Here's a neat idea for a tablecloth, by Kristine Bjaadal. Normally, one would avoid spilling things on their linens, however the Underfull Tablecloth has a hidden pattern built in that only shows up once it becomes stained. Now you can look at that lovely butterfly pattern and remember that one time you had a bit too much wine, without feeling bad about having ruined the tablecloth! [via neatorama]

From the MAKE Forums:

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:

• Altoids and tin cases
• Altoids Tin Garden
• Altoids tin trebuchet
• Altoids tin woodworking tools
• Solar Theremin in an Altoids tin
• Altoids tin guitar

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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!

Subscribe to the MAKE podcast | Download for iTunes

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

In the Maker Shed:

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

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:

Make a Mint tin fume extractor

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!

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

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

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

Read more about a Solar Theremin in an Altoids tin

Related:

An amazing Solar dragonfly

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!

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:

• Arduino guide @ MAKE
• Arduino archives @ MAKE
• "Making Things Talk" the best book on Arduino!
• Arduino in the Maker store

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

Notice the battery connectors; they are the flexible vinyl version, not the hard plastic type. This allows them to easily fit in the case.

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

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.

The things you need:

• MintyBoost kit - available in the Maker Shed
• Soldering Iron
• Rosin core solder
• Altoids tin or any other small tin

• Arms of Assistance - Make you own
• Helping hands for holding your parts
• Fume extractor

Step 1 : Take inventory

Spread out all the parts and make sure everything included. Check them against the bill of materials found in the how-to.

Step 2 : Parts placement

I chose to place, and solder, a lot of the components all at once. If you are new to soldering, or a bit rusty, you may want to only tackle a few parts at a time. I put everything, except the resistors and the IC holder, in and bent the wires so they would stay in place while soldering. Make sure you follow the polarity of the electrolytic capacitors (C2) and (C3) and the diode (D1).

Jean-Pierre Martineau made an instructable for making a pocket-sized watercolor set from an Altoids tin and some Fimo clay. Portable and practical!

Altoids Tin Guitar

Related:

Matchbox Synthesizer - Link

I put whiteboard marker on my fingers and pressed them on a piece of paper to get this footprint. The idea of sculpting them from PCB material came to me when I was trying to sleep. Ha ha. Next time I'll use thicker copper with a thicker substrate.

Nice work on the whole project. The labels and green metalflake are swanky.

Touchkeyer Ergometrics - Link

Hello friends and YBox enthusiasts! We have some exciting news to share. There is a new YBox on the block--the YBox 2!

The YBox made its debut as a quick and dirty prototype for Yahoo's first public Hackday. Then it reappeared as a kit, a series of workshops and a giveaway at last year's SF Maker's Faire. We had a great time sharing the project with folks, and so it's with real glee that we announce the YBox 2.

It was developed by Robert Quattlebaum a developer and classmate from the SF sessions. He's made a number of smart refinements to the project, including getting the cost down by replacing the Xport. Our secret (and admittedly improbable) goal was always to get this thing down to $10, and he managed to shave $50 off the cost with version 2! But there's more than just cost, including a speaker, a status light and countless tweaks. All in all a really exciting evolution. Congrats Robert.

Some of you have written to ask about new kits or to wonder why the wiki has been terrorized with spam. The kits are gone and we don't have time to make more. The good news is that the project continues and you can contact Robert if you'd like to purchase a new board or to download the board files and create your own Ybox 2. We'll work on getting the wiki cleaned up and we send a special thanks to all the folks who have put in countless hours scouring it.

OK that's it for now, happy hacking!

Related:

YBox in 60 Seconds - Link.

YBOX - turns a TV into a simple, web configurable ... - Link.

We built a beeping flashing toothbrush timer like the one on the Philips SoniCare toothbrush for just a few dollars and plenty of experience and fun.

It seems that everyone and their mother is cramming various projects into mint tins these days. Well, that's a bandwagon that I just couldn't resist jumping onto. The only question was what project to build?

I ordered a MiniPOV3 kit from the Makezine Store, a while back. After building it and playing with it, and letting my kids play with it, and repairing it a couple times after the kids played with it, I decided it needed a case to live in. Realization struck. The first thing I did was check Google to find out if it had been done before. As far as I could tell, it hadn't, so I started gathering parts.

Rather than mess up my original kit, I decided to scratch build the circuit on perfboard. I used LEDs that I had harvested from a string of LED christmas lights, resistors and other bits from various sources, and the requisite mint (Wintergreen flavor) tin.

Related:
MiniPOV- An Inexpensive Persistence of Vision - Link.

The joy of making stuff - Link