Come see the giant Iron Snail car the Golden Mean & the Golden Zeppelini
Maker Faire is about celebrating learning and doing – not the finished and perfect end product. It’s a place to share what we’re learning with others, and celebrate the fun and freedom of being an amateur.
Featuring both established and emerging local “makers,” the East Bay Mini Maker Faire is a family-friendly celebration coming to Oakland on Sunday, October 24, 2010. It will feature rockets and robots, DIY science and technology, urban farming and sustainability, alternative energy, bicycles, unique hand-made crafts, music and local food, and educational workshops and installations.
So many people that have hung out with the warmth and played in the sand of my wonderful Fire Gardens have asked me how they could make one of their own. Well I’ve taken the guess work out of all the fittings and sizes and put together a few kits that I use all the time in my work.
Available Kits:
FR12SLP 12″ steel fire ring with low pressure regulator
This is a great set up for 14-22″ sand gardens.
Contains:
12″ steel fire ring, weldable 1/2 coupler, 3/8″ 45 deg to 1/2 NPT fitting (to connect to the gas hose), 1/2 x 2″ brass nipple, Teflon tape, and a low pressure 1/4 FPT regulator with needle valve.
$95.00 plus tax and shipping
Examples of my Fire Gardens Made with this setup
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FR12SHP 12″ steel fire ring with a 0-60 psi regulator and a venturi mixer
This is a great setup for 14-22″ sand gardens, rocks, high temp glass, or other porous materials etc that need a venturi (gas air mixer) to achieve a clean soot free burn.
12″ steel fire ring, weldable 1/2 coupler, 3/8″ 45 deg to 1/2 NPT fitting (to connect to the gas hose), 2pc 1/2 x 2″ brass nipples, gas orifice (.0250), Teflon tape, and a high pressure 0-60 psi regulator.
$150.00 plus tax and shipping
Examples of Fire Gardens and Patio Heaters (Replaced the fire ring with unique burners) made with this setup
Upgrades to above kits:
18″steel fire ring $22 (good for 24-30″ sand gardens)
12″ stainless steel fire ring $60 (Stainless will last longer and the small gas hole won’t rust shut if you leave in the rain)
18″ stainless steel fire ring $90
FR18SSLP $185
In addition to these kits you will need a container that is able to handle high temperatures and be fully sealed underneath (leaks or drain holes will also allow gas out). A 55 gal drum works good. The weldable coupler provided will need to be welded though the bottom, legs added, then simply attach the fittings, ring, hose, propane BBQ tank and add sand. Sand should be 3-4″ above the ring. This is a match light system and I like those plumbing torches to light mine. Light the torch, then turn on the gas with the flame above the sand. It will take several seconds for the sand to fill with gas and rise to the top. Once lit it’s time to play in the sand with simple tools. This works best after dark when you can turn the flame down very low tell you only see a blue flame.
Fire is hot! DO NOT TOUCH the sand. It’s sticks and will burn before you can get it off. I would add a safety rail to keep young ones from falling on the hot edge and in the sand. It’s also a great place to keep your tools and rest your feet. 30″ is a great height to stand next to, and 14-18″ is great to sit around. Provide a minimum of 6″ below the coupler on the bottom for the fittings and hose. Keep your sand dry by covering in the rain.
Contact me at 510 444 7007, or email me at books@formandreform.com
The Boiler Bar & Theater are gearing up for Maker Faire next week and looking forward to seeing everyone!
We are bringing the Boiler Bar, Boiler Bar Stage, and the Giant Iron Snail Car the Golden Mean.
Look for us near Oaks Hall behind the Mouse Trap
Show times for the Boiler Bar are: 1:30, 3:30, 7pm Sat. & 1:15, 4:15 Sunday
Wonderful photo’s from our last show by Taboo
Great day (thanks Dale and the Make crew). I don’t get out in the real world much and I always love learning new things at these events. From afar I don’t think I have anything in common with the tech world but I always find common ideas and go home wanting more. Here’s what I walked away with:
- 1 gal of gas equals 1000 man hours of labor. Try rototilling your garden by hand sometime and you will know this to be true. I love the smell of gas and fresh turned soil.
- A chicken needs 200 calories a day and provides 96 calories/ egg. Not bad if most of that can come from your yard and food scraps. Auto chicken door needs refinement (another project).
- You can grow food using LEDs. Not sure why I would do this as I live in sunny CA and the sun has been working just fine, but now I know. more
- Educating my kid to change her habitual electrical use, and to remind me to do the same will probably work better than another gadget I never look at after the 1st week. I’m thinking an incentive program where youths turn in their parents for wasting resources!
- We are all to overwhelmed by information and each other to enjoy life. One of the reasons the events I host have been so popular. We show people things, then give them space to talk about it and to possibly participate if interested. Going to incorporate that into this blog with more how too post.
- Glad to see the people at Adobe are thinking about the impact packaging makes on the environment and front end solutions to aid designers in making educated environmental decisions.
- Robots won’t replace Zolie (my daughter) anytime soon.
Posted Under:
General Announcements
This post was written by Form & Reform on March 12, 2009
Comments Off on ETech 2009
Update:
We have decided for safety reasons to cancel our participation in this event. There is just not enough room for fire. Please come by, the robots look amazing!
Roboexotica USA!
What could be better in life than robots and cocktails? Well, nothing! Roboexotica is the premier cocktail making robot event which happens in Vienna each year. This week it comes to San Francisco. Join us for good music, cocktails, and robots that pour you drinks, insult you, and test your BAC. Several different artists from around the Bay Area and Europe will be presenting their work for your imbibing pleasure.
This Saturday the first US Robexotica exhibition is opening at Space, 354 5th St. San Francisco.
The Austrian cocktail robots that came to the Bay Area for Maker Faire will be joined by several local creations, ones that have been to Vienna for Roboexotica before, and some that haven’t.
You are invited to join the Boiler Bar presenting VOLT/AGED whiskey at the grand opening on Sat. May 10th from 8pm-2am!
Don’t forget to Vote in SF Weekly “Best Of” for the Boiler Bar as the Best Bar in town!
It’s on the last page of the link below.
Jon Sarriugarte’s Boiler Bar Theater Presents
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Saturday:
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Circassian dancing beauties Denzel and Gibson
Mitara balances death
Dr. Morton presents a miracle elixir
Snake charmer Tansy
Dancing on Glass
Miss Melanie’s oddity emporium
Funambulist Mitara
Holy Volatile lights up the stage with fire
Uber Da entrances the musical ear
Fire Gardens to warm the body
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Sunday:
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A quartet of Circassian dancing beauties
Mitara balances death
Dr. Morton presents a miracle elixir
Snake charmer Tansy
Dancin on Glass
Miss Melanie’s oddity emporium
Funambulist Mitara
Denzel lights up the stage with fire
Links:
jonsarriugarte.com
dancerdenzel.com
gibsonpearl.com
mitara.com
myspace.com/pyraburns
solimeno.com
