Tools

The Lost Art of Aztec Prismatic Blades

The Lost Art of Aztec Prismatic Blades

Start talking about flintknapping, and most people probably think of arrowheads or other projectile points. Though made using essentially the same fundamental techniques, a “prismatic blade” is a very different animal. In the archaeological record, prismatic blades appear as long, thin flakes of stone, usually having two parallel cutting edges and a trapezoidal or triangular cross-section. A few modern flintknappers make prismatic blades, but the leading light (online, at least) is probably Californian Jim Winn, aka paleomanjim.

The Aluminum Velociraptor

The Aluminum Velociraptor

I’m not an expert on dinosaurs, but the velociraptor is one of the more respected of their ilk (so I am told) and you really do have to respect such a clever girl properly, so I grabbed this velociraptor silhouette from OpenClipArt knowing that I’d find a use for it some day…

11 From 11: Apollo Moonshot Tools

In 1969, human beings first set foot on the moon. The mission was Apollo 11. Here are eleven tools that helped us do it. These are not rockets, spaceships, or robots–though those are certainly “tools,” in their own way–but humbler implements, having more in common with the bone club (to use the 2001 metaphor) than the satellite. But that is precisely why they are remarkable.

Sneak Peek: Board Forge Pick & Place

Sneak Peek: Board Forge Pick & Place

Born out of a collaboration at famed Chicago hackerspace Pumping Station One, Board Forge is a six-person startup developing a prosumer-grade, open-source circuit board assembly robot. This weekend at SXSW Create, I got a chance to snap a few photos of their prototype version 1.0 while chatting with founder Jeff McAlvay about the democratization of industrial electronics assembly equipment.