A Foot-Powered Lathe
Youtube user QueticoChris uses an old cast-iron flywheel and vintage building techniques to design and make an efficient foot-powered wood lathe.
Workshop
The latest DIY ideas, techniques and tools for the industrial arts from metal and woodworking to CNC machining and 3D printing.
Simple Machines: The Lever
The lever is one of the six classic simple machines. A simple machine is a mechanical device that changes a force’s direction or magnitude. The other five simple machines are the wheel and axle, the pulley, the inclined plane, the wedge and the screw. Explaining simple machines to kids can be a fun learning experience, especially if you include some demonstrations in the lesson. Here’s how I built a lever for a demonstration of simple machines for my son’s 3rd grade clas
Deek’s Lollipop Fort of Death
This is Derek “Deek” Diedricksen’s last video for us. And it’s…a little different. He pokes fun at his rather sketchy looking single-pole tree house, which he jokingly has dubbed “The Lollipop Fort Of Death.” It looks less than safe, but he insists it is. The song he wrote about it sure is catchy.
The Solder Buddy
This mechanised solder dispenser was built by design engineer Jude Pullen, as an example of what could be done using ABS plastic sheeting, a broken brake cable from a bicycle, and some Sugru.
15 Fun and Unique Pallet Projects
There’s something about shipping pallets that makers are drawn to. They’re easily obtainable on the roadside or by dumpster diving (don’t steal!), the form-factor lends itself to certain types of construction, and the rustic finish is just appealing in terms of aesthetics.
Visiting Fab Lab Manchester
On a recent visit to Manchester to attend the Future Everything summit, I couldn’t pass up the chance to visit the UK’s first fab lab, housed in a striking, slab-like building in the waterside district of one of Britain’s great industrial cities. I spoke to Eddie Kirkby (of the Manufacturing Institute) and Haydn Insley (fab lab manager) to find out how the fab lab movement is spreading into the UK.
Shake Hands with Francis at the Maker Faire Bay Area
Brian Matthews of Flapping Sprocket creates beautifully intricate machinery, wings, and other contraptions in his Los Angeles studio. For the second year running, he will be at the Maker Faire Bay Area as a mobile exhibit, roaming the Faire with his hand puppet Francis, a metal marvel finely articulated enough to shake your hand.