Do-It-Yourself

News, reviews and articles about products that help you make and fix things.

Ukulele taking up too much space? Fold it.

foldinguke

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 […]

Ukulele taking up too much space? Fold it. Read More

Great Repair Site for Dell Laptop Owners

pplogo2010

Parts-People.com is a family owned business that was started back in 2002. They have a shop in Austin, TX and a web site that specializes in Dell laptop repair and parts replacement supplies. You can send them your laptop for repair, or if you are a DIY kinda of person, you can purchase the parts

Great Repair Site for Dell Laptop Owners Read More

Mixbook Personalized Printed Photo Books Review

A Mixbook collects your photos and lets you share them with others.

Mixtapes (or mixCDs, if you’re of the younger generation that didn’t have to use tape), those custom-designed soundtracks of your life from high school and before, were ubiquitous. If you liked someone, or wanted to celebrate a special memory or event, you’d make a mixtape to play in the background. We still do similar things

Mixbook Personalized Printed Photo Books Review Read More

Bheestie Bags Promise to Save Your Wet Electronics

bheestie bag

Bheestie Bags are another of those bags filled with a desiccant to help you dry out electronics that have been exposed to moisture.  The bags are 6″ X 9″, so they’re big enough for phones and MP3 player but not bigger tablets.  You can keep a Bheestie Bag, unopened, in reserve about a year.  It

Bheestie Bags Promise to Save Your Wet Electronics Read More

Wooden Pocket Knife Kit Teaches Knife Mechanics to Kids

nathan woodknife

Back in December of last year, I showed you a wooden knife kit by Garrett Wade that helps show kids how pocket knives work. I have an alternative kit that is less expensive, requires no tools for assembly and has nicer looking chunky parts. It’s Nathan’s Knife Kit from Klecker Knives. Klecker’s website even has

Wooden Pocket Knife Kit Teaches Knife Mechanics to Kids Read More

Makerbot Thing-O-Matic 3D Printer

thing o matic 1

3D printing is a form of manufacturing technology where three dimensional objects are created by laying down successive layers of material. Industrial 3D printers are available but aren’t the cheapest item around. The  Makerbot Thing-O-Matic is an an open source 3D printer for substantially less. Using a 3D CAD program and plastic filament you can

Makerbot Thing-O-Matic 3D Printer Read More

SpikenzieLabs Solder:Time Watch Kit Review

SpikenzieLabs SolderTime 1

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.

SpikenzieLabs Solder:Time Watch Kit Review Read More

Control Your Home Theater – and Even Your Home – With RedEye for Android

redeye remote for android

RedEye products and apps from ThinkFlood have allowed you to use your iOS devices as home theater remotes for a couple of years now.  If you add some of their hardware connectivity products, you can even use them to control lights and appliances in your home.  But why should Apple users have all the fun?

Control Your Home Theater – and Even Your Home – With RedEye for Android Read More

You aren’t a real geek unless you solder your own watch

soldertime watch

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

You aren’t a real geek unless you solder your own watch Read More

FlickBooks App Turn iPhone Videos into Flipbooks

myflickbooks

You’ve no doubt seen flip books before… They are small books with an image on each page that looks like an animated cartoon or movie when you rifle through pages sequentially. Now you can use a 5-15 second video that you’ve captured on your iPhone to create your own 50 page flip book by using

FlickBooks App Turn iPhone Videos into Flipbooks Read More

Show Off Your Crafty Side With the DIY iPhone Case

connectdesign DIY case

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

Show Off Your Crafty Side With the DIY iPhone Case Read More

Veto Pro Pac XXL-F Tool Bag Review

Veto Bag 1 1

  I know you have one.   Those clunky, metal, red toolboxes.  That iconic American symbol of craftsmen, workmen, and Do It Yourself-ers everywhere.   Those expensive, heavy, red-paint-chipping, heavier-than-cement-crack -your-shin-on-it dead weights that holds a mish mash of tools and accessories that, once in, you can never find again. Throw it out.  Seriously.  Throw

Veto Pro Pac XXL-F Tool Bag Review Read More

The 1st Annual Craftsman Blogger Summit

blogger1

I had the pleasure of representing The Gadgeteer at Craftsman’s Blogger Summit in Chicago recently.  This event brought together about a dozen bloggers from different specialties, to highlight the Craftsman name and promote the products through social media and the Internet.  We congregated at the Craftsman Experience facility to learn about some of their DIY

The 1st Annual Craftsman Blogger Summit Read More

Dry-All First Aid Kits for Wet Electronics

dry all for electronics

Just last week, we had to replace a laptop because my daughter had somehow gotten a little moisture in hers.  It’s shocking how much damage can be done by just a small spill.  Unfortunately, Dry-All doesn’t have a kit sized for laptops, but they do offer Emergency Kits for cellphones, smartphones, and tablets and ebook

Dry-All First Aid Kits for Wet Electronics Read More

Remote Starter for Your Car from Bulldog Security

Bulldog

Bulldog Security has introduced a remote car starter that even works with cars equipped with immobilizers.  The RS82B remote starter lets you start your immobilizer-equipped car to warm it up or cool it down while still keeping it secure.  The RS82B kit comes with a remote fob with start/stop buttons.  It comes with everything you

Remote Starter for Your Car from Bulldog Security Read More