A bit of fairy tale busting from the BBC’s Bang Goes the Theory – A gas-powered vortex cannon does some impressive huffing & puffing, taking on the role of big bad wolf against little huts of straw, sticks, and brick. That be one very loud & gassy wolf! More: Weekend Project: Vortex Cannons Vortex Cannons […]
Instructables user Thinkenstein tours us through his homemade hand-powered washing machine! I have probably been washing clothes in this hand-powered washing machine for over 25 years. It has two funnels inside the tank that serve as plungers, agitating the water every time the handle is pumped. The idea was originally for construction in wood. It […]
DJ Josef Průša, the author of the iPhone/Arduino/MaxMSP/OSC hack from iPhone Hacks, just let me know about this great project he made from a spare MSI Wind battery; a nice and juicy battery pack for USB devices. He was originally looking for something to power his Monome 128, but it ended up being great for […]
Gerrit points out this simple yet quite helpful tool he made for keeping squirrelly surface mount parts in place for soldering – This simple tool will change your life. I was lucky to learn how to solder surface mount from a master. He had crafted a tool very similar to this for himself and used […]
My post last week about shadowgraphy and Schlieren photography generated a lot of enthusiastic responses and not a few requests for a more detailed tutorial. Among the comments was one by Ian Smith, who has a great page here describing his own Schlieren photography set-up. (While you’re there, take a moment to appreciate the fact […]
Instructables user mountainmanna has noticed that used mini-blinds are perfect for re-purposing as plant markers. They’re lightweight, rustproof, designed to hold up to continued sun exposure, and have a nice treated surface that takes ink or pencil very well. Her tutorial shows you how to cut them up for use.
A month or so ago at the dump, I helped Michael harvest the optical sensor out of a skiing machine just as closing time descended upon us. As we got hustled away from the picking pile, he mentioned that he needed it to make a speed governor for a wood cutting and splitting machine. A […]
