India Calling Cards

In the Make: Online Toolbox, we focus mainly on tools that fly under the radar of more conventional tool coverage: in-depth tool-making projects, strange, or specialty tools unique to a trade or craft that can be useful elsewhere, tools and techniques you may not know about, but once you do, and incorporate them into your workflow, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without them. And, in the spirit of the times, we pay close attention to tools that you can get on the cheap, make yourself, or refurbish.

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Toolbox: Show us your screwdrivers

This video shows a clever modification to the Thingamagoop: a lightproof cardboard enclosure with a cardboard strip to control the amount of light reaching the photocell. You control the synthesizer’s pitch by moving the cardboard strip. Maker Pete Ashton posits: In theory a pianola-style score could be written on a long strip.

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Thingamagoop pianola concept

These “Kozo” handmade iron-pipe lamps from Israeli group Demo Design Clinic first appeared on my radar back in early 2009 when Boing Boing blogged about their original model, the kozo1 , pictured top left. They were a runaway success, and Kozo has since added many more models. They’ve got a clever trick for building the switch into a faucet handle to match the spot-on DIY aesthetics of the lamp itself

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Beautiful plumbing pipe lamps

The goal of this project is to create a simple interupt driven library for generating composite video on a single AVR chip . Currently the output is NTSC or PAL at a resolution of 128×96 by default. The library currently works on ATmega168,328,1280,644p Interested

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TVout: Add TV to your next AVR project

Rachel @ CRAFT points us to this sand art lightbox project by Filth Wizardry. I’m thinking of making one of these instead of going to the beach this summer. What I’ll save on sunscreen will pay for the project materials! Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in DIY Projects | Digg this!

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How-To: Sand art lightbox

The robotics department of the Chiba Institute of Technology in Japan recently set up a Youtube Channel , to show off the fruits of their labor. They have some pretty impressive creations on display, such as the ridable Hyperion 4 legged robot, and the crazy looking jumping robot. Cool stuff! [via neatorama ] More: Maker Faire Moments, Bay Area 2010 Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Robotics | Digg this!

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Robot videos from Chiba Institute of Technology

Rachel sent me this link to an easy tutorial by Stephanie Lynn on building a large abacus suitable for wall-mounting. I’m pretty sure I’ll never need an abacus, but I gotta admit it looks like fun to build one. It would appear Stephanie is making the beads by cutting slices out of a closet rod and then drilling a hole in the center of each–I say save a step and use a hole-saw for both operations! [via Ohdeedoh ] Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in DIY Projects | Digg this!

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How-To: Build an oversized abacus

It’s time again for the annual Crest Hardware Art Show , where over 100 artists take over the coolest hardware store in Brooklyn. In addition to art in the show, as part of Crest Fest 2010, there will also be music and vendors, and proceeds will support the City Reliquary Museum

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Crest Hardware Art Show this Saturday

Thingiverse user Ben of Camas, WA, designed and printed this sleek rocket , filled it with baking soda and vinegar, shook it, then placed it on the ground and watched it take off. True success! Today, powered by pure bicarb ($1.99) and 5% strength pickling vinegar ($0.99) it flew as high as the house – about 30 foot! Unfortunately, the wind blew it onto the roof and it’s now in the gutter.

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3D-printable baking soda & vinegar rocket

… well, either that or Charlie Visnic’s Doepfer modular had some serious electrical issues … then again, it may just be another eye-catching entry in his self-assigned mission to “Do something creative at least once a day and document it”. Yah, I suppose that seems a tad more likely – It was midnight when I drove home from work, thinking to myself “What am I going to do today for my creative thing?”  I don’t like it when I let it slide that late to come up with something but sometimes it works out. I had this idea back on Day 079 for my light tracing post but it was too late to follow through with it

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Modular synth haunted by supernatural ghost patch!

One of the best ways to stay in touch with family and friends is by using prepaid calling cards. If you travel or if you live in another country or state calling cards offer an economical way to keep in touch by phone with your friends and family. When you use them you can save lots of money on long distance charges from your phone carrier.

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Calling Cards Come In Many Varieties and Flavors

The Raygun Gothic Rocketship has been successfully installed and is “standing by,” ready for the 2010 Makers Faire weekend. Our gantry tower has been erected and the explosive bolts on the escape hatch are armed! We are all systems go…! The RGR is more than just a shiny outer hull… and so we wanted to give you a brief glimpse of what you’ll find inside

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The Road to Maker Faire: How to launch a rocket…

One of the group installations coming to this year’s Maker Faire Bay Area , taking place on May 22nd and 23rd at the San Mateo Fairgrounds, is M.T. Pockets Traveling Midway of Curiosities and Delights. A nostalgic throw-back to carnivals of old, this exhibit is a self-contained window into yesteryear, when the carnival would roll into town and create a magical environment.

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Maker Faire: M.T. Pockets Traveling Midway of Curiosities and Delights

Each year since 2006, thousands of children across the United States submit artwork representing a plethora of endangered plants and wildlife living on the brink in our fair country. The submissions are amazing, the cause is attention-worthy, and the contest culminates in national Endangered Species Day, which this year happens to be today, May 21

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Kid Art: Endangered species contest

Great One on One: Dale Dougherty, MAKE Magazine & Maker Faire – Bits Blog @ NYTimes.com . Nick Bilton writes: Dale Dougherty will be overseeing the annual Maker Faire in San Francisco this coming weekend

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One on One: Dale Dougherty, MAKE Magazine & Maker Faire – Bits Blog @ NYTimes.com

Live TV by Ustream We’re thrilled to be able to bring you live streaming video from Maker Faire this year, for the first time in the history of the event! Chris Connors will be bringing you two video feeds of great talks and demos from around the Faire! We’re setting things up and testing today with Ustream , but feel free to head over to the Maker Faire live streaming page to see what’s going on at Maker Faire. Check out the schedule of talks and demos to get an idea of when to tune in! Keep an eye on the Maker Faire Twitter stream for live video announcements, and enjoy Maker Faire Bay Area from afar! Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Maker Faire | Digg this!

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LIVE streaming video from Maker Faire Bay Area!

Raven Hanna, here, of Made With Molecules . I’m a scientist-turned-artist and longtime maker involved in a number of creative science communication projects, including molecule-inspired jewelry and the project Science Tarot, which will have its own table next to the Made With Molecules’ table

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The Road to Maker Faire: Raven Hanna

Here’s a great event in Brooklyn, NY for getting rid of unwanted stuff while scoring some sweet new duds/gear/anything: In case you missed that last two swaps (that drew over 1,000 each!), this is how Score! works: Attendees bring their old clothes, music, books, etc, to the event and drop them at the door. Volunteers sort and distribute these items to themed departments where professional curators organize them into boutique-like displays.

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Score! Pop up Swap in Brooklyn

Things are getting exciting now in the Arduino Nerf sentry gun build ! I’ve connected the main components together now — primary Arduino, secondary Arduino, motor, and power for the gun (I decided to removed the six D cell batteries and power it from an AC-DC transformer). Here’s the Molex connector I soldered in place of the battery pack. The primary Arduino is mounted to the stand, with 7-Segment shield display visible

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Arduino Nerf sentry gun build: System assembly

MAKE subscriber Chris Varenhorst of Cambridge, MA wrote to share his soda machine that can dispense on command via a custom iPhone app as well as through a website. A few months ago I picked up a functioning old soda machine off craigslist. This machine was built in 1977 and has been comfortably vending soda the same way for over 30 years.

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iPhone app & web-controlled soda machine

Anyone who’s followed my writing over the years, in the Whole Earth Catalog , Mondo 2000 , Wired , and here on MAKE, knows my admiration for our next guest, Steven K. Roberts. Steve was definitely one of the people who got me interested in hardware hacking, in the 1980s.

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Make it anywhere with a mobile lab

Creative reuse is a big theme every year at Maker Faire, and this year’s Maker Faire Bay Area , taking place this weekend at the San Mateo Fairgrounds, is no exception. A group of taiko drummers from Wadaiko Newark are going to be on-site demonstrating how they make gorgeous taiko drums from reclaimed wine barrels. One of the group’s founding members, Terry Eustice, shared some insight with us.

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Maker Faire: Wine Barrel Taiko Drums

Here’s a quick test video of my Arduino Nerf sentry gun in action. When my hand gets closer to the PING sensor than my initial value (in this case, very close), the gun stops sweeping and starts firing. I didn’t have ammo in the first few belt casings, so I avoided getting shot.

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Arduino Nerf sentry gun build: Quick test

MAKE pal I-Wei Huang, aka Crabfu, was a contributor to the current issue of MAKE, Volume 22 . We picked his brain for my “Remote Control State of the Art” piece and he reviewed the amazing Killer Krawler , from RC4WD , for the “Toolbox” section.

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Guest author Crabfu reviews the RC4WD Bully rock crawler

Our project is an open source, Arduino Mega-based computer interface and max/msp – based MIDI sequencer. You can find all kinds of information about it at beatseqr.com , but the ten-second pitch goes like this: Drum machines are fun to use because the interface is intuitive, but they only make the sounds they know how to make. And/or they’re really expensive.

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The Road to Maker Faire: beatseqr

Doug Conner of Atascadero, CA wrote in with his technique for testing Stirling Engines . I’m running this engine from the heat of a 70W light bulb in the video, but It also runs well from the heat of two candles. Using higher heat sources it puts out over 1.5 watts

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Measure the power and efficiency of your Stirling Engine

Calling all video makers! We want to see your videos from Maker Faire , coming up this weekend. Share with us your clips, interviews, compositions, whatever you find interesting at the Faire. Upload it to Blip.tv or your own server and submit the video to us! If we use a clip of yours, we’ll give you a free Maker’s Notebook

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Share your Maker Faire video with us!

Dale has a piece for his O’Reilly Radar column on what he’s dubbed “make-offs,” low-budget knock-offs of scientific and industrial technology, built with off-the-shelf parts: It is a version of what China has been doing to America, benefiting from the R&D that goes into refining the specifications, developing prototypes and building a finished product. Only now, with new digital fabrication techniques and open source hardware and software, individuals and small companies are in a position to compete globally with a distinctly DIY approach to innovation.

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Make-offs: DIY indie innovations

Jessica Wilson wrote a great-sounding recipe for CRAFT. It’s a satay-spiced peanut butter sandwich , perfect for bringing a touch of Thai to your lunch table. Collin and I are always looking for yummy vegetarian lunch options for our video meetings, and this might just fit the bill

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Recipe: Satay-spiced peanut butter sandwich

MAKE subscriber Nick Santillan of Vancouver, BC, an ID student at the Emily Carr University of Art & Design, created this CNC for his thesis project. I decided to tackle on making CNC machine by allowing people to be more experimental with them to progress CNC technology from the bottom-up. The end result is a prototype that is completely modular; users can rearrange the CNC in a few minutes to specifically suit the tasks

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RedBlueCNC: A modular CNC