Ridding Myself of Shelf Art and Wall Hangers

This isn’t entirely on-topic, but I thought some of you guys might get this. I recently sold a mechanical injection setup that had sat on my shelf for years. I only kept it so long because I liked to look at it. When a friend needed it… you know, to actually use it… I had to let it go and was left with an empty spot on my shelf.

To fill that spot, I built a little TV out of tech components that essentially just loops all of the .mp4 files I put onto a USB thumb drive. Here’s the basic idea:

It’s quickly become my favorite piece of shelf art in the lab. It’s filled with my favorite movies and vintage hot rod clips from a number of different eras and just sits there in silence. Every now and then, I will look over and see a scene playing that I love or a dragster roaring down the 1/4 and I turn up the volume and watch for a little while.

I actually like this thing from an aesthetic standpoint more than I liked the old Hilborn unit that it replaced. There’s something magical about moving pictures in such an archaic enclosure. I can’t explain it… but I do know part of it is simply relief. I am no longer harboring those feelings of guilt for hoarding a rare injection unit that should be on a car and not a shelf.

Not sure if that makes any sense or not to you guys… But it got me thinking – if ridding myself of that guilt felt so good, why stop there? I have other vintage items of speed that I know I will never use. It’s time to let them go to folks that have a real purpose for them.

This not only rids the guilt, but it also creates room to display the parts I have been reserving for projects I know I want to work on. And displaying this shit actually becomes motivating to work on those projects. Win/win.

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In any case, if you have any interest in seeing the build process of this TV thing you can check out the build video here. And if you have any interest in building one of your own, I’d be happy to help. The tech stuff might seem overwhelming at first, but anyone can do it… and I can certainly walk you through any of the tech stuff that scares ya.