Bedroom Curtains

This thing was one of the first projects I started when I moved into this place, and 4 or 5 trips to Ikea later I still do not have everything. Some parts I messed up, some parts I discarded because I realized I needed something else, some remain out of stock, and some do not exist in the configuration I need.

The instruction manual will not help you. And I am far too long-winded and you are far too easily bored for me to make this a step-by-step how-to. But feel free to learn from my mistakes— believe me, it’s an plentiful resource.



It’s a good idea to place the mounts away from the frame— it can be difficult to slide the brackets on and off the mounts if you put them tight against the frame.

The hardware pack doesn’t include screws, so you have to buy your own. It is kind of a long story what I ended up using but it looked like this:



(1/4" drill bit,

Crown Bolt brand Ribbed Plastic Anchors #10-12x1.25" (#8-10 would be more secure, I simply had these on hand. Compensate with the bit if you use smaller anchors),

I don’t know what kind of screws these are but you should probably use drywall screws, I guess these are #8 size, 2" long, must be flat-head.

Home Depot.)

Most of the time brackets won’t go on is because the screw head is sticking just proud of the mounting plate surface. Though the mounting plate holes can probably clear to a #12 screw, using slightly smaller screws like #8s will clear the mounting plate surface more easily.



The Kvartal triple track rail with a single track. With this configuration you can have 3 blinds and a set of curtains. For this single window I’ll only need 2 blinds to cover the width, so one rail will be vacant. You are giddy with excitement.

Lightly attach the rail mount plates on the mounting brackets.

Make sure the screws are clearing the bottom of the plates, otherwise they’ll jam in the rails.



The post that secures the bracket to the rail usually is screwed into the middle hole, but can be replaced into any of the four others (Note triple rail is secured far out on rail mounting plate to clear end plug; single rail is secured far in on plate to extend out for the curved end).

Slide the brackets/plates onto the rails. Make them loose enough to move along the rails. Hold the entire rail/brackets up to the wall plates and slide them into position. Tiring isn’t it? Go get a helper. Then make them stand up there with it while you stand back to judge “centeringness”.

Take the rail off the wall and move the brackets into the to appropriate positions if you hadn’t done so when against the wall. Tighten one of the rail/bracket sets. Move the other bracket set about 2.5 inches in towards the center. Insert an allen wrench into one of the screws on this bracket.

Bring the rail back up to the wall and slide the tightened rail/bracket set onto its wall plate. Then slide the other loose mount across the rail onto its wall plate. With the allen wrench already in one of the screws, it is one less to try to find when tightening the other bracket.

I know this sounds complex but trust me, this is WAY easier than putting the brackets on the wall and then hunting around trying to tighten the allen screws when they’re above your head and out of sight.



I wanted a closeup of the rails but the happenstance appearance of the Dignitet makes me feel like an Ikea shill.



AUGUST 20, 2010
Ikea has been out of the blue blind panels now for a couple of weeks. I checked the website— none listed. Appears Ikea has discontinued them...notice the irony?

AUGUST 30, 2010
Okay, the blue blind panels have returned to stock. I’ll make a post, maybe tonight, about finally finishing this part. Proper drapes with proper curtain hook mounts are still AWOL and it looks like they’ll have to be custom-made. So of course they will be expensive!

DR-110 Modbox

I picked up a Boss Dr. Rhythm DR-110 this week. I had wanted one for a while. They’re still relatively cheap though like all things analog, hype has been driving up the price from $70-80 out past $100. The 110 was the last analog drum machine made by Boss (or it’s parent company Roland) in 1983. The specs on this machine are well-documented all over the net, so I won’t go over them here. I consider the TR-606 to sound like a lower-fi version of the TR-808, and the DR-110 to be an even lower-fi version of the 606. However, the 110 really does sound like a toy compared to the other two. But we’ll see how the sound opens up after it gets heavy modification. Ideally what I want to do is be able to sync both my 606 and 110 to a sequencer and run them simultaneously under sequencer patterns.

The first order is disassembling and washing the case. Yes, the first thing I do when I get second-hand gear is wash it. When was the last time YOU washed any of your gear? I simply use a soft handsoap and a soft toothbrush to get into any tiny or deep crevices, but I try to not be too particular about this stuff— gear is meant to be played, not sit on a shelf revered as a museum piece.

Mondo Generator / Knife gig flyer

I got little farther on the blinds, but my housemate asked me to do a quick n’ dirty gig flyer for his band so part of the evening was dedicated to that. I started with a simple b&w version, and eventually came up with this:



When I described it to Eric, he wasn’t impressed.


UPDATE: Mondo Generator postponed their tour— this show is no longer happening.

Room Divider - how this shit starts, every time

Sketch I made during lunch for the Bookcase Room Divider project.

The main vertical parts will be painted white, clear sealant. Edging finished with white plastic edge tape. Drawer unit would be stained dark walnut or something. Drawer exterior in white, interior in color?

Need:
Birch Plywood Planks
White Plastic Edging Tape
Birch Veneer Edging Tape
Edging Trimmer
Drawer Slides
Drawer Pulls
Dovetail Cut Template Rig

Discarded Ideas:
I thought I could have the tops of these planks past the topmost shelf could be cut in the kitchy “tree” shapes at the top of the sketch and left unstained or lightly stained, thus showing the “wood” irony. The white edge tape would continue up the front edge but would terminate to birch edge tape at first sharp bend. I decided this was too much detail given the contour cut on the front. Save it for something else?

Exponential spacing of vertical supports— closest in the middle, becoming farther towards the right and left sides. Discarded for difficulty in making a natural-appearing contour cut.

What the Hell is a Dignitet

Those füny Swedes and their phüny werds! Ikea’s Dignitet system is basically a metal cable secured between two wall or ceiling points. As far as I knew you hang stuff off it— like posters or notes. I have seen this type of thing in design studios for years. Only after I went to the Ikea website did I realize it is termed as a “curtain wire”. I guess you could hang your laundry off it too, it the line was supported well enough. I knew they also manufactured additional supports. Because I saw the physical package first (again, termed ONLY “Dignitet”) and not the website (where it was termed “corner piece”), I gleaned these could go around inside and outside corners and devised the crazy setup below.

Something that is very important to know is when marking out the screw points, is to screw the post tightly into the base, line up the hole through the post which the cable will travel and THEN mark the holes. This may seem common sense, but when I started, “putting two of the three holes is better on the stressed side because two anchors will be more stable than one”— NO. Make sure the sure the line hole is straight and let the support screw positions fall into precedence. Also, only use each post/base set per it’s marking— the threads on each set may be slightly different, which will cause problems if you bang out all the markings using one set. The United States thanks you for choosing Chinese-quality machining.



Unsurprisingly the wall isn’t flat or parallel so I think some adjustment is necessary...

More to follow, I’m adding another line going around the stairwell.

The First Thing I Just Did.

I had the idea tonight of making a new blog documenting my constant dreaming up a bunch of cheap-at-first-but-eventually-expensive, difficult-to-achieve projects I continue to undertake, and usually abandon because I get bored with it and move onto whatever is the next amazing thing in my unbelievable life. I have another blog here, which I haven’t done anything with since late 2008. That is part of another project, yes I will do it already soon okay. So I did this, envisioned and executed in a few hours. Nice small project. But also to put me on public trial to the point of seeing all of these orphaned ideas are completed. What is next?

ELECTRONICS
TR-606 Modbox, insanity
Rehouse/Mod 2 Paia Fatmans, dual insanity
DR-110 Modbox, mini-insanity
The WSG Synth has upon it’s faceplate it’s own tiny Gay pride parade (oh, you’ll see)
Yes, I ordered a Gristleizer kit, no I never completed it but I will now, I guess
Do I really want to make a Vocoder, much less two of them?

LIVING SPACE
Bedroom Curtains, I am so Gay
Ikeahack Desk Drawer Mod
What the Hell is a Dignitet
My Idea of a Bedroom Door
Visible Woman Model
Crawlspace Diorama It’s in the name of SCIENCE!
What am I going to do for a Room Divider
Platform Bed

DESIGN
TB


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