Make: Asks is a weekly column where we ask you, our readers, for responses to maker-related questions. We hope the column sparks interesting conversation and is a way for us to get to know more about each other.
This week’s question: What have you done to influence or help others in making their own creations?
I have a friend who regularly holds rooftop washer pitching tournaments. After telling him about my physical computing experience, he purchased an Arduino Kit and started working on an LED scoreboard that he can control with his IPhone.
Post your responses in the comments section.
Most people are used to cheap, dull, non-sharpenable, stamped sheet metal handsaws and so go for power tools as that is all they know. At various building projects I’ve loaned out my high alloy, tempered, precision taper-ground handsaws. People see and do the difference as in, their eyes light up and they say “NOW I understand the expression “The tool follows the hand which follows the eye!”"
The same with a good hammer. Newbies trying to drive smaller nails with a framing hammer know not to choke up and cannot if it has a handle only on the end and a skinny neck. Given an oval or hatchet-handled wood-handled hammer that they can choke up on as well as full swing, again their eyes light up “NOW I understand what “heft” means, the “feel in the hand!”"
Other examples are legion.
A teacher’s mission is to guide people to be better than we are.
“Lifelong Learning” means we are ALL teachers and we are ALL students.
One of the ways I inspire a young friend of mine is to start with her interests: dinosaurs or taking “anything” apart
On taking something apart to see how it works, we then put it back together to further understand how it was made.
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