How to Make A Digital Pinhole Camera – Fast, Cheap and Easy
The most basic style of camera is the pinhole camera, usually a light-proof box that holds a piece of film inside. When the pinhole is uncovered, the film is exposed for an arbitrary amount of time, and later developed to discover the results. The…
Make Your Own Wooden Pizza Peel (Paddle)
A pizza peel (that’s the proper name) is a must-have tool for any pizza chef. Most of the wooden peels you’ll find in the restaurants and stores have a wide paddle area with a simple tapered edge, extending about 3/4″ around the perimeter, top…
Lime Mortar Repointing: How and When to Address the Mortar in Older Brick and Stone Walls and Foundations
Older houses come with plenty of charm, but they also have special requirements: Using the newer types of mortar on your walls and foundations can lead to problems; take care to keep your brickwork protected and to use the proper limestone mortar.
Three DIY Books for your Holiday Wishlist: Making It, Fashion Geek, and Learning Processing: A Beginner’s Guide to Programming Images, Animation, and Interaction
Three great books for anyone who likes to make stuff. Put these on your holiday wish lists. Making It: Manufacturing Techniques for Product Design Lefteri’s latest book (his material book lineup includes Plastic, Metals, Ceramics, Wood, and more). An easily laid out format shows…
DIY Hovercraft Plans – Leafblowers, Lawnmowers, 4 Stroke Engines
No one can argue that the hovercraft isn’t the coolest vehicle ever. And no one will argue that building one is a great idea. Turns out that they’re not too complicated to assemble, and depending on the size you want you may have the…
Bike Repairs Made Easy With the DIY Bike Repair Stand
All bike repairs, from fixing a simple flat to complex derailleur adjustments, are exponentially easier with a proper bike stand. Good stands can cost $150 – $200 (like this one), but why spend all that money when you can build your own stand with…
DIY Builder Holiday Buying Guide – Gift Tips
A few Holiday suggestions that I’ve been enjoying this year, for the science geek/builder/pizza fanatic in your life. Tools Flexible shaft precision screwdriver: Don’t tell Apple but I’ve taken my Macbook apart plenty of times, made easy with this mini-screwdriver. It has 6 double-ended…
How to Clean and Deodorize Your Wetsuit
Any regularly used wetsuit will start to develop a mildew stench, especially if left wet in the trunk of your car or floor of your closet. I’m no fan of squeezing into a bacterial bodysuit so I undertook a week-long project to de-funk my…
Build a 3D Camera Rig from Canon Powershot Cameras
Shoot your own “In your face!” photos – very rad. This project is from MaximumPC. Overview: – Install the StereoData Maker script onto two CHDK-modifiable Canon Powershot cameras. The script allows the cameras to be triggered through their USB ports. The page lists the compatible…
Skate and BMX Bike Ramp Plans Roundup
One of the best things about skateboarding is the DIY mentality that it encourages, from maintaining your board to building your own ramps. And thanks to the internet, nowadays there are loads of free and cheap plans for building skateboard and BMX ramps online….
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!