Workshop

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

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.

Make: Projects – Router Trammel

Make: Projects – Router Trammel

This attachment mounts in place of your router’s factory baseplate and is used for cutting circular disks from, or boring circular holes in, sheet stock. It pivots about a small pin rotating in a blind hole drilled in the center of the stock to be cut. This one is based on a design from Bill Hylton’s excellent book “Router Magic.”