Chronodex weeks 13 through 17 not as many photos as i would of liked

As much as I hate to see time pass,

i am so pleased that the past two months are over.

i can always depend on my moment of making the chronodex to be the most measurable lengths of rest in the busiest of days. 

3.22.2015 chronodex
"pop-up border chronodex"
pilot prera with calligraphy nib
esterbrook no 20 clip
staedtler 502 sharpener

3.23.2015 chronodex
"pop-up lobed chronodex"
kaweco AL sport
esterbrook no 20 clip
morning glory .38 red
maica hi-tec C red
doane pocket notebook

3.27.2015 chronodex
"partial chronodex"

3.29.2015 chronodex
"spouting chronodex"
Esterbrook with a 2556 nib
prismacolor pc916 canary

3.30 and 3.31.15 chronodex
"glasses on chronodex"
kaweko AL sport
esterbrook 20 clip
charvoz drafting pencil
doane pocket notebook

3.30 and 3.31.2015 chronodex
"glasses off chronodex"
kaweko AL sport
esterbrook 20 clip
charvoz drafting pencil
doane pocket notebook

4.3.2015 chronodex
"pop-up border chronodex"
TWSBI fountain pen
esterbrook 20 clip
doane pocket notebook
winecrate clipboard

4.6.2015 chronodex
"pop-up border chronodex"
waltham fountain pen
esterbrook 20 clip
charvoz drafting pencil

4.12.2015 chronodex
"long tailed star chronodex"
morning glory .38 red
pink radar eraser
esterbrook 20 clip
pentel graphicgear 500 pencil

4.20.2015 chronodex
"ribbon badge chronodex"
doane pocket notebook
esterbrook 20 clip
eagle turquoise drafting pencil

4.21.2015 chronodex
"heart border chronodex"
pilot 78G B
morning glory .38 red
triconderoga triangular pencil
doane pocket notebook

4.26.2015 chronodex
"3 layered chronodex"
pilot 78 G B
Eagle turquoise drafting pencil
morning glory .38 red
Campus 2B eraser
esterbrook 20 clip
doane pocket notebook

 

4.26.2015 chronodex
"Assembled 3 layered chronodex"
pilot 78 G B
Eagle turquoise drafting pencil
morning glory .38 red
Campus 2B eraser
esterbrook 20 clip
doane pocket notebook

Full Extreme Croquet set with Posts

A full set of 6 extreme croquet mallets heading off to Canada.

To hell with cookie cutter sets and tools:

There is always some variety when making each mallet. i absolutely prefer to treat each one as its own unit and although they all have the same 2x2 stripe theme, each one is slightly different in height, girth and weight. on top of that there are three hardwoods represented here in the head: bubinga, paduak and one fish scale oak head.

each striker is as unique as the player controlling them.

 with a set of mallets it is only natural to fullfill the buyers request for a set of posts that reflect their colors.

I am particularly drawn to those century past posts that are decoratively turned.

it this case i had 2 nice oak table legs that had some interesting detail. I simply rasped and sanded into final shape. painted and clear coated a finish. and finally drilled out a hole in the top to place a flag if the game director so desires.

individually wrapped and tied firmly together with some remnants from a quilt a family member made for me. after this photo i attached the walls and the top of the crate, packed in more bubble wrap and then fit into a large box.

there is a reward in finishing any project

but

i must admit a full set is something special!

non-newtonian jig

Working on my dance moves:

The youngest son had a "science" themed gift that i may sort of took over.

Wine cork pen rest

This is as simple as it gets 

but 

DAMN if it isn't a well functioning solution.

i keep a LARGE bag of wine corks next to a 36" bench top grinder. every now and then i just pull one out and make a cork pen rest. the entire process takes a few minutes and the final result ends up being more refined then one might think. I appreciate many aesthetics but when it come to a pen rest i personally prefer a bit more of a clean look. after all in a way it is acting as a pedestal for a fine writing instrument.

the process is 4 simple steps:

1.   i flatten the bottom of the cork. i remove as much cork as i want the overall height of the final rest.

2.  i square up the sides. this removes the chewed up marks from the corkscrew and can remove wine stains if desired.

3.  with a dremel rotary tool and a small sanding drum i gouge out a notch for the rest. i do try to keep the marks i make crisp. because a cork is so curved i like the contrasting hard edges.

4.  i give it a quick spray of helmsmen spray. i like the clear coat slightly wet look. cork is so textured and this treatment makes variance more dramatic. 

different style of corks work equally well. for the more sparkling type corks i do not worry about squaring off the top and sometimes i don't square of either side.

Chronodex week 9,10 and 11 not always time for a photo

Taking that final photo of an image is my way of punctuating the chronodex making process.

however

as the past few weeks have shown that can not always be done.

upon review of this post i sort of feel as if i have failed at this endeavor. only 8 images to show for 19 working days. although photos do not take long to produce they are still an additional element that can consume just enough time during those periods when time is too precious. 

chronodex 2.23.2015
"star dangling chronodex"
doane pocket notebook
nock co dot dash index cards
twsbi mini
esterbrook no 20 clip
esterbrook cord clip
stainless steel sharpie

chronodex 2.26.2015
"three border fold chronodex"
doane pocket notebook
nock co dot dash index cards
esterbrook lj 

chronodex 2.27.2015
"magnified chronodex"
waltham fountain pen
morning glory red
doane pocket notebook
esterbrook clip

chrono 3.1.2015
"windowed border chronodex"
doane pocket notebook
esterbrook no 20 clip
sharpie stainless steel
esterbrook lj
eagle turquoise drafting pencil

chronodex 3.3.2015
"point of the page chronodex"
doane pocket notebook
nock co dot dash index card
chavoz drafting pencil
twsbi mini
esterbrook no 20 clip
wine crate clipboard

chronodex 3.6.2015
"highlighted stripes chronodex"
doane pocket notebook
morning glory red

chronodex 3.12 and 3.13.2015
"simple chronodex"
kaweko skyline
eagle turquoise drafting pencil
esterbrook no 20 clip
doane pocket notebook

chronodex 3.15.2015
"fenix lit chronodex"
fenix
hl human pelican clip
doane pocket notebook
nock co dot dash index card
kaweco al fountain pen
chavoz drafting pencil
esterbrook no 20 clip

in fact, i am quite sure that there is a direct relationship with how many photos of chronodex i have and the ridiculous demands of my job at times. 

Polyolefin heat shrink tubing to cover a cracked Pilot Prera demonstrator fountain pen.

A cracked Pilot Prera fountain pen cap on an older, WELL used, writer is not much of a surprise. 

as much as i really like this pen, the fact is that it is one of my knock around work pens. 

this utilitarian prera is only going to get a real utilitarian fix.

before i go into the fix i had better briefly describe the damage: 

after a short drop, the crack started at the base's metal ring and reached out about 1/2 an inch. for such a little cap that really is a damaging blow. fortunately, the metal ring was holding well so i really just needed to stop the crack from spreading at the end and reinforce middle. 

NOTE: this repair is not for quality pens. when ink gets into the cap it can stain the glue.

i applied super glue through the caps interior into the crack. i did not wipe away the excess and positioned the inner sleeve over it. i was counting on adhering the sleeve to really help reinforce the crack (being a work pen i was counting on it falling on cement again). in about 2 minutes the repair was done. if this was a nicer pen i would have taken the time to completely dismantle, apply a proper epoxy to the crack and then buff out before reassembly.

but

it is not, so to cover the still visual crack in this demonstrator i cut some 1/2" polyolefin heat shrink tubbing to length. 1/2" is almost a perfect fit so it slid over fairly snuggly. just needed a bit of heat to tightly form around the slight taper.

this tight skin lasted for about a month before the polyolefin loosened up just a bit from the constant clipping in and out of a pocket. to fix this i simply applied a drop of super glue under the tubing before heating. since then it has stayed firm for months now. this tubing is also very durable and aesthetically blends in very well to the smoke accents on the pen. 

a drop of super glue under the polyolefin heat shrink tubing will keep it from  moving on the pen.

Chronodex week 7 and 8 - dimensional chronodex

The chronodex can take from 10 minutes to more depending on how much time i need to plan or reflect on my thoughts. i can say that the more time i am willing to spend at the chronodex stage the better the execution of the project (or the more clear my thoughts are). 

i have become very fond of using the more dimensional chronodex to extend my thinking time. a rewarding product of this preference comes a pocket notebook that is looking more and more like a pop-up book. i have always been a big fan of the pop-up book.

2.15.2015 chronodex
"choppy seas chronodex"
TWSBI mini with a 1.1 stub
esterbrook clip #20
pilot hi-tecpoint .7 green
battleship
doane pocket notebook
nock co dot dash index cards

2.17.2015 chronodex
"pop-up chronodex"
TWSBI mini
morning glory mach 3 .38
ticonderoga red checking pencil
hunt clip
doane pocket notebook
nock co dot dash index card

detail of the 2.17.2015 dimensional chronodex

 here are the three easy components to the pop-up chronodex.

this takes a bit more time so is reserved for those occasions when i need more time to think.

2.17.2015 chronodex pre-assembly

 there are times when i finish and think to myself, "what the hell".

i left my color senses when i made this VERY late night organizational tool.

2.18.2015 chronodex
"colors chronodex"
doane pocket notebook
nock co dot dash index card

 Keeping the springy pocket notebook under control with the amazing Inspector 2.0 made by Recycled Firefighter.

2.20.2015 chronodex
"Inspector 2.0 chronodex"
doane pocket notebook
nock co dot dash index card
TWSBI mini
fisher space pen
morning glory mach 3
esterbrook clip number 20
recycled firefighter's Inspector 2.0

2.22.2015 chronodex
doane pocket notebook
nock co dot dash index cards
esterbrook clip no 20
grid ruler
sharpie stainless steel