Snap Press Conversion Time!

I've been wanting to convert my snap press into a Kick Press for a while now, Every since I saw a picture of it online. Well, Guess what? I'm doing it!

Well, actually, my husband is doing it for me. But I collected all the parts for it.

So here are the specs. I know I was lost looking for specs, and I want this to be easy for anyone to do.

Supplies needed:
--1 tool stand. I used a 29" Universal tool Stand, 29.99 from harbor freight, and 8 dollars shipping. if I had ordered a day earlier, I would have caught it on sale for 19.99.... but oh well.

--Lumber. I used 3/4" A/C Plyboard, one peice cut to the size of the bottom of the stand (it should have been a few inches longer, though, I think) and one peice for the top, a bit bigger than the top of the stand, to give me a good surface. (My stand is a very narrow one though, only 9.5 inches wide on top, so if you have a wider top, you may want yours to be closer to the size of your top.

You also need a peice for the lever. the ones I saw online used 2x4, but we used a length of 2x6. It gives a better foot space.

--Hardware. A hinge, we used a regular door hinge, and bolts to connect the pieces. You will also need some rope and brackets to connect the bottom of the stand to your base wood.

and here's how we built it.

step one: take the whole family to the store, get out of the car, and realize you forgot your list of measurements at home. Go Home and get them.

step two: Back to the store. buy hinges, and plywood. don't forget rope and bolts.

Step three: Make DH start putting the sucker together. Make sure to get a cute pic of Beeba 1 "helping" sand a paint stirrer.

Step four: get the sucker inside, and fight with getting the rope length exactly right. Realize the base wood should actually be a good six inches or so longer, because it is really not easy to press snaps while sitting with a diagonal push. It would be much easier to press them if the weight were straight downward.

Step four. Enjoy having a Kick press that, while not perfect yet, is a whole lot better than it was when it was fully manual.

I'll update when I finish improving it.

A New Hobby??

I sew, I knit, now, maybe I'll..... Spin?

That's right, I just bought my very first drop spindle. I can't wait for it to get here. I promise not to let it affect my shops... at least not at first, lol. Who knows, maybe somewhere down the line, it will be a new addition.

For now, Just a new hobby. One I can't wait to start. But wait... I still need fiber to spin. the Spindle I bought, from an Etsy shop, is supposed to come with "a generous handful" of fiber, to start learning with. But I am sure that wont last long.

So, I need to look for some fiber. What to try? Well, I am not all that knowledgeable about spinning, but I love wool, and have heard it is easy to learn on, so I bought a package of natural undyed roving too. I am thinking this way, I will be able to play... it was only $5 itself. (which I am guessing will mean not the best quality, but for a starter, I can't spend much)

Zorb... The next Best Diaper Fabric?

Probably not, but bot a terrible thing either. Marketed as "Super absorbent cloth", I got to try a bit this week for myself, Thanks to an acquaintance from an online group.

Overall, My feelings are that it is really no different from Microfibre. It will absorb, but it will also squish out fluid. You must have a fair amount of additional natural absorbancy to go with the Zorb, or you will just have a mess.

As far as the specifics, I made one diaper each for Beeba 1 and Beeba 2. Both are AI2 style, since if figured if the Zorb were a complete failure, I would have lost very little, it only being within the Soaker layers, and those not being attached to the diaper by more than snaps.

In Beeba 1's Diaper, a Large HHS, I started with a single soaker flap consisting of one layer Sherpa, 2 layers rib knit, and 1 layer Zorb. It worked, but not as well as I would have hoped. the Diaper leaked through after a little under 2 hours.

Later, I added a second flap consisting of 1 layer Sherpa, 1 layer Zorb, and a layer of Microchamois (for stay-dry). I was hoping for a trim night-worthy diaper.

I don't know if it will be night worthy, but it did prove Nap-worthy. So that is not too bad. It was super trim with only the first flap, but didn't last long. It is still pretty trim with the 2 flaps, and it holds well for AT LEAST enough time for regular day-time use. I should say, though, that Beeba 1 is nearing Potty training, and is also an average wetter, not heavy.

For Beeba 2, who is almost 4 months old, can you believe it?? seems like yesterday she was born!... anyway, for her, I used 2 flaps from the start. the bottoms flap consisting of 2 layers flannel, 1 Sherpa, and 1 Zorb, and the top of 4 layers flannel, 1 zorb, and 1 microchamois. She is a Heavy/Frequent wetter.

We tried hers on today, and it lasted less than an hour before either it was leaking through, or it might have been that her clothes were just wet from the rain. We'll try again later. Either way, though, the inside of the diaper was wet through, so I really don't think it would have lasted longer.