DIY

A while back, Julie posted a news item about a ‘wooden pocket knife.’  I was intrigued: normally, one cuts wood with a knife, right?  So when the opportunity to review Nathan’s Knife Kit from Klecker Knives came up, I had to check it out.  My 8-year-old son had been asking me when he could get [...]

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If you’re looking for a cool gift for your favorite ukulele player, this is it. It’s a kit for a folding soprano ukulele. The parts are made of laser cut bamboo. All you need is some sandpaper, glue and a few other miscellaneous items and you’ll be able to build your own instrument that just [...]

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I enjoy making stuff, and I love electronics, so I generally really like electronics kit projects. The SpikenzieLabs Solder:Time Watch Kit seems like a great option for someone like me. This is actually a hackable watch- they provide the source code and other info, as well as convenient pads on the circuit board to tap into.

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The Solder : Time from Spikenzielabs is an easy to solder wristwatch kit that has a laser cut acrylic casing that allows you to see the internal PCB, electronic components and battery (CR2032). There’s a velcro wrist band included, but you can also wear it as a badge with optional badge clip. This looks like [...]

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One really nice thing about being an iPhone owner is that the third-party accessories market is so enormous that one is never at a loss for accessory options.  However, there is a trend in phone cases in general to lean towards the sleek and industrial or luxurious, often leaving those whose tastes tend toward the [...]

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Bobble heads.  Cool, right?  How about a trapezoidal-shaped bobble head that you construct yourself by downloading a template, printing on cardstock, cutting, folding and gluing it?  Too good to be true?  Check out Pally Pal Paper Toys.  They have a growing inventory of Pal designs in several categories or download a blank template and create [...]

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JJ’s Knife Kit from Garrett Wade is a nifty build it yourself kit for little ones aged 4-7. Kids always want what their parents have, so this is a safe way to let them feel like they have a grown up tool. These kits come with pre-cut and pre-drilled pieces of Oak or Cherry depending [...]

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I don’t know about the rest of you, but I rarely use the CD drive in my iMac or Macbook Pro. 99.9% of the time, I download software instead of buying CDs. And I don’t watch DVDs on my devices either. OWC has a cool product that will let you ditch your optical drive for [...]

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TOKYObay will be offering a Limited Edition DIY Toolbox in time for the holiday gift buying season. This kit will give watch enthusiasts the ability to customize and assemble the main components of a classic style watch. The DIY watch kit includes two mid size classic watch faces. One with a cream dial and and [...]

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The Gadgeteer recently showed you how to easily change your downlights into pendant lights without hiring an electrician.  Today, we’ve found another way update the look of your recessed lights.  Sky Mall is offering Recessed Light Covers in a variety of styles from modern to traditional.  These Recessed Light Covers snap into place over your [...]

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If there’s anything that I love as much as getting my hands on a shiny new gadget, it’s taking old gadgets and repurposing them to accomplish something completely awesome.  I recently combined a low-end Eye-Fi card, a 2008 Mac Mini, and a little elbow grease to turn my home theater system into a slideshow displaying [...]

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If you are tired of the way your recessed can lights look, you can convert them to pendant fixtures in minutes without paying for an electrician.  These Instant Pendant Lights from Solutions simply replace the bulb in your old fixture.  You can adjust the length of the fixture without having to cut the wiring, and [...]

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If you are equally handy with “needle, thread, and battleaxe”, you can make yourself a D20-shaped handbag (called a dice bag, if you’re male).  The ThinkGeek kit contains all the components you need to make the bag;  you just need to supply the sewing machine, thread, iron, and the skills.  The DIY Dice Handbag kit is [...]

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I recently posted news items about an official Moleskine Kindle case with a reporter-style notebook and the DODOcase Moleskine-style case for iPad.  If you really want a Moleskine-style case for your iPad but don’t want to spend $50 and wait up to six weeks for it, you can try your hand at making your own.  [...]

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Wee-Meng Lee sent in a nifty tip for those of you that own a Pilot Varsity disposable fountain pen and would like a relatively easy way to refill the ink instead of throwing away the pen. Wee-Meng has created a video that demonstrates his method. If you have other gadget tips like this one, please send them [...]

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If you are a photography buff or just like to build things, check out the Plamodel build-your-own working 35mm camera with a 28mm lens.  You simply snap together the plastic parts in the DIY camera kit from Japanese design house SuperHeadz.  This could be a fun project for you to do with a younger child who’d [...]

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Benny Johansson sent in a link to his site where he demonstrates how to make your own holders for flashlights, bicycle pumps and other items. His photography and clear instructions are great. I’ve bookmarked the site for future reference. Go check it out.

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A Real Murphy Bed Plan

by cobinrox on January 20, 2010 · 9 comments

in Home Tech

Look on the Internet for plans to build a robot from an old computer mouse and you’ll find plenty.  Really useful, huh?  But, look for a set of plans for a Murphy bed and you’ll be disappointed.  Oddly there are plenty of people out there searching for do-it-yourself plans for Murphy beds, myself included (both [...]

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I had no issues with my Droid battery cover for the two weeks I used it, but I have heard some complaints that the cover can fall off. I know another reviewer that had no problem with her review unit, but after purchasing she had issues with the new one. So it probably is dependent [...]

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If you’ve read some of my iPhone related reviews, you’ll know that I have a love / hate relationship with the phone. It mainly has to do with the fact that there are no call end and answer buttons on the phone. You have to use your finger, which isn’t a big deal during the [...]

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