Dynamic Subspace

Tag: Making

  • LEGO Technics Laptop Stand for 16″ Lenovo Thinkpad P1 Gen4

    open laptop raised on a stand sitting on a white desk

    I’ve been using my Lenovo Thinkpad P1 Gen4 laptop as a desktop replacement system lately, so I wanted to raise its screen higher to avoid slouching and subsequent neck and shoulder pain. While there are lots of solutions to buy, I opted to use the LEGO Technics that I had on hand to build a stand. My goals for the project were facilitating maximum air flow and reliably holding a 4 lb. 5 oz. laptop.

    I started by disassembling the folding stand that I had built in 2024, but I noted how I sandwiched a Technic beam between two Technic bricks. The beam’s lower dimension provided a smooth shelf for the laptop’s feet to rest on and the studs on the bricks kept the laptop from sliding off the beam toward the front or rear. I planned to replicate this design in the new laptop stand.

    Another important element of the design was an open space beneath the laptop for maximum air flow (this laptop has an NVIDIA RTX A5000 16GB video card that I use for AI workflows). I figured that a rectangular holder for the laptop would work best and allow me to use the black Technic bricks that I had on hand in limited numbers (I have far more light and dark gray elements thanks to all of the Star Wars sets I’ve built over the years).

    To strengthen the rectangular frame, there are four layers: top-most brick structure, plates, substructure bricks, and plates. All joints are overlapped, which further strengthens the design.

    To support the rectangular laptop frame, I used one L-shaped beam to hold the frame at the bottom and a long Technic brick at 90 degrees to raise the back. As an added support to the back Technic brick, I put a L-shaped beam to apply pressure to the rectangular frame when under the weight of the laptop.

    The base of the stand is U-shaped to hold either side’s base in place to prevent any lateral movement, which could cause one of the supports to unhinge.

    As a safety measure, I added two Technic L-shaped beams to the bottom center of the laptop frame if not to hold the laptop in place should it slip off then to slow it down as it crashes forward on my desk. I’ve also found this useful for holding paper, such as printed articles, which makes it easy to read and type by looking down-and-up instead of to the left or right.

    The stand raises the back of the laptop up 7″, which makes the top of the monitor about even with my eye line. I’ve only been using it a couple of days, but it seems to fit the bill perfectly for my needs.

  • How to Build a Moveable Workbench Out of a Wood Wire Spool

    round wood workbench on caster wheels with a metal vice mounted on top

    When I recently visited my folks in Georgia, one of my projects was helping my dad clean up his shop so that he could more easily work in it. Over the years, it had become more and more cluttered. Perhaps most urgently, many tools were strewn about on the floor. I proposed turning a 48″ diameter wood spool that he had gotten from an electrical supply company into a moveable workbench. While the spool would take up roughly the same space, it would create two surfaces for storing tools and getting work done at elbow height. And, giving him a place to put tools when not in use where he could get them without bending over, would be a positive development, too.

    48" wood spool for holding electrical wire

    The wood spool is approximately 48″ diameter and 28″ tall.

    top surface of round wood spool

    This side was cleaner and had no obvious problems for working on a roughly flat surface. It would be the top of the workbench.

    bottom surface of wood spool

    We designated this side the bottom due to its rougher appearance and extra hole with arced routing (to secure the wire it once held?).

    set of four 6" caster wheels

    We picked up four 6″ caster wheels with grease fittings from Harbor Freight. These measure approximately 7″ tall including the base. Connected to the spool, these wheels will give the completed workbench an approximately 35″ height.

    bolts, nuts, and washers on a red metal surface

    After closing Ellis Auto Parts, my dad kept a lot of hardware that wasn’t sold, so we were able to find all of the bolts, nuts, and washers that we needed. To connect the wheels to the wood spool, we used 3/8″ x 3″ bolts with washers on top and bottom, and we used two nuts per bolt to lock the bolt (we couldn’t find any 3/8″ lock washers).

    caster wheel installed with one set of nuts before locking nuts installed

    To install the wheels on the bottom of the spool, I first selected one diameter line and marked it with a pencil. Using a square, I drew a perpendicular line through the center for the other two wheels. I knew that we were going to reinforce the workbench top with 2″ x 4″ boards cut to length, so I allowed enough room for drilling holes and driving screws through the spool ends into the 2″ x 4″s. I marked that distance (2″) from the outer edge along the diameter lines that I previously drew. Then for each wheel placement, I held a wheel where I had marked, centered it, and used a pencil to draw in the four holes at the corner of the caster wheel base.

    closeup of bolts and washers through lower surface of workbench holding the wheels on

    I drilled the four holes with a 7/16″ bit and installed the wheels with the 3/8″ bolts with a washer on top, a washer on bottom, and two nuts per bolt.

    closeup of 2 sets of nuts on each bolt holding caster wheels on bottom of workbench

    Since we didn’t have 3/8″ lock washers, we opted to use two nuts on each bolt to lock them in place.

    workbench wheels are installed on bottom of round workbench

    With the wheels installed, we began installing the 2″ x 4″ supports inline with each wheel.

    fitting 2x4 before installing
    2x4 in place before installation

    Because the spool was built imperfectly, we cut each 2″ x 4″ support to length as needed. We cut them about 1/16″ – 1/32″ too long so that we could wedge them into place with a mallet for a tight fit.

    2x4 notched to allow space for bolts and washers

    Using a table saw, we cut notches as needed on each 2″ x 4″ support to clear the wheel’s bolt heads and washers.

    closeup of screws driven through top surface of workbench into 2x4

    We pre-drilled two holes for each screw that would go through the top and bottom of the spool into the 2″ x 4″ boards. We used 3″ long deck screws to fasten the 2″ x 4″ boards in place.

    closeup of screws above caster wheels driven into 2x4

    Each 2″ x 4″ is held in place by 3″ long deck screws that were driven in after pre-drilling holes for each.

    round wood workbench on wheels on its side

    With the wheels attached and the 2″ x 4″ supports installed, we tilted the workbench over.

    round wood workbench on wheels
    round wood workbench on wheels

    The workbench rolls around effortlessly after being completed.

    large metal vice sitting on the concrete floor

    My dad also had a Columbian vice manufactured in Cleveland, Ohio. It’s about as heavy duty as you can get. It would certainly help him with some work, so we decided to install it on the workbench above one of the 2″ x 4″ supports.

    bolts, nuts, washers, and lock washers on a wood surface

    For the vice, we used three sets of 9/16″ bolts, washers, lock washers, and nuts.

    vice mounted on top of round workbench

    I marked the location of the holes using the base of the vice as a pattern, drilled 5/8″ holes, and installed the bolts through the top and washers, lock washers, nuts on the bottom.

    round wood workbench on caster wheels with a metal vice mounted on top

    Our mobile workbench made out of a wood spool for holding heavy duty electrical wire is completed and ready for work.

  • How I Shot the LEGO Pride Flag Photo

    lego bricks resembling the pride flag are connected to a mix of other hidden lego bricks in front of a white cardboard box and illuminated by a book reading light

    On Monday, I posted happy wishes for Pride Month with a photo that I made of a LEGO Pride Flag.

    To create the photo, I first dug through my boxes of LEGO to find 8 stud wide bricks that matched as close as possible to the Rainbow Flag’s approximation of ROYGBIV: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.

    My first shots had the flag resting on the table some distance in front of a white cardboard box, which served as a neutral background. For lighting, I held a USB rechargable book reading light belonging to Y just above my smartphone to avoid casting a shadow from the camera.

    I didn’t like how these turned out, because the flag was kind of boring just sitting there. So, I thought about levitating it like in Monday’s post.

    To levitate the flag, I built a counter-weighted assembling of 6-stud wide bricks with an armature that connected behind the yellow bricks in the Pride Flag. I built this armature one brick higher than the flat to give it the illusion of floating in midair.

  • Project Board at the University of Liverpool

    a felt covered corkboard with three columns of index cards pinned to its surface .

    I mentioned this to my students the other day, but I wasn’t able to find a photo of what I was talking about. Now I have, so I’ll show it to them in class tomorrow.

    This is my project board while I was an MA student at the University of Liverpool. My monk’s cell had a felt-covered corkboard that I repurposed as a project scheduler by writing upcoming work and ideas on 3″ x 5″ index cards and pinning them into one of three columnar categories: Course Work, or assignments and readings in my classes; Commitments, or work product deliverables like writing a book review or preparing a conference presentation; and Thinking About, or projects and ideas that I was considering but hadn’t committed myself to yet.

    This board was the key to my academic success at that time, because it gave me a way of tracking the work that I had coming up and I could see at a glance from my desk what needed to be prioritized to keep my output going.

    Over time, the board became quite full of index cards. It was always satisfying to take a card off the board when that task had been completed.

    Using a daily planner or a calendar app can serve a similar purpose. Whatever method and tool that works best for you, make a commitment to stick with it so that it can keep you on track for success.

  • 1989 Powell Peralta Mike McGill Complete Skateboard

    Before the tariffs (are a tax) and plummeting markets, I wanted to liquidate some of my belongings to have more cash on hand because [waves hand]. As a part of that, I sold my prized possession: a 1989 Powell Peralta Mike McGill woodgrain complete skateboard this past weekend on eBay. It’s in transit to the buyer now.

    My maternal grandmother and grandfather–Wilma and Papa Gerald–gifted me the McGill after I picked it out and its hardware from a full-page mail order ad in Transworld Skateboarding magazine. Everything arrived in a big, long box. I needed help to apply the grip tape and install the trucks, wheels, and bearings. I took it out to ride as soon as it was ready.

    I loved the artwork of the skull and snake by Vernon Courtlandt Johnson. He did most of the major artwork for Powell Peralta during that era, including the “Ripper” logo on the top of the deck.

    Due to the age of the skateboard deck and how it might have been stored over the years before I got it, it had developed a twist, which you can see in the picture above. While the deck is concave, toward the front of the deck, it can been seen to have a rightward twist toward the camera. It wasn’t too bad and for normal riding it probably wouldn’t be noticeable.

    With this one that I assembled with new hardware, I applied the grip tap but left the Powell Peralta logo on the top of the deck exposed like I did with my original one.

    I got the same brand trucks like I used to have–Gullwing. However, I went with 9″ wide Shadows instead of the Pro III’s that I used to have. I figured that if I rode this skateboard, it would just be for leisurely getting around and therefore didn’t need something higher end. Going for a matching color scheme, I added 1/4″ risers in neon green.

    Again, thinking about how I might use this skateboard for riding on the street, I got large, soft wheels. These are Bones’ Rough Riders with a 80A hardness, 59mm diameter, and all-terrain formula. The bearings are generic ABEC5 with spacers in-between.

    For the tail guard and rails, I installed them using “Rat Nuts” (aka T-Bolts or Sex Bolts) so that none of the hardware dug into the wood–the top sleeve passes through a hole and a screw meets it from the bottom. The rails were a generic brand with a hole pattern that matched those already on the board. The tail guard was an authentic Powell Peralta 9″ Tail Bone that I found for sale as new-old-stock.

    I can’t for the life of me remember what happened to my original McGill. I might have given it away or sold it before going to college. I just can’t remember. Before I found this deck and kitted it out with all new hardware, I wrote about assembling a reissue of an earlier model McGill that had the bowl/fishtail shape but without the angled nose of the 1989 model (which I sold to help finance purchasing this original McGill some years ago).

    It’s a good skateboard even being 36 years old. I hope that it brings happiness to its new owner.

    Unfortunately for me, it feels like I can’t enjoy things like this in this life–not with things being so precarious and uncertain.