DIY Sunday

Today was a day for those little DIY projects that crop up from time to time.

First, Belle needs a tiny little screwdriver to get into a tight spot on her sewing machine.  Elder son was consulted when he came over for lunch, and he came up with this elegant solution.

An apex tip out of  a screwdriver, a bottle cap off a soft drink, and some epoxy.

If that screwdriver isn't small enough to get into that tight space, none of them will be.  It's 24 hour epoxy, so it will be ready tomorrow, after curing.  It's small enough that Belle can drop in in her sowing kit, and it should serve her form many years.  homemade tools are always the bet, and we'll call this the micro-stubby.  Total cost, almost -0-.  The apex bit might  have cost me a quarter.

Next, we  considered the problem of wires hanging off a standard CFDA target.   If a wire is hanging down off the target, some jazzzbo is going to shoot it, sure as God made little green apples.   Many folks, and I have as well, simply use a piece of tape, and tape the wires behind the stand, but that's not real elegant.  So, we started brain-storming and came up with the idea of using PVC pipe.  Two zip ties, and the pipe is affixed to the stand and will easily accompdate CAT5 cable that runs the electronics.

 side view.  PVC pipe zip-tied to the stand.

Here's a view from the shooter's perspective.

I think that is going to work just fine to protect my cables from wax bullets.  It's lightweight, inexpensive, and easily fixed in the middle of a match, if need me.  It's a great DIY hack.  For the record, that's 36" of one-inch schedule 40, and two Harbor Freight zip-ties.  It doesn't get any cheaper than that.

Next, I needed a rope with an eyelet in it.  I learned to splice rope at my father's knee.  I haven't spliced a rope in almost three decades, but in just a few minutes, with a false-start or two, it all came flowing back to me.  Even with my tired old eyes, I managed to get a fairly nice eye splice.

Not too shabby for an old blind man.  I'm sure that a modern day rigger could find fault with it, but it won't be carrying a load, and I'm sure that it will suffice.  Some things we never forget.

Finally, the most pleasing DIY project today is that I was hungry for pork chops, and Belle induled me with her pork chops and rice.  With purple hull peas and cornbread.

Pretty good groceries, right there, and one of the big reasons why we do DIY projects for our ladies.  Because they know how to make pork chops.

It's been a very productive Sunday.