Workshop

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

Pat Delany’s Designs for Low-Cost DIY Machine Tools

Pat Delany’s Designs for Low-Cost DIY Machine Tools

We have covered septuagenarian Palestine, TX, resident Pat Delany’s DIY multimachine, which is mostly built from recycled auto parts, before. Following on the success of that design, Pat has branched out, researching and promulgating three more simple build-it-yourself tool designs: A treadle-powered electrical generator, a simple compound lever drill press, and—most interesting to me—a lathe made from cast concrete and aligned with wedges sawn flush after the concrete has set up. Engineering for Change has a good overview of the story and the available online resources. [Thanks, Jake!]

Stirling Engine Generates 1 Watt

Doug Conner‘s Stirling engine may be viewed at the upcoming Bay Are Maker Faire. Check it! This Stirling engine delivers 1W to a stepper motor used as generator to power a high-power LED. This engine uses electrical heating for simplicity and to simplify efficiency measurements. At 1.7% efficiency, it’s not a good way to power […]

One-Sheet Plywood Staircase

One-Sheet Plywood Staircase

I’ve always enjoyed the mental exercise of planning a piece of plywood furniture to maximize efficient use of the material in the sheet stock, so I tend to appreciate good ones when they pop up, every now and again. Here’s a nice example, a 32-inch-tall staircase, with four one-foot steps, from Instructables user Pilgrim55.