Maker extraordinaire Craig Smith shared another quick work tip with us: Sometimes I grab the cordless drill/driver, some screws, and perhaps a small pilot drill bit on a quick construction/repair project. The screws would be better if they were 100% flush and I didn’t grab a countersink bit, or perhaps I’m at a location without […]
While we were working on our Make: Ultimate Kit Guide, we had an interesting thread of conversation on the merit of kits. Projects Editor Keith Hammond had some great, well-put points that we all agreed with. He ended up shaping his thoughts into the Welcome column of this special issue, and we wanted to share […]
Even if you don’t fancy the idea of a fork, knife, spoon, sporks, spife, knork or other eating utensil with an acrylic screwdriver handle, I was interested to discover, in this Instructable by user Patenteux du Nord, that these common plastic tool handles can be easily removed and )at least to some extent) interchanged by first softening the plastic with heat.
Are you interested in starting out with Arduino but don’t know which kit to get? Check out the Microcontroller Quick Launch Pack from the Maker Shed! It’s the perfect “in between” kit for Arduino.
Recently, I visited Switch Vehicles, which is near the MAKE office in Sebastopol. They have produce a three-wheel electric car, which will be sold as a kit later this year. I met the founders, Peter Oliver, Jim McGreen, and Mark Perlmutter in what was formerly a Ford dealership and now is occupied by a variety of makers, mechanics, and entrepreneurs.
Embossed aluminum is pretty much the ultimate labeling material. Without wanting to be morbid, there is a reason why military services around the world choose it for personnel identification tags. Secured with mechanical fasteners, instead of adhesives, an embossed aluminum label will stand up for years against water, extremes of heat and cold, prolonged direct sunlight, and any organic solvent you care to throw at it. This is a true “industrial-grade” labeling tool, and if you can snag a used one for a reasonable price, you can expect a lifetime of use from it.
Continuing with the theme of OSHW bench equipment, Serbian hacker Bogdan Kecman built his own open source soldering iron driver that works with any iron with an RTD or thermocouple sensor. Bogdan has KiCad files for his board on the above site, which is in Serbian. [via Dangerous Prototypes]
