Achieving good camera position for soldering and various tutorial shots has always been quite a challenge for me. I’ve tried Gorilla-Pods, table leaning tripods, and a few different DIY designs with varying amounts of success. Oddly, I never considered my own gooseneck/panavise hack as a possible solution – I suppose the weight of the camera […]
The LED Sewing kit from the Maker Shed was inspired by Becky Stern’s Electronic Embroidery article from CRAFT Volume 09 You can follow the instructions in the article, or come up with your own unique electronic embroidery piece. It’s a great way to get started with soft electronics.
“Micarta” (Wikipedia) is a genericized trademark that refers to a rigid composite material made from laminated paper, fiberglass, cloth, or other material impregnated with a plastic resin. It is commonly used as an electrical insulator and as a tool handle, particularly for knives.
Cliff Fendley of Fendley Knives, together with fellow knifemaker Mike Carter of Carter Crafts, set out to make some “micarta” of their own using scrap denim and epoxy resin. Even better, they documented their efforts with a detailed series of photos so others can play along at home. Kudos to both makers for “open-sourcing” a method they could easily have kept under their hats as a trade secret. [Thanks, Alan Dove!]
Over at Super Soaker Central (Ain’t the web great?), user JLspacemarine has posted this nicely-detailed build of a hardware-store constant pressure water gun. Although much heavier, it reportedly out-performs the commercial toys. [via Hack a Day]
I am glad that, so far, in life, I have not had to join the ranks of those umpty-many folks who, at one point or another, have suddenly found themselves needing to fill a whole lot of sandbags in a hurry. Hopefully, I will never be in that situation, but when and if I am, I’m going to try to remember this tutorial by Instructables user RiverOakRanch. The jig they describe allows one person to fill six tubes at once, helps to insure equal filling, and, most importantly, frees up another laborer who would otherwise have to stand there holding the bags open.
Riley Porter created a large fume extractor that uses fans and carbon filters to clean the air in his workshop. This past weekend I decided that I would attempt a carbon filtering fume extractor stack (at least what I called it). Basically the fumes from the smoke of many different materials is pretty bad. The […]
Image courtesy W.R. Outhwaite & Son, Ropemakers. Depending on where you live, this may be old hat for you, but I’ve lived 30 years on this earth and never seen a rope bannister before. And I just finished remodeling my staircase too. Besides being less expensive, easier to ship, easier to install, and way more […]
