Take a look at the project page for more details.

For more information, see the project page.

It only cost about $50 to build, but it’s very sturdy and should hold up pretty well. View the project page for more details.

CNN Hottest videos gone viral

There’s not much to it, really. I just set a couple of stakes in the middle of the yard and tethered the mower to them. I clamp the self-propel lever in the “on” position, and let the rope wrap around the center pivot, cutting a smaller circle on each lap.

What’s funny is that this video has gone somewhat viral. Between the original YouTube post, a few (authorized) reposts by the Cheezburger network, the video has been viewed well over a quarter million times in the past week. It’s also been posted on facebook profiles 2000+ times as well as making the rounds on Twitter, etc. It never ceases to amaze me what people find amusing! I’ve put WAY more effort into posted content that hasn’t had 1/1000th the public interest.

At any rate, thanks to the Cheezburger Network for originally posting the video! Check out some of the links below, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll get a kick out of the comments!

Original video:

• Self-propelled mower on autopilot (korey99)

Blog posts by Cheezburger Network:

• Automatic Lawn Mower on There, I Fixed It
• Genius, on EpicWinFTW

Reposted videos:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6dJhzMk6OM
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDv65QIkHVU
• http://www.viddler.com/explore/epicwinftw/videos/7/
• http://www.viddler.com/explore/thereifixedit/videos/2/

Other blog entries:

• Lawn Mower of the Future, on CollegeHumor
• The Lazy Cheapskate’s Automated Lawnmower, on Gizmodo

Unfortunately, I wasn’t satisfied with the results. The brand new filter in my shop vac quickly filled with fine sawdust. As soon as that happens, the suction drops off dramatically.

After a little bit of research online, I built a cyclone dust separator:

This contraption sits inline with the shop vac removes most of the sawdust and wood chips before they reach the vacuum’s tub or filter. It cost about $25 to build and despite my careless engineering and construction it works perfectly!

Visit the project page for more details.

We came up with the idea of using ice, since it packs a fair amount of weight into a small space, it’s easy to load (use a hose), requires no room to store, and is even easier to unload (it just melts when it warms up).

One way that would probably work would be a use a tarp or piece of plastic sheet to trap some water in the bed and let it freeze in place. I didn’t have any handy, nor could I think of an easy way to keep it in a small space, so I used another approach.

I had a stack of 5 gallon buckets that kitty litter came in, so I filled them with water and let them sit for a couple of days. In about two days (around 10 degrees Fahrenheit outside) they were frozen solid. I turned them over and without too much trouble the ice slid out of the buckets. The picture above shows 7 buckets worth, which is around 300 pounds. Over the axle would be most effective, but the front of the bed works too, and leaves me more useful room in the bed.

About a week ago, I bought a bunch more since we’re doing some organizing. Tonight I went to put a tub of out-of-season clothes on one of the shelves and got a nasty surprise: the tubs have been slightly redesigned and are 3/4 of an inch taller. The lid is identical to the old model, and the stated capacity is still 18 gallons, but it’s now taller than my shelves. D’oh…

I’ve got a lot of shelves built for these tubs, probably about 40 tubs of storage capacity. My choices are to take the new tubs back and HOPE to find some (read: a lifetime supply) of the old ones, or do a ton of shelf rebuilding. I checked on Walmart’s website, and there are still some in stock, but not within 50 miles. Shipping is a possibility, but it’s a little pricey.

I guess there is a third choice: a grassroots effort to get Sterilite to return to the old design. Hopefully this inconsequential blog post, along with the nearly dozen people who will likely read it, will do the trick…

It’s powered by air pressure, which is created by the water pressure in the garden hose. It cost about $10-12 to build. Full instructions are available on the project page.

The good news is, this time of year, some of the parts are on clearance at the home improvement stores. Build one today, and be ready for the jack-o-lantern smashing kids this Halloween!