Retro

NES Controller Interface for Etch A Sketch

YouTuber Alpinedelta32 created this simple but fun retro remix by combining a Nintendo Entertainment System controller with an Etch A Sketch. The drawing toy’s knobs are rotated by 12 volt stepper motors and they’re controlled with the d-pad of the NES controller. Behind the scenes he has an Arduino for motor control and a computer power supply to provide the 12 volts needed by the steppers. I’m guessing the next logical step is to rig the start button to flip the Etch A Sketch over and shake away the drawing.

Continue Reading November 26th, 2011 Matt Richardson6

Gift Singularity: Steam-Powered BoilerBot

Steam. Fire. High RPM flywheel. Steel wire treads. This is not your kid brother’s vibrabot. For my Gift Singularity project, I decided to build a bristlebot like no other. I wanted to make one on a larger, more dangerous scale. And so, I present to you the Steam-Powered BoilerBot! The basic principle here is the […]

Continue Reading November 22nd, 2011 John Edgar Park6

Now That’s a Lathe

At the extreme opposite end of the spectrum from “hobby” machine tools are those used to build ships and power plants. I have no technical details about the lathe shown above, but the photograph was taken in 1957 or 1958 at the Doxford Engine Works in Pallion, England. If you like it, don’t miss the gallery over at Ships Nostalgia about English shipwrights William Doxford and Sons. It’s chockablock with absolutely gorgeous, amazing photographs of giant men building giant machines with giant tools.

Continue Reading November 21st, 2011 Sean Michael Ragan48

“Nautilus” Art Car Pressure Door with Huge Mechanical Iris

Sculptor, kinetic artist, and longtime MAKE pal Alan Rorie is back with this beautiful “pressure door” built for a “Nautilus” art car project commissioned from San Francisco art collective Five Ton Crane. The door locks and unlocks via RFID, and the huge, four-foot diameter mechanical iris in its center is motorized. Rorie, who is a specialist in iris apertures, also built four smaller irising windows for the car’s body.

Continue Reading November 16th, 2011 Sean Michael Ragan12

Photog’s Antique Mechanical Exposure Time Computer

This beautiful little gadget dates to the 1920s, and is known as Kaufmann’s Posographe. The linkages, of course, are hidden inside. The linked site, above, includes a patent illustration that shows how they work.

Continue Reading November 16th, 2011 Sean Michael Ragan8

How-To: Prescription Goggles

Longtime MAKE pal (and Volume 17 cover-guy) Jake von Slatt shows us an easy way to hack an old pair of eyeglass lenses into a set of goggles for use around the shop, or when driving through the desert in an art car with no name. Good to hear from you, Jake! Keep ’em coming!

Continue Reading November 14th, 2011 Sean Michael Ragan12

Build Your Own 65 Ford Mustang

When I was a kid, I worshiped the 1960s Ford Mustangs. I made every model of them I could get my hands on. I could still probably trace the outlines of one in my sleep and tell you what was on the sprues. So, I have to say, the idea of buying one of these full-size body repros of the 65 (for $15K) and then adding my own hunted down engine, axles, interior, etc. looks like a fun, albeit ambitious, project.

Continue Reading October 31st, 2011 Gareth Branwyn6