Nearly as long as humankind has roamed the earth, people have been wearing shoes. Ancient Egyptians, Indians, and East Asians began sporting wooden sandals thousands of years ago. Thankfully, inexpensive power tools have sped up the tedious process of carving ergonomic shoes from slabs of wood. Add a few interchangeable ribbon ties, and you’ve got […]
So why would you want to make your own roller skates? Because you can! Imagine rolling into a rink and turning heads as skaters check out your original, cool-looking skates. Not only will your custom skates set you apart in terms of style, fit, and comfort, they’re also a great conversation piece with the irresistible […]
Here I will give a simple bookbinding tutorial using a Japanese stab-binding technique for making blank books from paper that is printed on one side. These books are useful for all kinds of notes, and tell an interesting story about the place they came from. I work in the computer lab at my school, where […]
The video below shows all the things you need to know to make a low-tech outboard motor in a couple of hours once you have obtained the materials. This project uses parts that you can buy in the local hardware store and the marine supply store. The propeller and 90° drillhead you can also find […]
The vacuum siphon coffee brewing method dates back to the 1840s. It produces some of the cleanest, smoothest-tasting coffee of any method. Commercial vacuum pots are available, but I wanted to heighten the drama of vacuum brewing by taking it into the realm of the mad scientist’s lab. Thus the Florence Siphon was born! After […]
There’s energy all around us, just waiting to be tapped. Whether it’s a hot cup of coffee on a cold day, light from the sun, scented candles, or waste heat wafting from electronics, it’s all potential power waiting to be harnessed! This is the world of the Stirling engine. Have you ever tried this fun […]
As a retirement present for Joe Malkevitch, a geometer friend who likes puzzles, I designed and built this 1′-diameter Egg Heads puzzle from ¼” walnut. Many of my sculpture and puzzle designs require laser-cutting or other computer-guided fabrication technology to accurately produce intricate parts. But this design is simple enough that you can make the […]
