Solder

Drum Kit Kit

Drum Kit Kit

The kit contains the electronic parts required to make a drum kit. This includes the circuit board, resistors, diodes and pins. You supply the Arduino and the material to make the actual drum pads. Below you will find easy instructions for making traditional-looking drum pads, but you could also stick the piezo elements (the parts […]

Simple, Cheap, Multi-Channel, Sound-Reactive EL Wire

Simple, Cheap, Multi-Channel, Sound-Reactive EL Wire

Most EL wire displays are static, because they use an inverter that simply turns the EL wire on (i.e. constant-on). Sound-reactive inverters are available, but most of these are only “single channel”, so the wires are either all on or all off. To really make your display dynamic you need an inverter with multiple output […]

Kitty Twitty Cat Toy

Kitty Twitty Cat Toy

About 2 months ago, after years of begging and pleading from my family, I reluctantly agreed to get another cat from the local shelter. We already have a menagerie of beasts that share our home, but for some reason they felt we needed another. I admit, I do like our new addition to the family. […]

Looking Glass

Looking Glass

Originally created to decorate magnificent churches, stained glass windows have been around for at least 1,000 years. In modern times the materials and techniques for making stained glass have become much more accessible, making it a perfect hobby for those who enjoy designing and building. Stained glass windows are perfect for adding a bit of […]

Clean Metal: Remove Oxidation or Paint From Metal at Home

Clean Metal: Remove Oxidation or Paint From Metal at Home

I love using old machine parts for my projects; often their workmanship surpasses that of anything new, and you can get them cheap or even free. Find a junkyard full of ancient, rusty industrial equipment, and you can build almost anything — or at least be inspired to, which is half the battle! But many […]

Vibrating Pillow

Vibrating Pillow

By Annie Shao and Rachel McConnell There are pillows that look good, and there are pillows that feel good. For those inclined to add a little buzz to their home décor, try making this fun vib-illow. Take an arcade push button, a couple of batteries, and a cellphone vibrator and you’ve got a super simple […]

Solar USB Charger

Solar USB Charger

Charge up your USB devices with the power of the sun. By adding a small solar panel and two diodes to a standard USB cable, you can plug that cable into USB devices needing a recharge. It’s so easy. Let’s get started making a solar USB charger. Video shows the Solar USB Charger being tested […]