By now you’ve probably heard of the Make: Ultimate Kit Guide. If you haven’t, it’s a special publication where we, the staff of MAKE, sought out over 175 of the top kits of all kinds and rated them on quality, instructions, community, and more.
Looking for a very last-minute handmade present? One of our readers, Mark Hache, just made this floating glow display for his wife (and tweeted it), using the instructions from our Weekend Projects series.
Making cheese isn’t anything I ever considered, especially fancy cheese. But recently, I had the pleasure of taking a Beginning Cheese Making class with author and chef Mary Karlin at The Fork, Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company’s beautiful on-farm cooking class facility.
Still looking for a few last minute gifts? These Make: Primers are perfect for the person who likes to learn new maker disciplines. Each detailed primer has step by step instructions so the recipient can learn a new, useful skill.
While on a trip to Mendoza, Argentina, I came across a man sharpening scissors using a bicycle to power his grinding wheel. It’s a clever lo-tech combination.
It’s amazing what a little disk can do … when it’s layered with piezoelectric crystals. Piezo disks are impressively sensitive to vibration and can easily be adapted to work as a contact microphones. The trick is the preamp – a basic circuit used to match the piezo’s signal to levels compatible with modern audio gear inputs. The resulting piezo/preamp combo can be used for electrifying an acoustic guitar or simply exploring the lesser-heard world of small sound around us.
Over at Made by Joel, the eponymous author’s son just acquired a noble knight made by Lego with a moveable arm for pretend sword-fighting. Not one to be excluded, Joel made his own version from wood, and the two staged an epic battle on video.
