In the Maker Shed: Voice Shield Kit
The Voice Shield Kit, from the Maker Shed, lets you easily add audio to your next Arduino project. Make talking clocks, voice guided GPS, alarms, awesome Halloween props and more.
Tools
Tool Review: PanaVise Jr Speed Control Handle
I use my PanaVise Jr for all kinds of small holding tasks, particularly for holding circuit boards while soldering. One complaint I’ve always had is how darn long it takes to crank the vise’s jaws open from a closed position, or vice versa. The tiny knob takes many, many turns to do much work. One […]
Makafone: A Vintage DIY Phonograph Kit
The Makafone was a mail-order kit produced by the Modern Phonograph Supply Company starting in 1919. This ad and others like it were printed in Popular Mechanics and various trade magazines that catered to craftsmen. With the recent resurgence of interest in vintage vinyl and other archaic forms of media, I’d be curious to get a look at the plans for a Makafone and maybe build one myself.
How-To: “Vines” Knife Blade Filework
Fancy file-work along the spine of the blade, like that featured in this step-by from custom knifemaker Bruce Evans, is commonly applied after the steel has been heat-treated. Which means, I believe, that you could apply it to a factory knife, for instance, if you wanted to customize it for yourself, or personalize it as a gift.
Your Name in Lego
Interesting notion for a Lego-based enterprise Eli Carter, who wants to sell you a custom-packed kit (complete with custom instructions) to build a Lego nameplate with text and colors of your choosing. Check it out at Brick-Built Nameplates.
How-To: Car Battery Welding
Welding! Welding is a glorious, mystery-infused, thoroughly bad-ass way to stick things together. Welders move in their own cloud of mythos and danger- they are dirtier, tougher, and sexier than any other kind of maker, and the things they build are big and strong and hold our world together. This positive stereotype permeates at all levels of pop culture: if a character is introduced while welding, you immediately know that they will be some kind of blue-collar superhero, or some kind of cliched contradiction- the welder quoting Hegel after winning the bar fight, or the classic trope of seeing a welder at work, and then they flip off the helmet and OMG IT IS A GIRL! A GIRL WELDING!
In the Maker Shed: Panavise #239 Handle Promotion!
Remember the new Panavise handle that resulted from Lee C’s wooden crank modification? It hasn’t been released for sale yet but we have them in the Maker Shed! As a way to say “thank you” to the MAKE community, Panavise has given us the handles in advance so that we can give them to you. For a limited time, with the purchase of every Panavise Jr. Model 201 we are including the #239 Speed Control Handle absolutely free!