Make: Online: Altoids and tin cases Archives

Archive: Altoids and tin cases

February 6, 2010

What to do with lots of Altoids tins?

Forum user LeversFulcrumsLoads has amassed a large quantity of leftover Altoids tins, and is trying to think of something to do with them. Now, we've covered many projects that make use of a single tin, but I can't think of any that called for a whole pile of them. Got some ideas? Chime in on the forum discussion!

It was like stumbling onto something out of National Treasure.
Is there an elegant way of punching holes in the sides without having sharp jaggies surrounding a USB socket?

With literally hundreds of tins, I was thinking on the best use of these (pocket survival kits, minty boosts, recycle, really big LED Throwie's, etc...) but have been overwhelmed by the staggering amount of sugars and fillers ingested in order to stack this cache up. Insights are welcomed. Wow, talk about supporting the U.S. market.

More:

November 21, 2009

Mint tin electronics dev kit packs the essentials

From the MAKE Flickr pool

Once you've caught the 'electronics bug', spending time away from the workbench/lab can seem an unpleasant prospect. Luckily, one can carry on learning and experimenting with a minimal amount of hardware. Nick shares his own recipe for ultra-compact electronics prototyping - the Altoids Tin Electronics Lab

This is a small electronics lab in an altoids tin. It contains nearly everything to work on small projects, such as a breadboard, components (including several ICs), and a adjustable power supply. The power supply is a simple LM317 circuit, with the 317's metal tab cut off to make it fit.

For details, check out Nick's essential part list. I'm guessing quite a few of us have mobile kits along these lines. Share pics of your setup via the MAKE Flickr pool - we'd love to see 'em!

September 8, 2009

Arduino iPod Remote

Maker David Findlay gets his Arduino Nano talking AAP to his iPod using a SparkFun PodGizmo connector, BOB-08745 Logic Level Converter, and a ginormous red button.

Of course, hooking up wasn't going to do much without some code to talk Apple Accessory Protocol, so that was the next task. I wrote an Arduino library for the parts of the Apple Accessory Protocol that I was going to need, and a bit more besides. I posted it on github in case anyone else wanted to use it. It comes with a couple of example sketches: a play/pause one using Simple Remote mode (wonder where I got that idea from); and one for Advanced Remote mode that pulls back information for the track that the iPod is currently playing. The latter could form the basis of an Arduino-based dock that showed track information on an LCD display, for example.

August 26, 2009

Altoids Tin Garden

Marque Cornblatt of Gomi Style crafted these sweet miniature gardens in Altoids tins. Marque used tiny succulent cuttings and small herbs in organic potting soil, and suggests misting them a few times a day. My favorite is the little garden he made for Buddha:

There are tons of cool project ideas that involve Altoids tins, and this is a great twist.

August 10, 2009

Altoids tin woodworking tools

Woodworking Magazine ran an Altoids tin contest. Here are some of the results. The winning entry was Tom Bier's router plane (top three pics). Runners up included Kevin Bosse's light-duty vise and Kevin Hurbanis off-set gauge.

Thanks to @JeffreyGifford for the Twitter tip-off

The Winner of Our Altoids Tool Contest

July 31, 2009

Mint-tin key carrier

When I first saw this, I didn't think it seemed like such a bright idea -- maybe because of how it apparently beats the crap out of the tin and because this guy carries a lot of keys. I only carry three and a flat LED keyfob flashlight. And I always carry a tiny-tin Altoids box with my meds in it. I'm always looking to consolidate the contents of what I carry -- cut down on that chipmunk-cheeks pocket bulge -- so maybe I'll experiment.

Keychain box

June 26, 2009

Altoids tin tacklebox

If fishing is in your weekend plans, you can whip up this quickie Altoids tin tacklebox! It uses an old gift card and some popsicle sticks to make compartments and a stacking tray.

June 15, 2009

Minty kalimba

This Altoids tin electric kalimba appeals to me as a highly portable but still simple musical instrument, and you can plug it into an amp, too! Learn to make your own thanks to Deansrds' tutorial.

March 10, 2009

Mint tin trickle charger

This Instructable shows you how to build a lighter-based 12v battery trickle charger made from a laptop power supply, a LM317T regulator, and an Altoids tin (and some other misc components).

Car Battery Charger from Spare Parts in Mint Tin

January 13, 2009

How-to Tuesday: Maker's Notebook & contest

This week I have 3 modifications of the Maker's Notebook. I started out by adding a small pocket inside the book to keep a pen. Next, I added a snap closure to keep everything secure. Finally, I added a pocket to the back of the book for keeping acetate film to use as overlays for my sketches.

Since I did 3 mods to my Maker's Notebook, I decided it would be cool to give away 3 Maker's Notebooks. All you have to do is post your modified Maker's Notebook in the MAKE Flickr photo pool and tag it "mymakersnotebook". Next Tuesday I will ask everyone at Make to help me pick our favorite 3 modifications. The winners be announced next week and they will receive a new Maker's Notebook to hack up all over again!

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Good luck, and I'll see you next week with the results!

In the Maker Shed:

Pick up The Maker's Notebook ($19.99) for all your big ideas, diagrams, patterns, etc. Exclusive to the Maker Shed: Sticker sheets and a band closure to customize your book.

January 1, 2009

Minty soldering jig

Bob Hickman, Minty Amp maker, sent us a howto on making a jig for small form factor soldering projects.

I often have to solder up a bunch of PCBs that are the same size, but have a bunch of fiddly components on them.

To save time and frustration, I decided to re-purpose a used chewing gum tin to make a jig so I could solder multiple boards at once and keep my components from moving about.

His hack allows you to place all of the components and then solder them all at once, which is pretty handy even if you're not soldering a bunch of boards at the same time. The trick is to cram a bunch of flame retardant foam inside and close the top cover, sandwiching the components onto the PCB. You can then move things around as you please and your hands are free to work the solder and iron.

Simple Soldering Jig

December 28, 2008

Reader built fume extractor from the MAKE blog

One of my first builds for the MAKE blog was the mint tin fume extractor. I was hoping someone would make a version and post it on the web, and it finally happened. Thanks for the link Phil, and a big Thank You to Shawn for posting a video of your mint tin fume extractor.

More about a Reader built fume extractor from the MAKE blog

Did you ever make a project from the MAKE blog? If so, send us a link so we can share it with our readers. Thanks!

More:
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Make a Mint tin fume extractor

December 6, 2008

MAKE Project Tin button box

In one episode of the Make: television show I do an Input >> Arduino >> Output demonstration to explain how the microcontroller reads a button press and plays a light pattern on some LEDs. To keep things clear visually, I mounted the buttons in one MAKE Project Tin, the Arduino in the middle, and the LEDs in another tin. I also used one of these tiny breadboards to wire it up (I ran out of time to solder anything). All hail the humble Altoid tin!

July 24, 2008

Pocket Synths by James Watt

James Watt, maker of the Solar Thereamin I build a while back, has another really cool project. This time he created 2 pocket synthesizers inspired by the Atari Punk Console and a post on the Voices of Saturn Synth kit. I really hope he turns this into a kit like the solar theremin. [Thanks Jim]

Since I appear to have a lot of altoids tins kicking around I wondered what other musical toys could be housed in 'em. The mention of The Voice Of Saturn on the Make blog a few weeks back got me onto the 'atari punk console' so I put one of 'em + power and a clock into one tin and a simple analogue sequencer in another tin and I've got the heart of a modular synth set-up up and running :) My sequencer was inspired also by the voice of Saturn sequencer but I simplified and modified it so it can run in series or parallel so you can have as many sequential steps as you like. Going to add an LFO next and maybe a solar power supply + whatever other nonsense I can think of.

A little more about Pocket Synths by James Watt

July 10, 2008

Lunch box guitar

A link to this was posted in the comments to yesterday's cigar box guitar post, but I thought it was cool enough to get its own item. Be sure to check out the builder's Flickr sets for his cookie tin banjo and his cigar box guitar.

Lunch Box Guitar

June 30, 2008

Cigarette tin "boom" box

Tiny "boom" box, built from a Lucky Strikes tin, an old MP3 player, an LM1877n-9 amp chip, and some garage sale speaks. It's dubbed the "Mobile Oppression Unit." Can it really be THAT loud? Or maybe it's the likely lo-fidelity when cranked that makes it oppressive.

Mobile Oppression Unit

June 16, 2008

Solar Theremin in an Altoids tin

James made another cool project. This time it's a solar powered Theremin powered by the 1381 solar engine. You can buy a kit on his website, but he even included the schematics (at the bottom of the site) if you want to go ahead and make one from scratch. Thanks James!

Read more about a Solar Theremin in an Altoids tin

Related:

An amazing Solar dragonfly

June 3, 2008

YBox2 Kit - DIY Set-top box

Ybox T
Caweather T
Ytwitter T
I had a chance to tinker around with the new kit available from Adafruit Industries the YBox2 Kit - DIY Set-top box - very fun, you can make your own stand alone Twitter viewer, weather widgets and more - and of course, fits inside an Altoids tin.

The YBox2 is a DIY networked set-top box. Connect it to your TV and you can design customized content to be delivered direct from the Internet.
This project is great for people who want a new platform to experiment with. The video and Internet cores are ready to go and easy to work with. We have some example widgets that demonstrate the YBox2's capability, and the whole project is open source so you can start hacking your own. If you've ever been curious about the Parallax Propeller chip, the YBox2 is a perky little platform with tons of accessories.

The YBox was first invented by Uncommon Projects, as part of Yahoo Hack day. Robert Quattlebaum is the main designer behind the YBox2.

Built using the new Parallax Propeller chip - 8 cores, 32KB of RAM running at 80MHz!
Works with any NTSC or PAL TV that has composite (RCA) input
Works with any network router that supports DHCP, just plug in an Ethernet cable and you're ready to go
Kit comes with an Internet-enabled bootloader, so you can upload new programs directly from your computer, without a special cable or prop-plug (Propeller chip programmer)
IR receiver for using a TV remote control
Full color status LED
Piezo Buzzer for generating beeps, alarms, and tones
Pushbutton for input
Lots of examples programs to try out
Fits in an altoids tin!

April 17, 2008

Arduino in an Altoids tin

TriggerDog has been doing the projects in Making Things Talk, and came up with a great way to take the Arduino on the go:

Small easy, and awfully unorigional. But, useful and free. Now I can bring my arduino with me in my laptop bag and goof around with it at lunch time at work or wherever. I am thinking I would put a breadboard in another tin of some sort and put a battery pack inside to run any projects I might feel inclined to proto.

Arduino + Altoids Tin

Related:
9780596510510 Lrg

April 2, 2008

How to: Candy tin fume extractor

1 fe_smoke2.jpg
A fume extractor uses an activated carbon filter and fan to remove the smoke, and noxious fumes, created from soldering. The average price of a small hobby version is about $100, this one will run you about $10. This fume extractor will not be as effective as a larger one, but it is better than nothing, and extremely portable. Remember, always work in a well-ventilated area.

Parts you need:

(1) 7812 - Voltage regulator
(1) Candy tin
(1) Switch
(1) 40 mm case fan
(2) 9-Volt batteries
(2) "Cheap" 9V battery connectors (see step 2 & 3)
(2) Pieces of screen
(1) Piece of activated carbon filter
Some heat shrink tubing
A few inches of Wire
Rosin core solder
Miscellaneous screws and washers
Paint (optional)

Tools you need:

Soldering iron
Dremel with cutoff wheel
Drill & small drill-bits
Fine tip marker
Various Screwdrivers
Wire cutters
Safety glasses

Step 1 : Build the circuit

I decided that that a quick mock-up might be a good idea. I am glad I did. At first, I thought that running the case fan off of just (1) 9-Volt would provide adequate power. In the end I decided that 12 volts "sucked" better, and in this case it's a good thing.

The final circuit uses a simple switch, (2) 9 volt batteries, a 40mm case fan, and a 7812 voltage regulator. The 7812 takes voltage from the (2) 9-Volts that are wired in series and steps the voltage down from 18-Volts to 12-Volts, which is what the fan requires.

Step 2 : Solder components
3 fe_soldering.jpg
Notice the battery connectors; they are the flexible vinyl version, not the hard plastic type. This allows them to easily fit in the case.
2 fe_soldered_up.jpg
This is a very simple circuit. Solder it according to the diagram, making sure to attach the component leads to the 7812 properly. Don't forget to use heat shrink tubing on the connections, this is in a metal box.....metal conducts electricity!

Step 3 : Make sure it all fits
4 fe_allfits.jpg
Everything can be stuffed into the tin, but make sure you use the cheap kind of 9 volt connectors. The cheap ones are the kind made of vinyl, not rigid plastic. The difference in thickness is minimal, but it is enough to stop you from putting both 9 volts in the case.