The latest DIY ideas, techniques and tools for the industrial arts from metal and woodworking to CNC machining and 3D printing.
This was a reality check for me: Before there were TVs and computers, chairs were sometimes pointed at other human beings. Enter the “conversation chair,” for which I admit preferring the French term tête-à-tête: Two or more chairs built together, expressly for the purpose that their occupants sit and talk to one another.
This cocktail shaking machine is based on a turn-of-the-century machine called an “Imperial Shaker,” and was built as part of The Touring Pop-up Sideshow Saloon event organized by the Peerless Prodigies of P.T. Barnum.
Instead of throwing away waste vegetable oil, Lynne from Massachusetts converts the oil to fuel – and stands to win a MakerBot Replicator for her efforts! Read more for details on how you could win a new 3D printer.
Melted metal is hard to identify without a label—did that one come from a screen door or a piston head? The alloys they’re made of won’t be the same, and you might not want to mix them in later pours. Enter this brainstorm from bulletcasting forum member Centaur 1.
An “Alley Cat,” made entirely from would-be-trash wood, is an entrant in the Project Remake Contest. Do you upcycle, remake, or reuse components in your projects? Submit your project and you too could win!
If you don’t reclaim enough pallet lumber to justify a specialized prybar for the purpose, it is of course possible to knock down shipping pallets using everyday hand tools. But don’t pry – that’ll just split the wood. Instead, knock out the boards and nails from behind with a hammer. Or better yet, a pair of hammers. YouTuber miscpro shows us how it’s done.
Each time I have to break down a pallet, I am surprised at how much work is involved. If I had to do it very often, I would spring for a purpose-made tool. Several commercial models can be found for sale online using Googlons like “pallet buster” and “deck wrecker,” but I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for the maker-made Pallet Reclamation Bar from Cargo Cycles of Norwich, UK.
