Thingiverse – LittleChip

Tag: Thingiverse

Mezuzah

Posted on December 13, 2019 by LittleChip

My partner requested a mezuzah for our front door and asked that it have a modern design with, perhaps, the tree of life. The mezuzah holds a calligraphed scroll, and one should be able to open the mezuzah and inspect the scroll for damage.

My starting point for the design was a plug that would be at the bottom end. I could have 3D printed the plug, but I decided to go with a commercially available 8mm stopper (link below). The main body is one piece designed to keep out the rain. The decorative sleeve with the tree motif slides over the main body. The body and sleeve can be printed in whatever color combinations you like. I printed two versions — one with light and dark wood-PLA and one that is black-and-gold PLA. I also rendered a blue-and-white version using CAD software (Fusion 360).

We haven’t decided whether the wood-PLA or the black-and-gold will look better on our front door. I’ll post the final picture after it’s in place.

The mezuzah file is posted at Thingiverse.

Here is where I would have posted a link to the plugs, but they are not currently listed on Amazon. They are “Yoohey 100pcs Plastic Locking Hole Plugs Black 8mm.” They will probably reappear on Amazon or Alibaba. If you’re really stuck, drop me a line. I have 99 plugs left over and would be glad to put one in an envelope to you.

Mezuzah: Gold main body with black decorative sleeve

Angled view of black and gold mezuzah with plug. Plug has side snipped to fit against body tightly.

Bicycle Christmas Ornament

Posted on December 13, 2019 by LittleChip

My partner is a cycling enthusiast, so a bicycle ornament was just the thing to add to the Christmas tree. Here it is decorating our outside foliage (’cause we don’t have our tree up inside, yet!). Print it slowly. I used Cura’s ironing setting to fill in any small gaps on the top layer (25% flow during ironing). Jingle, jingle!

File is posted over at Thingiverse.

Chessmen of Mars Chess Set

Posted on November 22, 2018November 22, 2018 by LittleChip

There are a hundred chess set designs on Thingiverse, but this one called out to me. I’m not a chess player, but shouldn’t every household have a chess set?

I love the aesthetic, which according to its designer, Prot0typ1cal, is based on the artwork of Frank Frazetta’s illustrations for Edgar Rice Burrough’s 1922 classic “The Chessmen of Mars,” a volume in his “John Carter” series.

John Carter is famous (infamous?) as the worst-ever sci-fi movie, an award I’m sure could be debated. To judge for myself, I had to rent and watch it. I can see why John Carter failed at the box office. I only wish that the producers of The Phantom Menace had seen it, too, and they never would have created Jar Jar Binks.

The chess pieces have terrific detail. Not sure if the designer created the font, too, but each piece is labeled on its pedestal in a unique Martian-esque font. I was really pleased that even my cheapo printer reproduced the fine features.

This is a big print and took a month or more, printing out the components one or two each night. Each chess piece is several components that connect with a 1/4-20 screw. I ended up buying a range of lengths: 3/4″, 1″, 1 1/4″, and 1 1/2″ to accommodate the various heights.

Every chess set need a chess board, right? So I also printed a puzzle board for it, but I have to say that the plastic-on-plastic play is not a good feel to me. I prefer to use the wooden version.

Link to my Thingiverse Make post for the chess set.