I made a little adjustable arm that holds a pen or pencil to mark a ships waterline. Although I've seen many innovative ways to hold the pen at the right level, I thought a dedicated tool would be nice. So next time you attend a Treaty build session, you can check it out.
I wasn't planning to sell them. They are simple enough that most people can make them in their own shops. I can post more detailed information on the construction if there is a demand.
Mark That is just too cute! Did I actually say that? I generally use batteries to keep my marker level. They are not as cute as your new adjustable arm, but they have three other very cool uses. They can power my boats, and are great ballast. Mikey
Print this file. Cut each of the pieces out and glue them on a piece of 1/4" plywood. Then cut the pieces out, drill, and assemble.
Function IS king for tools. It looks pretty good, so I don't think you are giving yourself enough credit. One thing I learned a while ago is to attach the paper with a light spray of 3M 77. Spray only the paper and let it dry for about a minute before putting it on the wood and it will come off pretty easy once the part is cut out.
Thanks, Mark, nice to hear that from the designer. I think that is the same stuff McSpuds uses. Anyway, I picked up a can of it today. Haven't been able to try out the tool yet, but meanwhile, it makes a awesome looking paperweight. Beaver
I never actually got around to cutting one of these out, so, while being sleep deprived and addled, my brain recalled Mark's neat little marker. Rather than go look up the plans he handed out, I thought I would do a quick knockoff from memory since I needed to spend some time learning Inventor anyways.... First Iteration: It could stand for some improvement, but is functional as-is. I'll probably tweak the files a bit more still and print another half dozen parts to play with, just because.
During the US drive to the moon NASA had sent out a contract to develop a pen that could write in zero G. It cost about One Million USD back in 1967 or so. The Russians used a pencil.
