Project: Match Rockets

Make working rockets out of matches, a pin, and some aluminum foil. It’s quick, fun, and reasonably safe way to play with matches.

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Watch The Video.

• This project has been featured on these sites: Boing Boing, Neatorama, Laughing Squid, Make Magazine, and Apartment Therapy.

Project: Tacit, Sonar For The Blind

The Tacit project is intended to help the blind navigate. It uses a pair of ultrasonic rangefinders to sense the distance to objects and converts that to pressure on the wrist conveying direction and distance to obstacles. It’s mounted to the back of the hand in order to provide maximum flexibility while staying out of the way during most activities.

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Watch The Video.

• This project was featured in Issue #29 of Make Magazine.
• This project is also available on Make: Projects.
• This project was profiled in the November 24, 2012 issue of The Time of India in the article “All You Need Is Glove“
• This project has been featured on CNN, Forbes, Popular Science, Engadget,  TechCrunch, Slashdot, and many other places.
• I wrote a companion article in issue #4 of the peer reviewed International Journal of Orientation And Mobility titled “Developing An Open-Source Navigation Device”
• I’ve also written an article about the unlikely origins of this project.

Project: National Novel Writing Month Progress Monitor

For those who are having a hard time completing their novel, here is a progress meter. It seemed appropriate to provide a papercraft case for this project, so you’ll find templates for 2 different meters to cut out, fold, and assemble.

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Watch The Video.
More information:

• This project as been featured on Make Magazine‘s web site as well as at Engadget.

Project: Fourteen Day Sweet Pickles

This family recipe for sweet pickles take a bit more work to make than some pickles, but deliver a uniquely sharp and sweet pickle.

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Project: Indestructible LED Lanterns

This is a quick and easy way to make waterproof, abuse resistant LED lanterns. They float (or sink if you want) and have survived trips through washing machines and being hit by lawn mowers.

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More information:

• This project is also featured in issue #30 of Make Magazine.
• Read about the background of this project on the blog.

Project: Marking Your Tools

With shared workspaces becoming more common, being able to separate your tools from the crowd is important. Here’s a quick tutorial on ways to mark you tools for quick identification.

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More information:

• This project was features on Boing Boing.

Project: Reading Light In A Book

Create a reading light that lives right at home on a bedside table with the rest of the books. Adjusting the angle of the cover determines how much light it provides, and a tactile switch turns it off when it’s closed.

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Watch the video.
More information:

• This project was features on the web sites Boing Boing, Make Magazine, Laughing Squid, and Hack A Day.

Project: Hidden Bookshelf Amplifier

Building an amplifier and speaker in a few old books makes it easy to hide or store an amp for an iPod or other MP3 player.

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More information:

• This project was featured on Hack a Day

Project: Documentation Camera Dolly

Build a simple, versatile 2-axis dolly to help document projects or generally give a birds-eye view of stuff. It’s cheap and will let you position an overhead camera just about anywhere.

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Watch the video.
More information:

• This project was featured on Make Magazine and they also built one for their lab.
• This project was also featured at Hack A Day and the Adafruit Industries blog.

Project: Valentines Day Patent Cards

Tell the Maker in your life how you really feel with these tongue-in-cheek valenties cards featuring art from the US Patent office. And yes, there really is a patent for “sexual armor”.

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More information:

• These cards were featured on Core 77, Make Magazine, and in Gizmodo’s Valentine’s Day Give Guide.
• You can send electronic versions over at Postkin.

Project: Make Edge-Lit Signs & Displays

Learn how to make these super easy and very effective edge-lit displays with little more than a bit of plastic and an LED.

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More information:

• I have taught people of all ages hwo to make this at various workshops.
• This project was featured on the Make Magazine blog.
• This project was inspired by Evil Mad Science’s lit holiday card project.

Project: Secret Knock Gumball Machine

The Secret Knock Gumball Machine hands out tasty treats, but only those who know the secret rhythm. This is the much more alluring descendant of the Secret Knock Detecting Lock. Everyone loves the idea of the secret knock lock, but showing it in public is a but underwhelming. To make it more interesting I added gumballs and an acrylic case so you can see everything working.

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More information:

• This project was first published in Issue #25 of Make Magazine.
• You can see me talk about this project on the premiere episode of Make: Live.
• You can hear me talk about this project, and other things on the premire episode of Make: Talk.
• These girls built it and it’s wonderful!

Project: Peanut Butter & Jelly Ice Cream Cone

Learn how to make this delicious summer treat. It’s a toasted bread cone lined with peanut butter and filled with the ice cream equivalent of strawberry jelly. It’s like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but with more ice cream.

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More information:

• This project was featured on Serious Eats, Craft Magazine, and on Neatorama.