Pouring steel at the Steel Yard
I didn’t appreciate how entertaining it could be to watch people work molten metal, until I watched Robert Houllahan’s film of The Iron Guild pouring at The Steel Yard this Halloween.
Workshop
The latest DIY ideas, techniques and tools for the industrial arts from metal and woodworking to CNC machining and 3D printing.
Make an Atari Punk Recipe Box
Hey, you want to make some chunky 8-bit music? In a recipe box? With Atari paddles? Using a Dremel tool? We thought you might. The “Atari Punk Con- sole” is the name given to the wonderfully retro- sounding stepped tone generator, designed by hobby electronics pioneer Forrest M. Mims III. It is a 556-based timer circuit oscillator that generates a square wave. More importantly, it sounds like Atari 2600 music and is fun to build into a cool enclosure.
Egg Cup From a Fork
Matt @ Make: Online writes: I’m not even a big fan of boiled eggs, and I want to make my own copy of Scott Bedford’s egg cup from a bent fork. Luckily, in addition to the neat idea and beautiful photo, Scott also drew up an excellent illustration explaining how to do just that.
Holiday Gift Guide: Personalized Presents
Even if you’re too busy to make a bunch of handmade gifts this year, you can still give special, “I was thinking of you” personalized presents. Here are a few ideas to get you started. If you don’t see what you’re looking for here, do a quick online search. Chances are, someone’s willing to customize […]
Make a desktop-embedded USB hub
Wires, wires everywhere. I don’t like looking at wires, wires everywhere. Even though I have a USB hub, it’s a bit of an eyesore sitting on top of my desk, plugged into devices up top, and my computer down below. I decided it was time to embed the hub directly into the surface of the desk. Using the Dremel Multi-Max to plunge-cut the wood desktop, I fit the USB hub into the desk, and attached the hub to the underside using brackets. It’s now stable, stylish, and out of the way.
Book Review + Interview: The Practical Guide to Patchwork
I had the chance to ask Oh, Fransson!‘s Elizabeth Hartman a few questions about her wonderful new book, The Practical Guide to Patchwork, and got some very handy advice and recommendations from her on quilt-making. She also shared a few favorite finds spotted at last week’s Quilt Market! Your quilt designs are so graphic and […]
Make a custom circuit board holiday tree
Want to build your own custom circuit board, in a fun shape? Don’t want to deal with any etching chemicals? You can use your Dremel Rotary Tool to cut a copper clad board into a unique shape and route festive pathways for your electrons. This technique (sometimes called “dead bug construction” or “ground plane construction”) is a fun way to explore circuit board design and surface-mounting of through-hole electronic components. Plus, the result is a really fun high-tech ornament that displays its technology on the outside.
