Tag: DIY

Dragon Radar UPDATE – FUBARED ?

About a while back I found a vintage unused Paasche air compressor from the 1990s for $15.00 so I grabbed it. I sat on it and I waited and watched and in the end I got a fantastic deal on a Paasche Talon TG airbrush.

*Update* I was able to find an air compressor from a medical training simulator and have modded it for use as an airbrush compressor. It’s much more quiet and has a small storage tank inside it so it allows me to work on my small objects much better than the old school pump.

It’s been fantastically fun so far as I love learning from experimenting and just getting in and doing something. The photo is my first attempt at spraying a single coat of paint using an airbrush. I see lots of mistakes but I learned a great deal on how to handle curves and inner surfaces.

Some takeaways:

Make some sort turntable to spin objects as I paint them. Less need to go back and fill in missed spots.

Find a good metal surface primer.

Try and get a full set of nozzles/needles when I can.

Learning is progress.

Something is totally messed up with the Sparkle Motion controller and I suspect the LEDS have been effected too. I am having to put this on the back burner until I find the time to figure out what is happening.

Thanks for your time and please take care of each other.

DIY Pen for the Panasonic RK-P400c

I recently got a Panasonic typewriter (RK-P400C) that uses pens to actually draw the letters. These magical mechanical devices were basically plotters. The only problem was the typewriters use of proprietary ballpoint pens that have become long obsolete. So I accepted the challenge and made a marker for it to use.

To do this I measured the original pen dimensions using some digital calipers and made a cut off of brass tube stock (Src: K&S Metals). The rest was some trimmed to fit maker pen guts from the local reuse store. I suggest soaking out the ink as much as you can with with 2-Propanol or ethanol. Just make sure to take caution as these are very flammable substances and the fumes are an irritant. I am going to see if I can make a cap for the end of the tube but as a temporary fix I just used hot melt glue for testing.

I want to refine this design and maybe develop some more cartridges for various sizes and media types.

I hope that this inspires others to make pens and use these amazing machines of the past.

Please support your local reuse store.

Thank you and take care of each other.