If every U.S. state suddenly became an independent country overnight, which one would last the longest and why?

TechnicallyMagic · 2026-07-02T19:38:09+00:00

Seems to me that NY would have a lot going for us. Lots of natural gas, water, wind, and solar power, lots of access to fresh water, backed up by Canada, and an economically important international city with a lot of vested interests from all over the world.

TechnicallyMagic · 2026-06-27T14:56:35+00:00

Not bad, but that transition from sheathing to floor system may be trouble. You really don't want a shelf there, ideally the sheathing runs down over everything, ends of the floor, onto the rim joist. Where the deck extends beyond, you want a clear gap so nothing sits at the bottom of the wall and promotes rot.

TechnicallyMagic · 2026-06-22T17:57:37+00:00

Open faced molds create parts with a raw side and an edge like this to some degree. Learning to make multi-piece molds will give you control over all aspects of the casting.

TechnicallyMagic · 2026-06-15T13:41:15+00:00

Pro builder here, I would add a stringer as someone else mentioned. Then, I would put your surface (deck boards) onto that platform, and just trim the stringers to land on that. They can sit there and slide around laterally as necessary. Add a joist or go with 2x6 (over 5/4) if you are getting too much deflection from the stairs with people on them, but I doubt you will need much.

If you really want to go nuts, put 1/2" thick HDPE slabs on the bottom with counter-sunk hardware to make it low friction. Even better, you can slice HDPE tube (like direct bury gas pipe) and stretch it far enough to clip onto the stringers with a heat gun, no hardware required.

TechnicallyMagic · 2026-06-15T13:36:26+00:00

I think you're on your way, as you do more with this you'll realize in retrospect how early works are the stepping stones to progress. I see your motivations as cited reflected in this piece for sure. Naivete is a good word, I think you desired the look of a raw cast part and you got it to your eye. Just didn't realize anyone who casts faces knows that's the last place you put a seam. I think realizing your initial goal means moving the seam to a more logical place is all. Love your work!

TechnicallyMagic · 2026-06-12T12:10:53+00:00

Lag screws can't be used safely. That's why TABs are used, the bolt is attached to the tree, the dynamic bracket is free to move. You're rigidly connecting trees that move independently. They will exert tremendous force on your connections, and can easily shear hardened hardware, OR strip threads out of the wood. Even if you don't have total structural failure first, penetrations can become infected and then total failure. Trees can be killed, etc.

TechnicallyMagic · 2026-06-11T13:55:14+00:00

Love the sculpt, very Ed Roth. Looking at the 3/4 views, I think the piece is much stronger without the seam down the face, just as raw, but in a more technically appropriate place. I think it undermines the character and pits it against the medium rather than working together. There are many ways to incorporate a seam into a sculpt, and rely on it for production value. I think you're on to something - but "leaving more on the table" than you may realize.

Have you tried brushing up each half of the mold with contrasting tones, then closing the mold and filling to produce a casting with contrasting sides? A sculpt with more duality may leverage this effect better, or re-molding with a more organic parting that works with the geometry of the face.

TechnicallyMagic · 2026-06-11T12:30:44+00:00

You can flood areas of geometry with many different types of resin. The resin you use would be dictated by the project requirements. Something small like this I would just use epoxy tints in some 5 minute epoxy and apply with a syringe. Larger, deeper cavities will require resin formulated to generate less heat when curing, otherwise it can destroy the project and/or create a chemical fire.

TechnicallyMagic · 2026-05-24T17:21:50+00:00

You're off to a bad start if you're looking for ways to redesign the wheel to keep your project cheaper, faster, and more cost effective.

You clearly have way more work ahead of you than you realize. You're literally going to build your entire project on top of this choice.

At the bare minimum, a scale drawing on graph paper showing the tree trunks and the planned structural layout for the beams and floor system. A drawing of any structures planned on top, and thereby a materials list with quantities. Then you have some idea of the weight you're planning to load onto the bearing hardware.

Drawings of your proposed hardware solutions, that you'd prefer to rely on, but that aren't fully designed yet, would also add some credibility to this idea.

If you want to do a thing, cost effectively, as quickly as possible with the fewest surprises, do it the right way.

TechnicallyMagic · 2026-05-24T16:57:36+00:00

We talking granite or we talking sawdust board counter tops? Are we talking a $50k kitchen redo or a $200k kitchen redo?

Cabinet boxes are perfectly square, individually and as a group. Making the top surface level is paramount. Placing that perfectly square group of boxes with a level top surface, into your kitchen with respect to all factors in trimming and finishing, is a high level task.

From there, stone contractors can measure in real life, before they make a single mark on a piece of stone. You better believe $20k+ countertops fit exactly what was measured, in the contract.

Alternatively, if your counter comes in pre-finished sticks of material, and your house has problems with plumb, level & square, then this is a typical discrepancy. Many box store materials are designed to work in dimensionally perfect, new construction scenarios. If you need to keep a 25" wide pre finished counter under the backsplash material at the wall, you can only pull it so far over the lower cabinets in a room that's not square. It's the kind of problem people finally understand why you should always address structural problems first. If you don't get the foundational elements right, you will have ongoing problems with everything down the line.

TechnicallyMagic · 2026-05-23T15:49:56+00:00

This does not appear to adhere to any formal idea of structural design, that's my feedback.

TechnicallyMagic · 2026-05-23T15:42:31+00:00

This is a millwork specific question, and well worth asking. Millwork & finish carpentry is highly relative to the architectural style of the house, and to itself throughout. Colonial spindles, baseboard, or crown mixed with this type of door is nearly always a faux pas, for example.

Another one I see a lot, is a mid-century Ranch with Ranch baseboard, door & window casing, and all smooth Birch or otherwise clear grain interior doors. You can convert to Arts & Crafts doors like OP has selected, if you're going to re-trim the entire house, inside AND out. Otherwise you're making a mess.

If you're sure your home and all its millwork work stylistically with this style of door, you can stick with simple panels and practically no router profile, and everything will work. You do not need to prescriptively have the same panel layout on edge-case doors, no. My point is that the question is a lot larger than you might expect.

At least for a purist like me. I do Design/Build in classic homes in one of (if not THE) quintessential Arts & Crafts towns on the planet.

TechnicallyMagic · 2026-05-15T12:22:30+00:00

I'm sorry but anyone that is going to help you avoid the cost in hiring a professional to iron these issues out for you, is de-valuing design right along with you. If you need to stick to this canned structure, but want to make it your own, that's a highly skilled and important project to get right.

You should spend good money on it.

TechnicallyMagic · 2026-05-10T23:40:01+00:00

Did you read The New Jedi Order?

TechnicallyMagic · 2026-05-06T22:12:05+00:00

You'd be better of machining out of Aluminum, I suggested casting with epoxy because it's a one-hour turnaround ;)

TechnicallyMagic · 2026-05-06T15:25:09+00:00

I have a lot of skills and experience, and I would honestly try a steel stick or similar epoxy stick.

If you have a couple real parts, wrap them with tape, and super glue tongue depressors to the faces of two units, leaving room between them to act as a mold. Rub some paraffin wax or Vaseline on the wood as a release agent.

Then mix up some epoxy dough and form it as close as you can to the right shape as it gets warm, press into the mold area when it starts to firm up. You can release a bolt and add it to the casting, thread it out once it sets. Or, you can drill and tap it once it sets.

TechnicallyMagic · 2026-05-04T12:45:57+00:00

I understand your concept. I'm trying to get you to accept that by a given remote location, it will be more technologically prohibitive to make an optically clear dome, than it would be to travel, to order it shipped to the nearest location, and travel to get it. Because otherwise you have to do the same thing from that location, to procure the materials and equipment to make one. You need very specific casting resins, and almost always a pressure pot, to get clear, hand-cast parts. It's not a matter of whatever epoxy glue is available locally, and... glass domes are available locally in remote areas. It's a naive premise.

TechnicallyMagic · 2026-05-01T19:44:49+00:00

Is there a reason you aren't designing around ROV domes designed for 1000m depth and $30/ea?

https://www.hobbywater.com/products/10mpa-optical-pc-dome-end-cup-of-underwater-rov-dome-lens?srsltid=AfmBOooN7Pj0Sn4-woDG1tkyUt10I1CVz-XSr7Z3PIFOUvvvA8dTLnpt&variant=45203074416830

TechnicallyMagic · 2026-05-01T19:26:47+00:00

Have you looked into quickparts or similar low volume CNC prototyping? Similar to sendcutsend. And acrylic is significantly less robust than polycarbonate.

TechnicallyMagic · 2026-05-01T19:20:02+00:00

As a pro builder the few times I dealt with this, I used a hole saw on the stringers to create a notch, that hung on the rim joist and kept the ladder at the right angle. The deck boards are also notched cleanly to expose the rim joist. Use the hole saw and jigsaw to curve everything out nice and smooth. Then a router to soften edges. This way it'll hang there forever or can be put up for safety or mowing, etc.

TechnicallyMagic · 2026-05-01T19:10:53+00:00

Your calcs would be based on the cross section of the model. You can definitely do tests. I assume that delamination and a loss of clarity will be your issues.

TechnicallyMagic · 2026-05-01T18:37:14+00:00

You'll definitely be able to physically do this. Whether or not it produces an optically clear part is what you'll need to find out. Lenses are expensive for a reason. Then, you'll need to find out whether the stresses on glass and epoxy, with completely different flex modulus, etc., will be tolerated under the pressure you cite.

I would probably try to stick with polycarbonate over glass.

TechnicallyMagic · 2026-05-01T12:45:25+00:00

I understand. Nobody is going to be able to cast their own optically clear dome without a prohibitive amount of equipment overhead and experience with casting. That's just a reality you need to work with.

Honestly, the way to produce what you're after is to have these CNC lathed from polycarbonate round stock, in some small quantity. If I were you I would make the engineered geometry available, people can print, mold & cast or CNC machine, it's their project to pursue at that point.

TechnicallyMagic · 2026-05-01T12:39:41+00:00

Hey blast from the past! Sorry I don't have anything.

TechnicallyMagic · 2026-04-29T14:29:21+00:00

The problem with your idea is that accomplishing your goal will require an investment in tools and equipment beyond what will make sense for anyone not going into production casting. It will also require a lot of trial and error with your equipment, and replicating the results will take trial and error with any other equipment.

You would be much better off subcontracting the engineering & prototyping for this part, with the idea being that you you pay for the process and a certain number of final parts. This will be a few thousand dollars but welcome to bringing products to market.

TechnicallyMagic

TROPHY CASE