Hardware | The Arts Mechanical

Hardware Stores

Posted on October 29, 2016 by jccarlton

I have a lot of love for hardware stores, especially the old style one individually run by small business people which an amazing number still are. Popular mechanics has run this piece about the best hardware stores out there. Including an interview of a kid working in a store up the road from me.

Designing, Forming And Joining Sheet Metal, A Lets Build Resource.

Posted on October 27, 2016 by jccarlton

I want to talk about sheet metal and making sheet metal parts. Now for a variety of reasons the maker community has avoided using sheet metal in their project and that’s a mistake. I see a lot of maker designed machines that use thick plastic panels where I, as designer would have used a formed sheet metal panel.

Boomtown, part 3

Posted on June 22, 2016 by jccarlton

This is the third of Wired UK’s important series on Shenzhen.

Back when I was researching electrical technology back in the late 19th Century I found that the same sort pooling that Bunnie is talking about. As did the early radio types. In fact, the same sort of tension between patent holders who, for whatever reason have stopped innovating and innovators who want to continue to come up with new things has existed since the beginning of the industrial revolution.

More links:
https://theartsmechanical.wordpress.com/2016/02/16/the-end-of-moores-law-on-the-streets-of-shenzhen/

https://theartsmechanical.wordpress.com/2015/08/09/innovated-in-china-a-lets-build-resource/

Boomtown Part 1.

https://theartsmechanical.wordpress.com/2016/06/11/boomtown/

PART 2.

https://theartsmechanical.wordpress.com/2016/06/18/boomtown-part-2/

For more on the dysfunctional economy click Here or on the tag below.

Boomtown, Part 2

Posted on June 18, 2016 by jccarlton

Another in Wired Uk’s series of videos about Shenzhen.

Boomtown

Posted on June 11, 2016 by jccarlton

This is Shenzhen.

In 1980 this was fishing shacks, rice paddies and economic freedom and opportunity. Think about that when you hit the booth in November.

The Mess At NEST

Posted on April 13, 2016 by jccarlton

A while back I posted about getting stuff made in the US and included some videos about Tony Faddell and the NEST thermostat.

https://theartsmechanical.wordpress.com/2015/02/13/is-it-possible-to-get-stuff-made-in-the-us/

Apparently things aren’t going too well for NEST and they are dropping parts of the line and more importantly dropping the servers that the home devices depend on, leaving the homeowners high and dry.

About Bolts And Screws, A Let’s Build Resource

Posted on February 20, 2016 by jccarlton

Bolts are threaded fasteners usually intended to be used with a nut. Screws are everything else except studs, which are full threaded rods designed to threaded into a tapped hole and then have a nut attached.

Making The Heirloom Laptop

Posted on February 7, 2016 by jccarlton

Bunnie Huang has a project that he put on kickstarter for an open source laptop computer called Novena. One Kickstarter goal was some beautiful laminated cases.

A Blog About Fasteners A “Let’s Build” Resource

Posted on January 28, 2016 by jccarlton

I’ve been working with fasteners professionally for thirty years now both as an engineer and working in a hardware store. I would like to think that I’m a fastener guru. Yet I also know that I’m still learning things. So when I see a blog like this one I just had to share.

http://blog.mutualscrew.com/

Good stuff here on how to put stuff together.

The Let’s Build Series.

https://theartsmechanical.wordpress.com/tag/lets-build/