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New dust collection system I developed lately. It's only some pipes mounted to an old drill stand, but makes drilling a lot more fun!

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Was sick of those cables and destroying my settings when removing dust. The solution: An amp-/effects-case with removable tops.

Features I thought of: - real glass, no acrylic stuff (designed for home use, not transporting) - built with frames and panels - Only two input wires: guitar and power - Only one power switch - Space not used by pedals might be used for boxes for picks or strings etc. - two stacked cases for effects and amp

These are my first sketches. As I have three amps maybe I discard the idea of stacking effects and one amp and make one case for each amp or maybe one for all of them. Thought of a single cabinet for all of the amps, but I'm afraid it will affect the sound if i built something around an amp.

Was enjoying some excellent Franconian beer while doing these sketches: Brauerei Fässla Bamberg - Lagerbier

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Did some repairs on the RF 100. It seems that it is similar to the Grundig 'Musikgerät 98ASa' but with a different housing. Found schematics for that, but didn't really need them. What I had to do:

The front tape-style-power-switch works the actual power switch which is located near the main transformer via a cord and two wheels. That cord was broken, probably on purpose because the power switch was broken, it was on in both positions. A bit of tuner spray made it work again, also had to put in a new cord. That was why the background light was on all the time.

Cleaned all the switches an potis. Sound is better, almost no more noise.  Only skipped one switch inside the HF-housing. Didn't want to pull apart the whole tuner because I was afraid I would have to re-adjust it completely.

Fixed the MF antenna so it can't get lost inside the case. Can only tune to one German MF station, probably because one wire of the antenna is torn off. Didn't want to waste any time on that as I only listen to VHF stations.

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My 'new' kitchen tuner: Grundig Rf 100, probably made in 1966 or 1967.

Got it off ebay from a local seller. Still works, but is a bit too quiet and the switches and potis are a bit noisy. And the background lightning stays on when you switch it off.

Its size is 385 x 220 x 160mm. It has three vacuum tubes, a ECC85(HF-double triode), a EAF801(remote cutoff RF/IF pentode with diode) and a ECL86 (AF triode/power pentode).

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Sometimes you need more than one Thinkpad: Two R61s and a W520 (actually another W520 was left of that stack)

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A picture I took at my day job. A tiny part of the machine I'm programming on at the moment: An inductive sensor(the orange thing) on a tool tray for an industrial robot.

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An old pencil sharpening machine that I just got off ebay. It will be a christmas present for my sister, who is doing her master degree in fine arts.

I don't know how old it is, but I guess it's pre WW2. And the best thing: It still works perfectly. It creates longer spearheads than contemporary sharpeners.

I will do only a little cleaning and keep it's charme. Maybe I find an old piece of wood to put it on.

More pictures to follow...

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This is what I use for drilling: a Wabeco drilling and milling stand. Compared to the stuff you get at usual hardware stores this thing is really heavy. It has a solid steel column, a solid hexagonal arm that you can also move back an forth and a heavy table with T-nuts in it. I use it mainly with my Protool DRP13.

As precise as a bench drill, but much more versatile!

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Doesn't look like a workshop yet. I will have to get rid of a lot of junk during the next weeks...

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My new set of hex keys arrived today. I wanted some with ball ends for some time, couldn't afford them when I bought my standard set back when I still was in school. So I ordered those Wiha magic rings. Thought they had rubber rings but it's actually made of spring steel. Looking forward to using them!

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Took a closer look at the power section today and did some research on it. As you can see in the pictures, the two parallel belts are held under tension by the weight of the motor.

The motor itself is a pole-changeable induction machine.That means there is one rotor that can be driven by two stators. This means you can choose between two different speeds, 1400 and 2780 rpm without any electronics. Back in 1960 it was probably cheaper to build a 2-in-1-motor than using electronics. I'm sure is the opposite today! I will do some more research on how the motor is built, how it works and which way it is wired.

For my restoration, I'm not yet sure what I will do, four possibilities: A: clean everything B: redo wiring C: rework wiring (magnetic starter, latching relay etc.) D: disassemble motor completely I'm quite sure I will do A and B. For security reasons C would be worth considering. D would be very interesting, but a lot of work. I've never done anything like that, so I'm a bit afraid of damaging something. And I would have to remove the engine and therefore would have to adjust everything completely when bringing it back into the machine.

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Finished the fence today. So the complete table-section is done.

Unfortunately a small but important piece of the table extension is missing. So I will skip cleaning it until I get it or have one made.

Decided to take a closer look at the motor next.

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Some more pictures...

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This is the custom made scraper I mentioned: It's made of plexiglas. Basically it's just a piece of scrap with rounded edges. It is softer than metal, so it won't leave any scratches. When it gets dull, I just use a file to get the bottom edge sharp again.

I didn't make it for this cleaning job, I can't even remember what I made it for. Used it for removing finishes and dirt and other stuff I can't even remember.