Category: utility

  • Designing a better coffee carrier

    Designing a better coffee carrier

    Many years ago… I was in the habit of fetching coffee on the regular from my local costa coffee. Typically I’d be getting two coffees, one for me and one for my wife. At that time they offered the style of carrier pictured above. This was a pretty simple design, punched/cut out of flat cardboard,…

  • Watch stand – evolving desings

    Watch stand – evolving desings

    Some time ago I decided to make myself a watch stand. I don’t have a bed side clock, and since I take my watch off to sleep it seemed it could do double duty and be the ‘clock’ on my bedside table. I made this: I was pretty happy with it at the time, and…

  • Making a wooden business card case

    This project was inspired by a friend who recently had some great businss cards made up based on a design my wife created.   I decided that it would be cool to have a nice case to hold businss cards, and as it happens loyalty cards are usually the same size so it can do…

  • How to make a mobile tool station

    How to make a mobile tool station

    Become a workshop ninja with all your tools readily accessible and exactly where you need them.

  • Improvised tripod and light box

    Recently I was taking pictures of a little wooden watch stand I made for my bedside cabinet, and only noticed after posting that a couple of the images were a little blurry and generally the images are a bit meh.

  • Spalted beech playing card case

    Over the last couple of weekends I have made myself a wooden case for a deck of playing cards

  • Adjustable oak book stand

    This christmas my wife and I agreed that we would make our gifts for each other. Given we made the decision a month or so before christmas it allowed plenty of time to figure out a plan, order supplies, and have some weekends to actually start making.. 

  • Custom Headphones – Part 3: Headband and finish

    I mentioned in the first part on design that I had guessed that the metal in metal coat hangers might be just flexible enough to form to a shape I want, and just stiff enough to provide some springy tension. It was this that formed the basis for my headband design.

  • Custom headphones – Part 2: Speaker housing

    Following on from my first post on the design of my custom headphones, in this part I walk through the construction of the speaker housing. The most obvious place to start construction is in the piece that will hold the speakers.

  • Custom headphones – Part 1: Design

    I spend a fair amount of time at work using video conferencing software. However, I have pretty big ears, and I find they get pressed against my head by the headset. After an hour or so it can be a little uncomfortable.I hit upon the idea of making a custom pair of headphones.