Balance Fulcrum
I salvaged a balance that was being discarded down the hall at work. It still works fine; a balance should work forever, absent gross physical trauma.
I am slightly concerned about the crud that is dusted over the whole thing. The material looks like dust and corrosion of the underlying metal, but I do wonder what ate the label atop the fulcrum.
Attempt the first
The first attempt at 3d laser scanning. Verdict: needs work. And a better laser. (It always seems to come back to firepower.) Using a fixed-prism wall laser didn’t work well because one edge of the laser is much brighter, given that it is designed to fire down the length of the wall. What I need is an laser chalkline, which are a bit more expensive, though not prohibitively so. And yes, I am happy to live in a time when I can blithely go to the hardware store, and ask for “An adjustable prism laser and a pound of your finest nails, shopkeeper”.
In addition, I probably shouldn’t have tried to laser scan a reflective object. Some days I am surprised I can see my fingers to count to ten.
* It has been pointed out by a friend of mine that this is in fact my second attempt at this, as he helped me with the first, earlier in the day. Perhaps I should retitle the article “semi-successful attempt 1”.