Make a T-Shirt Cannon
Bre Pettis and William Gurstelle collaborate to make a t-shirt cannon out of parts from the hardware store. More info at makezine.com/podcast
Fun & Games
The latest DIY ideas, techniques and tools for bikes, rockets, R/C vehicles, toys and other diversions.
Survive Zompocalypse
My buddy Lee Lefever brought it to my attention that the zombies are coming.
In order to keep my brain intact within my skull, I’m adopting the non-traditional approach described in this podcast: infiltration. I’ve called in Erik Beck of Indy Mogul for help.
Also a big thanks goes out to Justin Johnson who is a fantastic linguisticist.
CRAFT Video: LilyPad Arduino Bike Patch
In this intermediate soft circuit tutorial, I show you how to make a light-up patch (mine is from http://fffff.at) that can be used on your backpack for fun and bike safety. Get the code and details at http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2009/04/craft_video_lilypad_arduino_bi.html
Maker Workshop – Personal Flight Recorder on Make: television
John Park hacks a Wii controller and turns it into a personal flight recorder that can sense and measure the stomach-churning G forces of roller coasters and other high-speed, high-risk activities.
Twitchie Scorpion
I made this scorpion toy with a Twitchie Robot Kit. I’m really afraid of scorpions where I live in Arizona, so I thought a friendly toy would help me get used to them. I made his plush body from some fabric I had around, aiming to make him look like an Arizona bark scorpion, which are tan/yellowish/translucent. Twitchie is Arduino powered and comes pre-programmed, so it’s an excellent kit for beginners in robotics, because no programming is required! You can download and modify the code if you want, and it’s pretty light on the soldering, too. I’d recommend Twitchie for young makers (boys & girls, too!) interested in robotics or moving plush toys. You can buy the Twitchie Robot Kit in the Maker Shed:
http://www.makershed.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MKTET2
Music is “At the Crack of Noon” by Shuutobi, http://shuutobi.com
Mochimochi Land Coo and Coy Pattern
Anna of Mochimochi Land has a new Coo and Coy pattern ($5) for sale to celebrate Valentine’s day. For extra love, she’s even made a free printable of Valentine love notes featuring Coo and Coy.
Build a $5 Heli-Rocket from MAKE Volume 25
The cover project from our newest issue of MAKE, Volume 25, is Doug Desrochers’ “$5 Heli-Rocket” (seen above being field tested by intrepid Make: Labs engineering intern Nick Raymond). With a mere $5 worth of materials, including toilet paper tubes, coat hangers, and rubber bands, you can build this high-flying model rocket. Instead of employing […]