Wulf's Webden

The Webden on WordPress

1 April 2025
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April Fools?

I’ve seen a few items on news and social media sites today that are clearly April Fools releases, such as the church which announced it had got permission for a new indoor baptistry with water slide… but I think I’ve seen a lot fewer than I might have expected a decade ago. I wonder why that is? Perhaps the world is so crazy that people don’t feel inclined to add to that. Perhaps there is a growing realisation that what is posted as a prank may not be seen on the morning of April 1st given the global and time displaced nature of the internet? Perhaps there is as much out there as ever but the algorithms that put things in front of my eyes have decided to downplay it?

Perhaps someone will investigate and publish an article or write a book on what they find. Meanwhile, I’m very happy that the day has passed around me largely unmarked. I enjoy many traditions but this is one I would be quite happy to see fade away.

31 March 2025
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Clock Change

The annual ‘spring forward’ clock change gets easier to remember each year, as more and more gadgets automatically update. I’m not sure the same could be said about adjusting to the change through. Time to get bed work on the process of adapting to living in British Summer Time!

30 March 2025
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Waxing Crescent

The moon caught my eye tonight as I drove home from a band rehearsal. Today is the first day after the new moon and the tiny crescent around the lower edge didn’t entirely hide the fine halo around the rest. It looked almost like some kind of eclipse event… or one of the iconic views of the Star Wars Death Star!

It was too hard to photograph though. I tried on my iPad, having walked some distance down the street to catch it between a couple of houses, but the street lights were too bright and the moon was too small. Never mind. At least I saw it and enjoyed it for the moment.

29 March 2025
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Sanding Xtraction

Two or three years ago, I came across an advance in sanding disc technology from 3M. Several of the woodworking channels that came up in my feed demonstrated how the combination of net-based backing and precision engineering on the cutting surfaces gave better sanding, better dust extraction and greater longevity. Jane had started sanding down an old wooden box we have which needs a lot of work so I ordered a set of Xtract discs yesterday, which arrived this lunchtime.

The first thing I noticed was a label on the back saying they were only for commercial or professional use and not for the domestic market. That doesn’t make any sense as, if anything, these are a safer product (lower dust, remember). Maybe it helps justify the higher sticker price? It certainly doesn’t seem to be strongly policed by 3M, who run a large online store via the Amazon site. I also noticed that I should have brought the 5″ discs … except those cost over 15x as much as the 6″ discs for the same quantity, which makes even less sense.

However, while some things about the purchase confuse me, the 80 grit disc I tried today has worked very well. It isn’t entirely magical and doesn’t cut as aggressively as I expected but it does cut well. Having a net backing means the fact was a bit too large for my orbital sander wasn’t an issue and it has done an excellent job of avoiding excessive dust (shop vac attached to the sander) and clogging up. I reckon I would have burned through several of cheaper disks in my sanding session and the one I used looks like it will keep going for quite some time.

All in all, it seems a worthwhile purchase, even if some of the details were odd.

28 March 2025
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Woolly Design

Toilet Roll Sheep

I know it will make some say “baa humbug” but I was rather amused by this toilet roll holder idea I saw recently. Tonight I looked into it more and most of the designs were simply a curved tray with a head part stuck into the end of the roll. This one, posted by designer Pan Nieznany on MakerWorld.com, actually has a spindle that runs through the middle of the roll and is more like the design I had started sketching out myself.

I did find that the feet needed to be glued on and the spindle is quite tight in the present batch of toilet rolls we have, so I may well end up redesigning myself from scratch. However, I do like the idea that the white of the roll not only represents the wool but also provides the background for the eyes.

26 March 2025
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A bit of string…

I’ve been playing with the music team at Hathern Baptist Church for a few weeks now and, although they have plenty of channels going into the desk, they are a bit short on mic stands. Not a problem – not only do I have a mic of my own but I also have a stand. However, while the mic is one of Shure’s workhorses, the stand is a cheapish one from Stagg and the boom arm attachment has lost its ability to hold in position when a mic is attached.

I’ve taken it apart and turned the rubber pads the other way round. They were quite worn on the side that engaged with the patterns in the metal connector… but that didn’t solve it. I’ve tried adding some leather disks (an old studio trick suggested online) but they aren’t thick enough on their own but too thick to use alongside the rubber pads. As you might expect, I’ve also tried a 3d printed solution but I didn’t get the print orientation right and the part broke while trying to attach it (and almost certainly wouldn’t have worked even without that.

This morning I was contemplating another 3d printed approach but I couldn’t find the metal strips I thought I had in the shed which would have added some critical strength as connectors. However, I then had the bright of idea of using a bit of string or, more precisely, black paracord. I’ve tied it between the base of the clutch (height control) and the back of the the boom connector. That way, as the weight of the mic tries to rotate the front end down, the back end is reinforced by the connection to the central pole. I’ll have to see if my clove hitch knots are sufficient and if the paracord can hold the strain over an extended period but testing so far, including tonight’s rehearsal, seems positive.

Not only is it simple and easy but it also barely adds any weight or visual clutter to the set up. Probably a win, with just a bit of string.

24 March 2025
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Looking Down on the Back Garden – March 2025

Looking Down on the Back Garden - March 2025
Back Garden – March 2025

This is the back garden, taken yesterday morning. Jane has been doing some work on the bed by the polytunnel, making it narrower but deeper. Looking out from the dining room, it is amazing how much a small change increases the perceived width of the garden.

I’ve also looked back at photos from previous years. March is a month where I remembered to take pictures in 2024, 2023, 2022 and 2021. If that shows anything, it is how much things vary from year to year. For example, look at the Photinia (Red Robin) on the left. This year there is a lovely display of red and green, even though we cut it back quite hard last year. However, the red was much stronger in 2024 and 2022. I will have to wait to next year to find out if that runs on a two year cycle.

23 March 2025
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Damper Capo

Over the last week, I’ve been trying to design something to run off on my 3D printer that will help dampen the vibration of the strings on my wall of guitars. I have been using bits of foam under the strings but they don’t hold up very well to being put on and off the instruments and I’ve reached the point where replacements are needed. That has led to this:

Damper Capo

I’d tried a block to fit under the strings but it functioned more like a new nut because the hard plastic just changed the point the strings resonated from. Partway through the week I watched a video of 3D printed guitar accessories which had nothing in the way of string dampening devices but it did feature a printed capo that didn’t work very well. The plastic hinge wasn’t enough to properly hold down the strings on the opposite side of the neck. However, what if it wasn’t a capo to clamp the strings down but a customised clip to hold a piece of material?

Damper Capo in Use

That is what my new design does. I can enter parameters like the neck width and radius and create custom ones for each instrument. The material I’ve used here is a bit of old T shirt, which can also be used to wipe the strings down after playing. As well as the clip to hold the material against the neck, there is a second, smaller clip which is enough to hold the folded material onto the “capo”.

I’ve just done one electroacoustic bass so far but I’ve got another several more instruments to attend to so I expect to be doing some measuring and printing over the next couple of weeks to equip them all.

22 March 2025
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Saturday Sing Around – 22 March 2025

I decided to travel light and took my ukulele and banjo along to this afternoon’s session. Two instruments but still lighter than either electric or upright bass!

My first offering was a medley of Ain’t She Sweet, Five Foot Two and Yes Sir, That’s My Baby. All three work well on ukulele and I wanted to get them in early as another regular attendee sometimes pulls out one or more of them. Mind you, someone else then performed another song I had laid up – Wayfaring Stranger – so I guess that serves me right!

When it came round to me again, I’d switched to the banjo for a loosey-goosey version of Larry Norman’s Twelve Good Men. I took that down to D (I’ve normally played it in E on other instruments) and that gave me a chance for a proper road test of a small banjo 5th string capo I downloaded and printed last month. I’d posted about the idea but found someone else had already done one. The first version wasn’t perfect but they quickly responded to my comments and their revised (higher and wider) edition meant I could quickly and reliably switch the thumb string from G to A to fit the key.

My final contribution was another old favourite on the ukulele but tried out on the banjo (back to regular G tuning): Enjoy Yourself. As another 3 chord song, it is an easy one to join in with and my fellow players did so with gusto.