Sewing Room - Upgrade

 A complete change of pace, adding more storage to the sewing room.

The upgrade will consist of multiple wall storage units from IKEA.  This time I am using the Kallax bookcases as the base.  The first wall unit is this one.

This consists of 5 by 5 on the bottom and two 2 by 2s on the top.  The top is done with a gap in the middle.  The two top bookcases were attached using standard sheet rock type screws as shown here.

Then all three bookcases are attached to the wall using the standard hardware provided by IKEA.  Except i move the bookcases locations so that the screws would go into the studs in the wall.  This makes the three sections act as one piece now.

 

 

In order for the bookcases to be flat against the wall, the baseboard had to be removed as can be seen here.

The next issue was the switches on the wall.  There are three switches

1. The overhead electrical box.
2. The half hot electrical box in the wall.
3. The fan electrical box.

The overhead electrical box was for the track lighting I put in.  this provides adequate task lighting for all for the two main work areas.  Putting up eight foot tracks on a 10 foot ceiling was a challenge, but it is done. Included my wife standing on a step stool with a broom, trying to hold 8 foot end in place while I attached the other end.

 

One of the vertical walls of the 5 by 5 bookcase went right over the switch plate.  I cut a small notch in it so the book case would sit flat against the wall.  But this made one of the switches inaccessible.  Fortunately this was the fan switch, so I just removed it.  Permanently connected the fan and placed a blank off plate with a note to remind me the fan is always connected.

That left the track lights and the wall half hot which has stand lamp connected to it.  Since these are at the back of a cubby, either the space can't be used or switch access will be limited.  I already have a Lutron Caseta wireless system in the house. I installed On-Off Caseta switches for the track lights and the stand lamp, as seen above.  Then I installed two PICO remote controls on the side of the bookcase as shown here.

This provides a user experience that is the same as a normal wall switch.  Now the original wall switch access is not needed and thus the cubby can be used.  If access is ever needed, we just clean out the cubby.  The notch in the book case provides enough space to remove and install the switch plate.

The track light connection in the ceiling is the only 120VAC connection in the house that had not been tested.  I changed out the mechanical switches for two smart switches, they are not dimmers just switches.  The down side to these is they require a neutral wire, fortunately code up here says the neutral has to be brought to the switch box.  I have installed about 8 of these now, the first 7 went perfect.  The switched plug one worked as expected.  But the track lights would not turn on.  If I took a light out of the track and put it back in, it came on and the switch would turn it off. But would never turn it on.

I did not even want to think that the wiring was messed up.   I started thinking the switch was dead, or could not handle the LED track light or the wiring came loose or something.  So I disconnected the track lights at the ceiling, wired the track lights to cord with a plug and plugged into the switched outlet.  It all worked with a smart switch.  Thus it had to be somewhere between the switch in the wall and the ceiling connection.  This meant removing the wall palate and pulling the switches out of the box.  It could have been worse.  All the connections were solid, nothing had loosened or slipped out of a wire nut.  So I disconnected the offending switch and just hot wired the ceiling box.  And it worked.  Well the wiring is good and that is a good thing.

 I reconnected all of the wires just to  be sure.  As a last resort, I go to the LUTRON site ( LUTRON Caseta Smart Switches) to see if they have any sage advice.  First thing on the list is reverse the two black wires.    I have installed 7 of these without even a thought about which black wire goes where, with no issues.  My track lights work.  I had a 50-50 chance and  got it right 7 times.  Maybe I should play the slot machines. 

And this is done.

Bricks by the Bay, 2022

 

Date:  June 23 through June 26

Location: Santa Clara Convention Center

Website: Bricks By The Bay

Social Media: @bricksbythebay, @bricksbythebay_official #bricksbythebay

The last in person Bricks by the Bay Convention was in 2019, so it has been three years with two virtual conventions in between.  So what are we at MyMakerTools going to do.

• Brick Power.  We have a limited number of our USB based power converters for Lego Motors (Power Functions)
• Brick Controller.  We have a limited number of the our USB/Bluetooth controllers with 4 motor channels and 4 LED channels.
• LED Lighting.  New LED lights that fit on a 1x1 or 1x2 plate/tile.
• LED Power Distribution.  Simple device that takes USB power and provides punch down type connections.
• LED Lighting Controller.  Expands the number of LED channels to 15 for those MOCs that need multiple LED controls.
• Brick Shirts and Softwear.  New brick shirt designs for young and old.  Plus other softwear that we are famous for.
• Minifigs.  Assorted Minifigs that were acquired over the years.
  

Brick Power and Brick Controller

 

My biggest problem has been the current chip shortage.  Finding electronic parts has become an all day task.  Most are available in Asia at the "brokers", but it is not uncommon to see anywhere from 10 to 100 times cost increase over normal MSRP.  As an example, an item that sells for $60 cannot afford to pay $55 for a part that was $1.24.   I still have inventory of these two items and they will be aggressively priced for the convention.

LED Lighting

 

I have always wanted a simple and consistent way to mount LEDs both in my MOCs and for my HO train layout.  These two products get me closer to the goal.  One is the size of a 1x2 plate/tile and the other is the size of a 1x1 plate/tile.  You can glue these onto a plate for mounting on a ceiling or a tile when you want up lighting.  Right now the product only comes with white LEDs, either a simple single Dome type LED or a larger flood light type.  Custom colors will be available, with a small charge.  I have not priced these yet, but they will be well under $5 each, depending on the size and LED.  The website will have a list of vendors where you can buy wire.  Each board provides a rather large pad to solder the wires onto.  We will not be providing wire on the standard product.  We don't know what you need.  The Website list a few places where you can get wire and what the difficulty level is with each.  Look here for more information.

LED Power Distribution

 

When you don't need the fancy lighting effects and all you need is for the lights to be on, this is the best answer.  This device takes in USB power and then distributes to either punch down connectors or small connectors that are popular with other 3rd party LED vendors.  What I do is solder a piece of solid 24-26 gauge wire to the ends of the small wires from the LEDs and then place these stiff wires in the punch down connector.  Depending on the USB power source, you can power over 25 LEDs easily with this.

LED Lighting Controller

 

At a minimum, I hope to demonstrate this at the convention.  There is still a lot of work to do on this, so it is iffy right now.  This is 48 x 64mm or the size of a 6x8 plate.

Brick Shirts and Softwear

We will have a new selection of of shirts and other softwear items.  Watch for more information as we get closer to show time.

Minifigs

We have been downsizing everything.  Long story, so the younger ones have decided to divest some of there childhood collections.  These Minifigs are the ones they are willing to part with.  There will be some good deals.