Turned Treen Box

This is a small storage pot carved from laminations of laburnum (dark stripes) and sycamore (light stripes) it serves no particular purpose, it was just an exercise in wood turning and a gift for my mother.

Carved Morris 'Minor'

This is a small Morris Minor carved from a piece of lime from a picture in book, since it was a front view and at the time I had never actually seen one the back is not entirely accurate...

1996 Welded 'Crying Boy' Sculpture

This was a bit of arc welding practise that materialised into quite an attractive piece of art - I went down into an old rubbish pit behind my grandparents house and picked up all the bits of old iron I could find which was a piece of a lock, some nails and some old bits of wrought iron gate hinge. Just so you know it was supposed to represent a land mine victim hence only one and a half legs.

1997 'Pyramid Light'

This was a light specifically designed to throw a really soft, warm light just like a nightlight but safer and easier, particularly aimed at children who prefer to have a light on to go to sleep by but it does also make a nice general lighting feature. It is four pieces of frosted acrylic plastic in a pyramid shape on a laminated birch base which contains an electronic low voltage lighting transformer and a 10 watt Quartz-Halogen bulb.

1998 Whimshurst Machine

This was my GCSE Design & Technology project, it is a Victorian style Whimshurst machine which was an early electrostatic machine that was used as a source of high voltage for everything from the first experiments with X-rays to quack medicine. The particular one I made has 40cm disks and produces 15cm sparks which equates to around 150,000 volts. It also has a base on which the machine sits that contains a drawer to keep the accessories for the machine. The wooden parts of the machine are beech or mahogany, which incidentally came from the front door of the branch of Lloyds Bank at the top of my road when they ripped it out as part of a refurbishment. If you wish to know more about these machines visit 'Electrostatic Machines' which is a website maintained by a professor at the University of Rio de Janerio, my machines are on there as well as a wealth of information on the subject.

2000 Thermo-Electric Can Cooler

This is a device built as my AS level project whose purpose is to cool a can of beer or soft drink from a cigarette lighter socket of a car as quickly as possible. This is achieved through the use of a pair of aluminium block that fit snugly around the can which is inserted through the hole in the top, these are cooled by a powerful pair of Peltier Coolers which dissipates the heat via a pair of heat sinks and fans either side of the device. The temperature of the can is monitored via a thermometer pressed against the bottom of the can and the coolers and fans automatically switched off once the can reaches the required temperature. The device allows you to cool a 330ml can of drink from 20°C to 5°C in less than 5 minutes which is quicker even than a bucket of iced water, and a good deal more portable!

2001 Laser Entertainment System

This was my A2 level project which was to design and build a laser system that drastically undercut the competition by using cheap components in innovative ways. I was highly successful and produced a whole range of interesting effects for a relatively low cost of £400 compared to around £2000 for the nearest competitor. The unit is in two parts, the laser head on the left and the control unit on the right. Both pieces are hand made from clear acrylic plastic so that all of the hand etched PCB's inside are visible. This project was a major learning experience for me as i had not previously done very much electronics and I was obliged to teach myself electronics and PCB design.