project-fu failure

Okay, not exactly a failure, but not expected results from a couple of projects.

1. I saw a project on the web where a scanner was turned into a really crazy camera. The project called for the use of black foam-board to build a couple of sliding boxes that rested on and covered the scanner. A magnifing glass was used for the lens and the "focus" could be adjusted by sliding the boxes. There were examples of the photos, but it didn't seem worth the effort since the scanner cable is short and the "shutter speed" is so slow. I decided to take the idea and modify it to a single box - the idea being that I could scan 3-d objects inside the box when they would normally be crushed by the lid.

It took me a while to get the box built and make it light-proof - and when I tested it, I discovered a few things:

a) It's difficult to get the object lined up under the box.
b) I made the box too small (it's only 5 x5x5)
c) the underside of things? Not really that interesting.

Plus, I had to reinstall my scanner software (I blame Vista for that, but happened during this project, so it still counts) and then the scanner would make these really sad little beeps when I had the box in place. Dunno why.

The few objects I scanned (a 3-d puzzle, a squishy ball, and an action figure) - didn't really turn out that well. I'll try a few more, but I think the idea is flawed.

2). I saw a few videos on the web for making a wallet out of a Tyvek envelope. Tyvek is a some pretty cool and very strong material and since my fairly new leather wallet is already breaking down, I thought this might be interesting to try. I bought a small package of regular material envelopes to try out from Staples - and noted that they only sell the Tyvek envelopes in pacakges of 50. Since I'm not making a career out of these, I began a hunt for smaller units.

The sample wallet went together pretty well and I headed to the post office to see if they had these for sale. No dice - though I can order these online in packs of 10. I tried the FedEx/Kinko's store and the the clerk had no idea what I was talking about.

There's a UPS store not far from my house - I'll try there and then give in and order them. Seems a little silly to order envelopes through the mail. Plus, the wallet may not even be that useful since it doesn't have many pockets for cards.

On the plus side, I've got a couple stained glass projects in the queue and some origami that's going well. Still feels like my Project-fu is weak though.

Back to work...