The latest DIY ideas, techniques and tools for the industrial arts from metal and woodworking to CNC machining and 3D printing.
Carlos Nielbock is a Master Craftsman in architectural ornamental metalwork and design. He started his craft as an apprentice in a German monastery, then trained further in the ancient Journeyman tradition. In this video he shows his replica of the 1862 World’s Fair welcome gate, his Low Altitude Wind Turbine, and passion for ancient bronze castings from Benin.
Knives are a major “gateway drug” for many a young maker. They were for me, certainly. One of the first things I ever remember being proud of making was a cocobolo replacement handle (mounted with homemade “mosaic” pins) to repair my mother’s favorite paring knife. (Coincidentally, both skills are covered in this round-up.)
Fledgling is an avian kinetic sculpture designed and built by Christian Ristow. Participants at Maker Faire Bay Area 2011 climb up the spine of a metal bird that is anatomically similar to an eagle, then sit in its head where they can pedal furiously in order to slowly move the bird’s wings in mimicry of flight.
A retired machinist and shop teacher from Illinois captures a lifetime of metal working wisdom in YouTube tutorials.
Here’s another video of one of the many projects I’ve been messing with lately, its a legless bunk set-up called “The Krunk Bunk” that was one of two projects we took on in our Relax Shacks July Tiny Housing/Shelter/Building workshop in MA.
If I may wax pedantic for a moment, here’s a rather striking example of the remarkable creativity that can result from radically limiting one’s options. “What is the coolest thing I make using all the myriad resources available in the world?” may be a stultifying proposition, but picking something ready to hand (“What is the coolest thing I can make from just this pile of paperclips?”) is a more manageable and, in my opinion, often a more interesting and enjoyable process.
Anyone who’s been to a Maker Faire, or in the MAKE officers, has seen the ubiquitous Maker Bench, a simple, very beefy workbench that we put together, made with components from our friends at Simplified Building Concepts.
