The latest DIY ideas, techniques and tools for the manufacture of metal, wood, plastic, ceramic and composites. We talk about machining, using a lathe to machine metals like steel, brass, and aluminium. We make chips fly!
If you’re like most of us, you probably don’t own an expensive CNC mill in your garage. In many parts of the country, one isn’t that far away. To use one, you’re likely going to have to rent time on it. Make every minute of time in front of the machine count by preparing in advance […]
When you think of a CNC (Computer Numerically Controlled) machine, you probably think of a machine with a router attached to it, capable of cutting its way through wood, metal, and a variety of other materials. Really, a CNC machine is a generic term for a family of fabrication devices. If you change the tool […]
It takes a village to make the Othermill desktop CNC mill, but despite current trends offshore, that village is based in the San Francisco Bay Area instead of Chinese manufacturing hotbed Shenzhen.
Renovating a home can be expensive. If you need to make some minor additions, like adding or updating handrails along a staircase, blacksmith Celeste Flores suggests doing it yourself. Her company Clay and Steel offers tons of DIY instructional videos for all kinds of renovations, including forging a handrail. The first step in forging your […]
Back in 2012 I wrote a piece on Shapeoko, Edward Ford, and his CNC community. At the time he was on the verge of bringing the first good quality, affordable CNC to market. Now in 2015 he’s releasing Shapeoko 3 and by all evidence his guiding principles haven’t changed. With the release of Shapeoko 3, he’s delivering […]
Amid the flaming robots and art cars of the 2015 Maker Faire I found an unexpected oasis of beautiful wood furniture and sculptures held together using thin steel cables. Robby Cuthbert’s wood and steel designs take conventional furnishings (tables, lamps, bookshelves) and infuse them with a subtle magic that takes closer inspection to fully appreciate. […]
Members of Oakland, California’s Laney College FabLab showed off a large plywood dodecahedron at the 2015 Bay Area Maker Faire. The room-sized structure was cut using CNC fabrication and fits together without any need for glue or nails, making it relatively easy to set up and break down. Aside from serving as a great project for the FabLab’s […]
