Crump Projects: March 2013

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Walnut Raspberry Pi Enclosure - Pt. 3

Continue on with this project:

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, & Part 7 All Done!

Getting the block cleaned out will be a two part post since the setup at the router table is intense.

I used the marking gauge here just to show where each sections was. The top is the waste that was cut off to get the proper final dimensions Next is the 1/4" of the lid that will be exposed when the lid is on. Next I made a cut about 3/13" deep to put a lip on the lid so it would stay in place. After this is the important part of measuring out the extra 1/8" for the blade kerf to part the lid from the base. Cutting the lid from the base like this helps the grain pattern stay as close as possible.

This is just the lid lip cut in. Notice I don't have a flat tooth blade so there was a V groove I took care of with hand tools later.

Now I used the marking gauge to layout the wall thickness before heading to the drill press

I started out with a small bit to just take out the materials in the corners. I have my depth gauge set to just about 1/8" shy of the final depth since forstner bits will leave a point in the middle and a ring on the outside at the bottom of their hole.

Then stepped up to a slightly larger bit to clear most of the waste out. If I did this all at the router table I would have burned up a few bits and spent a day doing it.

This is what you are left with after the drill press. On to the router table!

Continue on with this project:

Walnut Raspberry Pi Enclosure - Pt. 1

Walnut Raspberry Pi Enclosure - Pt. 2

Walnut Raspberry Pi Enclosure - Pt. 3

Walnut Raspberry Pi Enclosure - Pt. 4

Walnut Raspberry Pi Enclosure - Pt. 5

Walnut Raspberry Pi Enclosure - Pt. 6

Walnut Raspberry Pi Enclosure - Pt. 7 - All Done!

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Walnut Raspberry Pi Enclosure - Pt. 2

Continue on with this project:

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, & Part 7 All Done!

Milling out the block for the enclosure. I added about a 1/16 of an Inch to all dimensions to comensate for later sanding and what not. So the outside are a little proud of 4"x 2 3/4"x 1 3/4"

As you can see this piece was milled ok but has warped a little in the past few years. So first goal was to make sure I got parallel sides and square corners. The block will be too small to send thru the planner and jointer so did the work at that table saw. First I squared up the one end holding the piece tight to the miter gauge.

Then set the fence at 2 3/4" to cut the short dimension, still using the miter gauge to keep it straight.

This is now the right width. I cut one end to square it up to the long faces Then measuring the 4 inches for the length against the left side of where the blade cut thru the miter gauge and then cut it to length.

Now this leaves us with length and width and all 4 sides square are parallel Now usually I would head to the jointer to square up the last side but because of the size of the block and the grain direction I chose it wouldn't work. So I made sure to sand the bottom to the best I could (more on sanding a perfectly flat side later) then cut the height. This was a bit tricky for a few reasons. On the blade only comes out of the table a bit over half way so I had to make a pass then flip it over and make the other pass. Second the blade is cutting with the grain AND is going to be a "blind" cut, so the teeth are inside the block the whole time and can (and do) heat up and may burn your wood if not careful.

Here is the block milled to the ~final~ exterior dimensions.

Continue on with this project:

Walnut Raspberry Pi Enclosure - Pt. 1

Walnut Raspberry Pi Enclosure - Pt. 2

Walnut Raspberry Pi Enclosure - Pt. 3

Walnut Raspberry Pi Enclosure - Pt. 4

Walnut Raspberry Pi Enclosure - Pt. 5

Walnut Raspberry Pi Enclosure - Pt. 6

Walnut Raspberry Pi Enclosure - Pt. 7 - All Done!

Friday, March 22, 2013

Walnut Raspberry Pi Enclosure - Pt. 1

Continue on with this project:

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, & Part 7 All Done!

Inspiration...

Unmilled but well conditioned 8/4" stock

Some times all you need a bit of scrap wood. 2 years ago I made a number of nice end grain cutting boards for the family as gifts. I used 10' long sections of 8/4 stock and still have some Cherry, Oak, and Walnut left over. I happen to love the look of Walnut and when it came to making an inclosure for the Raspberry Pi I couldn't think of anything else.

I had seen some other wood cases but they where always 6 pieces of wood glued/naild/etc together to make a box. I wanted it to be one hunk of wood and my intentions where to carve out a home for the Raspberry Pi to live.