Category: Gallery

I was fortunate enough to have two excellent co-conspirators at Maker Faire Detroit this past weekend: Dylan Goings (who you’ll see in many of the pictures I’ll be posting over the next few days) and Chris Salzman (who you won’t see, since he took the pictures–although you can see him here rocking the No Starch Press temporary tattoo). A chap could not ask for two better blokes with whom to make Maker Faire.
This week I’ll post pics and anecdotes about our weekend, but in short: It was really goddamn rad! We made over 100 water rockets with kids, we spread the Gospel of Cheap Homebrew Instruments, we climbed up a big geodesic dome, we ate over-priced hotdogs, we rode crazy vehicles, we stayed hydrated, and no one got sunburned, lacerated, concussed, or contused on our watch. It was basically the 100% perfect weekend.
But, for right now, let’s talk water rockets. (All these pics are courtesy of Chris. He rules!)
Our water rockets are as simple as possible: cork, tire stem, bike pump, bottle, water, *zooooom!* (learn to build one FOR FREE!)
Here’s a little animation of a launch (that’s Dylan helping with the trajectory):

Here’s another go at it:



And here’s Dylan helping a kid through his first build: Drill, Ream, Insert Stem, Trim Cork, Load Bottle, Pump ‘er Up, Blast Off, *Joy!*










TUNE IN FOR MORE PICS TOMORROW!

We had an excellent day at Maker Faire Detroit! We even got a tent this year! And remembered to take food and water breaks!
Chris Salzman, Dylan Goings, and I made nearly 100 water rockets with kids (Chris and Dylan did the yeomen’s share–they are like a two-man water-rocket education assembly line!), and we talked ourselves hoarse about simple synths, easy amps, $10 electric guitars, DIY games, and more–despite the terrible roar of this monstrous air-horn organ just a few dozen feet away.
Anyway, here are a fistful of pics from today (incidentally, I only shot the last one myself; that’s Chris rocking the No Starch Press temporary tattoo. Check out those guns!) See you makers tomorrow; I’m talking in the Drive-in Theater at 11:30am, and at my booth right outside the Automotive Hall of Fame all day. Come by and launch a rocket with us!

I’ve meant to post this for ages, and it somehow kept slipping through the cracks. About a year ago Liz Arum (of Makerbot fame, at least for me) did a summertime DIY/making workshop with a bunch of kids and built a few projects from SnipBurn (as well as others). She posted a bunch of pics that warm the cockles of my heart:

the rest are here)
As it turns out, Liz used 30-gauge winding wire for the pickups in those $10 Electric Guitars–significantly beefier than the 42-gauge I cal for in the book, and also significantly easier to find at RadioShack. This, obviously, takes many more windings than the 42-gauge design, but she reports that the sound is good. I’ve since talked to other SnipBurn makers who’ve likewise used these much thicker gauge wires and had good results, so I’m going to start experimenting with this cheaper/easier wire as I work on projects for my next book (which is all musical instruments). Stay tuned for more details on my findings.
FYI, if you’ve built something cool based on one of the projects in SnipBurn, then totally hit me with some links to pics, audio, or video; I’m happy to add it to the gallery and share your links.

This is the diddley bow that Chris Lynas built last weekend, riffing off the “$10 Electric Guitar” in Snip, Burn, Solder, Shred (Project #13)–plus a sweet lil Dirt Cheap Amp (Project #12) to go with it:

And here it is in action:

I *love* this! Such a great fit for these lil hands!
Incidentally, Chris is one of several builders who have used a thicker gauge of wire to wind their pickups and still had good results. Quoth Chris:

I.e., Chris stayed within the $10 budget, despite the strong pound sterling! Supercool!
Some folks may already be familiar with Chris Lynas from this project, where he 3D-printed new discs for an old-school Fisher-Price “record player” (which was actually technologically more of a music box):

(Worth checking out the link, as the code/CAD-based solution is pretty fascinating.)
*thx Chris!*

I received this email two days ago, but decided to sit on it so as not to inadvertently spoil any Valentine’s surprises. Cirsten writes

Yes indeed! The underwire wing reinforcement is *genius*! And I *love* this fella’s saucy little pose on the sofa:

Check out a couple other pics here (man, I *love* those wings!)
*thanks Cirsten!*

ink spot: Sock Cthulhu
Dear friend Corey Johnson made several improvements when building her Sock Cthulhu, all of which I heartily endorse. I *love* these wings! Check the link for details on her mods.

If you make a sock monster–or anything else–feel free to drop me links, and I’ll add ’em to the gallery.
*Thanks Corey!*

Yfrog Photo : yfrog.com/5572laj – Shared by narcosislabs
Sew your own with this free sample project from Snip, Burn, Solder, Shred (the Cthulhu mod is at the end of the project; mine is pictured below).