New-look blog, and modelmaking studio update

Welcome to the simpler, new-look blog; I hope you like it, and that it functions much better on mobile devices! I managed to find a theme that still has a sidebar, but that works on mobile (by hiding the sidebar under a menu), and looks neat/functions as I'd like it to. I'd love some more feedback on this, but I really think it's made a huge positive difference. The look is cleaner, simpler, more functional, and more modern than the old outdated style. Plus, you get to see my ugly mug... oh, wait, that's not a bonus...

...oh well, I think it's a huge improvement over the old blog anyway, but I'd love to hear your thoughts!

But wait, there's more!

I could've left this entry there I suppose, but my opinion is to never post without photos or media. Whilst I have been quietly updating the separate construction diary page of the studio build (click here), there are some things that I like to share as a separate post; not least because it helps remind you all when significant progress has been made, but also because I like to have some sort of audience participation (even if that means re-doing work because you've rightly pointed out some stupid mistakes that I've made!). Speaking of stupid mistakes...

...last time, I showed off my design for a "cool wall feature" (in lieu of not having a better name for it!). A lot of readers commented that it was hard to read; particularly if you had no idea of my company name, and I totally agree!

Above: So, thanks to your feedback, I went away to redesign it. I actually almost gave up trying to make it more legible until I changed tack at the last minute. By experimenting with different shapes, I realised that I could better create the letters out of blocks with 45 degree mitres on both ends; instead of just the one.

Above: That said, I didn't want it just to be regular letters, so as you can see, some are still a little bit "abstract" to a degree (and the "D" doesn't even fully join together), but they are all now at least in a straight line rather than all over the place!

I hope you'll agree that the new design is much more legible; all thanks to your feedback (I mean that sincerely!). Oh, and you'll also note that I've decided to use white-painted dowels (or similar) to join the letters together. Whilst this will make positioning the sign easier, its primary use is actually to have something to hide the wiring behind when it comes to adding the LED strip.

I'm hoping that tomorrow I can cut the 37 (or was it 38?) lengths to size. With a compound mitre saw this should take absolutely no time at all! The difficult bit will be drilling the holes on the angled letters for the dowel. Perhaps I could make a simple 45 degree jig for that.

Above: Moving on, here's what I plan to make in the next day or two. This will be a folding table for video work in the studio. I do have some things to adjust before I cut out the components, though hopefully I shouldn't run into any further snags! The two red rectangles are 3/4 length sheets of 12mm ply; one of the snags is that I might double up the legs to 24mm so that not only will they be stronger, but they also have more depth to allow me to rebate the bolts on the pivot point.

Anyway, if you haven't seen the studio build, I thought I'd finish off with a taster of where we are now (click the image to go to the construction diary itself):

And that's it for today; many thanks once again for all your feedback, and I hope you like the new-look blog!

Stay safe, and happy modelling,
Jamie