Jekyll2026-02-09T16:11:45+00:00https://carlism.org/feed.xmlCarlism . OrgAll the stuff Carl is into and none of the stuff he ain't.Carl LeibyPrecision Machining2026-01-06T00:00:00+00:002026-01-06T00:00:00+00:00https://carlism.org/2026/01/06/precision-machiningI started taking a night class twice a week on precision machining. Most people in the class are in the industry in some way or other. I think I’m sort of a weirdo taking it as a hobby especially given that I do not have ready access to any machining equipment. But it’s something I just want to get some hands on time with.

Our first assignment

Facing off and center drilling, my first chips!

My first part, in spec

]]>Carl LeibyCustom Laser Cut Boxes2025-11-26T00:00:00+00:002025-11-26T00:00:00+00:00https://carlism.org/2025/11/26/custom-boxesI made a number of leather products as family gifts this x-mas. I wanted to put them in boxes that fit just right. We happened to have a rather large cardboard box waiting to go out for the recycling. I thought, ya know, I can reuse that cardboard and give it at least one more life as a box. So I worked out how you build a design in onshape CAD that makes a box but can then lay the material out flat for the cutting.

flattened box drawing Cutting a box

a cut box

Glued up

]]>Carl LeibyLeather Glasses Cases2025-11-12T00:00:00+00:002025-11-12T00:00:00+00:00https://carlism.org/2025/11/12/glasses-casesThis year for x-mas I decided I’d dig out my old leather tools and make people something. There’s a great creator I’ve been watching on youtube Tony See. I saw his video on a fairly simple glasses case. Purchasing the pattern from him on etsy was under $5. I ended up making 7 of them in total.

four varieties

]]>Carl LeibyIntro to Japanese Calligraphy2025-11-09T00:00:00+00:002025-11-09T00:00:00+00:00https://carlism.org/2025/11/09/japanese-calligraphyThis year for my birthday my wife bought me a ticket to a 2 hour into to Japanese calligraphy. I’ve been doing Japanese on Duolingo for a few months and find it fascinating. So this was an excellent gift. Also, for x-mas she got me a vintage ink stone and brushes. So there will be more to come. But for now, here’s what I achieved in those two hours.

Karu Ribii(Carl Leiby)

Sun? Morning?

]]>Carl LeibyFitting a Seat Concepts new upholstery2025-07-31T00:00:00+00:002025-07-31T00:00:00+00:00https://carlism.org/2025/07/31/seat-upholsteryAt a meetup I got chatting to a fellow rider about seats and they had recently bought the kit from seat concepts for their bike. They weren’t too sure about how to go about stapling it on and such and were looking for an upholstery shop to take it to. I suggested that I had all the needed tools like an air gun stapler and heat gun, etc. Just come by my place. So after being turned away be a few shops who didn’t want to do the work I got the call. Here’s how it worked out:

early on we were sweating it a bit

It's actually starting to come together here

Gotta get the pillion too

finished product!

]]>Carl LeibyGlass Blowing Workshop2024-11-24T00:00:00+00:002024-11-24T00:00:00+00:00https://carlism.org/2024/11/24/glass-blowingWe found a glass blowing workshop and thought we’d give it a go. We’ve been up to the Corning Museum several time and love it. It’s well worth stopping in if you are in the area. Anyhow, this “workshop” was just some blow torches, insulation mats and glass tubes. I don’t know exactly what I was expecting but it seemed a bit underwhelming. After a lot of instruction and talk of technique and safety we finally got a turn. We put some frit into the glass tubes for color, heated them and blew into them. Then we just had to wait for the slow cooling between the insulation. Here’s what I ended up with:

Glass Balls

I’m not winning any sort of award but I did manage to get 3 to work nicely enough they could go on the tree.

]]>Carl LeibyRedhood Mask2024-08-25T00:00:00+00:002024-08-25T00:00:00+00:00https://carlism.org/2024/08/25/redhood-maskMy kid has been getting into comics more lately and I found her favorite character’s mask as a model. I thought I’d take this as an opportunity to try and finish a 3d print. Since I mostly print functional items I’ve never tried the whole sanding and paining process to get a nice finish. Here’s how it went:

The Print on my Prusa MK4

First few coats of sandable primer

Looking Glossy

Happy kid

]]>Carl LeibyMontco Riders Logo2024-08-22T00:00:00+00:002024-08-22T00:00:00+00:00https://carlism.org/2024/08/22/montco-riders-logoI’m one of the co-organizers of the Montco Riders meetup group. During a trip down south to visit the Tail of the Dragon We stopped into a cafe at the north end. It was a very car focused establishment. I saw a brand that I thought communicated their intentions well.

Go Fast Don't Die

I thought, maybe I could come up with something that would convey the spirit of the Montco Riders group to newcomers to help them know what to expect. Our group does “spirited” rides thru the curviest roads we can find. We are specifically not out there to cruise along a highway.

Because of the nature of meetup we welcome all comers. This can lead to some new folks feeling pressured to ride faster than they should. We, in no way, want them to feel pressured because that can lead to mistakes and mistakes hurt. We always state that people should “ride their own ride” meaning within their ability. This can cause some stress for ride leaders, sweeps, and other riders as a group can develop large gaps causing missed turns and confusion. I know there are strategies for mitigating this issue like expecting every rider to keep an eye on and be responsible for the rider behind them. That seems a lot to expect out of some of our riders.

Anyhow, I thought maybe we could try to give people an expectation as to how we tend to ride. And maybe I could do that in a logo. I fired up one of the newly available AI tools and got to generating an image. After hundereds of options and iterations, here’s where I landed: Montco Logo

I know it’s not quite as strongly worded as the first example but my hope is that people have a better idea what they might be getting themselves into.

]]>Carl LeibyNew Welder and Project2023-10-20T00:00:00+00:002023-10-20T00:00:00+00:00https://carlism.org/2023/10/20/new-welderI got a YesWelder MIG-250 Pro. It’s a 220V welder unfortunately, but I wanted this one for it’s versatility. It’ll do mig, tig, and stick welding with the right accessories. Here’s my first whack at it:

First Welds

In order to make myself practice I picked up a welding kit that also happens to be a new high-clearance bumper for my Nissan Xterra

First bumper piece

Back Welds

Ground welds

Paint Prep

POR-15

]]>Carl LeibySeurat Shadow Box2022-02-14T00:00:00+00:002022-02-14T00:00:00+00:00https://carlism.org/2022/02/14/seurat-shadowboxSitting in my armchair earlier this month I noticed a little 4”x4” shadowbox on our bookshelf with a multi layered pine tree scene. I thought it was really basic and heck I could do that! But I wanted to make something a little more elaborate. Given that Valentines day was coming I chose my wife’s favorite work of art. I thought she’d either love it or think I was a horrible person for ruining something she loved. I mean, maybe it’s the use of colors that makes the piece for her.

Making the layers

I pulled a copy of the work into Pixelmator and got to work building the layers.

Foreground more people the lawn Background

Setting up lightburn

  1. import the image
  2. outline the image
  3. mask the border
  4. set the outline for cutting
  5. set the image for greyscale

Putting it together

Result

The wife seems to like it. Of course she’s rarely critical of stuff I make so, hard to say.

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