design ideas - Pan lid

Loading the dishwasher after a recent meal, I was struck by how much space a frying pan lid takes up in the dishwasher.  The problem is the handle, which annoyingly always seems to be in the way.  In the past I have designed pan lids to lock to the pan, so that the pan can be drained with one hand.  Following recent experiences, I think a far more useful feature would be to have all pan lid handles fold, twist, lock or generally get totally out of the way for ease of storage and dish washer loading, so have sketched out a few concepts.

model making - how to make round things without a lathe

This weekend I was making the model wheels to my car.  The problem is how to make round things when you don't own a lathe.  Fortunately I have a dremel drill.  The rig I made isn't pretty, but it did the trick.  The wheels were first cut out on a bandsaw with a hole drilled in the centre, then fitted into this rig so that I could mill out the middle and shape the sides.  This one has been painted black, just to see how much finishing will be required (a lot!).  Rather than adjust the height of the cutter, I lifted the wheel up to the Dremel bit and turned the wheel by hand, which allows for much more fine tuning.  A lot of filler later and things are looking ok.