Author: Matthew Mucker

Workshop Construction Update

Well, the move-out date on my self storage unit is fast approaching, which has had me motivated to finish the shop.

As of tonight, all (well, almost all) of the insulation is up and the workshop is (mostly) ready for drywall. I've had a few contractors out to the house to bid on hanging the drywall. So far, none of the bids have been low enough to convince me outsource this work. (Which is rather disappointing. Cheap labor is not hard to find in the Dallas area.)

Hacker Dad and Hacker Father-in-Law have volunteered to come over on Saturday to hang drywall, provided I have everything ready to go. While I really, really don't want to do this job myself, I can be an inveterate cheapskate and the relative merits of build-vs-buy are favoring a sore body this weekend.

Here are some pics of the current state of the workshop. As always, click for a full size version.

DSC_0472
First wall, fully insulated. Framed out for an exterior door with paint on the floor to tell me where to tear out drywall in the future.

 

DSC_0473
Back wall, fully insulated. Location of studs marked in white paint on the concrete lip at the floor.

 

DSC_0474
Third wall, almost fully insulated. That cavity with the plumbing is larger than a 16 inch on center cavity. I quit to come inside and spend time with the kids.

 

Subpanel will be fed from a 90 amp breaker on the main panel. Many thanks to Hacker Brother, who helped me run that 2-2-2-4 aluminum cable through the attic.
Subpanel will be fed from a 90 amp breaker on the main panel. Many thanks to Hacker Brother, who helped me run that 2-2-2-4 aluminum cable through the attic.
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Is 24 hardwired Cat5 runs too many for a 21 x 21 foot workshop? Yeah, that might be overkill. The white cable is Cat5 to the patch panel in the house where the internet connection is. The outlet box is for a network switch and wireless access point.

 

I Have a Real Audience!

I started this blog as a personal project, mainly as a way for me to document my own projects and to motivate myself to tinker some more. I never really imagined that anyone would have the slightest interest in what I had to write.

I was a couple of days late paying the renewal registration for my domain last week, so GoDaddy 'parked' thehackerworkshop.com. I was surprised and flattered that several of you wrote to me, pleading to get the site back up.

This, more than anything, is motivation for me to get the workshop built and get back to hacking. I've still got (at least) a few weeks of construction and move-in before I can start tinkering again, but knowing that there are people out there who are reading my writing is just incredible.

Thanks for the comments. You can't imagine how much they're appreciated.

Outlook: Warn Before Sending from Wrong Account

If you use Microsoft Outlook as your e-mail program and have more than one account, than odds are roughly 100% that you have, on occasion, sent email from the wrong account. It can be embarrassing to send work email from your personal account, for example.

Here's a quick fix for that. You can create a macro that will fire before an email is sent. If the email is being sent from your personal account, you can display an "Are you sure?" popup dialog before firing off the email.

I'm using Outlook 2010; I haven't taken the time to investigate how this is done in other versions of Outlook. First, you'll need to ensure the Developer tab is displayed on the ribbon. From the File tab, click Options. Select "Customize Ribbon." In the right hand dropdown, ensure "Main Tabs" is selected, and check the "Develop" checkbox.

Click on the Developer tab of the ribbon. Click on the Visual Basic button to bring up the VBA editor. Add the following code:

[cc lang="vb"]

Private Sub Application_ItemSend(ByVal Item As Object, Cancel As Boolean)
╥╥╥╥╥
If InStr(LCase(Item.SendUsingAccount), "bademail@example.com") Then
╥╥╥╥╥╥Prompt$ = "You sending this from bademail@example.com. Are you sure you want to send it?"
╥╥╥╥╥╥╥If MsgBox(Prompt$, vbYesNo + vbQuestion + vbMsgBoxSetForeground, "Check Address") = vbNo Then
╥╥╥╥╥╥╥╥╥Cancel = True
╥╥╥╥╥╥╥End If
╥╥End If
╥╥╥╥╥
End Sub

[/cc]

That's all there is to it!

Workshop Construction Update 2

Supermodel Wife took the kids to her parent's house today, leaving me time to work undisturbed.

I finished what I feared would be the most difficult part of wiring the new workshop. I was correct: it was the most difficult part. Hacker Dad came over and fed some cable to me from the ground while I pulled from the attic, and I ran some cables through some headers in some very cramped quarters in the attic. The good news is that it's all done and it works.

I'm almost ready for my rough inspection. The only thing I have to do (and it is the only part left) is to run the feeder cables from the main breaker box to the subpanel. I'm running three runs of #3 THHN in PVC conduit, or at least that's the plan. I might have an electrician come over and help me with that. Not because the wiring itself is difficult, or even that I'm scared of a 100A circuit. I just don't know how I'm going to run the conduit with all of the obstructions I have in the way.

My body is telling me that I'm not 18 any more. I'm gonna go kick back and watch some television and unwind.

Solidoodle First Impressions

I am truly a lucky guy. For Christmas, I put a bunch of expensive stuff on my Christmas list, and Supermodel Wife pooled resources with her family to purchase a Solidoodle 3D printer for me. Even more amazingly, she convinced her parents and brother to split the cost with her, when they really didn't understand what they were buying. (Her dad later mentioned that he couldn't understand why a printer cost so much.)

Does my wife love me, or what! (This is the part where all of you guys post comments of how jealous you are of my amazing wife.)

The order was placed in late November and shipped mid January. It was shipped to her parent's house and they delivered it on Thursday. I documented the unboxing for posterity and thought I'd share it with the world. Continue reading Solidoodle First Impressions

New Solidoodle!

I took the day off work today to run wiring in the new workshop. So, of course, Murphy decided to pay me a visit by delivering my new Solidoodle 3D printer. Supermodel Wife teamed up with her parents and her brother to buy me the printer as a Christmas/birthday/anniversary/father's day/etc. gift. She ordered it in late November but the lead time for manufacturing and shipping meant that I just today got it.

So, of course, that took me out of the workshop and into the house to try it out. I'll have more to post (including lots of pics) later.

The workshop wiring is coming along. I finished wiring outlets and lights. I need to run wiring for the air conditioner, drill some holes in the brick for exterior outlets/lights, and reroute wiring for existing lights. That last one's going to be a pain in the tuckus. Lastly, I have to run feeder cables from the main panel to the subpanel.

I hope to add to my progress this weekend.

Workshop Construction Update

Sorry, folks (that is, the two of you who read my blog), it's been a while since I posted anything. Between the holidays, a family vacation, cold weather, everyone getting sick, and well.. you know the drill.

I haven't made as much progress on the workshop as I'd hoped I would by now, but progress is being made. The wall is framed, I have the subpanel mounted, and I have most of the new branch circuits wired in the workshop. I still have to wire ceiling outlets for the lights, and I have to finish up some minor odds and ends with some of the branch circuits. I then have to run conduit between the main panel and the subpanel and run the wires to supply power to the subpanel. I had hope to do that this weekend, but it turns out that we're babysitting my sister's special needs son, so time in the workshop will probably be little-to-none.

I'm looking into air conditioners and have pretty much decided on ordering a mini-split system off the Internet. There appear to be plenty of shady retailers out there willing to sell me cheap junk. And I'll probably go that direction, even though the little voice inside me is warning me not to.

After the electrical is run I'll have the rough inspection. Then I'll install the insulation and invite a handyman out to hang the drywall and tape and bed the seams. I'll look for cheap shelving and other fixtures on craigslist.

Building a Real Workshop

Despite the title of this blog, this hacker currently has no dedicated workshop space. With recent approval from the Executive Finance Committee (aka Supermodel Wife), construction on a real workshop has begun. The original owner of my house was an amateur race car driver, and when the house was built he had the builders make the two-car garage twice as deep as a normal garage. He used the back half of the garage to work on his race cars. I got building plans approved by the city to install a partition wall halfway back into this space and to turn the back half of the garage into an air-conditioned workshop. Continue reading Building a Real Workshop