks is $15. Each tank is supposed to make up to 60 liters. 

I saw online that many sodastream users have found a way to add an adapter to use non-sodastream brand tanks, including larger tanks. This seemed like a more economical way to buy CO2. In my research, I found that there's a difference between welding-grade CO2, food-grade CO2, and beverage-grade CO2, and that it is sold through different types of businesses including home brew suppliers, welding supply stores, and industrial gas companies. I purchased a 5 pound tank of food-grade CO2 from a local welding supply store. The cost of this new filled tank was more than I expected (about 8 times more than the small sodastream tank), but the cost per tank of the refills isn't much more than filling the small ones. I also purchased  an adapter hose (Amazon Affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3qV1YYy ) to connect the taank to the machine.

The next thing I needed was flavorings. SodaStream sells some, including ones designed to taste like specific brand-name sodas. Other options are flavor extracts (root beer, vanilla, orange), juice concentrates, or powdered drink mixes. For the flavorings that don't have any sweeteners or sugars in them, I usually add or pre-mix with simple syrup because it dissolves more easily with less stirring so I don't lose as many bubbles. I tried root beer extract, but it was missing something. For the next batch, I added molasses and vanilla. I have been experimenting with making my own flavor extracts like lemon, lime, orange, and cinnamon. 

Solar Power System Part 7

For my solar power system, I replaced the charge controller because the old one stopped working. The charge controller prevents extra power from being sent to the storage battery once it is full. This extra power goes to waste unless I can find a use for it right away. I can charge things like phones, laptops, power banks, or tool batteries. Or I can use an inverter for small devices like a pencil sharpener. The inverter can't handle larger devices.

Next, I created a window pass-through cable. I used foil tap inside a vacuum sealed bag so the panel can be on outside on the roof to reach more sunlight and the window stays closed to keep the heat and noise out.  

Power Inverter

I got this inverter a few years ago at Goodwill. The store had sorted it with the cups because it's shaped like a cup to fit in a car cupholder. This inverter is not great for electronics, but my pencil sharpener seems to be fine with it. I mostly use it with my solar power system. 

 

The spiky wave is from the inverter. The smooth sine wave is from the grid (both through a 120v to 3v AC to AC transformer.)

Kiwi Dragonfruit Soda and Jam

 Now that I'm in college, I'm addicted to Mountain Dew. I like to try all the new flavors. Then I started thinking about how I can make my own flavors of soda. My dad bought a used soda stream machine at a garage sale, and then I checked out a cookbook from the library, "Homemade Soda" by Andrew Schloss. 

The first recipe I tried is for kiwi syrup. I made a 1/4 recipe with 1 kiwi and added a few frozen dragon fruit chunks for color. I chopped the fruit into small pieces and then cooked it in a pot with sugar. Then I strained it into a container and added lime juice. The fruit pulp left over was coated in sugar syrup. I tasted it, and it reminded me of jam. For the second batch, I used 2 kiwis. I blended the kiwis and dragon fruit in my magic bullet. I thought this would make it easier to get a smooth syrup. Instead, it made a thick fruit pulp that would not go through the strainer very well, so more of it turned into jam.

From the Archives- Spin Art Machine

    The two spin art machines in the picture were a summer project in 2017. Griffin invited kids in the neighborhood to have fun and make some art with him.    

    Griffin has made many spin art machines in the past. He would start with an old motor, usually a large one. He has even used small motors like one from an electric toothbrush, or ones that came with electronics kits such as Snap Circuits (Amazon Affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3nnbYIy ) which already have experiments included for optical illusions with spinning circles.

    No matter what type of motor Griffin uses, he always makes sure that he applies the correct voltage for that type, so that it works well and doesn't get damaged. These spin art machines from 2017 were very basic, just a motor with alligator clips to connect to power. The motor shaft punches through the sheet of paper, and that can be enough to make the paper spin. 

    Markers work to make designs, but the patterns aren't very interesting. Paint makes great patterns, but is very messy! Griffin had the idea of putting the motor in a plastic bin to contain the splatter, but he didn't want to cut any holes in the bin. For this setup, he attached the motor to a heavy block of wood to anchor it, and then ran the wires out the top of the bin. The next step to prevent splatter was to add a lid with a target hole cut in the center. He made a lid from cardboard so he didn't have to cut a hole in the plastic lid that came with the bin, since this was temporary. 

    For smaller spin art machines with a tiny motor, Griffin would pre-cut the paper into circles. For larger setups with thinner paper, he would attach a cardboard circle to the motor shaft. He could use tape to attach it to the motor shaft more securely. It also supported the paper when it got wet and floppy from the paint. One time he tried a setup that could spin a two-foot circle. Unfortunately, it didn't spin very fast.