DIY Hacks and How Tos

Digital Magic 8 Ball

Digital Magic 8 Ball

The Magic 8 Ball is a fun toy that answers yes or no questions in a variety of ways. There are 20 different responses that it can give (10 positive, 5 non-committal, and 5 negative). A different answer is written on each face of a 20 sided die that floats in a blue liquid.

Each time you turn over the 8 ball it randomly displays one of the answers. This can be an amusing way to speculate about life’s many questions, but it lacks versatility. So I decided to augment my Magic 8 Ball with a digital picture keychain. This let me store up to 60 picture responses and I can change them whenever I want. So in this project, I am going to show you how to make a digital picture Magic 8 Ball.

DIY Hacks & How To’s: Glove Box

DIY Hacks & How To’s: Glove Box

A glove box is a piece of safety equipment that lets you perform work on something while keeping it in isolation. It is most commonly used to protect operators working with hazardous materials, but it can also be used to protect sensitive materials from the outside atmosphere. In this project, I show you how to make a simplified DIY glove box to help contain your next messy, smelly, or sensitive project. Since different applications require different degrees of isolation, I demonstrate a variety of design features and how to implement them. You can then choose which features you want to use in your glove box.

DIY Hacks & How To’s: Pocket-Sized Power Supply

DIY Hacks & How To’s: Pocket-Sized Power Supply

I am a big fan of garage sales, flea markets, and thrift stores. They are great places to find used parts and materials for your next project. But one problem that I often run into is not being able to test battery powered electronics to see if they work. Because there are so many different combinations of batteries that are used in portable electronics, it isn’t really practical to carry around batteries for testing. One device may need 6 AA’s and another may require 4 D’s. So I came up with this simple pocket-sized variable power supply.