Workshop Wednesday: How To Heat-Bend Acrylic Enclosures
Learn how to use heat-bending to shape your project enclosures. Acrylic is a great material to use for this. It’s sleek, durable, and easily shaped.
Tools
Tool Tales: The Case of the Rattling Awl
The first car I remember my parents owning was a 1977 Chevrolet station wagon—blue, with fake wood paneling on the sides. A few months after buying the car, Dad reports, something within the passenger-side rear compartment wall, near the spare tire stowage, began to rattle. Soon, the noise irritated him enough that he disassembled the interior paneling to find and silence it.
Tool Review: Garrett Wade Gunsmithing Screwdrivers
This is a set of three finely made flat-head screwdrivers with fancy hardwood handles and nice brass ferrules. Apart from their fine finish, the hollow-ground tips are the screwdrivers’ major selling point. Supposedly, unlike a double-wedge shaped screwdriver blade, a hollow-ground blade applies more torque to the bottom of the screw’s slot, where it’s strongest, and less at its top, where it’s weakest and most likely to get scuffed or marred. Though the appearance of screw heads is rarely important to me, there are functional reasons why it’s important to avoid damaging screws as much as practical, and I get as irritated as anyone else with screws and drivers that readily slip out of engagement. Flat-head screws are, in my experience, usually the worst offenders, and though I was a bit skeptical, I have to say these hollow-ground tips really do feel more solid.
Toolsday Hangout on Air, Live and Online Today at 2pm PST/5pm EST
Today is Toolsday here at MAKE, so you know what that means – a live Google+ hangout where we will be discussing our favorite tools and workspace essentials. Tune in at 2pm PST/5pm EST on the +MAKE page for a hangout related to safety – bad experiences with tools, and how to prevent them. We’ll share our experiences and discuss how to prevent certain frightening things, like table saw kickback, from occurring.
Toolsday Hangout on Air, Live and Online Today at 2pm PST/5pm EST
Today is Toolsday here at MAKE, so you know what that means – a live Google+ hangout where we will be discussing our favorite tools and workspace essentials. The main topic of the hangout will be power, in various forms. We’ll discuss a few of the many possible ways to power your projects, whether it’s with a homemade bench-top supply, a solar panel hanging out of your window, or a kit like the Mintyboost.
Learn a New Skill in the New Year – Getting Started with Raspberry Pi
The Raspberry Pi is a multifaceted device that can use a host of skills. While this single board computer was made with education in mind, it is not what I would call “easy to use” and can challenge even the most savvy maker. Fortunately, with a thriving online community and the Getting Started with Raspberry Pi Kit and book, help isn’t hard to find.
Toolsday Hangout on Air, Live and Online Tomorrow at 2pm PST/5pm EST
Tomorrow is Toolsday here at MAKE, so you know what that means – a live Google+ hangout where we will be discussing our favorite tools and workspace essentials. The main topic of the hangout will be part finishing. We’ll discuss the tools and techniques required to protect and decorate your part with paint, varnish, anodizing, powder coating and more. Join us at 2pm PST/5 pm EST on the MAKE Google+ page or catch it later on the MAKE YouTube page.
