Energy & Sustainability

If you’re a maker just starting out your journey in sustainability, it can be overwhelming to figure out how to get started. From understanding the types of materials to utilize, learning what steps will help reduce waste and emissions, and finding inspiring new ways to explore creativity that don’t have a negative environmental impact. The good news is there are plenty of resources available for DIYers looking for ways to make their projects more sustainable – from simple switches you can make today, big-picture ideas for longterm change, or exciting new ways makers are helping push sustainability into the future. In these blog posts we’ll look at tips tricks and ideas specifically tailored towards diyers and makers on the road to creating projects with greater eco consciousness so that not only will you create something beautiful but also respect its impact on our planet!

Belt-Driven, Hubless Rear Wheel Bicycle

The aim was to use a hubless wheel to create a compact bicycle, with the benefits of a large wheel and belt drive.Hubless wheels have appeared in bicycle concepts already, and were first invented by Sbarro. However, few concepts have made it to prototype and when only used for aesthetic purposes, the disadvantage of extra cost out weights the visual gain. Lunartic uses the hubless for a reason; to house the working parts, reducing the wheel base but not sacrificing conventional riding geometry. Lunartic is supposed to be as compact as possible without folding or being awkward to ride, however there is the potential for the front wheel to fold up into the rear or for that space to be used for a laptop back, motor or dynamo.

Continue Reading April 7th, 2011 Sean Michael Ragan48

How-To: Build A Reciprocal Roof

Brian Liloia documented his build of this round self-supporting roof structure in 2008, while living in Missouri. This type of self-supporting structure, in which each beam bears the weight of another, and has its weight born by yet another, and all arranged such the load is thus distributed ’round in a continuous cycle, is called a reciprocal frame. It requires at least three members, and you can build a simple working model with matchsticks. [via No Tech Magazine]

Continue Reading April 5th, 2011 Sean Michael Ragan12

Greebly Coffee Table From E-Waste

Though we see lots of furniture built from old computer parts, electronics, and other scrap, I especially like this one because I think it provides an object lesson in how to do this sort of thing and make it look good: Greeble it up! When you’re basically just glomming bits together to achieve a utilitarian form, the more visual complexity you can achieve in the surface texture, the better.

Continue Reading April 5th, 2011 Sean Michael Ragan12

Time Lapse: Lego Ship in a Bottle

This build from Julia Morley took “a week of planning, three days of building, a large number of expletives, and some interesting use of very long tools.” And you can enjoy the whole process (minus the expletives, which have been replaced with soothing music) in three minutes of 32X time-lapse bliss here. [via The Brothers Brick]

Continue Reading April 4th, 2011 Sean Michael Ragan4

Recycle your E-Waste throughout April in NYC

The Lower East Side Ecology Center in NYC is sponsoring e-waste recycling events throughout all five boroughs for the month of April (aka “Earth Month”). You can find a list of their drop-off sites here, and their FAQ about acceptable items and procedures here. I actually almost never throw away my own e-waste. I still […]

Continue Reading April 3rd, 2011 Nick Normal6

Furniture Made From Close-Packed Tennis Balls

Actually these HEX chairs from designer Hugh Hayden made the rounds back in 2009, but they’re just now coming across my radar via this round-up of tennis ball furniture that recently tripped one of my Google auto-alerts. There are plenty of unusual chairs in the world, and though I like these better than many, I’m more interested in Hayden’s process for joining the tennis balls together.

Continue Reading April 1st, 2011 Sean Michael Ragan11

Top 10: Gears!

We have done both gear- and gear-making-related roundups before, but our gear world has turned (bam!) quite a few times since then, and we’ve covered some even hotter gear action in the interim. Someday there’s going to be a gear-roundup roundup. But for now, here’s our top gear content as it stands today:

Continue Reading March 31st, 2011 Sean Michael Ragan8