https://www.sawdustzone.org/ Sawdustzone - Woodworking and tool vBulletin Forums en Fri, 16 Oct 2026 23:27:32 GMT vBulletin 60 https://www.sawdustzone.org/images/misc/rss.png https://www.sawdustzone.org/ https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/discussions/finished-projects/863753-photo-lamp-project Thu, 15 Oct 2026 02:36:45 GMT THis was sort of my inspiration:


I have a 1950's tripod that belonged to my father that I used a lot as a kid to learn photography. I have a 2014 model Mirrorless camera that has failed and is beyond economical repair. And a bunch of slides from the 70s my late parents cruise vacations in the Pacific. People I don't know and locations I barely know. But I know it was their happy days, post retirement, kids gone or married.

The camera failed a few years back, but I still use all the lenses on my other cameras. So I appealed on the camera enthusiasts forum to see if anyone had a broken, non repairable lens to volunteer. I bought one from ebay for $10 and someone eventually sent me another.

I'm very familiar with cameras, they use a 1/4-20 stud on the tripod to mount the camera tripod socket. I was able to find a hotshoe to tripod adapter to put a 1/4-20 tripod mount on the top of the camera.
Lamps there are all kinds of lamp hardware and I found out they have all weird threads. The riser pipes are all hollow and they are 1/8" IPS straight hollow pipe thread with 27 TPI pitch and the top finial for the lampshade is 1/4-27, another odd thread. Turns out the Lamp industry happened before ASME, SAE and all other standards. Before the Turn of the century they started replacing gas lamps with electric, but they tended to used the old piping to run the cord and other existing hardware to mount the electrics and that's how the odd threads came about as lamp standards. So you have to deal with a shop that handles lamp parts. I used Grandbrass.com.

So the key part was a 1/4-20 to 1/8 IPS bushing to make the transition, after that I used standard lamp hardware.

I selected the slides and searched for a variety of scenes. Some have my parents in them, a nostalgic touch that makes this personal. There are a few pictures of the giant stone statues on Easter Island - Rapa Nui.

Other examples of slide lampshades the artists all drilled holes in four corners then used jewelry jump rings to connect. That was to me a massive labor effort and kind of floppy. I simply laid out a array or 19 W x 4 high and used straight edges to corral them snugly against each other. and then Taped the seams vertically then horizontally. from the inside of the cylinder. Such an arrangement can curve one direction and not the other. And when curved into a circle, the vertical joints become rigid.

I actually did 6W x4 twice and 7W x 4 once to make it more managable then joined the three sections together to make my 19x4 cylinder.



As expected the cylinder curved in one dimension and was rigid in the other with a whole lot less work than the jump ring method.



I assembled the lamp. I had a few disassemblies because I forgot to thread all the stuff onto the power cord in the right order.


The shade fit a 12" ring perfectly, which was partly luck because the slides are exactly 2" x 2 "; the slide cylinder circumference and the ring circumference were nearly perfect match so the ring sat just inside the slides. I had drilled the top and bottom row of the slides with a 1/8" hole centered on the edge and used 38 tiny zip ties to fasten them.



It turned out that the clear/bright areas of the slide allowed you to see the bulb and hardware inside, so I had to order some diffuser material and line the inside which helped enormously.



When I was done with the shade, I found I misjudged where everything would land an particularly that LED bulbs don't put much light downwards (whereas incandescents were glass and emitted ligth all the way to the base). So I had to get finial risers to raise the shade 2.5 inches.

All sorted out, I installed it on the vintage tripod.




I'm really happy how it turned out, looks cool and it has a lot of sentimental meaning for me, every single part - the tripod, the camera, and the slides.


This knob, they don't do stuff like that anymore. I have fond memories of this knob from my childhood. It's a Davidson Star D "Conquest" tripod.]]> Finished Projects LCHIEN https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/discussions/finished-projects/863753-photo-lamp-project https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/discussions/around-the-coffee-pot/863749-what-beautiful-woodwork Mon, 12 Oct 2026 01:44:21 GMT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqctd5HHQRQ Hope this takes you to a beautiful table. with 3D printed jigs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqctd5HHQRQ

Hope this takes you to a beautiful table. with 3D printed jigs.]]> Around the coffee pot leehljp https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/discussions/around-the-coffee-pot/863749-what-beautiful-woodwork https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/woodworking-events/863745-minnesota-woodworkers-expo-saint-paul-mn Tue, 06 Oct 2026 20:49:07 GMT Minnesota Woodworkers Expo (https://mnwwg.org/woodworkers-expo-welcome-page/) MN State Fair Grounds Progress Center 1621 Randall Ave Saint Paul,... Minnesota Woodworkers Expo

MN State Fair Grounds Progress Center
1621 Randall Ave
Saint Paul, MN 55108

The MN Woodworkers Guild is proud to sponsor the woodworkers Expo 2026 to be held October 16 and 17 at the Progress Center of the MN State Fairgrounds. Once again, we will have tool vendors, makers, and related nonprofits, with an emphasis on demonstration and education.]]> Woodworking Events twistsol https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/woodworking-events/863745-minnesota-woodworkers-expo-saint-paul-mn https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/woodworking-events/863744-wood-pro-expo-lancaster Tue, 06 Oct 2026 20:39:59 GMT Wood Pro Expo Lancaster (https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/events/wood-pro-expo-lancaster) Spooky Nook Sports Center, Lancaster County - PA ... Wood Pro Expo Lancaster
Spooky Nook Sports Center, Lancaster County - PA


Wood Pro Expo Lancaster will return October 22-23, 2026 to the Spooky Nook Sports Center in Manheim, PA

WPE Lancaster is the only woodworking exposition and conference for professional woodworkers in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions. In addition to participation from the strong Pennsylvania woodworking base, attendees come from states including New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, and Massachusetts.
]]> Woodworking Events twistsol https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/woodworking-events/863744-wood-pro-expo-lancaster https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/woodworking-events/863743-woodworking-in-america-des-moines-ia Tue, 06 Oct 2026 20:34:39 GMT Woodworking in America
4-H Exhibits Building, Iowa State Fairgrounds – Des Moines

Join leading woodworkers and makers for two days packed with workshops, demonstrations, and camaraderie. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out, Woodworking in America 2026 is an event you won’t want to miss!​
]]> Woodworking Events twistsol https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/woodworking-events/863743-woodworking-in-america-des-moines-ia https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/discussions/shop-setup-layout-and-design/863741-finally-have-a-down-day-time-to-work-on-the-shop Sat, 03 Oct 2026 18:42:00 GMT
LOTS of packaging and tear off parts from car / camper repairs, sorted stuff from my late wife and a couple of years of health and honestly emotional struggles due to her loss have left me with a huge mess.

For those that remember, after Debi passed, I got seriously ill with ulcerative colitis. I managed to get in what they call remission, but I am FAR from right. It has left me fatigued as a side effect of the meds, and my degenerative disc disorder keeps reminding me it has not gone away.

3 things have changed to make today possible.

First is I made my financial goal rideshare driving this week at the end of last night by taking advantage of the bonus programs and maxing them out.
Second, in cleaning inside the house and sorting through Debi's stuff to donate or throw out, I found the box of my Lidocane transdermal patches. Wore one all day yesterday and my back actually feels good which led to.
Third I actually got a good nights sleep for once in the last 4 years!

I wish I could afford to hire someone to come in and help me do the following...

Clean up the shop.
Install the mini split AC.
Assemble the wide drum sander.

Like everything else in life, the way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time... So here goes.

Bite #1. Get my butt back out there with a trash bag and start bagging up the trash! Put tools back where they belong! That will likely take the rest of today and honestly several more days of work.
Bite #2. Hire out getting my mini split installed. I need longer lines though. Need to hide the outdoor piece behind my fence / away from the HOA.
Bite #3. Get some friends to help assemble the sander. ]]> Shop Setup, Layout, and Design dbhost https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/discussions/shop-setup-layout-and-design/863741-finally-have-a-down-day-time-to-work-on-the-shop https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/discussions/tool-talk/863725-why-can-t-ryobi-make-better-water-resistant-battery-tools Sun, 27 Sep 2026 00:08:23 GMT Three 4Ah Ryobi 18V. batteries:
Just a rant, so forgive me. I'm cleaning up and doing a tad bit of organizing. I have 3 Ryobi 4Ah batteries that died in a light light rain shower. One shower had a few drops on my head and none on my glasses. but 2 or 3 drops hit on the battery (while in the tool) and laying on its side. The battery did not work after that; no lights; charger says bad battery.

I have two others that the same thing happened on. Light shower while working outside and not enough for me to get wet or run gather all the tools. One tool's battery had a few drops on it and the battery was dead.

Last one was similar to the shower above where I nor anyone else working got wet enough to grab tools.

Ryobi 18V Hybrid Work Light
One tool, high powered Ryobi light, - I was again working outside, helping build a church in 40° weather; brief light but big snow flake snow shower came just briefly, but nothing to stop work over. I was using the light just before dusk and finishing up under the eves. 2 or 3 snow drops and the light was trash.

40V Ryobi Battery
NOT water related. Before Covid, I bought my first 40V Ryobi tool, a leaf blower. It was not as powerful as I was expecting but I did use it. It had a 5Ah 40V battery. I used the tool in the fall, some in the winter and put it up around January. Battery was charged before putting it up. Then in the late spring I pulled it out and it did not work. That soured me on 40V batteries until I bought a 6Ah 40V weed eater 3 years ago and it has been a powerful WEED EATER, although a bit heavy.
BACK to the bad 5Ah battery, I was flabbergasted during Covid and decided to check it with my volt ohm meter. Surprise, the battery had plenty of power. I took the battery apart to see if I could find a number on the circuit board and order a replacement. I could not find anything on Ryobi's site or eBay or eParts services. I still have it and it is still holding its power but the circuit board won't let it work.

I have had tools get wet before and battery powered items get wet on occasion and everything still works, but it sure seems Ryobi could do something to make their tools and batteries more water resistant.

Rant off.]]> Tool talk leehljp https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/discussions/tool-talk/863725-why-can-t-ryobi-make-better-water-resistant-battery-tools https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/discussions/around-the-coffee-pot/863704-replaced-35-year-old-door-hardware-today Wed, 23 Sep 2026 23:30:46 GMT
and when I replaced the strike plate for the double cylinder deadbolt, I found the builder used 3/4" screws instead of the recommended and supplied 3" screws that are meant to keep people from kicking in the door too easily. I had to drill 3" pilot holes as the screw holes were only just as deep as the short screws.
At least the back door deadbolt had the right length screws, When I replaced those.


And in addition, I figured that at 10 times locked and unlocked per day that the key cylinders had been operated a quarter million times. So it was another reason to replace them as well.]]> Around the coffee pot LCHIEN https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/discussions/around-the-coffee-pot/863704-replaced-35-year-old-door-hardware-today https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/discussions/around-the-coffee-pot/863684-after-rounding-off-a-2-phillips-screw-that-was-frozen Thu, 17 Sep 2026 21:34:45 GMT with an impact driver and a PH#2 bit due to cam-out, Looked like it fits a Robertson #2 square drive. It did fit perfectly (its tapered a bit)...
Looked like it fits a Robertson #2 square drive.

It did fit perfectly (its tapered a bit) and the screw came out easily with my impact driver

]]> Around the coffee pot LCHIEN https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/discussions/around-the-coffee-pot/863684-after-rounding-off-a-2-phillips-screw-that-was-frozen