So over the weekend I made a pencil cap to go with the 5/16 hole I made in my sled. By securing a rubber band at 2 points I can strech it over the arms on the cap to keep surface tension on the pencil. The end goal is a almost free solution for marking before cutting by using Ikea free golf pencils. I have one more design to do then I will share the files.
3 Likes
Wonderful feature @Bee ! This should be on every Maslow and it should be the first thing to add to the temporary sled!
@bar I hope you can appreciate this nifty idea, please add a pencil hole to the stock sled. It looks like it is an exellent tool before the first cut, Would be cool to add a solenoid on - off Z axis switch.
This eventually could be used to give all parts a number that can simply be removed with a bit of sanding paper.
I must not forget to search for ‘Hershey’ line plotter fonts again.
1 Like
@vertex Thank you for the words of encouragement. If you haven’t noticed I’m Rube Goldbergs cousin. I can make Macgyver look like a boy scout. I try for the simplest low tech solutions with the best parts I can find. I’m often seen dumpster diving or over turning a trash can to see if I can find something that will work as a connector or a case. If I can’t find it I try to make it and 3D printers are a hobby for me. If I dump out a trash can I always pick it up. Friends that have witnessed this find it funny to watch the world around me as I am finding creative solutions.
2 Likes
Because the sled will rotate around the bit, the pencil will be offset.
How about Macguyverring up a 3D-printed holder that snaps into the hole under the bit? Take the router body out and snap this in…
1 Like
That sounded way to familiar. 
I can 3D print it however that is a sawed off golf pencil wrapped in duct tape until it fits the 1/2 inch collet. Less than 3 minutes vs ~ 45 min to print 1/2 inch to 1/4 hex converter.
4 Likes
True McGuyvering!
20!
1 Like
That’ll do it! 01234
pencil_bit.nc (5.6 KB)
As requested - It is untested but should work. The file should be .stl as you are not allowed to upload .stl I renamed it to .nc
Download, rename from .nc to .stl and print. let me know if it needs any adjustments
1 Like
I added .stl to the allowed file name list so we should be good going forward
2 Likes
you mean something like
Actually, @Bee’s chucks up in the router, making it suitable for any machine that can accommodate a 1/2" shank. Very nice!. Makes the z-axis control the marks as well.
1 Like
re uploading as STL
pencil_bit.nc (5.6 KB)
3 Likes
Todays 3D printed add on - a simple plug for the power port on the Arduino to make me plug into the Shield. I know someone posted a better plug cover but this one takes about 25 min to print vs close to an hour.
I’ll post some of these to Thingiverse in the near future. I have lost faith in it as a repository. In my testing about 200 out of every 1000 files is 404 on that site. I was a very early poster on it and several of my posts have gone missing. - just a FYI
4 Likes
I once again seem to be using my tools to make tools for my tools …
2 Likes
Hey Bee, I see you have a MP delta printer. Any trouble with it?
I have the MP mini. Seems to work pretty well so far.
Thanks for posting your photos and files. Should be real helpful when I start my build.
The MP Delta is one of the best printers I’ve used. The quality matches tat of a $4k printer I had access to for a while. That said it’s still a 3D printer. Some times it just tries to do the wrong thing. It really was like a 7 minute set up from box to starting the first print.
I hear the MP mini is a solid machine I have a friend that has one.
Thanks for you feed back
I have an MP Delta, either my bed is warped or there is a problem with one of the auto level sensors. I haven’t had time to figure out which is the case, but aside from the fact that so far the bed doesn’t autolevel and the print head scrapes the surface (bc of that autolevel issue) everything else about the printer seems promising. I have high hopes that I’ll be able to figure out the autolevel problem
1 Like
What software are you printing form on The MP DELTA? I’m using Cura ands Simplify 3D.
Thank you