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!
Ethan Schlussler of Sandpoint, Idaho, built this clever bicycle-powered treehouse elevator to make it easier to reach his nearly 30-foot-high treehouse. “It was originally a 20-something speed bicycle, but first gear wasn’t slow enough, so I cut the large sprocket off the front, and welded it on the rear to get a lower gear. I also had to do away with the de-railers and make a new chain tensioner,” he writes.
I have one of the coolest bosses in the world. I love to make things and he pretty much lets me make whatever I want then pays me to do it. He also has a hobby; he likes to work with leather. So when he got his hands on a leather cutting drag knife for our lab’s Shopbot he asked if I could build him a vacuum table to hold sheets of leather securely on the machine I was happy to comply. But the project turned out to be a real design challenge.
This interview with a Leatherman Tool product manager sheds light on the methods and production processes of the iconic tool company.
Christopher Blasius of Holz Mechanik built this sweet CNC router out of wood, and anyone with a drill, a jigsaw, and a router or table saw can build it. I love the elegant and useful bellows system for protecting the guts from the omnipresent dust and wood chips! The X and Y are 300mm (about […]
UK electronic and mechanical store RS Components created this handy guide to operating a CNC in a safe manner, with a focus on operating a CNC you built yourself. Click the image to see it full sized.
Many years ago a maker looked at a pile of junk and decided to make a miniature classic car from it.
Minneapolis ShopBot maestro Greg Flanagan made this 42″ CNCed representation of the moon, specifically a shot of the moon’s dark side. Greg used NASA’s GLD-100 lunar topographical map as a starting point, and the final piece is a gift to his wife Marie on their 5th anniversary.
