Ode To Our Dads

My three kids are all “Makers” in their own ways; an HVAC engineer/firefighter, an Education Reformer, and a 3rd-year Med Student. I’m very proud of them.

My Dad, Nevin, makes cider from his neighbour’s apples. Some say it’s like champagne, others say it’s like paint stripper. But no matter what the folk in the village say, he’s determined to keep making cider, and the awful cider based puns that only a Dad can make. –Alan Stewart

This is my dad.John Borra. He is the man whi taught me to be a maker. He has built canoes,sailboats,teeter totters, boxes and shelves and toys galore. And he has dis assembled more things than I would like to admit but most importantly he gave me and my children the desire to find answers. Thank you. chris Borra Layland (thankful daughter#1)

My Dad was a true, born and bred Maker. He would make anything out of anything and fix anything with anything. My first memory of something he made was after he took me to see Journey to the Centre of the Earth with Doug McClure and Peter Cushing. They got a new lathe at work so my Dad found a big chunk of wood and made a wooden replica of the Mole from the film. I was totally awesomed-out. Unfortunately I can’t share any photos of what he’s made, though I can tell you that everything I made has been inspired by him, I have a few tools of his in my shed, and whenever I need some inspiration, I imagine him giving me some pointers. Looking back, I think that growing up with a Dad who would have a go at anything has left me with an underlying belief that anything is possible. -Peter Freeth

Here is the photo of me,my dad (Alan) and the wimsherst generator – Fraser Walker-Saunders

My father, Edward Newmyer, worked construction his whole working life as everything from plumber to electrician to carpenter, but most of it operating heavy equipment. He passed away on 12/31/2013. He taught me more than I can ever fully describe. The objects in the photos are things Dad built. A bread slicer, line reel, wind mill, wooden jeep model, a garden tractor built from a Studebaker car frame. – Robert Newmyer

My dad (Ted Tabor) taught me to always have the proper tool for the job. Whether it is making something for fun or fixing it out of necessity, a man can never be without the right tool, even if that means a trip to the store. – Matt Tabor

This is a photo of my dad and I from the 2009 Oshkosh EAA AirVenture fly-in in front of our old biplane. I was 14 in the photo, and we flew 2,500 miles from Southern California to Wisconsin over the course of 5 days, stopping every 200 miles along the way for fuel. It was an absolutely incredible trip, and we met a bunch of really cool people both on our way there and at the fly-in. –Bradley Matheus

here is a picture of my dad with the workbench he built for me. – Lewis Calloway

Here’s my Dad, Derek with a triangulated structure he built at a party out of marshmallows and spaghetti. I think there was some kind of party competition about who could build the tallest structure out of these components alone. Dad realised out that triangles were the key. — Dan Farnworth

This is a photo of myself using a drill I inherited from my grandfather. A steel ‘made in America’ model, although not sure of the manufacturer. The photo was taking in 2005 during the construction of our home. The drill did not make it through the build, but I have fond memories drilling out the sill plates for the anchor bolts and do remember thinking of my grandfather as I did so. – Aaron Coates

My dad, Jim Senese, developed a passion for model railroading from his father, and has passed his zeal for trains, building, and electronics onto his son (me) and his grandkids. When I was still a toddler he, taught me to use a soldering iron, radial bandsaw, and the rest of the tools in his shop. Although my mom may have disagreed at the time, this was not a rash, irresponsible decision, though — he’s always believed in empowering through education and encouragement. Nowadays he regularly researches cutting-edge digital communication protocols and pioneers new approaches to realistic model train prototyping, continuing to be a source of knowledge and inspiration to me. –Mike Senese, Executive Editor, Make: magazine

My step dad, Chris, is the ultimate Maker. He works all day as an engineer then comes home and takes care of our family, fixes up the house and his church, builds amazing things (sometimes with homemade tools!), and he even cooks and cleans. I don’t know how he does it all! He’s like a DIY family man Clark Kent, getting off his day job and changing out of his suite into Dickies and a baseball cap, ready to tackle the evening and weekend’s projects. Chris has taught my brother and I so much about everything from wood working to auto repair, but the most valuable life lessons come from the example he sets through his dedication, generosity, and unconditional love for our family. We love him dearly. Here is a picture of his latest project in the works…and him, after he fell off the ladder. — Joy

It’s not the greatest photo, but this is my grandfather shortly after he immigrated to New York City from Germany in the early 1930’s. He made parts for submarines. I took his Carl Zeiss micrometer to a calibration company that was set up at Maker Faire North Carolina last weekend, and they certified it, saying it was “dead-on accurate” — the best they’ve seen for a micrometer of that age. I still have that beautiful wooden toolbox that a porter found for him the day he arrived in 1930. (His “came completely apart during the customs check and the luggage check.”) He and his wife exchanged letters for five years before he could afford to bring the rest of the family over. A few months after he left, she wrote, “My dear, I miss you so much. Your fix-it hands are missed in all corners.” He died when I was only an infant, but the stories of him and his tinkering are a big part of what inspired me to do the same — and I’m trying my best to pass it along to my kids as well. — Alex Franke

Here’s a pic of my dad making a gasket in the garage. He taught me how to work with my hands, and how to be a critical thinker. Everything I do in my daily life comes from something he taught me while we worked in the garage every night, on whatever happened to need fixing or building that week. He’s the reason I can do all the things I can do, and the reason I’m not afraid to do things I haven’t done. Thanks dad. — Dave Rogge