Our New Tool for Community Collaboration
by Mark Frauenfelder
in Welcome
Make: Projects (makeprojects.com) is our brand new beta library of project instructions written by you, the readers. Page 1
Reader Input
Rosy CupCakes, router safety, shocked kids, and pirate booms. Page 10
Smiley Face Technologies
by Saul Griffith
in Making Trouble
I have an antidote that keeps me upbeat, something special and beautiful
that keeps me optimistic about the human condition ... people share
their ideas with me. Page 13
Walled Gardens vs. Makers
by Cory Doctorow
in Make Free
Making is about sharing. The reason we can make so much today is because
the basic knowledge, skills, and tools to make anything are already on
the ground, a loam in which our inspiration can germinate. Page 16
The Infrared Thermometer: An Essential Science Gadget
by Forrest Mims III
in Country Scientist
While I've spent 20 years measuring sunlight, haze, the ozone layer, and
the water vapor layer using various homemade insruments, a couple of IR
thermometers are among the most important gadgets in my science
toolbox. Page 26
Summer's Here
by Dan Woods
in Maker's Corner
Time to get serious about that long-overdue MAKEcation. Page 29
Rolling Like Luke
by Keith Hammond
Daniel Deutsch built his own full-sized, drivable landspeeder. Page 18
Bright Lights, Big Installation
by Laura Kiniry
Firefly 1440 is an LED display of dancing light patterns based on the wind's force, timing, and direction. Page 20
Shelter from the Bus
by Bruce Stewart
Sculptor Christopher Fennell created a bus stop shelter out of actual retired buses. Page 21
Living Walls
by Jeanne Storck
Rufus Butler Seder creates animated glass murals. Page 22
Hardcore Thread
by Shawn Connally
Theresa Honeywell covered an entire motorcycle in knitwork. Page 23
DIY Truss Telescope
by Bruce Stewart
Dale Sander built a "truss telescoping telescope." Page 24
Come On, Sweat!
by Laura Kiniry
Waste to Work is a project that explores sweat as a catalyst for energy. Page 25
Fruit Picker
Here's how you can make your own collapsible fruit picker in about 5 minutes. Page 103
Hypsometer
by Cy Tymony
Using simple trigonometric principles, you can closely estimate the
height of objects with an easy-to-make-hypsometer (hyps means height in
Greek). Page 110
Kid Robot
by Dale Dougherty
Young makers are seizing breakout opportunities on the wild frontier of Detroit. Page 30
58 Bagley Ave.
by Marc Greuther
The workshop where Henry Ford made his first car. Page 37
Slag Social
by Joe Sandor
The art and community of the DIY iron pour. Page 38
Hacking Club-Mate
by John Baichtal
A popular hacker energy drink gets homebrewed. Page 40
Stone Age Telegraph
by Jamie O'Shea
Armed only with information, I turn rocks and sticks into an electronic signal. Page 42
Maker Faire 2010: Going East
Born in 2005 as a maker meetup, Maker Faire (makerfaire.com) is the world's largest DIY festival, celebrating homegrown technology from robots and rockets to food, arts, and crafts. Page 45
Beam Weapon for Bad Bugs
by 3ric Johanson
How to make a Mosquito Defense Shield. Page 48
Magic Mirror
by Al Linke
Make a know-it-all animated reflection that talks back. Page 54
Mystery Electronic Switches
by J. Tregre
Page 60
My Favorite Gadgets
by Larry Cotton
Three handy gizmos that snap, magnify, and play. Page 62
One-Way Ticket
by Jon Thorn
Pressurize with a plunger that pushes but doesn't pull. Page 68
Squelette, the Bare-Bones Amplifier
by Ross Hershberger
Squelette is a see-through amplifier that sounds ridiculously good while
showing off your soldering (it looks nothing like a typical audio
product). Page 70
Gyrocar
by Matthew Gryczan
Outfit a toy gyroscope with an electric motor to make it run
continuously, and add an adjustable drive wheel that lets it chug along a
monorail, balance on a string, circle the rim of a pot, and perform
other tricks. Page 84
The Most Useless Machine
by Brett Coulthard
Make a machine that, when you flip the switch on, an arm reaches out of a door to turn the switch back off. Page 94
Building with PLCs
by Tim Hunkin
Programmable logic controllers never fail. Page 104
Wilderness Workshop
by Charles Platt
Build your own inexpensive yet sturdy worktables and shelving. Page 111
CD/DVD Parts Container
by Steve Stofiel
A new twist on the old baby-food jar organizer. Page 115
Compressed Earth Block Floor
by Abe Connally, Josie Moores
Lay your own earthen brick floor for about $60. Page 117
The Microdoodle
by Mister Jalopy
Convert an old-school microfiche reader into a magnifying machine. Page 120
Time-Lapse Photography
by Nir Yariv
Make mini movies from a command line. Page 122
Solar Car Subwoofer
by Henry Herndon
Self-sufficient station-wagon sonic splendor. Page 124
Easy Pitch Control Hack
by Peter Edwards
Make audio circuits sing higher and lower. Page 127
Lily Pad Pool Warmers
by Edward Hujsak
Use hula hoops to heat your swimming pool using the sun. Page 131
College Bike Trunk
by Frank E. Yost
Make a lockable carry-all box from sheet metal. Page 135
Crash! ... and Burn?
by Lee D. Zlotoff
The creator of MacGyver challenges you to get an unconscious person out of a crashed car. Page 138
Zap-a-Mole
by Charles Platt
The first of a series of columns for readers who have relatively little knowledge of electronics and would like to know more. Page 140
Guitar Amp Bulletin Board
by Bob Knetzger
Use a piece of vintage speaker cloth to make a mini "guitar amp" bulletin board. Page 147
Howtoons: Mus�e du Dodecahedron
by Saul Griffith
Depicting a subject from multiple viewpoints gives it greater context. Page 148
Droid Factory
by John Baichtal
Milwaukee's Firefly Workshop Page 158
Gadget Brothers Reunion
by Michael H. Pryor
Gadget Brothers Reunion Page 163
Tree Moving
by Tim Anderson
Transplant a big tree with a giant two-wheeled dolly. Page 164
Drive a Car
by Gever Tulley
Take command of 5,000 pounds of metal. Page 166
Samuel Morse and the Telegraph
by William Gurstelle
Despite the fact that Morse had little knowledge of electricity, he
plunged ahead as only a man in the throes of a serious midlife crisis
could. Page 168
Pennywhistle
by Tom Parker
Sometimes it costs more to buy it than to make it from the money itself. Page 171
My Embedded Entertainment System
by Luis Cruz
In October 2009, just one year after I started studying electronics, I
decided to build my own video game system, applying everything I'd
learned about microcontrollers and game programming to a single system. Page 176
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