From the Editor’s Desk
The latest updates from Make: and readers like you.Page 06
Make: Volume 86 — Cosplay!
Cosplay is the perfect gateway to making. What better way to celebrate fantasy worlds than to role-play as your favorite characters — and build versatile skills along the way! In the latest issue of Make: we show you how to use EVA foam to make realistic fake leather, weld together 3D prints for BIG armor builds, and use Bekonix’s easy drag-and-drop timelines to program cosplay lights, motors, and audio. Then, take it further by conceptualizing your own original character from the ground up. Plus, star cosplayers share their favorite tools, techniques, and communities.
Includes 42 projects you can make:
- Create a camera obscura to view the upcoming solar eclipse
- Sew versatile squishy sensors
- Build your own gadget geocache puzzle
- Save big $$ with a DIY photo light meter
- Track periods and the lunar calendar offline with an illuminating display
- How to 3D print in metal
- And much more!
ON THE COVER: Jen Schachter, aka Schacattack, wears her 80s glam-inspired Marie Antoinette wig made from EVA foam.
Table of Contents
COLUMNS
Welcome: Schmücken Everything You Make
Dale Dougherty
Decoration adds a fundamental human touch to the things we use every day.Page 08
MacGyver Challenge: Death Valley Blowout!
Lee D. Zlotoff and Rhett Allain
Can you MacGyver a fast fix for a feasibly fatal flat?Page 09
Made on Earth
Amazing builds from around the globe.Page 12
FEATURES
Papa’s Gonna Build You a PancakeBot
Dale Dougherty
The rise and fall and rise of printable pancakes.Page 16
Dissecting the DIY Diode
Nick Poole
Building a functional vacuum tube in the home lab isn’t easy, but it’s not impossible!Page 22
MAKE: BELIEVE
Designing a Costume for an Original Character
Sophy Wong
An expert playbook for bringing your very own fantasy characters to life.Page 28
Foamsmithing Faux Leather
Steven K. Smith
How to simulate leather using versatile EVA foam.Page 36
Passive Motion Masks
Willow Creative
Add movements to your mask — without motors.Page 38
Candlelit Cathedral Dress
Christina Ernst
Sew a show-stopping “stained glass” skirt with colorful sheer panels and flickering LEDs.Page 40
Welding Large 3D Prints
Dylan O'Connell
Make massive props and costume pieces by melting printed parts together.Page 46
Blooming Dress
Rehana Al-Soltane
This open-source wearable tech dress has actuating fabric roses that “bloom” in response to capacitive touch.Page 48
No-Code LEDs and Animation
Ben Eadie
Use Bekonix’s easy drag-and-drop timelines to program cosplay lights, motors, and audio.Page 52
Cosplay Pro Tips
Star cosplayers share their favorite tools, techniques, and communities. Page 55
GO FOR LAUNCH
Making NASA’s New Moon Suits
Erin Winick Anthony
How Axiom combines sewing and 3D printing to create the new Artemis spacesuits.Page 60
Cardboard Box Eclipse Viewer
Audrey Love
Make a simple, portable camera obscura from household stuff to safely watch solar eclipses.Page 64
For All Humankind
Space is the place — for cool projects! Rockets, orreries, your own Earth cam, and everything you need for back-to-back American solar eclipses.Page 66
PROJECTS
Gadget Cache Road Trip!
Jeremie Boulianne
Solving the clever contraptions of Trycacheus, in the “Disneyland of geocaching.”Page 68
Gadget City
Chad Champion
Meet BounceBounce — undisputed champ of urban gadget caching. Page 72
Make a Magic Blocks Gadget Cache
Chad Champion / Gadget Academy
Line up these electronic blocks in the correct order for a fun and simple puzzle. Page 74
Pepper’s Ghost Chemical Flask
Joshua Ellingson
Create a spooky “hologram” in a jar, using any TV or mobile display.Page 80
Luminary Geometry
Anuradha Reddy
Track periods and the lunar calendar with an illuminating display.Page 88
Squishy Tech: Squish & Spin
Lee Wilkins
Weird Resistors Part 2: Sew a squeezable resistive sensor, then dial up a soft potentiometer.Page 92
Open-Source Incident Light Meter
Martin Spendiff
Build this must-have photography tool, and save hundreds of dollars.Page 98
Amateur Scientist: Little Chip, Big Gain
Forrest M. Mims III
A mini course in op amps — the magical key to the analog world.Page 100
Complex Barrel Cams
David Dalley
How to design and 3D print hybrid cams for X-Y drawing and writing machines.Page 104
Toy Inventor’s Notebook: String Walkers
Bob Knetzger
A classic tiny toy that’s big fun — and a medium challenge to make.Page 108
SKILL BUILDER
Lower-Cost Metal 3D Printing
Joan Harvath and Rich Cameron
Can you 3D print with metal filament in your garage?Page 112
SJ’s Declassified Metal Printing Starter Guide
SJ Jones
Ready to try industrial metal 3D printing? Here’s how the rocket scientists do it.Page 118
TOOLBOX
Toolbox
Gear up with the latest tools and kits for makers.Page 122
OVER THE TOP
Tiny Scares
Caleb Kraft
Sometimes you just need a little something spooky.Page 128
