Blast From the Past — The Boy Mechanical
A look back at the glory years of engineering for common folk.
Month: February 2013
A Beginner’s Guide to BEAM
The BEAM design approach creates nimble robots from simple components, with no programming required.
Raspberry Leaf: A Simple Reference for Raspberry Pi Pins
When I first started prototyping electronics projects with the Raspberry Pi, I noticed that I was wasting a lot of time looking at the GPIO pin chart and counting pins on the board when I wanted to connect a jumper to a particular pin. It made me realize that I take for granted the boards […]
How-To: Cool Crocheted Buttons
Make your own yarn-tastic notions with this beginner-friendly crocheted button tutorial!
How-To: Photo & Quote Paper Bag Luminaries
Shine some personalized light on your next big event with atmosphere-enhansing photo & quote paper bag luminaries!
DIY Flower Pom Pins
It’s time to think spring!
Making Music, Teaching English with Popsicle Sticks
Ian Thacker’s blog is called DIY family. True to the blog’s name, it includes great projects from his talented wife and son, too. One of the projects that caught my eye was a popsicle stick-encased stereo amplifier with speakers Ian built from used CD spool cases. One of his students wanted a cheap stereo to take to college so he designed it for easy construction, affordability, and cool design. It’s all of that. The project is built around a $33 8-watt amp. He later had four students without prior electronics experience build their own and he said they did so with ease.