Gin
Isn't the distillation process prone to explosions? How would one get started? How much capital is needed?
My neighbour just mentioned having been recently granted approval to make gin at home. Wonder if I should be concerned...
Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?
421–428 of 428 posts
Re: Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?
#422Earlier quoted context omitted.
My first prototype was for my own ('98 Kawasaki STX900) so I just asked if anyone was interested buying a set in a Kawasaki forum I frequented heavily. When custom orders started coming in I just asked for a picture of their current footwell/tread mat and cross-referenced measurements online. I erred on the side of leaving some models larger so the customer could trim it on their end, but the majority follow a really…
Thanks for sharing! One last question. How did the astro-turf compare as a slip-free material compared to more conventional materials?
Surprisingly well, actually. The traction material I removed from my 24-year-old ski was some sort of neoprene-like foam rubber and worked fine despite being original equipment. Each individual astroturf blade has less grip compared to the rubber, but exponentially more surface area; your feet and toes almost sink into the grass instead of resting on top of a rubber mat that's typically covered in water. The benefits are particularly noticeable when leaning into the curves at higher speeds or just hooning it in general.
Because the turf is a highly-textured surface, there's far less tendency for your feet to slip in any direction when the mat is waterlogged and/or during high lateral-g maneuvering, while still retaining the "self-cleaning" characteristics of the foam rubber. The backing surface of the turf is very similar to the original rubber, just arranged in a square cell pattern. Slap some contact cement in the footwells and you've got a replacement that (IMO) exceeds the traction of the OEM mats and looks 100x cooler. I've been running them on my ski for two years now and have yet to see a blade come off after a ride, no matter how hard I push it.
Re: Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?
#423Earlier quoted context omitted.
We are in Ontario, Canada, if it matters. I know Quinn from blondiehacks orders from them without difficulty, so I’m not sure what it is about us that they don’t like. They tend to be very curt/nearing unfriendly in their responses.
Quinn is in LA. They just don't like bothering with international shipping.
Ah, my mistake, thanks for letting me know.
Re: Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?
#424I've given this advice elsewhere, and I'll give it here. Go look at the small business initiatives by each branch of the U.S. military; many are now posting lists of open contracts that you can bid on for an incredible array of things. Browse through those lists and find something you can build. I really believe the U.S. military is in the midst of a large scale transfer of military spending from traditional large de…
> The Air Force has even opened its own venture capital arm and is actively investing in small businesses.
In-Q-Tel is the VC arm of the CIA. I've never directly done a deal with them but the employees I've met seem really nice and helpful
Re: Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?
#425I don't know what you can do in your garage, but in my two car garage I can do: * Basic blacksmithing (small furnace & anvil) * Woodwork using power tools & manual tools (table saw, miter saw, router table, band saw, planer, etc) * Metal working * Ceramics casting * Jewelry making * 3D printing (resin and reel) * Laser cutting (48 x 24) * Vacuum forming * Robotics * Paint spraying (just bought a five stage paint blow…
That's not a garage, that's better equipped than many hacker spaces where people pool money to finance shared equipment. This is not like an ordinary thing everyone can just do if they want to, at least not if it's not part of a business plan to manufacture a particular thing with it.
Re: Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?
#426Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have a workshop/gym in my 2-car garage and his space doesn't look much bigger than mine. (It is, however, infinitely cooler than mine) He's got the tall ceiling, yeah, but he wasn't using it in any way that I can see. Power hookups likely wouldn't be an obstacle if one was recreating this in a residential garage. Would just need 220V for some of the machines I bet. Key here is that for Grant's line he surely you ru…
In the video, they call out that it's "about 5 or 6 hundred square feet". An average 2 car garage is ~360 square feet, so it'd definitely closer to a 3-4 car garage.
You guys have garages? That would be the #1 issue for people in my circles. I get that the thread has that as a premise, but to assume that it's larger than the size of the vehicle you need to house in it surprises me. Also, where does the vehicle go? is what I've always wondered when hearing of american garage startups.
Edit: just re-read the OP, they do mention 2-car specifically actually
Re: Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?
#427Custom length power/data cables like SATA/SAS with various connectors. The biggest obstacle would be that you'd need to test them, but you could start doing so with second-hand hardware. Pair it with a nice website with instant pricing calculator, and I bet you will see business.
Low resistance across each of the pins in the finished connector is not enough for testing? That's how cable tester devices, like for CAT5, work afaik. Maybe add another test for ground (like add another multimeter that is connected to ground and make sure it's not being shorted to ground) but that's all you need for most regular dumb cables, I would think?
Of course, if the cable itself is also a device and the cable has a protocol of its own that it needs to speak (looking at USB-C here, I read these stupid things need chips now to indicate they can safely carry more power), then things get more complicated
Re: Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?
#428Earlier quoted context omitted.
In the video, they call out that it's "about 5 or 6 hundred square feet". An average 2 car garage is ~360 square feet, so it'd definitely closer to a 3-4 car garage.
You guys have garages? That would be the #1 issue for people in my circles. I get that the thread has that as a premise, but to assume that it's larger than the size of the vehicle you need to house in it surprises me. Also, where does the vehicle go? is what I've always wondered when hearing of american garage startups. Edit: just re-read the OP, they do mention 2-car specifically actually
Seems like you're outside the US, so I can share some fun little garage facts:
(context: I live in the american quintessential "suburbs", cul-de-sac and all.)
Around my parts, garages are ironically barely, if EVER, used for the cars! Something that surprised us when we moved here. Many houses around here are good examples of american excess; I've seen a couple houses with like between 4-6 cars(!) and all of them are just parked in the driveway (remember with all that space we also have room for like 6-8 cars in a driveway parked 2-by-2 behind each other). People just park all ("all" lol) their cars in the driveway, and then the garage is used for any number of things: - "shops" for wood/metalworking, or crafts - table/chairs for those "garage startups" - giant freezers for meats/breads/etc for larger families - massive amounts of STUFF -- I've seen way too many garages here that are just filled with hoarder-levels of STUFF. It's disturbing.
Personally, our garage is a 2-car garage, and we put our 1 car in there, and I use the rest for my little hobbyist carpentry area. Not enough space for a full workshop, but when I need more room I pull the car out to the driveway for a bit, then put things away and pull the car back in when I'm finished. That works well enough for me for now.
American suburbs are a bizarre place for sure. Hope that clears some stuff up!