Gorgeous HD Parasailing Video Shot on Canon 7D
Gorgeous colors, beautiful movement, rich light. All from the new Canon 7D. (The interview shots are done on the Panasonic HVX 200 – an awesome camera and something I’d love to own.) I’ve been meaning to post about the new Canon camera for a…
Sunnan Synth: Solar Powered Ikea Lamp Hacked to Make a Theremin Synth
Sunnan Synth. The solar powered strobe-opto-theremin-synth-thing. Made with an Ikea Sunnan solar lamp ($20, available in-store only), photoresistors, potentiometers and a cmos 556 integrated circuit ($2). Not too pricey nor complex, and it sounds awesome. Here’s the full writeup on how to build your…
Homemade Pumpkin-Launching Catapult That Shoots 2000 feet – Punkin’ Chunkin’
Looking for pumpkin catapult/trebuchet plans? Check out my roundup of online trebuchet plans here. I’m hosting the 2009 Punkin Chunkin competition alongside my Catch It Keep It pal Zach Selwyn. During the preliminary filming, we stopped to visit with “Sir Chunks A Lot” — a team…
How to Build a Temporary Wood-fired Brick Pizza Oven with Cheap, Easy to Find Materials
This is a great, low-cost project for someone who wants to test out the ins-and-outs of brick oven cooking. Super fast and easy to build, and with minor modifications, it can be assembled semi-permanently and get you through a season of baking delicious breads…
Remote Camera Triggering DIY Hack Using Long-range Walkie Talkies
Want to snap photos from a remote location, up to a kilometer away from your rig? Here’s a fairly cheap and easy project using common walkie-talkie radios to allow you to trigger your DSLR from long distance. The comments on DIYphotography.com have some suggestions…
iPhone Headset Won’t Work? It’s Stuck in Headphone Mode – Here’s the Fix
Discovering that the person on the other end of the phone can’t hear you talk, especially while driving on the freeway, is frustrating, scary and dangerous. Is your headset broken? Is it the iPhone itself? Do you need to repair or replace? Very frustrating….
Totally Cool: Propane Torch with Push Button Igniter
Turbo blast trigger. I’ll take a couple of these, thanks. Ideal for melting ice or burning weeds on sidewalks and driveways Attaches readily to propane tanks Push button igniter ignites torch without matches Wand comes with a flow valve and turbo blast trigger from…
Video: Brush Clearing Monster Machine Shreds a Minivan
What guy hasn’t fantasized about a machine that can tear apart practically anything in its path? This Slashbuster brush cutter is just the thing to have on hand anytime you find yourself trapped deep in the Darien, or deep in an automotive graveyard. Now, I’m…
The DIY Microwave Welder
First, and foremost: do NOT attempt this project if you do not have a thorough and in-depth understanding of the nature of the components that are involved. The current involved can easily kill you. That said, here is a three-part video series on how…
DIY Project: Cut-and-Fold Paper iPhone
When the iPhone was announced I was really eager to see how it would look in person, size up against my RAZR, how it might fit in my hand, etc. They weren’t going to release it for a few months still, so using the…
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!