Collin’s Lab: The REAL Breadboard
Ever wonder why they call it an electronics “breadboard?” Grab a hammer, some nails, and a slab of wood and let’s find out.
Retro
The Locks of Manuel Guerra
Ray from the Hack Factory clued me into this guy’s work. In an era where locks are factory-made and bland, Manuel Guerra of Cuenca, Ecuador, made some beautiful pieces before his death.
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.
How-To: Ship An Obelisk
In the 19th century, three ancient Egyptian granite obelisks—each weighing north of 200 tons—were shipped from Egypt to London, Paris, and New York. Postcolonial-era questions about whether ancient Egyptian obelisks shouldn’t perhaps be left in Egypt aside, how it was done is quite an interesting story. This, BTW, is just the first of what I expect will be many gems from my newly-discovered treasure trove, No Tech Magazine, a sister publication to Kris de Kecker’s Low Tech Magazine, which we rave about here all the time.
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 […]
Rugged iPod Nano Wristband
I’ve seen a few stylized watchbands for the iPod Nano, but this “Super Modern” custom leather cuff from Etsy user Will Pesek is uniquely rugged without sparing the good looks.
How-To: Atari Joystick Jewelry Box
Really lovely work from Instructables user annahowardshaw. Kudos, madam.
