An excellent essay every Maker should read on Gonzo Engineering by Steven K. Roberts, creator of the MicroShip – “…It is from this culture that the Internet emerged, as well as the Open Source movement that carries in its breast our last hope for freedom of choice. Less obviously, it’s also a diverse community of […]
Jim writes – “I just wanted to let you know I uploaded a video that almost everyone will find interesting. Have you ever wondered how many helium balloons it would take to lift a human being off the ground? We did it, and the video is the story of what happened. I think almost every […]
MAKE Flickr photo pool member Pekar writes – “Adult sized Green Machine with a 26″ wheel, DIY studded ice tire, stretched fork, 175mm crankarms, and an adjustable seat made from a trashpicked childs car seat.” Link.
Matt writes – “Custom steel bicycle made on the cheap. In a world where the knowledgeable cog head can easily spend over $3000 for a custom built bicycle of any quality here’s someone who went on a crusade to meet the need for almost nothing but elbow grease.” Link.
Awesome derby car mod – “I wanted to show you all the cool car my son Matthew and I made for his cub scouts pinewood derby. We wanted to do something entirely different and decided on mounting a very small camera to it along with an LED in the back to look like a jet engine. It was powered by a 9V battery which also served as the car’s weight. The car broadcast wirelessly to a receiver which we recorded on mini-DV. We won 7 prizes and finished 4th in the races.” [via] Link.
Timbuktuchronicles writes “This is essentially a water heater attached to a pump, the only other thing you need is a barrel to wash your fuel, attach some hoses and valves from Home Depot and that’s all you need to make fuel from vegetable oil that will run on any unmodified diesel engine.” Link.
Crabfu’s awesome steam powered creations – “These steam machines are real miniature live steam engines. Principles are simple, heat + water = steam, steam pushes pistons and provides power in a circular motion…. how you harness that work is up to you :) I use mainly stationary or marine engines to start. They use alcohol, gas, or solid fuel tablets for heat, and requires oiling on each run. Distilled water is recommended, and steam pressure can build up around .8 – 1.5 bars, or around 10-20 psi…. NOT a lot of pressure. They have safety valves which releases the steam at a certain pressure, as not to “blow up”, and typical running time is about 10 minutes.” Link.
