Workshop

The latest DIY ideas, techniques and tools for the industrial arts from metal and woodworking to CNC machining and 3D printing.

Chris Cole’s Machine Animals

Chris Cole’s Machine Animals

This one, called “Galia,” is just one of twenty-two beautiful kinetic sculptures, most of which are zoomorphic, featured in Bend, Oregon artist Chris Cole’s online portfolio. Each has a well-produced video showcasing its movements, and they’re all available in Chris’s YouTube channel, to which I am subscribing right now.

Repair that Salad Spinner

Repair that Salad Spinner

Our pal Quinn Dunki sent us this fix she made to her rope-start salad spinner. The nylon cord on it broke. Rather than toss it away, she used it as an opportunity to learn more about the mechanism that powers it, and experimented with different replacement chord. Eventually she ended up with a 550lb-test paracord. Yeah. That oughta hold.

Unscrewed by Ed Sobey

Unscrewed by Ed Sobey

Every time I see some great mechanical, hydraulic, or electromechanical contraption left by the side of the curb for trash, I think about all of the great raw materials inside that I could use. Ed Sobey’s new book, Unscrewed, gives sage advice regarding how to mine the gold in them thar heaps of broken appliances.

Melvin The Magical Mixed Media Machine

Melvin The Magical Mixed Media Machine

Netherlands-based design firm HEY HEY HEY created this Rube Goldberg machine which promotes its own identity: Melvin the Magical Mixed Media Machine (or just Melvin the Machine) can be described as a Rube Goldberg machine with a twist. Besides doing what Rube Goldberg’s do best – performing a simple task as inefficiently as possible, often […]

Tool Review: Stanley 55-119 FatMax FuBar

Tool Review: Stanley 55-119 FatMax FuBar

I saw some of these wicked-looking crowbars while browsing the big orange store back in April. Curious, I fired off an e-mail to Stanley about a review, and they happily obliged me with a free tool. At 15″ in overall length, the 55-119 is the shortest crowbar in Stanley’s FuBar line. First, about that acronym: Stanley insists it stands for “Functional Utility BAR,” but, well, we all saw Saving Private Ryan, right?