Ian Smith

DIY Makita 12V Workshop Speaker

2025-01-18T00:00:00+00:00

DIY Makita 12V Workshop Speaker

I often have music or podcasts playing while I work in my shop. Originally I ordered a small Bluetooth speaker on Amazon but the first one I received arrived broken crackling every few minutes. After returning that, which was already one of the better reviewed models on Amazon I started to wonder if I could make something myself. This lead me to discover there are mini 50W bluetooth amps for which I could add to my own speakers.

Now you could just use the included power supply and hook up a couple of speakers and you’d be all set. My shop is severely short on outlets though so I try and keep things battery powered when possible. Looking at the power supply I noticed its output matched the Makita 12V batteries I already had in the shop. After some more research I found an adapter to get DC output from the batteries and hooked that up with a barrel connector.

With the bluetooth amp all setup and running on Makita batteries I ordered a couple of basic speakers and built a plywood box. I also opted to add a French cleat to the back of the box so I can hang the speaker on my tool wall. To add the volume control to the front I drilled a hole then used double sided tape to mount the bluetooth amp directly behind it. I then glued on a block of wood and a wooden disc to the volume control.

Overall this project turned out a lot better than I expected. The sound quality isn’t anything special (you could definitely find better speakers) but it’s plenty loud and the battery seems to last a long time.

Materials

I used ¾" plywood as that's what I had on hand in the shop, but you could use anything you'd like to build the box. Amazon links are affiliate links. If you purchase through them, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

¾" plywood
Bluetooth Amp (Amazon)
12V Battery (Amazon)
12V Battery DC Adapter (Amazon)
Speakers (Amazon)

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Dewalt Mobile Table Saw Stand

2023-03-30T00:00:00+00:00

Dewalt Mobile Table Saw Stand

I’ve been setting up a small garage workshop and one of the first things I built is a compact mobile table saw stand. After posting it on social media I’ve had a few requests for the plans. I mostly made it up as I went so I don’t have detailed plans but I’ll do my best to provide a bit more information for anyone looking to build there own.

It’s worth noting that these dimensions are for the smaller Dewalt 8¼" table saw (model DWE7485) and not the full-size 10" model. I’m sure the dimensions can be adapted to any portable table saw but make sure you double check your saw will fit and adapt the height as needed.

Materials

I used quarter sheets of ¾" plywood for the build as they were easier to transport to the shop in the car. This means most of the dimensions are based on a 24" width. Amazon links are affiliate links. If you purchase through them, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

1 Full sheet ¾" plywood
1 Quarter sheet ½" plywood
4 Heavy duty casters (Amazon)
22" Drawer slides
20" Heavy duty folding shelf brackets (Amazon)
Drawer handle

Dimensions

These are what I used but you may want to adjust the height depending on which casters you use and if you are trying to match the height of any other work surfaces. The drawer dimensions might also need adjusted based on your drawer slides.

Cabinet

Top, bottom, and outfeed table: 24" x 24"
Back panel: 30 ¾" x 24"
Sides 17" x 24"
Shelf: 22 ½" x 24"

Drawer

Sides: 22" x 6"
Front and back: 5" x 20 ⅛"
Drawer face: 6 ¾" x 22 ⅜"
Drawer bottom: 22" x 20¾" (½" Plywood)

Assembly

The cabinet is mostly just assebled with glue and countersunk screws. The shelf in the middle and the drawer use dowels but you could also screw these together. Pocket holes would be another easy way to attach everything if you have a pocket hole jig.

Drawer assembly:

See it in action here (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vnF_DgqMJoo):

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Ikea Shelf Monitor Stand

2020-12-02T00:00:00+00:00

Ikea Shelf Monitor Stand

While this is one of the simplest things I’ve made it’s also one of my favourites. All you need is a shelf or any other board cut to the correct size and access to a 3D printer. There are online services you can order 3D printed objects from if you don’t have access to a printer yourself. The advantage to using the Ikea shelf as I did is that it comes the perfect size and is already finished. Living in the city with easier access to Ikea than a workshop this is very convenient. If you do have a shop you could make the top out of anything you like.

Here’s the self I ordered from ikea: Ikea SVALNÄS Shelf. While waiting for it to ship I modeled some feet in Fusion360. My main requirements were that the stand has to hold my 27 inch monitor and it has to fit my midi keyboard underneath. I’ve uploaded the models for the feet on Printables.

Once you have the feet printed and have the top all you’ll need is a drill and some screws. Set each foot in place and mark the holes. Then carefully pre-drill about halfway through the shelf. The Ikea shelf is particularly soft, it may even be somewhat hollow. You’ll want to make sure you don’t accidentally drill all the way through. I wrapped some painters tape around the drill bit to mark the depth. Once you have the holes drilled screw the feet into place and tighten by hand. The screws are only there to hold the feet in place and don’t actually take any weight so no need to over tighten them.

Materials

Ikea SVALNÄS Shelf
PLA Filament
4 x No. 10 Flat Head Screws

Files

Monitor Stand Foot 3D Model

If you found this post useful consider buying me a coffee:

Experimenting With Low Cost 3D Printing
Custom 3D Printed MIDI Controller Knobs

One Year Of Learning Music Production

2020-11-01T00:00:00+00:00

One Year Of Learning Music Production

Over the last year I’ve been learning about music production. I have a bit of experience from some DJ work years ago. That was mostly editing and mixing music rather than creating new songs though. One year ago I downloaded Ableton and decided to put some time into learning to make my own music. While I haven’t made it as far as I would have liked I still learned a ton over the last year. A song I made recently is at the bottom of this post if you’d like to hear what the end result was.

Learning music production has breakthroughs of excitement along with long stretches hopelessness. You’ll be stuck for ages but then discover a new technique or sound and that knowledge keeps you motivated. Consistently making things, no matter how small the progress, seems to be key to improving. I was very fortunate to have a good friend also making music. He setup a studio in his spare bedroom and we tried to meetup for an evening every week to work on music. While 2020 threw a wrench in collaboration, the studio sessions last fall and winter helped me create a routine around making music. I would highly recommend trying to find somebody to learn alongside. You’ll be more motivated if you have someone to show your work to. It also forces you to spend more time to keep up to each other as you each learn new techniques.

At the very start of the year I was using stock Ableton sounds and creating very basic beats. I found it exciting early on to be able to create anything. Even if it wasn’t anything considered good by anyone else. After a while though it starts to get frustrating when you realize the limits of what you’re making. I started to recognize the short loops I was making were a long way from a complete song.

The first breakthrough came when introducing more samples. Splice is a great resource for this and the most commonly used. At the start I hesitated to use samples. Is it your song if you’re taking a sample from someone else? Soon, after many tutorials it became clear sampling is a core component of making music. As a beginner it was also a huge jump in the quality of music I was making. I could take a drum loop and combine it with a piano sample by someone far more talented than myself and make a song. Samples allowed me to spend time learning arrangement and how sounds work together.

It was crucial too lean on samples to continue making progress. At a certain point though you will likely realize you can’t always find the sample you need. A sample may work for a small section of a song but the rest of the song may need something more unique. For me this point seemed like a pretty huge step backwards in progress. I’d become accustomed to what I could make with samples. Writing my own melodies was a challenge and they sounded nowhere near as good as the samples I had been using. This is where things transitioned from learning the tools to actually learning music. I don’t think music theory an essential starting piece but there comes a time when you’ll need to learn some of it. To be clear I still have a very long ways to go on this aspect but I’ve started to pick up some of the fundamentals.

Once I had enough knowledge to put together a song things bounced back a bit more to the production side. While your early work might sound okay it doesn’t sound like a finished piece of music you’d hear on the radio. This has a lot to do with how the sounds are actually processed. The initial recording may be the sound of an instrument but the finished product has layers of effects and compression on top of it. There’s a ton of great tutorials on this usually categorized as mixing and mastering. I found a lot of trial and error following various tutorials useful here. Every now and then you’ll come across a technique that makes you realize how a piece of music you know is made. Each new technique brings you closer to the sounds you’re used to hearing.

It’s been fun experience learning and I would recommend it. Be patient if you aren’t making music that sounds as good as you’d like it too. I’ve learned a lot but my biggest weak spots are in music theory and playing actual instruments. I’ve been playing a bit of guitar and I think becoming better at that will be a huge step towards writing better songs.

A couple months ago my friend Zach, the one with the studio, let me remix a song from his first EP. I wanted to try putting together everything I’ve learned to see what a years worth of work had resulted in. For the remix I kept the vocal and the basic structure of the song. The beat, instruments and all the mixing and mastering are by me. It used one sample (the bass line) as I loved how it worked with the rest of the song. Here’s the final result:

Ian Smith · Let It Go Remix

Re-wiring Monoprice Select Mini V2 Heat Bed

2020-10-25T00:00:00+00:00

Re-wiring Monoprice Select Mini V2 Heat Bed

While the Monoprice Select Mini is a great low cost way to get into 3D printing it definitely has its flaws. The most common flaw seems to be an issue with how the heat bed is wired. The wires run up inside the printer and are tightly zip tied underneath the heat bed. The heat bed moves back and forth so after a while the wires will start to fray here. You’ll start to notice inconsistent bed temperatures or incorrect readings for the temperature if these wires break.

I’d actually run into this problem a while ago and opted for a quick fix. I cut off the zip tie that was holding the wires so tight. Then I cut out the frayed section of wire and soldered it back together adding heat shrink for some extra protection. It worked for a bit but soon I ran into the exact same problem again. This time the wire frayed at the end of the heat shrink I’d added.

Not wanting to deal with the problem over and over again I went for what is hopefully a more permanent fix. There’s really no good way to run the wiring through the printer without putting strains on it. A fairly common fix seems to be to run the wires outside of the printer instead.

To do this you’ll need to start by unscrewing the heat bed of the printer. You will also need to unscrew the side panel for access to the wiring. You can cut any wires you’re replacing. Make sure to mark each one so you know where they connect. If any wires aren’t damaged you can just unplug them from the board.

The wires face inwards as they are meant to run into the middle of the printer. Since they will now be going out the back remove the old wires. Replace them with new wires matching the gauge written on them. Attach the new wires and re-solder any you are keeping facing the opposite direction. Once all the wires are soldered on cover the connections with kapton tape.

Next you will need to drill a small hole in the back of the printer. You may need a slightly larger one if you intend to keep any of the old wires and need to run the plug through the hole. I ended up replacing all the wires, running them through the hole, then reconnecting them to the plugs.

A word of warning here, there is a risk of metal shavings damaging the electronics inside your printer. I placed a folder piece of painters tape inside with the sticky side towards where I was drilling to catch any shavings. By drilling slowly the shavings fell to the outide and I didn't have any issues but you should be aware of the risk.

I also added some braided sleeving and heat shrink to protect the wires as they are now exposed. Once this is on reconnect everything and screw the heat bed back in place. Turn on the printer and run a pre-heat to test everything works.

I’m really happy with how this turned out. The bed is back to heating up normally and the wires barely move in the new configuration. I think the printer should last a lot longer with this setup.

If you found this post useful consider buying me a coffee:

Experimenting With Low Cost 3D Printing
Custom 3D Printed MIDI Controller Knobs

Making Planters Out Of 3D Printed Molds

2020-08-30T00:00:00+00:00

Making Planters Out Of 3D Printed Molds

One of the more practical uses for 3D printing is to create molds to cast items out of different materials. You can print out a plastic object but sometimes it's preferable to have the final object be a nicer material. I’ve been experimenting with casting some planters out of plaster and concrete.

Traditionally to make a mold you create a prototype of the final object and then use silicone to make a mold of it. 3D printing now allows you to print the mold without making an original copy of the object.

I decided to try printing two different molds I found designs for online. One by Alexandre Chappel and another by Espartaco Degano. The prints took over 20 hours to complete but they can be used many times. You could get this time down a bit by printing with a lower resolution. I printed mine in fairly high quality so the final objects would come out as smooth as possible. Sanding the plastic (PLA) molds is very difficult so you're better of sanding the planter itself.

Once the first molds were ready I decided to try casting the first few planters out of plaster. It seemed a bit easier to use, sets faster and would be less likely to damage the molds. My first attempts had some mixed results. The larger mold worked well but there were quite a few bubbles. The smaller mold leaked a bunch and didn’t work well at first. For the second attempt I decided to cover all the seams with hot glue. This turned out to be ideal and kept the mold sealed but was easy to peal off at the end. Mixing the plaster a bit thinner also allowed it to pour better. Tapping the sides of the mold after pouring helps get rid of the bubbles. To make the planters a bit more unique you can mix acrylic paints into the plaster.

After making a bunch of plaster planters I gave concrete a try. It’s worth noting you don’t actually want concrete but instead a cement mix. This is because concrete mixes contain aggregate (rocks) that get in the way for small molds. I bought fast setting concrete hoping the aggregate would be small enough to not cause any problems. Mixing the concrete by hand and filling the molds was very difficult. Not wanting to waste the bag of concrete though I went back to my 3D printer for a solution.

I modeled quick screen in Fusion and printed it. This allowed me to scoop the concrete and pour it through the screen to filter out all the larger rocks. Without the aggregate the fast setting concrete worked really well. It’s much easier to mix and pours well into the molds.

The last thing I wanted to try was to compare these 3D printed molds to some silicone molds. I picked up a basic set of silicone molds from Amazon and gave them a try. It turns out these work a lot better. If you’re just looking for a quick way to make some planters this is without a doubt the best way to go. They’re much easier to clean and they leave the piece with incredibly smooth sides.

Although the silicone molds are better in a lot of ways I still think 3D printed molds are worth making. It’s a fun project and it’s a great way to experiment with different materials.

If you found this post useful consider buying me a coffee:

Experimenting With Low Cost 3D Printing
Custom 3D Printed MIDI Controller Knobs

Custom 3D Printed MIDI Controller Knobs

2020-06-14T00:00:00+00:00

Custom 3D Printed MIDI Controller Knobs

I’ve been experimenting with building my own MIDI controller. A MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) controller is a piece of hardware that allows you to control software instruments. My first prototype uses two potentiometers connected to an Arduino Leonardo. To give the prototype a bit more of a realistic feel I decided to make some knobs for the potentiometers.

You can buy knobs or download 3D models but I thought this would be a fun opportunity to practice 3D modelling. I’ve been using Fusion360 and it’s always exciting to start a design from scratch and end up with a physical object.

I’m still new to making models so I kept it simple. The knob starts as a cylinder and then you add a hole to fit the shaft of the potentiometer. You could stop at that but I wanted a little more detail. I also rounded the top edge and made a slot in the top so you’ll be able to see the knobs position.

After designing the file I exported it too Cura to prepare it for printing. Cura is a piece of software that maps out the printing path and adjusts all the 3D printer settings. I have my printer, a Monoprice Select Mini, loaded in Cura and I stick to the default print settings for the most part. From Cura you end up with a .gcode file that you can load onto your printer.

3D printing can take a long time especially on a small and cheap printer. Big objects can take hours. Luckily these knobs are small so they are a nice quick print at about 15 minutes each.

Once the knobs printed I taped them up to prepare them for painting. You could do this faster with a brush or a white marker but I only had spray paint at home. With tape covering everything except the slot on top I gave them a quick spray and let them dry. It worked well but a bit of paint did leak under the tape and need sanded off. Sanding is a good idea anyway though as the surface won’t be completely smooth from the print.

The knobs pressure fit over the shaft of the potentiometers and I was happy with how well that worked. They feel professional and have been great for testing my MIDI controller with. While these are great for their purpose if I end up making more there are a couple things I would improve. The side are a bit slippery so some slots or texture on the outside would help with that. They also sit a little high on the potentiometers. It might be worth making the hole deeper and wider at the bottom to fit over the base of the potentiometer.

I’ve uploaded the 3D model so feel free to print your own knobs or modify them however you’d like.

Get the 3D model here: Thingiverse

Updated model: Printables

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Making Planters Out of 3D Printed Molds
IKEA Shelf Monitor Stand

Experimenting With Low Cost 3D Printing

2018-12-23T00:00:00+00:00

Experimenting With Low Cost 3D Printing

As I've been learning electronics and robotics I started to see some use cases for 3D printing parts. Watching some other makers such as James Bruton push the limits of 3D printing inspired me to give it a try. James is currently building a walking dog (think Boston Dynamics) out of 3D printed parts. Knowing starting out could be expensive I kept an eye out for sales. Last month I checked Monoprice for any black Friday deals. There I discovered the Monoprice Select Mini V2 (Refurbished) for $99. It's a small 3D printer but the reviews seemed generally positive. Unable to resist the ability to 3D print for under $100 I bought it.

Testing The 3D Printer

The printer arrived two weeks earlier than estimated which was an excellent surprise. It came with a test print on the print bed. I'm not sure if this is standard for Monoprice or if it was part of their testing for refurbished models. Either way it was nice to see it everything was working when they shipped it. Setup was simple and involved only a quick calibration to ensure the print bed was level. The printer came with a micro SD card which when inserted had one file cat.gcode. After putting in the sample of filament the printer comes with I selected cat.gcode and hit print. I didn't know what to expect but as you can see below it successfully printed a cat!

Downloading 3D Models And Printing

One of my first 3D printing experiences was working in a co-working space alongside a 3D printing company, Print to Peer. At the time they'd printed me a model of a fish with articulated joints. The concept of printing hinges in one piece was amazing to me. When browsing Thingiverse for a 3D model to try printing I came across a design for a flexible dinosaur. This reminded me of the fish model so I had to give printing hinges a try myself. Ready to start I ordered some filament on Amazon. Monoprice also has filament but their shipping rates aren't great for Canadians.

Printing only took a few steps. I downloaded the 3D model from Thingiverse, opened it in Cura and exported a .gcode file. Thingiverse is a website where you can browse and download 3D models. It has a great variety from practical parts to artwork and toys. Cura is an application that takes your model and prepares it for printing. This is also where you can adjust all the settings for the quality of the print. While I'm sure there is a lot you can do with Cura at this stage I only uploaded my file and used the default settings.

The only stumbling block I came across was the micro SD card that came with the printer. It wasn't working with my SD card reader. When I looked into this I discovered that strangely the printer only supports micro SD cards. Most modern SD cards are actually SDHC which doesn't seem to be compatible. I wasn't able to find another micro SD so I tried another card reader which ended up working. With the new file loaded I hit print and ended up with this:

The printer does have USB capabilities so at some point I will likely hook it up to a Raspberry Pi. This should bypass any potential issues with micro SD cards. It looks like software such as Octoprint also allows you to control prints from your phone or laptop. You can also connect a webcam to monitor your printer. There are a lot of people modifying and upgrading the Select Mini V2 as well. I've found lot's of videos, advice and parts on YouTube, Reddit and Thingiverse.

Results After The First Few Tests

There are still lots of things to test but so far I'm incredibly happy with how well this 3D printer works. The quality seems equivalent to many $500-$1000 printers I've seen over the past few years. As long as you aren't looking to print anything large it's a great place to start. For me the next steps will be to dive into some 3D modelling software so I can design my own parts.

Here's a list of what I used to get started:

Monoprice Select Mini V2 (This one is new but keep an eye out for refurbished)
1.75mm PLA 3D Printer Filament
Thingiverse 3D Model
Cura

If you have any comments or questions reach out on twitter!

– @iansmithbuilds

How To Build Your First Robot

2018-05-21T00:00:00+00:00

How To Build Your First Robot

I've always wanted to build my own robot but I was never quite sure where to start or what to build. At work I write web applications but I don't have much experience with hardware. Last fall I finally made the decision to tackle my first robot. It turns out much like building web apps (and most other things) by breaking up the problems into small pieces and putting in the time you can accomplish a lot. Here's a look at how I got started and hopefully how you can too!

Choose A Project That Excites You

Finding a project that excites you is key to tackling any problem that seems out of reach. When you're working on something you care about you'll be much more motivated to work through the issues. For me choosing a project started by finding this video.

Most of my prior research lead to creative and unique robots that seemed very complex or simple robots that weren't exciting. The Pixy Pet robot seemed reasonably simple to build but also retained a cute, functional, and animated look.

Find A Guide Or Someone Who Has Already Built It

After deciding this was the robot I wanted to build I set out to figure out how to do it. Luckily Adafruit already had an excellent guide on how to build this robot. I went ahead and ordered the parts and started reading up on the build process. For anyone already involved in robotics I'm sure this build will seem incredibly simple but looking at it without any knowledge of robotics or arduino was quite daunting.

Order And Assemble The Hardware

The build itself actually went quite fast. This was largely due to ordering the assembled track base as I was unsure of the complexity of the project. At the time I thought would be more comfortable solving software issues than hardware. While I think that was the right choice for my first robot I wouldn't go with the pre-assembled base again. It turns out I really enjoyed the hardware assembly for the parts I did have to do! The most complicated part was soldering the Seeduino board to the base of the robot. Thanks to a previous summer job I have some experience soldering but I don't think it was necessary. Somebody without any experience could do it after watching a YouTube video or two on soldering.

Load Or Program The Software

The programming turned out to be the most complex part of the process. The guide does include all the basic code you need. You won't need to write anything on motion tracking from scratch! That said I ran into a couple small issues due to my lack of Arduino knowledge. The guide was written using the Arduino Leonardo board which has been discontinued. As per their suggestion I used the Seeduino board which is compatible with the build. What I didn't realize is that you have to separately download the Seeduino board code into Arduino Studio and select the correct board before starting.

Overall the build wasn't nearly as complex as I had initially assumed. It took some time to figure out but working through step by step I was surprised how fast everything came together. I'm really happy with how the robot turned out and am looking forward to customizing it now that I have it running. The main takeaway for me has been that robotics aren't nearly as unapproachable as they often seem. I highly encourage anyone who is interested to give it a try!

Final Results

If you found this post useful consider buying me a coffee:

Ian Smith

DIY Makita 12V Workshop Speaker

DIY Makita 12V Workshop Speaker

Materials

Other Posts

Dewalt Mobile Table Saw Stand

Dewalt Mobile Table Saw Stand

Materials

Dimensions

Cabinet

Drawer

Assembly

Other Posts

Ikea Shelf Monitor Stand

Ikea Shelf Monitor Stand

Materials

Files

Related Posts

One Year Of Learning Music Production

One Year Of Learning Music Production

Re-wiring Monoprice Select Mini V2 Heat Bed

Re-wiring Monoprice Select Mini V2 Heat Bed

Related Posts

Making Planters Out Of 3D Printed Molds

Making Planters Out Of 3D Printed Molds

Related Posts

Custom 3D Printed MIDI Controller Knobs

Custom 3D Printed MIDI Controller Knobs

Related Posts

Experimenting With Low Cost 3D Printing

Experimenting With Low Cost 3D Printing

Testing The 3D Printer

Downloading 3D Models And Printing

Results After The First Few Tests

Here's a list of what I used to get started:

How To Build Your First Robot

How To Build Your First Robot

Choose A Project That Excites You

Find A Guide Or Someone Who Has Already Built It

Order And Assemble The Hardware

Load Or Program The Software

Final Results