@mattgemmell@mastodon.scot
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mattgemmell

@mattgemmell@mastodon.scot

Writer. Edinburgh, Scotland. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇪🇺 CHANGER, TOLL, JINX, MIDDLESHADE ROAD, ONCE UPON A TIME. Husband of one, father of two.

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mattgemmell, to random
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That was an expensive ten minutes.

mattgemmell, to random
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This week in Matt’s scrappy DIY projects: my wife wanted a potting bench, so I made one from stuff we had lying around!

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mattgemmell,
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Using the right tools for the job on my weekend project. I use the e-ink tablet every day for a variety of things, but I think this is only the second or third outing for the angle clamps. Not because they aren’t useful, but instead because I only remember I have them when I encounter a situation that truly needs them.

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mattgemmell, to random
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I’ve named it “A Farewell to Arms”.

mattgemmell, to random
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Spent the afternoon putting up trellises for peas in my wife’s greenhouse, then reorganising my tool racks in the workshed. Spot all the lovely tools!

Tool rack, sharp and blunt hand tools, and safety equipment.
Tool rack. Marking, sanding, tapes, misc. Including prized Mitutoyo vernier callipers.
Tool rack. Mostly squares and rulers! Bahco combination squares in 300 and 400mm variants. A mini engineer square to check saw blades. Big speed square that’s probably my favourite. Also levels, pliers, scissors, and choice screwdrivers.

mattgemmell,
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@dxzdb I have an autoline drill guide, the Rolls Royce of such things. The only better option is a press.

The angle adapter runs from a drill or impact driver, so yes indeed. Also takes any of the bits.

I mostly use the impact driver for fasteners, but I do have lots of other screwdrivers. The long ph2 is what you need about 97% of the time though!

Got a pocket hole jig, dowel jig, others. Lots of clamps at other end of the shed!

mattgemmell, to random
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Pretty excited to receive this convenient, home-based hand and arm removal tool next week.

mattgemmell,
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@seanreilly Came out last month. Rack and pinion fence (like the dewalt), outfeed, standard t-track, soft start and e-brake, paddle stop, much better dust collection, and everything adjustable. Massive upgrade on the Rage. 1800W.

mattgemmell, to random
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The photo, and the out-take.

A similar photo, but my wife is smiling a bit maniacally, my son is making a grumpy face, and the dog’s nose is in the air as he chews his ball.

mattgemmell, to random
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Fellow neat freaks, this is your semi-regular reminder that if you cut a little tactile groove into the front underside of your desk at the halfway point, and use a cutting mat as a desk mat, you can easily keep everything aligned to your taste.

(It also makes it really easy to visualise the dimensions of things you’re buying online, for what it’s worth.)

Cutting mat with split keyboard and trackpad on top

mattgemmell, to random
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Today, in Matt’s scrappy DIY projects! I have a sofa in my home office which can turn into a double bed. On the rare occasion it’s used as such, I always wish there was some kind of compact night table beside it. As a sofa, it has to be a little bit out from the wall because there’s a radiator on that wall, and I don’t want to have to shift the sofa every time I convert it to a bed. I’ve tried to find a really narrow table to fit in the gap, without success.

mattgemmell,
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I figured that something which would fit there could be a drinks table when sitting on the sofa, and a nightstand if the sofa is in bed mode. Today I was clearing out some wood from the shed, and was unaccountably irritated about the lack of really narrow tables, so I just chucked one together myself to fit the space. Not very aesthetic, but bespoke and functional at least!

mattgemmell, to random
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After redoing my desk setup the other day, I was reminded of how annoying it is to have my tools on my workbench in the shed, so I spent some time today addressing that.

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mattgemmell,
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I had to cut and install some batons between the framing to provide a solid surface to mount the racks on. Got it all done, though there’s still some tool-organisation to do later. Much better.

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mattgemmell,
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@dxzdb I’ve got metal versions of those here.

mattgemmell, to random
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New desk setup ahoy. This is what the previous one looked like. Maybe a little bit cramped, with the keys 🎹 not very comfortable to use — and only 25 of them! Also I had to sacrifice my own books to get some room around the input devices. The wifi thing (white cylinder with black top) took up far too much space.

mattgemmell,
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Keys are shown in stowed, just-the-keys, and full controller battlestation positions. My beloved e-ink tablet is right at hand, on the stand the iPad used to occupy. Basket on left side of desk holds miscellaneous things like my car keys etc. The external monitor works for both the iPad as a second screen, or a place to play the Nintendo Switch. (2/2)

mattgemmell,
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And the new one! Books are back, everything off the desk surface and on clamps, and of course the main thing is the new KeyLab: big brother of the MiniLb, with 61 keys this time. I built the slide-under drawer myself with some brackets I got online. Also shifted the wifi thing off to the side with a wooden shim screwed under the desk, and an acrylic holder. Much nicer feel, and more conducive to feeling like a creative person (while I sit here on social media). (1/2)

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mattgemmell,
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I had to shift some of the standing-desk electronics around below to fit the keys shelf.

mattgemmell, to random
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It’s such a damned gift that we have so much educational info available to us, and a societal focus on multiculturalism and learning. This wee man knows so much more about the world at age three than I did at twenty-three.

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mattgemmell, to random
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Kitchen renovation is finally done, and this weekend we got to unpack all the boxes of kitchen things we’d been storing elsewhere — so I got my workshed back! This is very much my happy place.

My workbench, with assorted small tools on top.

mattgemmell,
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I love my Arturia minilab, but sometimes you want more octaves — especially when you’ve trained as a pianist — so I decided to add its 61-key big brother, the KeyLab mk3. 🤍🖤🤍

Me holding the keylab 61 mk3.

mattgemmell, to random
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It occurred to me that, maybe, my crazy keyboards are the key to doing all the things I love without getting a bigger desk. 🤔

mattgemmell, to random
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Lots to dislike about Apple these days, but I continue to admire their constant readiness to re-evaluate user interfaces and context. Logic on the iPad is an incredible thing, not just from a performance and features perspective, but in the dozens of ways they’ve rethought how a DAW could/should work on a touch-screen device.

mattgemmell, to random
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Any experienced Cubasis users switched to Logic? (These are the iPad versions, not Cubase and Logic on the Mac.)

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