The latest DIY ideas, techniques and tools for the industrial arts from metal and woodworking to CNC machining and 3D printing.
Prolific MAKE contributor, Andrew Lewis, has a piece up on Upcraft showing off his workshop. It’s a really sweet looking setup: There is an oscilloscope fixed under the bench, and an easel above. I like to think that I’m working between two different ends of the creative spectrum, with art above me and science below. […]
I have a serious thing for cupcakes (the only thing better than cake is a mini cake, just for you), so A Zombie Ate My Cupcake has me chortling with delight and drooling in anticipation. Not only are the decorations absolutely fantastic — from the insanely complicated-looking Bleeding Hearts to the delightfully simple Ghastly Ghouls […]
OK, that’s clever. Similar to the drilling-through-a-coffee-cup trick for ceilings. [via There, I Fixed It]
Halloween’s almost upon us, and it’s time to carve up some jack-o’-lanterns. I have great respect for people who take hours to lavishly carve pumpkin masterpieces. I also have very little time to make my own pumpkins. My kids and I just want to get them carved, set a candle inside, and move on to roasting the seeds as quickly as possible. So I decided to forgo the knife and use a cordless Dremel Multi-Max oscillating tool to make quick work of Mr. O’Lantern. Follow the steps below and you too can crank out an army of chilling, thrilling Halloween pumpkins in no time.
Congratulations to Debbie from upstate New York for winning a copy of Cute and Easy Costumes for Kids! Let us know what you make from the book. Thanks to everyone for the great comments.
Greg comments on his difficulties with the stiff consistency of the cornstarch / caulk mixture, which seems like a germane time to mention a comment on last night’s Oogoo post from W. Aaron Waychoff, who claims to have had success using glycerine as an additive instead of cornstarch. [Thanks, Greg, and Aaron!]
Turns out, though, that mixing in some cornstarch accelerates the drying process; just how much depends on how much starch you add. The author recommends starting with a 1:1 mix. I’m not sure about his explanation that the process works because the hygroscopic starch carries moisture into the internal volume of the silicone, but in any case there are probably other additives that will accelerate the process as well as or better than cornstarch. You might even find one that’s not opaque and allows for translucent castings.
