In early 2011 my robot club, the Dallas Personal Robotics Group, was looking for a way to help our beginning members build up their skills. To this end, we produced a series of lessons covering 5 topics needed to make a simple, programmable robot: making PCBs with the toner transfer method, programming ATtiny microprocessors, laying […]
Weaving is one of my favorite crafts because it’s meditative and challenging, practical and artistic. It combines plain-woven cloth’s simple elegance with the astounding complexity of a kilim split-stitch tapestry. I love the way woven straps look, but the idea of warping my floor loom just to make something as narrow as a strap for […]
You may be familiar with the battery-powered, pager motor-driven, toothbrush head bristle bot. This project turns that modern classic into a retro-fantastic, Steampunk delight by replacing the battery with a fire stoked steam boiler, the pager motor with a single-action, oscillating piston steam engine, and the toothbrush head with a pair of wire brushes!
A couple of years ago I whittled a wooden spoon as a thank-you gift for our family friend Valerie, who was my daughter’s elementary school art teacher. Valerie appreciated it so much that my wife asked me to make another wooden gift for Valerie’s upcoming birthday. I thought about it for a while and decided […]
Turn war into peace by converting a children’s action figure into a peace-loving bookend. Or if you don’t have a soldier, try using an old space ranger (you know the one I’m thinking of) or any other large toy figure. The technique for turning your action figure into a bookend is slightly dependent on the […]
By Joan Sheridan Hoover and Becca Olsen The rhythm of weaving is soothing, and creating your own fabric is addictive. Weaving is easy (remember those potholder looms you used as a kid?) and you can do it with things you probably already have around the house. We raided our knitting stash for yarns and used […]
I first came across this puzzle a few years ago at my uncle’s estate sale; apparently it was his father’s. I’m not sure if he made it himself or just came across it but I thought it was quite unique. I’ve made them out of hardwood and softwood. They also make great gifts for the […]
