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Archives: August 2006

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August 30, 2006

DIY Pickle Light

Pickleglow
I have always wanted to try this!

1. Get a pickle.
2. Jam electrical wires into opposite ends of said pickle.
3. Plug wires into AC socket.

Notice, "Plug in..." comes LAST! Keep in mind, you are dealing with LIVE AC! Use common sense and all possible caution! I grabbed ahold of one of the wires while discussing it infront of a group of Physics Pholks at Rutgers a few years back and got a rude awakening! Made the demo much more interesting for the audience, but ruined my day (not to mention my shorts...). - Link

Update: Here's a video I found of it working and here's a link to an explanation.

Something from the comments- FYI: I would recommend doing it in a well-ventilated room. Electrified pickle is... aweful.

Fold-Up Speakers

4547315419364
I like that these come in a little zip lock baggy. I wonder if the cardboard boxes actually enhance the sound and work as a bass box or just make them more stackable? [Via] - Link

Beekeeping Basics

Fig17
Think of the crafty things you could make out of beeswax! Honey is a bonus! Here is a cool 4-H Basic Beekeeping manual pdf. - Link Update: Here's another cool Beekeeping overview - Link

Something from the comments - Link

August 29, 2006

Old School DIY Farm Equipment - Bill Whitaker's Homemade Tractor

Gallery 2019053-118-01

I want a tractor that goes 60 mph like this one! Winning pulling contests, drawing wagons, skidding logs, raking hay, pushing a snowplow: You name it and Bill Whitaker's do-it-yourself tractor does it. And the machine only cost $200 to build. And I'm wondering if that gives you any ideas?
- Link

Something from the comments - Link

Dr. Jeannine Mosely building the Business Card Menger Sponge

There's some new photos up on flickr (and in the MAKE and CRAFT flickr pools) showing the building process of Institute for Figuring exhibit, "The Business Card Menger Sponge" by Dr. Jeannine Mosely which is now on display at Machine Project (1200 D North Alvarado) in Los Angeles from August 26 - September 24, 2006 . Here Jeannine is doing some touch up surgery to the outer skin. Link. and Link.

More:
MAKE Blog post on event - Link.

Make your own musical instruments

Tim Escobedo says, "Simple AND playable DIY musical instruments in PVC, plastic and anything else that's cheap." Pictured here on the left is the $12 Uke and at right is the Plastic Fantastic Sax. Link.

Shopping cart sculptures

Ptolemy Elrington makes amazing sculptures from old shopping carts that litter our rivers and canals. See some of his amazing creations that also celebrate nature. Thanks Pekar! Link.

More:
Flickr photos from Birdfair 2006 in England - Link.

Portland Adult Soap Box Derby, Sept 9th

Team "Kiddie Pool-o-Def" wanted us to know about the upcoming Portland Adult Soap Box Derby on Saturday, September 9th. "An interesting group, ranging from those out for maximum speed to those avoiding speed in creative ways (including ours). Previous years have had 1/4 scale Winnebago's, canoes, pirate ships, kiddie pools, giant snow balls, boom boxes, bagpipes, etc." Link.

Toolmonger Review on Black & Decker's AutoWrench

Toolmonger has a great in depth review and test on Black & Decker's Auto Wrench. Toolmonger says, "We were concerned about the AutoWrench's strength, so we built a cool test rig to measure exactly how much torque it could take. Afterward we disassembled our test subject and found some parts Makers'll definitely want to scavenge once the neighbor loses interest in his new AutoWrench." There's lots of pictures of the test rig build and a video of the test itself. Link.

Bakken Summer Science Camp

Justin says, "What do you get when you bring over 150 kids into a workshop and tell them they can build whatever they want? That is what we did at the Bakken Summer Science Camp and they came up with some amazing stuff. Boats, cars, robots, secret alarms, ping pong ball throwers, light up dog houses and so much more. I will never cease being amazed by the creativity of children." Link.

Set up a hydroponic herb garden

J says, "Build a basic hydroponic herb garden in under an hour that will supply fresh herbs year round." Link.

TechShop - A place for Makers to work on their projects

Hey Makers! If you like to build stuff but you don't have the tools, equipment, space, or know-how, TechShop is for you! TechShop is a membership-based drop-in workshop in Menlo Park on the San Francisco peninsula that provides members with access to a full range of hand tools and machines to safely perform practically any task any DIY project. The equipment at TechShop includes welders, milling machines, lathes, drill presses, band saws, sheet metal equipment, a 3D printer and laser cutter, vacuum forming system, presses, an electronics lab, sandblaster, air tools, and just about every other tool that a Maker would ever need.

TechShop also offers a wide variety of classes for members and non-members of all ages and skill levels in topics including soldering, welding, machining, CAD, 3D printing, laser cutting and etching, electronics, robotics, hacking, Legos and VEX, programming, green materials and design, sheet metal fabrication, plastics, and so much more.

The most exciting part of TechShop is the community that is already springing up around it. With nearly a thousand people on the mailing list for membership and classes, and over a hundred people who want to teach classes at TechShop, there will be a lot of really smart and interesting people hanging out there all the time.

TechShop is throwing a Preview Party on Saturday, September 9, 2006 from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Attendees can tour the 15,200 square-foot TechShop building, participate in a variety of activities and demonstrations for kids and adults, meet some of TechShop's partners including Make Magazine, HdB Electronics, Metal Supermarkets, and TAP Plastics, and even take advantage of special early membership sales. Link.

TechShop
120 Independence Dr
Menlo Park, CA 94025
http://www.techshop.ws
info@techshop.ws
1-(800)-640-1975

Monocopter - Personal flying suit project

This site documents the efforts of Andreas Petzolt who is designing and building a turbine-powered personal flying suit. Thanks to Richard Harding for sending this in! Link.

Automotive 12V to +-20V converter for audio amplifier

Jonathan Filippi says, "It is a classic push-pull design, taking care to obtain best symmetry (to avoid flux walking). Keep in mind that this circuit will adsorb many amperes (around 10A) so take care to reinforce power tracks with lots of solder and use heavy wires from the battery or the voltage will drop too much at the input. The transformer must be designed to reduce skin effect, it can be done using several insulated magnet wire single wires soldered together but conducting separately. The regulation is done both by the transformer turn ratio and varying the duty cycle. In my case i used 5+5 , 10+10 turns obtaining a step up ratio of 2 (12->24) and downregulating the voltage to 20 via duty cycle dynamic adjust performed by the PWM controller TL494." Link.

More DIY Musical Instruments: PVC Recorder

A bit of PVC, a bit of wood, a few tools and you can toot your own recorder!

August 28, 2006

PSP Lunchbox

Insidelunchbox-1
A soft and friendly psp lunchbox mod action.

Now I was a little worried about my PSP and game bouncing around inside my new ironic metal lunch box so I went and got a large padded shipping envelope and cut it down by tracing the sides into one big insert. I made a single piece in the shape of a cross and taped it all up with some white duct tape. I taped it to the tin first and made a nice and tight fit. My PSP and games in Minidisc cases fit just with some headphones about right without much bouncing around. - Link

DIY G-Meter

Accel

Slap this G-meter on your home-made rocket to measure the Gs that you pull when you lift off. Remember, more than 3 Gs is really really uncomfortable for humans! [via] - Link

Neptune: Homemade Instrument Action

Neptune

Neptune is a band that plays rough musical instruments roughly. If you live in Seattle and you're into dirty DIY music action, you probably already have tickets for tomorrow night's show. Check out some photos of their instruments. - Link

Chumby

It's a widgetized touchscreen open source thingy that connects to the internet via wifi. Mad hacking to ensue. - Link

Penny alcohol backpacking stove

Here's a tutorial by Mark Jurey on how to make a homemade backpacking and camping stove. From the site, "The low-pressure Penny Stove is so simple that you can build a rough one on the trail with a pocket full service knife - no insulation, rulers, epoxy, needles, or tape. If you have played with homebuilt stoves before, this one should be a snap. Some have built the burner in just 10 minutes." Link.

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