It's time to add some more finishing touches! The gripper and interface arms! Read More...

Now that the 3D-printing portion of R2 is pretty much complete, it's time to put on some finishing touches. That means doors and lights! Read More...

After 13 months of work, R2 is finally on his feet! I am absolutely thrilled with the results. Every time I walk in the room and look at him, I think to myself, "I can't believe I built that!" I just need to finish the doors and then I can start to work on the electronics and the gripper and interface arms. Read More...

It took six months to complete the dome and the body, but only two months to complete the legs. I thought it would have taken longer, but the weather has been good to me so I've been able to get a lot done over the past few weeks. Read More...

I completed the center foot and the battery boxes. That's a milestone! Read More...

I finally finished the foot drives. It took no shortage of time, materials, and patience! Read More...

With the body and dome complete, it's time to start on the legs and feet. It took a little over two months to print all the parts. It was so much work! 175 pieces in total. Read More...

It took over a month the complete the dome. I still have to mount the holojprojectors, but I will do that later once I print the servo arms. For now, I'm calling it done. Read More...

With winter approaching, I was able to complete all the sanding and painting that I need to do to assemble the body and the dome. R2 is really looking awesome! Read More...

After two months of painting and sanding it's really starting to look like an R2! Read More...

This was the most complicated and stressful glue-up I've ever had to do with 3D printed parts! Read More...

Finally! After well over a month of printing and sanding, I have one piece ready for painting! Read More...

After more than 500 hours of printing, it's really starting to look like an R2! Read More...

I have wanted to built a life-sized, screen-accurate, R2-D2 for years. It's finally happening! Read More...

That's it! It's finally complete. I am so happy with how it came out. I think this is my most elaborate project yet! I can't wait to see what's next! Read More...

I took a step away from the Scale Mail Bust to work on a weekend project for my sister-in-law. She needs a Scorpion outfit for Comic-Con stat! Read More...

I have had so much fun working on this project. It's been keeping me pretty busy for months. I am so happy with the way that it is turning out. All I need to do is complete the headdress and make a base for it. Read More...

I found a really sweet headdress model that I wanted to print for the Scale Mail Bust. It's huge and will have to be broken into several smaller parts. 12 to be exact. It was a lot of work making it, but it was a lot of fun! Read More...

I did not realize how much work would be involved in making scale mail armor. It does go together surprisingly fast once you get the hang of it. The hard and time consuming part is painting them! Read More...

Time for some sanding and painting on the Scale Mail Bust. This was so much work! Read More...

The last two figurines that I made came out amazing. I've been dying to make another one. I was particularly happy with how the chainmail loincloth came out on the latest one. Ever since then I have wanted to make one with scale mail. I decided to make a bust that I can use to showcase some scale mail armor. Read More...

It's been six months since I finished my last big project. I wanted to put together something that won't take a month to complete, but something that I could sink my teeth into over a week or two. Read More...

I almost finished the 20" Victoria 6 figurine a little over 2 years ago. I was never really happy with the paint job. I've been wanting to go back and repaint the figurine for a long time. I broke the hand off the other day by accident so I figured glueing it back on and redoing the paint job would be a nice weekend project. Read More...

I've been wanting a set of the Fifth Element Stones for years. I just never got around to printing them. I figured this would be a great project to get into. I am really happy with how they came out. They look like still stone! Read More...

The Fifth Element is one of my all-time favorite movies. A few years ago, I made a clock that looks just like the Zorg Door bomb. I've been wanting to make some more props from the movie for a long time. I figured the famous temple key would be a great one day build. Read More...

I was really pleased with the pillar box that I made for my sister last Christmas. I wanted to make one for myself, but bigger! Read More...

I can't believe it took me almost a year to complete this project! Granted, I took some time off because I put off purchasing a resin printer for months. I also moved to a new house. So it took me a few months to get back into the swing of things. I'm so happy with the way that it turned out. Read More...

It's time to make the base for the figurine. After that I just need to paint the figurine and the project will be complete. It's been so long since I started this project that it's great to see a finish line on the horizon. Read More...

The next step in my 23" Victoria 8 figurine is to paint. I want to practice first. I decided to throw together a little sculpture to give me something to practice painting. Read More...

I found a really nice looking Beskar 3D model online and I thought it would be really cool to print a stack of them. Read More...

The figurine clothing and armor is now complete. I just have to paint it and complete the base. Read More...

For the loin cloth, I wanted to try my hand at making some chain mail. It was time-consuming and tedious work, but a nice challenge. I think the end results look really good. Read More...

The stand for a microscope at work broke. Let's see if I can replicate it and 3D print another one. Read More...

I am really happy with the way that the shoes turned out. They are way better than the shoes that I made for the last figurine.
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I took a six month break from working on the figurine because I was waiting for the ELEGOO Saturn resin 3D printer to hit the market. In the end I decided to go with the ELEGOO Mars 2 Pro printer instead. Now that I finally have a resin printer, I can get to work on printing the armor. Read More...

I've been wanting a resin 3D printer for the longest time. I can't believe I waited so long to pull the trigger. Read More...

The 3D-printed Balgonie Place sign that I made for my Mom for Christmas came out so great that I decided to make something for my sister too. After all, they both have Scottish-themed rooms at home. I think a pillar box would make a nice addition. Read More...

On the street where my Mom grew up in Scotland, there's a concrete sign on the corner of the street. I thought it would be something neat to 3D print for her. Read More...

With the weapons complete, it was time to start designing the armor. Read More...

It's time to make some weapons! Read More...

With all the parts to the new model printed, it was time to glue, sand, and paint. Read More...

I was so impressed with the way that my last 3D-printed figurine turned out that I just had to make another one. This model took a whopping 148 hours and 46 minutes to print. Read More...

I can't believe the figurine is complete. It looks awesome. It took me four months and a lot of hard work to complete. Read More...

All the clothes and armor have been made. It was a lot of work, but it was a lot of fun. The model is looking fantastic. Read More...

All the armor pieces have been sanded, primed, filled, painted, and weathered. They turned out amazing. Read More...

I think that's everything that I need. I can now sand and paint all the 3D-printed parts, laser cut the leather parts, and sand and paint the figurine. Read More...

That last 3D model that I printed had clothes as part of the model. It made it really hard to paint. For this model, I decided to print the entire model without clothes and make them separately out of real materials. Read More...

With the weapons out of the way, it was time to finish the base. It came out awesome! Read More...

I'm really happy with the way that the spear and shield turned out. A friend of mine turned me onto the technique of using graphite powder to give objects a metallic finish. It looks awesome.
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I can't believe it's been a month since I started this project. Time flies. This build is really starting to take shape. All the parts have been made and it's time to start painting. Read More...

The Victoria 7 model has been printed and the weapons have been made. The last parts to make are the column and the base. Read More...

With the Victoria 7 model completely printed, it's time to make the spear and the shield. Read More...

It's time for another 3D-printed figurine. This one will be truly epic! It’s going to be bigger than the last, and way more complicated. Read More...

I've been wanting to print the fertility idol from Raiders of the Lost Ark for a while. I've just never found a good enough model. Until now. Read More...

I think I just need to get my hands on a doll wig and the figurine is done. Read More...

More progress has been made. The model is assembled, sanded, primed, and ready for the final paint job. I also finished making the base for it. Read More...

I love fixing things for free. Read More...

My sister-in-law is heading to Comic Con next month and is in need of a Sub-Zero Mask. I got this. Read More...

The guns came out awesome. I just have to glue on the thumbs and clean up all the seams and I can start with the final paint job.
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I'm thrilled with the progress that I have made with the model. There has been a lot of printing, sanding, and painting over the last few weeks. The model is looking great. Read More...

I'm really happy with the way that the Victoria 8 model came out. I want to make some more large-scale figurines just like it. This time, I want to give it a full paint job instead of just painting it a single color. Read More...

This Black 3.0 paint is amazing. The Victoria 8 figure is all painted and secured to the base that I made. It came out awesome!
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The Victoria 8 model is coming out better than I had hoped. It looks awesome, and it's all ready for some Black 3.0 paint! Read More...

As soon as I caught wind of Black 3.0 paint from Culture Hustle hitting Kickstarter, I had to have a bottle. I want to make something really cool and paint is super black! Read More...

That's it! All done! Wow, this project took a log time to do, but if it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing. I spared no expensive nor detail in making sure that the Footlong Fender looked as real as possible. I think it came out amazing and I learned a lot of new things with this project. Read More...

I can't believe it's been over two months since I started this project. It's taking so long because it has to be perfect. There's been a lot of sanding, painting, sanding, and painting. A lot of trial and error, and some do overs. Read More...

Such tiny parts! I've made a lot of progress on the Footlong Fender. It's been a lot of fun figuring out how to make such small parts. Each piece comes with its own challenges. Read More...

Work continues on the Footlong Fender. As far as the neck goes, I left off with having to make a new one. I over sanded the last one and it ended up being a do-over. Read More...

The Footlong Fender is coming along well. The body has been sanded, primed, and painted. I have a lot of the small parts made already and the neck is well underway. Read More...

Four years ago, my wife bought me my first 3D printer for Valentine's Day. When she asked me what I wanted this year, I asked for a new one. My ROBO 3D has served me well, but it is growing a little long in the tooth and I'd really like to have a new machine that can print larger models. Read More...

My Dad recently got into guitar so I picked him up a Fender Strat for Christmas. He's really happy with it. It got me thinking about what it would take to build my own guitar. Not a full-size Fender, but a mini one. A footlong Fender! Read More...

Ever since I saw Blade Runner 2049, I've been wanting to 3D-print that little wooden horse. Read More...

It's been a week and I'm having a blast playing around with the Glowforge. It's so easy to use. Although I haven't done much since it's been a busy week. It's been mostly tests and experiments. The first thing I really wanted to do was to come up with a better solution for the exhaust hose. It's not very practical just hanging the hose out the window. That, and it's a real pain to reach up to the top of the window behind the Glowforge. Read More...

Section one of three for my IN-18 Nixie Clock has been successfully assembled. Everything works! Read More...

I need three nixie colons for the IN-18 clock. They can be found on eBay, but they are a little expensive for what they are. It's basically a glass tube and two little neon bulbs. There's no way I'm paying $12 each for those. They can be made for a fraction of that. Read More...

I was bored while I waited for parts for my IN-18 Nixie Clock to arrive from China. So I threw together a silly little ATtiny thing that could use a 7-segment display to display a random number from 0-9. Nothing fancy, just a silly little one-day project. This will come in very handy when the kids argue over who gets the last donut or whatever. Hey kids….pick a number! Read More...

I took a break from the VFD Clock to make a Portal Weighted Storage Cube. That took about a month, and now that it's finished, it's time to revisit the clock. Read More...

After a month of hard work my Portal Weighted Storage Cube is complete! This was such a great project because it had a little bit of everything: 3D modeling, 3D printing, laser cutting, painting, electronics, and coding. I got to do things that I'm really good and l try a few new things too. Read More...

All the parts are painted and assembled. All the electronics are complete and installed. I made some awesome progress this week. The last thing to do it put some finishing touches on the code and paint the Aperture Science logos onto the centers. Read More...

I've made some great progress on the cube. All the sanding and painting is well under way, and all the electronics are pretty much finished. Read More...

I've made some serious progress on the Portal Weighted Storage Cube. All the parts have been printed, sanded, and painted. Some last minute touches, the electronics, and it'll be time for the final assembly! Read More...

I can't believe it took me so long to get around to playing Portal. I guess it all has to do with time. I never have time for video games. Rather than sit in front of the computer playing games for hours a day, I'd rather sit and make PCBs, write code, and design 3D models. Now that I've beaten Portal 1 and 2, I feel like I can finally make myself a Portal Cube and not feel like a poser. Read More...

While waiting for the paint to dry on my IN-14 Nixie Clock, I decided to tinker around with a small board idea to do something with this lonely IN-19 that I have. When I bought the IN-14s for my clock, the eBay seller threw one in as a way to make up for a delay in shipping. It's a cool little tube. But what would I ever use it for? Read More...

I'm really happy with the way that this clock came out. It's so much nicer than my IN-12 clock. I can't wait to get started on another one! Read More...

This clock is coming along nicely. I know I designed it a few months ago, but I shelved it for a month to wrap other things up. Now that I've decided to go ahead with it, it's been less than a month and it's almost complete! Read More...

The VFD Clock is finally complete. I started it almost a year ago. However, once I actually figured out how to drive the display, it was another 7 months before I actually started it. I had so many other projects to finish first. I'm glad I waited until my plate was clear to work on this. It really came out nice. It's definitely one of my favorites. Read More...

My wife and I just finished watching the first season of Westworld. What a great show. I don't want to give away any spoilers for those that have not seen it yet, but there's a cool maze prop in the show. As soon as I saw it, I thought to myself, "I am so 3D-printing one of those!" Read More...

The electronics have been assembled, so it's time to work on the enclosure. I'm almost finished with this clock. I ran out of black PLA for the base, and I still need to stain the woodfill PLA top, but I'm making excellent progress. Read More...

It's been almost 8 months since I assembled my Mini OLED Clock. It's been sitting unfinished on my desk since then. All I needed to do was 3D print a case for it. Read More...

I haven’t picked up my guitar in years. It’s mostly due to the fact that it’s in its case tucked away in my closet. Out of sight. Out of mind. I’d really like to get back into playing, but every time I think about it, I never seem to get to the point that it comes out of the case. I got to thinking that if the guitar was in the computer room where I spend most of my time, I’d be more likely to pick it up and mess around with it. I decided to make a guitar stand for it. Sure, I could hop on Amazon and buy a stand, but what fun is that? Read More...

My son’s really into the game Starbound. The Matter Manipulator is the tool that you start off with in the game. He’s been making paper craft Matter Manipulators for weeks. I figured since he’s really into it, I’d have a go at 3D printing one for him. Read More...

When starting a print on my ROBO3D R1 3D printer, I periodically get an error message that pops up just after the bed has leveled. The error message pops up and the printer just stops. I have to power cycle the printer, restart MatterControl, and enter M999 into the console. I posted an entry on the ROBO3D forums asking for help. The consensus was that the extruder thermistor was bad and needed to be replaced. However, I ended up frying my board during the repair and needed to replace the Arduino MEGA inside. Read More...

A friend of mine picked up a Robo3D. Right out of the box, he pretty much agreed with me that the stock spool holder could use an upgrade. He took it to the max and built a holder than can hold 4 rolls of filament. He was kind enough to pass along the design files so that I could make one for my pinter too. Read More...

With all the PCBs assembled, it was time to get to work on the 3D model and the laser-cut enclosure. Read More...

I really wanted this clock to be something special, so I spared no expense, took my time, and made sure everything was perfect. No shortcuts, half measures, or it’ll do’s. It came out better than I’d hoped. I just hope it shows in the final assembly. Read More...

After a month and a half of juggling multiple projects, the “Zorg Door Bomb” Clock has finally crossed the finish line. It came out great, and I’m really happy with the results. Read More...

With all the electronics complete, it was time to work on the enclosure. It took 15 hours to print, and a day or two for the stain to dry. I can’t believe this project is almost finished! Read More...

I was so excited when the board for this clock arrived. This is such a fun project; even if it is just for a laugh.
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With the prototype working, and the code 99% complete, it was time to put together a PCB and get to work on an enclosure. I really want this clock to look sweet. Read More...

It’s the Zorg Door Bomb! The Fifth Element is one of my all-time favorite movies. I watched it again the other day and as soon as I saw Zorg’s Door bomb, I said to myself, “I’m so building that!” Read More...

Wow! It really works! And it looks great! Could the case be better? Yes, but I think it looks pretty good. I am really surprised at how fast I cranked this one out. Granted, all the code (with the exception of the two new set buttons) was already written. It was just a matter of taking what I had already accomplished with version 1, and making it better. Still, I completed this project in only 2 weeks. That has to be a record for me. Read More...

I had to get through the busy holiday season before I could get the ball rolling again. I've taken a long enough break from my hobby stuff. One project I've been meaning to revisit for well over a year is my Word Clock. I think it’s time for a tiny all-SMD version 2! Read More...

Since this is my first nixie clock, I really wanted it to be something special. I've been wanting to build a nixie clock for over 15 years. I started out with a 7-segment clock back in 2001 just to get my feet wet, but I just never got around to it. I'm so glad that I bit the bullet and just went for it. I put a lot of work into this clock, and spared no expense. I learned a lot from this project. I'm sure the next nixie clock will come out even better. Read More...

The prototype case for my nixie clock came out awesome. I want to print the final version in wood-filled PLA. You know, for that vintage look. I ordered a roll of colorFabb's woodfill PLA. It's pretty expensive stuff. It's not even a full 1kg roll and it's $58 bucks, but the results are well worth it. Read More...

The clock is built, the case is prototyped, and the code is 90% complete. This project really picked up some steam. I'm almost finished! Read More...

My new GPS button boards arrived in the mail. I hacked them into my new 3D-printed case. It works perfectly. All that's left is to firm up the code and this one's a wrap. Read More...

I love it when everything just comes together at the end and it just works. No hacks, no head scratching, no second spins. It just works. This project involved some serious engineering, and I'm really happy with the way that it's coming out.
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Now that I know I can display my own custom time and date on this camcorder CRT, it's time to get serious about a PCB and a 3D-printed case. Read More...

The GPS Clock has been fully assembled and sitting on my desk for months. I started this clock two years ago. I just can't seem to get the code to where it needs to be. I just want to put this project to bed already! Read More...

My wife's been bugging me to print some kind of remote stand for the bedroom. It's an awesome idea. We have 4 remotes in the bedroom and it seems like we're always loosing them. If we had some kind of caddy to put them in, I think we'd be less likely to lose track of them. I just keep forgetting about it. Although, I am reminded every time I have to hunt high and low for the Apple TV remote to end up finding it under one of the pillows. Read More...

I hope the LEGO minifig gives you a good sense of scale. This clock is pretty small. It's amazing how small the Mini Clock has become after just 3 iterations. I'm really happy with the way that it came out.
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I just can't sit still. I always have something in the works. I need to always have something in the works. This is especially true when I'm waiting two weeks for a board. I think most of my projects start during the lull of another. I especially like it when a project goes from concept to a PCB order in about an hour! If only every project was like this. I'd have a room full of gizmos! Read More...

With the display electronics complete, it was time to move beyond the concept phase and begin the actual prototyping of the 3D-printed frame. It came out better than I could have anticipated. I totally nailed it! Read More...

It's been almost 4 months, but it's time to put the wraps on the code for the GPS clock. I've been so busy with other 3D printing and 3D rendering projects. 3D printing a joystick for the 5-way switch has proved to be far more difficult than I had anticipated. I'd really hate to think that this $2 button is going to be the death of this $100 clock! I should have just stuck with my original design and used buttons. Read More...

My first "official" 3D print of Mei Lin came out pretty good. However, it could be better. Everything can always be better! Not to mention, I discovered a shortcoming in the ROBO 3D firmware that messes with the z-axis. It's no wonder my last Mei Lin print was only 11" tall! I know I eye-balled the height, but I thought I was pretty darn close to 12 inches. Knowing now that my model was probably "squished", I decided to have another go at printing it. Read More...

Continuing with my experiments in printing DAZ 3D models with my 3D printer, I figured I’d up-the-ante with my next print. Seeing as my last attempt was a total success, I wanted to see if I could print a model with clothes…. and twice as large! Read More...

I found this LEGO Minifig on Thingiverse and I just had to print one. My kids love it, but too bad it's a prop for MY desk! Read More...

It's not the main reason I wanted to get a 3D printer, but a big one. I wanted to get a 3D printer in order to print large models of my 3D art creations. I've seen a few people do it online with mixed results. The how-to isn't widely documented and it's not a feature built into DAZ Studio by default. You'd think that printing a simple cube from one app shouldn't be any less difficult than printing a human-shaped figure from another. Unfortunately, it's easier said than done. Read More...

I was thumbing through Thingiverse looking for something fun to print. I came across a cute Little Groot figurine. I thought my wife would like it. Guardians of the Galaxy is one of her favorite movies. I used to paint D&D figurines back in the late 80s when I was a kid, so this didn't come out half bad considering it's been a good 25 years since I've painted something… and my wife loves it! Read More...

After waiting a few extra days, my patience was rewarded with the delivery of 3 rolls of filament. I think I've gotten the hang of PLA, but as far as ABS goes, I'm going to quit while I'm ahead. Read More...

After many, many years of putting off the purchase of a 3D printer, I finally bit the bullet. My wife ordered one for me and had it shipped overnight so that I'd have it for the 3-day holiday weekend! Read More...