DIY science is the perfect way to use your creative skills and learn something new. With the right supplies, some determination, and a curious mind, you can create amazing experiments that open up a whole world of possibilities. At home-made laboratories or tech workshops, makers from all backgrounds can explore new ideas by finding ways to study their environment in novel ways – allowing them to make breathtaking discoveries!
MAKE pal & video blogger Bre Pettis writes – “Recently I met up with Pablos to talk about inventions and innovation. We got to talking about new materials and Pablos got out these cool little baggies of interesting materials to share. In this video you’ll see two kinds of new materials that you may not […]
I asked Terry about the Flowbench he made, here’s what he said – “My flowbench started because I wanted to modify my car’s engine by porting the heads. I don’t know how familiar you are with engines, but “Porting the head” means modify the cylinder head so that more air will flow thru them and into the cylinder. Horsepower is directly proportional to airflow, i.e. 10% more air equals 10% more power. But I knew that just making the ports larger doesn’t mean more for airflow.”
This week at Treehugger, tune in, turn on, hug it out…Toys made from trash. Make your own eco-travel plans. And, we find upcycled art in our archives.Build a homemade digital camera. A backyard hydrogen station project in Florida.
In MAKE 03 we showed you how to mod your rod…but not like this – Google video usually has all sorts of wonderful gems, MAKE pal Star sent in this one – it’s a Fiat modded so it looks like it’s going backwards, but it’s not. This is almost like a Maker-meets-Rendezvous-Claude-Lelouch. Link.
MAKE is thrilled to offer this free 35 minute film for download! – “Glimpses of How it’s made” – a tour of how many things in our world are made, each segment is 6 minutes (hence the full name “Six-Minute Manufacturing Glimpses of How it’s made”). Learn about, get inspired, and see how it’s made: […]
Today’s Maker from our new book Makers – Kerry McLean, Wall Lake, Michigan. 225-horsepower gasoline-powered monowheel. “You may be hauling ass, but you feel like you’re floating,” says McLean. The metal fabricator and machinist built his first monowheel in 1970 and has been obsessively perfecting the design ever since. “I don’t feel like anyone has seen it through,” he says. “You hear words like ‘trial and error.’ That’s just some hillbilly stuff. Broomsticks and baling wire. I’m doing R&D.” Makers: page 20. View photo! See previous Makers of the day here. View sample PDF. Click here to get Makers the book before the holidays!
Today’s Maker from our new book Makers – Bathsheba Grossman, Santa Cruz, California. 3D sculptures digitally printed in metal. Instant fabrication equipment printed out the artist’s 2004 sculpture Lazy Eight directly in bronze. To help with the arduous task of generating intricate surfaces on the metal, she’ll write her own computer scripts in Perl. With the advent of affordable 3D printing, she says, “advanced prototyping went from something that was completely in-house at Boeing to something you walk in off the street and order. I can’t tell you how cool it is to have your own small hunk of metal.” Makers: page 28. View photo! See previous Makers of the day here. View sample PDF. Click here to get Makers the book before the holidays!
