DIY Projects

The Homemade Nitrogen Laser

The Homemade Nitrogen Laser

Laser“The nitrogen laser will give 100kW pulses of light at 337.1nm (UVA light). The pulses are only 6ns long, so the energy per pulse is just 0.6mJ. It is a very simple laser, and it does not require mirrors or glass working at all! But using a mirror at one end of the laser will boost the output to over 250%. And if the nitrogen entering the laser (it is a flowing gas laser, but it can be made sealed) is cooled, it can go up to 120 pps. So if it is running at 120 pps, and has a mirror at one end, the average power output will be 180 mW. Although the beam is invisible it can be used to pump dye lasers to give beams with wavelengths ranging from infrared to ultraviolet.” Link.

HOW TO – Portable NES in a GameGear

HOW TO – Portable NES in a GameGear

Mega1Leadingzero writes “Inspired by Ladyada’s infamous GameGrrl, I recently became determined to make my own portable NES out of the MegaJoy (one of those knockoff Nintendo systems that can be found in malls) and the recently discontinued HIP Gear Screen pad. However, for my project I wanted to do something slightly different. I wanted to give mine a more unique feel, so when I recently found my old Sega GameGear I instantly knew that it was destined for this project.” Link.

Cut glass circles with ordinary scissors?

Cut glass circles with ordinary scissors?

GlassSteve writes “I was reading an old 1950’s “how to” magic book for kids that described a trick that required a small round piece of glass. It suggested that I could make such a piece of glass by cutting the glass into a circle with ordinary scissors. How? By doing the cutting in a sink filled with water. A quick search on google and sure enough, some interesting information on the subject. I thought Make: blog readers might find this interesting–even if it doesn’t work as well as advertised.” Link.

“Green” Holiday Gifts…

“Green” Holiday Gifts…

Presents-0546Article about holiday goods you can buy/make from a shop near MAKE HQ “Typewriter keys transformed into earrings, bike chains that become bracelets, journals bound between the covers of old books and decorative bowls made from old LP records. These are just some of the recycled goodies for sale at Renga Arts, a relatively new Occidental store that turns one person’s trash into another’s treasure.” Link.

HOW TO – Make Springs

HOW TO – Make Springs

SpringsKaden (who has an excellent Machina Arcana biz) sent along this how-to on making springs. “If you’re trying to make a spring to replace a broken one, you don’t need to know a whole lot about design. On the other hand, if you’re making a prototype of a machine, for instance, and you don’t know exactly what you want, then this page is for you. Here you’ll learn some basic data about spring design, which is what you’ll need to know to make exactly the spring you want.” Link.