Pyrocam.com

Low Temperature Low Cost Circular Film Light

pyrocam — Wed, 09 May 2012 07:29:12 +0000

With any project I do it is important to have nice photo’s that are in focus and well lit. I occasionally dabble in stop motion and other film as well as just the projects you see on this site. Lighting is something I have always had difficulty with and never spent any time trying to resolve. Occasionally I use a work light but I find them annoying to set up and they get very hot and difficult to work with.

Total Cost $28

Beer Brewing Cabinet

pyrocam — Thu, 03 May 2012 06:23:27 +0000

When home brewing beer its important to keep a constant and cool temperature. I like to aim for around 19 degrees C (66F) for ales. (references) and 4 degrees C for Lagers but in New Zealand the general yeasts sold or packaged with kits for lagers are really ‘lager style’ top fermenting (ale) yeasts; also I don’t have the budget or equipment to go for a lager style ferment anyway.

So I wanted to build something that would smooth out daily temperature variations and could potentially have some temperature management (eg peltiers in the summer, incandescent light bulbs in the winter) to assist in smooth and appropriate temperature management. Click here or on the picture to see more

Chain oiling system

pyrocam — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 23:51:57 +0000

While I was waiting for some more sealant to dry on another project, I decided to finish up something I had been thinking about for a while: A motorcycle chain lubrication system. I dont like using the spray, or oiling it by hand with a rag much. So I built a system that you could attach to the bike, put some oil in, go for a ride to the end of the street and back then take it off again.

Motorcycle chain oiling system

More cooling

pyrocam — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 23:52:38 +0000

I have done some more work on the beer cooler / water cooler project. check it out here

Macro High Speed Photography

pyrocam — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 21:52:29 +0000

New article about budget high speed macro photography is up here

Grass Cutting and a small explanation

pyrocam — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 20:47:07 +0000

A lot of people look at me strangely with a “why didn’t you just go buy one” look in their eye, when I show them these things. So to explain myself a little bit; this is fun for me, building things out of whatever I have lying about, its a hobby. I am not trying to invent something that doesn’t already exist I am just trying to do a job with the tools that I already have.

My current project is a lawn mower/weed wacker built out of a hand blender, I could of gone to the hardware store and bought a weed wacker or a lawn mower for $130 or $300 but thats not fun, and I have all the bits I need to make it, so I am recycling as well.

So without further Ado, here is my latest project, which was fun, recycled, and cheap

Grass Cutter MKII - Made from a couch and a handheld blender engine

Update: Engine Power

pyrocam — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 19:57:28 +0000

Slowly, but its still coming along. (more)

Making a Clutch

pyrocam — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 08:17:27 +0000

I spent a bit more time working on the clutch and its control mechanism, I’ve made a rough plan of how I hope it will work and built a prototype with shaft, pulley, and homemade bearing. (more)

Update: Pulley Making Part 2 – Cutting/Turning

pyrocam — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 02:12:44 +0000

As per Part 1. I now have a working drill and hole saw that runs of an old computer power supply. I can turn wood with the same drill by mounting it in a vice and bolting the wood into the chuck. I cut and turned some pulleys but they are a bit wonky. (more)

Update: Pulley Making – Equipment

pyrocam — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 02:08:25 +0000

I decided the cheapest option (since all my projects try to be as low cost as possible) for me is to try manufacture my own pulley’s from wood. I needed to build/modify some tools to do this. (more)