Kyle Rankin @kyle@librem.one

It's time to sew my handwoven fabric into a tote! I'll be using a combination of hand sewing and my ⁨#antique⁩ 1890s Willcox and Gibbs sewing machine. ⁨#weaving

A ⁨#vintage⁩ ⁨#weaving⁩ book find at Powell's! The author of The Romance of French Weaving started work after the Great War documenting the history of the French weaving tradition, weighing the inevitable march of mechanization and mass-production against craft. Quantity vs quality. The conversation continues today.

I've almost completed half of the fabric for the tote. This picture shows all three stripes and gives a decent idea of what the tote will look like from the side. It will be narrower as I will make pattern-matched shoulder straps from each side. ⁨#weaving⁩

After two false starts from trying out a temple for the first time, I'm making progress on fabric I'm going to sew into a tote. ⁨#weaving⁩

This has been common practice in some markets for a long time. My author copy of Ubuntu Hacks for the Indian market (English version) is much thinner than the original due to using cheaper paper to make the overall book less expensive for customers there. https://www.economist.com/britain/2022/09/08/books-are-physically-changing-because-of-inflation

If you collect and use vintage ⁨#safetyrazors⁩ I recommend adding a Stahly live blade to your collection. Using a hand-cranked, clockwork vibrating razor seems weird at first, but each time mine come up in my rotation I get excellent shaves

I just got a new ⁨#3dprinter⁩ which means the next few days will be spent printing out upgrades and accessories for it. First, a bracket to hold the Raspberry Pi that controls it, along with a camera mount.

After spending most evenings before dinner tinkering, I think I've discovered the problem with multiplication. All 1s-4s transfer to the register while all 5s (and above) don't. I got 5s to work when pushing the carriage diagonally, so I think there is a carriage alignment issue.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have long division! ⁨#antique⁩ ⁨#calculator⁩

I was able to fix the shift mechanism with a few adjustments and while I was at it figured out what was wrong with the main accumulator so now addition and subtraction work. Next up: multiplication.

I decided to start by fixing the shift mechanism, which stutters when shifting left. I'm hoping resolving that may also resolve some of the other issues. I was able to locate a service manual for a similar calculator which has some decent diagrams. #antique #calculator

Today we attempt to repair and refurbish a Monromatic CSA-8 electro-mechanical calculator from the 1950s-1960s. At the moment addition and subtraction don't update the accumulator among othet issues, I hope just from seized gears. ⁨#antique⁩ ⁨#calculator⁩

The biggest challenge with filing expense reports is deciding which ⁨#antique⁩ adding machine in my collection to use to add up receipts. Today's winner is an RC Allen model 75. ⁨#vintagecomputers⁩

Here's a bonus video of what happens when you divide by zero on an electro-mechanical calculator. #infiniteloop

My Marchant Silent Speed is all cleaned up and ready to go with the rest of my collection! #antique #calculator

Here's another view of the same operation from the back so you can see more of the gears move.

Success! A little cleaning and lubrication freed up the stuck registers enough to do long division. Here's the Marchant Silent Speed approximating Pi. #antique #calculator

The Marchant Silent Speed ⁨#antique⁩ ⁨#calculator⁩ restoration begins! Here's hoping this is as far as I have to take it apart today.

Check out the latest addition to my ⁨#antique⁩ ⁨#calculator⁩ collection! This is a Marchant "Silent Speed" 8D from 1940, a fast electromechanical analog calculator that can even infinite loop if you divide by zero. I'll be refurbishing it this weekend to make it fully functional.

The ⁨#scale19x⁩ memory that will stick with me most is when an unopened soda can left in front of the projector exhaust vent exploded in the middle of my talk like a gunshot, shooting a geyser of soda in the air. I'm going to get so much mileage out of that story.