mechanics

Meet the Makers: Satya Kraus

Since the first moment Satya Kraus saw a motorcycle as a child, he has been obsessed. He turned that obsession into Kraus Motor Co. and now builds intricate handmade machines in his workshop under the California redwoods. Kraus Motor Co. will be at Maker Faire Bay Area, May 21 & 22, where you can meet […]

How-To:  Make Your Own Damn Springs

How-To: Make Your Own Damn Springs

Idahoan Dean Williams used to make a living by repairing vintage mechanical cameras. If you’ve ever pulled your hair out trying to replace a small spring that hasn’t been manufactured since the factory was bombed by Göring’s Luftwaffe, you may be interested in his well-documented DIY method. Dean’s trick for annealing them inside a wad of steel wool in a toaster oven is worth a click all by itself. His entire site, in fact, will likely be of interest to those who appreciate close mechanical work.

Doing Da Vinci

Alan Federman built our Da Vinci Reciprocating Gear project in MAKE Volume 24 (video above). He has a number of other cool working Da Vinci models, built in wood, on his YouTube channel. You can learn a lot about the basic mechanics of gears, cranks, screws, and other simple machines by looking at these devices […]