I love learning new things, skills, and a lot of this comes from a pretty much unrestricted access to any tools I might have needed. My parents saw these interests of mine and really supported me when they bought me a 3D printer ten years ago, or my first book on programming with scratch. I’m always excited to learn about a new program or device, regardless of how actually useful it is (though I often convince myself it is). I’m not certain what the purpose of this page is right now, as with the rest of the website I’ll let it just morph into whatever I end up with. I guess this can be partly to showcase some of the things I can use but I have a feeling I’m just having too much fun writing about stuff right now.

3D PRINTER

I’m currently the proud owner of a Prusa i3 MK2. It came out more that ten years ago and I got it as a kit in 2017. Support ended shortly after that but I have kept mine alive with custom and aftermarket parts since then. I have no desire to replace it and am proud to say it runs just as good (if not better) than the modern printers I still work with today. My Prusa is easily my favourite tool. It is so handy, being able to design a part and within two hours have a physical prototype of it, but I love how my printer is its own project as well. It’s old, it breaks, it’s held together with zipties and superglue. It lacks a lot of features that are very basic functions for modern printers, but I get out what I put into it. I built the printer with my dad when I was nine. I know the machine inside and out, and oftentimes I’m the only one who knows how to make it work.

My most recent upgrade to my printer was a new PEI printbed. I’m ashamed to say it took me almost a decade to realize the chewed up surface I was so protective of since there was no replacement for, was a ten dollar 3M sticker that’s designed to be replaced in about 30 minutes. I replaced the surface and spent a full day levelling the bed by calibrating, and then adjusting the warp with paper washers under the standoffs that I had made.

SOLDERING AND ELECTRONICS

To get an idea of how long I’ve been doing this, I got a soldering iron for christmas in [2018?]. Im sure any other ten year old would not have been thrilled but it was seriously one of my favourite things ever, and I still use it all the time to this day. I wouldn’t say I’m particularly excellent but I love to practice on any old circuit boards I can get my hands on. I’m getting good at those microscopic surface mounted components and chips. I went through a phase (I go through a lot of phases) where I was obsessed with classic computers and repairing them. I managed to fix my dad’s old Compaq portable, an original xbox, and many other appliances as my parents break them. I got an oscilloscope recently and while I certainly don’t know how to use it completely it has been a very helpful addition to my workshop. My most recent addition is a hot air soldering station, which I’m still figuring out how to use properly.

WOODWORKING

Whenever I’ve had a long day and need to relax, one of my favourite things to do is make stuff out of wood. I think it’s my inner 50 year-old man showing himself once I’m too tired to hold that part of me back. I’ve been cutting out little shapes on the scroll saw since I was seven years old, and I’ve used most hand and power tools at least once. I am not good. A fine woodworker by no means (The engineering part of me always wants to prioritize functionality over design, though that’s something I’d like to keep practicing for sure) but it’s something I’ve always wanted to do more of.