# Make It or Break It! (A Maker Topic) **URL:** \ **Category:** Not Games\ **Created:** [29 April 2020 21:19 UTC](https://discussion.tekeli.li/t/make-it-or-break-it-a-maker-topic/697 "2020-04-29T21:19:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mutechair](https://discussion.tekeli.li/user_avatar/discussion.tekeli.li/mutechair/32/1425_2.png) [@mutechair](https://discussion.tekeli.li/u/mutechair)\ **Post date:** [11 May 2021 15:10 UTC](https://discussion.tekeli.li/t/make-it-or-break-it-a-maker-topic/697/21 "2021-05-11T15:10:12Z")
I made one of these. A cardboard playing card deck shoe: [CB shoe](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs-56YPij-o) It works relatively well for an hour spent cutting pizza boxes. As it is the front piece does not seem wide enough. I might cut a wider copy of that. It feels like it is bending the cards a bit. I don’t know if bending the front of the bottom farther underneath might help. If you use card sleeves you would have to widen most of it. ---
**Author:** ![pillbox](https://discussion.tekeli.li/user_avatar/discussion.tekeli.li/pillbox/32/1031_2.png) [@pillbox](https://discussion.tekeli.li/u/pillbox)\ **Post date:** [18 May 2021 17:57 UTC](https://discussion.tekeli.li/t/make-it-or-break-it-a-maker-topic/697/22 "2021-05-18T17:57:37Z")
### pillbox’s Table Update #3(?) I did add in a French cleat design to be able to support table accessories, but I’m as yet unsure about it’s ability to support real weight; so I’ll hold off posting too many details about it lest someone come behind me and copy it without being aware of its potential flaws. Additionally, last week I had a quiet kid-free (and spouse-free) afternoon, so I decided to head over to the local (franchise) fabric store. There, I picked out a blue neoprene and had a sufficient amount cut that will become the gaming surface inside the vault. @yashima I left the neoprene in the car overnight and when I went to retrieve it, it had off-gassed sufficiently to make me hold my breath while reaching into the car to grab it. I then hung it up in my garage to A) air out some more and B) let gravity remove some creases. Fortunately (?), my garage is drafty enough that it hasn’t caused a _considerable_ odor in there… but it was very noticeable for the first day or so. Pro-tip: I could have changed the dimensions of my table… but I’m stubborn. The table surface is 55 1/4 inches. The roll of neoprene at the store is ~55 inches. So if I had just changed my vault size to 54", I could have bought _way_ less of the fabric. So… do yourself a favor if you’re going to follow me: find out how long the bolt is of surface-cloth you are choosing, and base your table dimensions on that. ---
**Author:** ![yashima](https://discussion.tekeli.li/user_avatar/discussion.tekeli.li/yashima/32/21481_2.png) [@yashima](https://discussion.tekeli.li/u/yashima)\ **Post date:** [18 May 2021 18:06 UTC](https://discussion.tekeli.li/t/make-it-or-break-it-a-maker-topic/697/23 "2021-05-18T18:06:31Z")
I have had my mat outside in rain and sun… washed it treated it with vinegar… I put it in the living room, rolled up over night, next morning decided we’re throwing it away. ---
**Author:** ![tomm\_archer](https://discussion.tekeli.li/user_avatar/discussion.tekeli.li/tomm_archer/32/1153_2.png) [@tomm\_archer](https://discussion.tekeli.li/u/tomm_archer)\ **Post date:** [23 June 2021 20:24 UTC](https://discussion.tekeli.li/t/make-it-or-break-it-a-maker-topic/697/24 "2021-06-23T20:24:57Z")
In the continuing adventures of “making things I could just buy” I built a tiny audio switcher: ![IMG_20210623_173628edited](https://discussion.tekeli.li/uploads/default/original/2X/3/3476f20c9ecd94e8164ff11ed43386512fd1b0f4.jpeg) Now I can use my desktop computer speakers while I’m working from home on my laptop. ---
**Author:** ![tomm\_archer](https://discussion.tekeli.li/user_avatar/discussion.tekeli.li/tomm_archer/32/1153_2.png) [@tomm\_archer](https://discussion.tekeli.li/u/tomm_archer)\ **Post date:** [23 June 2021 20:34 UTC](https://discussion.tekeli.li/t/make-it-or-break-it-a-maker-topic/697/25 "2021-06-23T20:34:17Z")
I always end up with spare PCBs from projects like this as the minimum order quantity is 10. So rather than sit on them for a few months and then get around to putting them on my store, I set out with that in mind and ordered more parts than I needed. As a result I’ve spent some of the evening putting together usage diagrams for the listing: ![1-in-2-out](https://discussion.tekeli.li/uploads/default/original/2X/d/dc9fab5ebcefee326f0cd78a44571fa1356e1a33.png) ![2-in-1-out](https://discussion.tekeli.li/uploads/default/original/2X/8/812ed22bd898eb2fae73f990a7c3261556bc88f9.png) Hopefully the pictures better communicate what I’d been struggling to describe in words. ---
**Author:** ![tomm\_archer](https://discussion.tekeli.li/user_avatar/discussion.tekeli.li/tomm_archer/32/1153_2.png) [@tomm\_archer](https://discussion.tekeli.li/u/tomm_archer)\ **Post date:** [24 June 2021 20:39 UTC](https://discussion.tekeli.li/t/make-it-or-break-it-a-maker-topic/697/26 "2021-06-24T20:39:39Z")
Stacked on top of the volume knob I made a while back. (Assembling and then taking photos of something that’s currently wired to your PC is tricky 😆 ) ![image](https://discussion.tekeli.li/uploads/default/original/2X/8/84208b74da7b50ceadccfa7357759762126b03b1.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![pillbox](https://discussion.tekeli.li/user_avatar/discussion.tekeli.li/pillbox/32/1031_2.png) [@pillbox](https://discussion.tekeli.li/u/pillbox)\ **Post date:** [3 August 2021 14:51 UTC](https://discussion.tekeli.li/t/make-it-or-break-it-a-maker-topic/697/27 "2021-08-03T14:51:07Z")
It’s been too hot lately to do any woodworking, so the boardgame table is on hold. In the meantime, I’ve been working on game/tile organizers for 18xx games (because dozens of hexagonal tiles are hard to organize in plastic bags). I’ve got the basic design worked out. My 3d printer can only manage a 190x190 mm footprint, so I can’t make box-sized organizers (easily). ![image](https://discussion.tekeli.li/uploads/default/original/2X/a/a1c2e832adf0a0fe204161179512d7aee201d96d.png) I’ve got some negative space that I could probably use for token storage, but that’s a lower priority than getting the lid design finished. There are places to glue in some magnets, and the lid will have some small metal discs similarly slotted in to mate with the magnets. Unfortunately, I am and have been stuck on the lid for quite some time because I cannot figure out where to find a font that is suitable for negative text; all of the OpenSCAD text articles/blogs/videos use regular fonts where the inside of letters and numbers are not supported. Anyone have any experience with supported fonts for negative text? ---
**Author:** ![RogerBW](https://discussion.tekeli.li/user_avatar/discussion.tekeli.li/rogerbw/32/3_2.png) [@RogerBW](https://discussion.tekeli.li/u/RogerBW)\ **Post date:** [3 August 2021 15:30 UTC](https://discussion.tekeli.li/t/make-it-or-break-it-a-maker-topic/697/28 "2021-08-03T15:30:48Z")
Not sure quite what you mean - text indented into the material? ![](https://discussion.tekeli.li/uploads/default/original/2X/3/321f34b1776211bd60d7bb4812a5b4dbd15da62f.png) ---
**Author:** ![pillbox](https://discussion.tekeli.li/user_avatar/discussion.tekeli.li/pillbox/32/1031_2.png) [@pillbox](https://discussion.tekeli.li/u/pillbox)\ **Post date:** [3 August 2021 15:39 UTC](https://discussion.tekeli.li/t/make-it-or-break-it-a-maker-topic/697/29 "2021-08-03T15:39:09Z")
Not quite. Imagine printing a panel with a ‘O’ character subtracted from the manifold. The stroke of the O will be a void, whereas the center of the ‘O’ will be disconnected from the rest of the print. ![image](https://discussion.tekeli.li/uploads/default/original/2X/e/e6f0e20baf168b48996b117e4d8314e342fa90e0.png) ---
**Author:** ![RogerBW](https://discussion.tekeli.li/user_avatar/discussion.tekeli.li/rogerbw/32/3_2.png) [@RogerBW](https://discussion.tekeli.li/u/RogerBW)\ **Post date:** [3 August 2021 15:42 UTC](https://discussion.tekeli.li/t/make-it-or-break-it-a-maker-topic/697/30 "2021-08-03T15:42:35Z")
So you plan in effect to punch all the way through, and thus don’t want to print the centre in the first place? I haven’t seen a standard way of doing that, but it ought to be algorithmically possible. Or do you want supporting bars to hold the centre in place? ---
**Author:** ![pillbox](https://discussion.tekeli.li/user_avatar/discussion.tekeli.li/pillbox/32/1031_2.png) [@pillbox](https://discussion.tekeli.li/u/pillbox)\ **Post date:** [3 August 2021 15:43 UTC](https://discussion.tekeli.li/t/make-it-or-break-it-a-maker-topic/697/31 "2021-08-03T15:43:40Z")
I figured there are fonts available that have the necessary supports already figured in. Or maybe an OpenSCAD library that can account for disconnected bits and build in in-plane supports as necessary ---
**Author:** ![RogerBW](https://discussion.tekeli.li/user_avatar/discussion.tekeli.li/rogerbw/32/3_2.png) [@RogerBW](https://discussion.tekeli.li/u/RogerBW)\ **Post date:** [3 August 2021 15:45 UTC](https://discussion.tekeli.li/t/make-it-or-break-it-a-maker-topic/697/32 "2021-08-03T15:45:23Z")
Hmm. I suspect this would be a bit more sophisticated than casual automation will handle. I haven’t done this myself (just indentation, as in my example above). Will keep a look out; there’s probably a specific term for the sort of font that doesn’t have any negative paths, but I’m not sure what it would be. ---
**Author:** ![pillbox](https://discussion.tekeli.li/user_avatar/discussion.tekeli.li/pillbox/32/1031_2.png) [@pillbox](https://discussion.tekeli.li/u/pillbox)\ **Post date:** [3 August 2021 15:46 UTC](https://discussion.tekeli.li/t/make-it-or-break-it-a-maker-topic/697/33 "2021-08-03T15:46:53Z")
A little bit of Googling this morning (as the result of this discussion) has revealed that traditional stencils have had this problem for a long time… so using a classic stencil font _should_ account for it: ![image](https://discussion.tekeli.li/uploads/default/original/2X/d/d7ea62dc4160e53dc30913f22573883029446922.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![RogerBW](https://discussion.tekeli.li/user_avatar/discussion.tekeli.li/rogerbw/32/3_2.png) [@RogerBW](https://discussion.tekeli.li/u/RogerBW)\ **Post date:** [3 August 2021 15:58 UTC](https://discussion.tekeli.li/t/make-it-or-break-it-a-maker-topic/697/34 "2021-08-03T15:58:26Z")
As long as it’s a real one, like that, and not just one made to look pretty. 🙂 I suspect that would be horribly fragile on my printer; I’d love to see how it comes out. ---
**Author:** ![pillbox](https://discussion.tekeli.li/user_avatar/discussion.tekeli.li/pillbox/32/1031_2.png) [@pillbox](https://discussion.tekeli.li/u/pillbox)\ **Post date:** [3 August 2021 15:59 UTC](https://discussion.tekeli.li/t/make-it-or-break-it-a-maker-topic/697/35 "2021-08-03T15:59:43Z")
Yeah… I’m worried about the thickness of the supports; so I’ve been combing through free font pages looking for stencil fonts that have good, wide supports ---
**Author:** ![tomm\_archer](https://discussion.tekeli.li/user_avatar/discussion.tekeli.li/tomm_archer/32/1153_2.png) [@tomm\_archer](https://discussion.tekeli.li/u/tomm_archer)\ **Post date:** [10 August 2021 21:18 UTC](https://discussion.tekeli.li/t/make-it-or-break-it-a-maker-topic/697/36 "2021-08-10T21:18:42Z")
The store has been picking up again lately and I just sold the last of the stock of one of my products. It’s always a nice feeling to completely sell out but mixed with a little bit of doubt as to whether I take the risk on another batch. Further mixed with the embarrassment of failing the first attempt of writing a German postal address on an envelope. ---
**Author:** ![Chewy77](https://discussion.tekeli.li/user_avatar/discussion.tekeli.li/chewy77/32/1035_2.png) [@Chewy77](https://discussion.tekeli.li/u/Chewy77)\ **Post date:** [11 August 2021 00:39 UTC](https://discussion.tekeli.li/t/make-it-or-break-it-a-maker-topic/697/37 "2021-08-11T00:39:16Z")
That brings me memories of my first year in the UK, where I was in an abattoir in Wales sending samples of cattle brain stems for prion testing (Mad Cow disease) to the lab, and having to write farmers addresses on… from Wales. Most of the times I was feeling like saying: I’d buy a vowel. I heard years later it all changed to barcode scanning. No wonder why… 🤦‍♂️ ---
**Author:** ![tomm\_archer](https://discussion.tekeli.li/user_avatar/discussion.tekeli.li/tomm_archer/32/1153_2.png) [@tomm\_archer](https://discussion.tekeli.li/u/tomm_archer)\ **Post date:** [11 August 2021 08:15 UTC](https://discussion.tekeli.li/t/make-it-or-break-it-a-maker-topic/697/38 "2021-08-11T08:15:38Z")
The name of the business I was sending to was tricky, I think once I’d written that successfully my brain stopped caring and immediately made a mistake on the second line. Also not the best “ß” I’ve ever written, but I wasn’t about to try a third time - sorry German postal system. ---
**Author:** ![tomm\_archer](https://discussion.tekeli.li/user_avatar/discussion.tekeli.li/tomm_archer/32/1153_2.png) [@tomm\_archer](https://discussion.tekeli.li/u/tomm_archer)\ **Post date:** [22 October 2021 21:04 UTC](https://discussion.tekeli.li/t/make-it-or-break-it-a-maker-topic/697/39 "2021-10-22T21:04:01Z")
This is probably over the top but I was an adult recently and bought some nice cutlery and a drawer organiser. I want to make individual pieces easier to retrieve so I designed this: ![image](https://discussion.tekeli.li/uploads/default/original/2X/6/676a632fa9e744659d01f74afecaf8f035f0361e.jpeg) It’s fully parametric so I can change all the key dimensions and the model adjusts accordingly. It’s probably only going to be a few centimetres in the longest dimension so should be pretty cheap/quick to print. Edit: yes it’s also at a jaunty angle because why not do some late night trigonometry? ---
**Author:** ![RogerBW](https://discussion.tekeli.li/user_avatar/discussion.tekeli.li/rogerbw/32/3_2.png) [@RogerBW](https://discussion.tekeli.li/u/RogerBW)\ **Post date:** [22 October 2021 21:23 UTC](https://discussion.tekeli.li/t/make-it-or-break-it-a-maker-topic/697/40 "2021-10-22T21:23:45Z")
Heh. I just made up a bunch of C-shaped blocks to hold the cutlery in each existing compartment in a neat stack. This is the cutlery drainer I designed and printed for my wife… ![hexdrainer-hexwindow](https://discussion.tekeli.li/uploads/default/original/2X/d/d8f54920b01590726e1282a1461ff0f12cab8371.png) [Previous page](https://discussion.tekeli.li/t/make-it-or-break-it-a-maker-topic/697.md?page=1) [Next page](https://discussion.tekeli.li/t/make-it-or-break-it-a-maker-topic/697.md?page=3)