Another Homemade Near-Space Balloon Project – This Time With Video
There’s a short but growing list of awesome people who have successfully launched DIY aerial photo and video rigs. Add to that list father/son duo Luke and Max Geissbuhler and their personal homemade spacecraft. This is my favorite of the many I’ve seen so…
Afterdark – Short Film Starring Me, and Some Notes On Making Your Own Short Film
A couple years ago I acted in a short film, one of the few things I’ve done as an “actor” (a term I use reluctantly), rather than as a host or behind-the-scenes. Directed and edited by the talented Camilo Restrepo, Afterdark is a post-apocalyptic…
Improve Your Photography with a DIY LED Ring Light
Ring light: a source of light for photography that encircles the camera lens completely. It creates a shadow-softening effect on the object or person being photographed, a warm and natural alternative to the stark standard camera-mounted single flash look. Normally the tool of professional photographers,…
Micro-Scale Pencil Lead Sculptures by Dalton Ghetti
Dalton Ghetti makes art from an EXTREMELY small medium: pencil lead. With the steady hand of a surgeon and some obviously super sharp tools (I’d love to see his kit), he transforms writing instruments into tiny sculptures, including mind blowing links of “chain.” Originally…
Machine Your Own Electric Guitar
Machine Your Own Guitar: Another awesome DIY guitar project to add to the “how to build a guitar” list – this one is a bit more complex, using tools that you’ll likely only find in heavy duty workshops (mill, band saw, drill press, extra…
Home Built Extreme Fat Tire Bicycle
Bike projects are awesome. And it doesn’t get more awesome than this: a home-designed and built mega-fat wheeled bike. Capable of traversing soft sand with great ease, this thing looks like it will take you just about anywhere. This crazy vehicle was created by…
High Speed Photography Using Laser Triggers
One of the fun capabilities that the CHDK hack for Canon point and shoot cameras enables is super fast shutter photography. By snapping the shutter at 1/10,000th of a second (or faster), you can freeze moments that are imperceptible to the human eye. Speeding…
Reverse Engineering Apple’s iPhone/iPod Charger System Secrets
Third party manufacturers that want to make iPhone/iPod charging devices have to agree to a secret hardware setup that will allow the devices to work, and promise to not disclose what components and specifications are needed to make a charger work. Engineer/hacker/braniac Ladyada (of…
Make Your Own Turbine Jet Engine (And Then Put It In Your Porsche)
Four cylinder Honda Civic Hatchback doesn’t have enough “get-up-and-go” for your tastes? Maybe it’s time to upgrade to a Steve Saunders-esque V8 Corvette. Or maybe you want to drop some serious cash and get the 16 cylinder Veyron (with its four turbochargers). But no…
How to Pirate A Vinyl Record, And How Vinyl Records Are Made
Vinyl records have a unique place in the world of music media. Aside from their warm analog tone, vinyl is the only popular medium that is nearly impossible to create or duplicate at home – something that can’t be claimed by cassettes, CDs, DVDs,…
Hi, I'm Mike. I’m the executive editor of Make: magazine, and host of Discovery channel’s Punkin' Chunkin' and Catch It Keep It, TV shows where I build and explain crazy machines that crush stuff, blow things up, shoot fire, all in the name of science.
I've previously worked at Wired and ReadyMade magazines, writing about how to utilize new technology in our everyday lives.
This site is where I keep a list of instructions for fun projects I've done, am working on, or draw inspiration from. I encourage everyone to get involved — get up and do something!