Collaborate Disseminate
When all you have is a hammer, every problem is a constant quest for an even better hammer, as the popular saying goes. At least, that seems to be [Ebenisterie …read more Continue reading Adjustable, Piston-Damped Hammer
If there’s one thing that woodworkers have always been good at, it’s coming up with clever jigs and work-holding solutions. Most jigs, however, are considerably simpler and more static than …read more Continue reading CNC Scroll Saw Add-On Cuts Beautiful Wooden Spirals
Building a PCB at home can be frought. If you’re etching, there are chemicals and the nuances of toner transfer. If you’re milling, getting the surface height just right, and not breaking those pointy little v-cutters is always a challenge. [Robin] has tips for both of these cases, and solves …read more
Neodymium magnets are fun to play with, largely thanks to their incredibly strong magnetic field. This also gives them plenty of applications where other magnets won’t cut the mustard. This very strength is also a drawback, making them difficult to work with and posing a danger to squishy human bodies. …read more
We’d wager most hackers are familiar with FTDI as the manufacturer of the gold standard USB-UART interfaces. Before parts like the ultra cheap CH340 and CP2102 became common, if you needed to turn a USB cable into a TTL UART device, “an FTDI” (probably an FT232RL) was the way to …read more
Upgrading the BIOS in older computers is a great way to get a few more years of life out of old hardware or improve its performance. ThinkPads are a popular choice around these parts, but often flashing new firmware involves directly programming the chips themselves. Luckily, there’s a new flashing …read more
Continue reading Unlocking Hidden Potential in IvyBridge ThinkPads
With Tormach and Haas capturing a lot of the entry-level professional market for CNC machines, we don’t see too many CNC conversions of manual mills anymore. And so this power drawbar conversion for a Precision Matthews mill really caught our eye.
What’s that, you say? Didn’t [Physics Anonymous] already build …read more
Continue reading Stacks of Spring Washers Power the Drawbar on this CNC Mill Conversion
[Darlan Johnson] was working on a wearable project and needed a way to measure the change in voltage and current over time.
Most measurement tools are designed to take snapshots of a system’s state in a very small window of time, but there are few common ones designed to observe …read more
Continue reading If You Need a Measurement Tool Just Build A Measurement Tool
We’ve all probably come across hunks of junk that used to be tools, long-neglected and chemically welded into a useless mass of solid rust. Such items are available for a pittance at the local flea market, or more likely found in an old barn or rotting on a junk pile. …read more
[Amon] built an induction heater to break stuck bolts loose. If you work on cars, machines, or anything big and metal, sooner or later you’re going to run into stuck nuts and bolts. Getting them unstuck usually involves penetrating oil, heat from a torch, and cheater bars. Heat usually works …read more
Continue reading Set Your Nuts (and Bolts) Free with this Induction Heater