MAKE: Blog: Meanwhile, in a Parallel Universe 3 doors down and across the street...

Meanwhile, in a Parallel Universe 3 doors down and across the street...

Joel.Dubiner R2I Gaodewi Aaaaaaaacj8 9Eggkll9Rrm Dsc 3270
Joel.Dubiner R2 Tiqodezi Aaaaaaaaclw 6Z9Pkndm5Go Dsc 3272
You couldn't ask for a better poster boy for Eccentric Cubicle than my bud in Utah, Joel Dubliner. He's working his way through the nano projects in preparation for digging in to one of the larger builds, and has already earned his Maker wings with a quick and dirty mod to the drill press lathe that I'm still kicking my butt about for not thinking of it first.

My version of the headstock involved mutilating the end of a piece of threaded rod with a dremel and needle files to form a nice, edgy 'X' to anchor the stock securely while it's spinning. Finicky, time consuming metal mangling at best.

Joels' solution? Lop the tip off of a big-assed phillips screwdriver and clamp *that* into the drill press chuck instead.

Quick. Easy. Precise.

Duh.

Here's Joels' picasa albums of his workshop shennanigans; you might wanna book mark 'em, since he updates regularly:

Workshop - Link.
Lathe - Link.
More workshops - Link.

...And for those of you who don't have a clue what I'm talking about, here's a pdf of the entire drill press lathe project, as seen in Eccentric Cubicle - Link (PDF).

0596510543-2-1
Eccentric Cubicle
Who says office cubicles need to be dreary? In this book, author Kaden Harris of Eccentric Genius introduces aspiring and die-hard Makers to a highly entertaining parallel universe of surreal office-based projects that are sure to pique the curiosity of even the most jaded officemates. Get it at the Maker Store.

Related:

Comments

Oldest comments listed first.

Posted by: Dennis on January 13, 2008 at 11:23 AM

I'd call that piece the tailstock.

Posted by: Kabuki on January 14, 2008 at 11:05 AM

Not to sound like a noob here, but instead of destroying a screwdriver, why not just use a philips hex shaft bit? You know, the kind everyone has for use with a cordless drill to drive screws? Wouldn't that work?

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