This was pretty ugly. I needed to cut a bunch of copper-clad FR4 into thin strips for my LED array project. 144 1/4" strips, to be precise. I wasn't going to use the metal shear at TechShop, since fiberglass is pretty abrasive. I was also worried the pinching effect would wrap copper around the edges and short the two sides. Anyway, I lashed together a mini table saw with a Dremel, diamond wheel, hot glue, plywood, and duct tape. Note the Shop Vac dust removal system. It actually worked quite well, cutting about 120 feet of PCB material and I didn't notice any decline in cutting ability.  Read more»

I decided to make a laundry hamper for my bathroom last weekend. For some reason I didn't want to just buy a hamper, I guess I had specific ideas about durability, shape, and size that weren't available. I also wanted a place to put my towels, and I don't think any hampers have built-in towel racks, and no towel racks have a place to put a hamper. Home Depot is within sight of my front door, so I walked over and wandered the aisles with the familar blank expression of home-improvement pondering. I walked back with 40 feet of 1/2" PVC tubing, various connectors, zip ties, and plastic garden mesh. The result in the photo took about 1-1/2 hours. Aesthetics aside, it definitely works, doesn't take up much space, will never rot or warp like my original wood construction idea, is a little bigger than expected but will be able to hold all my laundry even on a day I wash blankets. PVC tubing is only like $1.89 per 10 foot piece, so it's a cheap construction material and pretty strong in lengths shorter than 3 feet.