DIY Projects

Re-Make:  Transparent boat

Re-Make: Transparent boat

My latest guilty SkyMall pleasure is this “Moloniki” transparent polycarbonate canoe by Clear Blue Hawaii. It’s 13′ long, 3′ wide amidships, and almost 1′ deep, and the polycarb is UV-stabilized to prevent sun-yellowing. Of course it looks cool, but what is really attractive, to me, is the prospect of being able to see what’s going […]

How-To: Simple spider catcher

How-To: Simple spider catcher

A conveniently simpler approach to the spider-catching problem, Clark’s design uses a cassette tape case, PVC pipe, and string to capture unwanted arachnids unharmed. See the project’s page for the relevant step-by-step. [via EMSL] If you require heavier duty hardware please refer to the Spider Rifle –

Super skull roundupalooza

Super skull roundupalooza

Skulls! Who doesn’t love ’em? Well, me, for one, and probably a bunch of other folks who don’t care to be constantly reminded of mortality. We seem to be in the minority, however, with most deriving some kind of weird existential thrill, or deep Buddhist-y zen calm, from staring deep into the empty, black sockets […]

Sailing with Tyvek

Sailing with Tyvek

[Image from John’s Nautical & Boatbuilding Pages] Buying a manufactured sail can be very expensive. If you are making your own vehicle and want to experiment with wind-driven propulsion, you might want to check out the idea of using building wrap as a way of forming your sails: Now plan the sail. For this first […]

Open  source EV controller

Open source EV controller

Photo from Paul and Sabrinas EV Stuff Nikki likes this open source Electric Vehicle controller project. With an EV, your primary components are the motor, batteries, charger and the controller. If people can develop a design that will allow a more inexpensive and high quality motor controller, they can move the technology in a good […]