This is a handy little maker-friendly list of construction tips from Eric – “Everybody has their own way of doing things. Here are a few of my favorite construction methods. Choosing Solder, Using Altoids Tins, Manhattan-Style Islands, Manhattan-Style with IC’s, PCB Enclosures, Kynar Wirewrap Wire.” Link.
This is my new favorite site! “How Products Are Made explains and details the manufacturing process of a wide variety of products, from daily household items to complicated electronic equipment and heavy machinery. The site provides step by step descriptions of the assembly and the manufacturing process (complemented with illustrations and diagrams) Each product also has related information such as the background, how the item works, who invented the product, raw materials that were used, product applications, by-products that are generated, possible future developments, quality control procedures, etc.” [via] Link.
A company in the UK is taking vintage Mini automobiles and turning them into a desk. The desk retails for about £2500 which converts to about $4,422. For more information: ministatements@btinternet.com Gives new meaning to the morning commute! Link.
“Action Hero” blogger Melissa made her own beside saddle, a nice convenient place where she keeps her key items such as NY Times crossword puzzles, a journal, iPod Shuffle, glasses and the like. Melissa says “The nightstand I have on the one side of my bed is a series of three stacked metal boxes with the surface being large enough to only hold my alarm clock and a pile of books. However, there was no way I was going to spend $98, so I made my own.” There are complete step by step photos up on her Flickr. Link.
Cape and Ray write – “Most people only utilize the Video input on the front of their TV’s for video game systems. Even if you use the inputs on the back you are still limited to probably three inputs total. This switch box allows you to plug in four RCA devices at once using only one input on your TV. A turn knob allows you to toggle between the four devices easily without unplugging devices.” Link.
Drew writes in with some great mp3s from the cigar box guitar in MAKE volume 04 – “Anchorbutt contributor and blues dilettante, Ryan Leaf, took a respite from his usual duties with the Andy Johnson Explosion to build a cigar box guitar and regale us with a couple of tracks.” Link.
Cool manual from 70’s spotted on Retro Thing! “Here’s a link to a classic 16-page design manual for model rockets. It covers how solid rockets work along with basic design, and construction. Includes a couple of pages about multi-stage and large scale designs, too.” [