Jaw-dropping fully articulated machined figurines
In brass and stainless steel. From Mark Ho of Zoho International Artforms. Thank you, Mark, for inspiring us all. [via The Automata / Automaton Blog]
Makers
New Intuit Future of Small Business Report – Hobbypreneurs
What a wild few weeks for open source hardware and for small businesses, check out this report from Inuit… It’s called the “Intuit Future of Small Business Report – Hobbypreneurs”. They outline the maker movement and talk about many maker companies… Today’s passion-driven hobbyists are tomorrow’s entrepreneurs – otherwise known as hobbypreneurs, who successfully combine […]
New Paul Overton blog: Make & Meaning
Make: Online pal/guest writer Paul Overton, of Dude Craft fame, just launched a new blog in collaboration with Craftypod’s Diane Gilleland called Make & Meaning, which seems to focus more on the process of creation than on particular products thereof. I feel like blogging in general, and particularly blogging in the DIY community, needs more of this “long view” type analysis. Make & Meaning seems like a step in the right direction.
Translucent-thin turned wooden lampshades
The wood of choice is the knot clusters in the Southern White Pine. The outer shape of the shade is turned first. After the outside shape is turned the wood is treated with two thick coats of epoxy. After this dries the inner side of the shade is turned. The thickness of the shades varies from 1/32 to 3/32 of an inch, depending upon the translucent properties of the particular wood and the final desired color of the glowing wood. The final thickness of the shade is achieved by turning the inside of the shade in the dark with the workpiece backlit.
Maker Birthdays: Eli Whitney, Jr.
On this day in 1765, Eli Whitney, Jr. was born in Westborough, Massachusetts. Whitney would go on, most famously, to invent the cotton gin, which revolutionized cotton production in the antebellum South. He eventually became the most famous early American proponent of interchangeable parts, and also invented one of the world’s first milling machines. Whitney died January 8, 1825, and is buried with many of his famous descendants in an historic cemetery in New Haven.
Ol’ Ballistic Bill in the UK Telegraph
MAKE contributing editor Bill Gurstelle got a nice write-up in the Telegraph on the art of living (slightly) dangerously: Citing various studies, Gurstelle argues that moderate risk taking has various benefits. Canadian researchers found that managers who took risks were more successful while a German study discovered that people who took more risks said they […]
Handmade recycled oak wine barrel furniture
Etsy sellers Stil Novo Design make one-off hand-crafted furniture from reclaimed French white oak wine barrel staves. The pieces are good-looking and quite reasonably priced for handmade furniture. [Thanks, Camilla!]
