Category: DIY

Problem Light (Steampunk edition)

Very nice execution of this project.

Think of a smoke alarm…but more general.
So, as I began plotting my own problem light, in the Venture Bros style, my friend told me she was redoing her living room steampunk-style.
I began to wonder, how do you do a late 1800s LED…and I ran to scribble a drawing.

The photoset of the build is quite detailed and lends itself to being easily reproducible, it would be a fun project for a long weekend.

[via brass goggles]
Problem Light (Steampunk edition) – a photoset on Flickr

DIY Camcorder

DIY camcorderThis is one of those projects that makes me want to call in sick and dive into my boxes of junk and build something!

I have always wanted a camcorder for myself and not just any camcorder. I wanted one a bit like a professional broadcast camcorder, where I would be able to mount ad-ons like pre-amps, lights and all the other ever so cool stuff you’ll see professionals packing. However I’m not about to pay the horiffic price of a Red Camera . So let’s just build one…

[via MAKE]
The chaos blog 2.0 » (DIY) How to build a camcorder

Astounding Steam Powered Robot Arm

 
What a cool application of steam power. The perfect super retro project!

Armatron was my favorite toy as a kid, it was made by Tandy, and sold through Radio Shack in the 80’s. It was made with ONE electric motor, with gears and clutches throughout the entire base and arm, controlled by 2 joysticks that engages and disengages gears for 6 degrees of movement (the joy stick each move in 2 axis, plus they twist for closing/opening of the jaw, and rotating of the hand). This complex machine is a marvel of engineering, the amazing control and ease to operation made this toy amazingly fun to play.

Steam Armatron – Crabfu.com

New ‘Spin’ On Pinhole Photography

8 Banners Turret multi pinhole plateThis is cool! Up and coming pinhole camera manufacturer 8 Banners has come out with their latest offering, a multi pinhole turret with built in shutter.

This turret can be mounted as an accessory on the various models of pinhole camera made by 8banners with the exception of Ma.
It replaces the normal shutter assembly by having instead of the choice of 1 pinhole plates but 6 pinhole plates.
For the 4×5 model, if u dun put in a plate for one of the hole, it can become a view finder that cast an image in the ground glass back behind the cam.

The idea of using an empty space as a viewfinder is beautiful. The greatest thing about 8 Banners, other than the cameras, is that they are very DIY friendly. You can but pinholes viewfinders, and shutters there at quite reasonable prices. The turret is lists as being $85US. Quite affordable if you ask me.
See more:
Turret Set on Flickr – Photo Sharing!

You Want to Build a Tesla Coil?

1 million volt Tesla coil
If you ever find yourself with a pile of wire and big transformers and can work with tools without killing yourself you might want to build a Tesla coil. What a Tesla coil does is transform low voltage low frequency (120V / 60 Hz) power into high voltage high frequency (5-1000 KV / 10-2000 KHz) power. It’s done by finely tuned coils and capacitors that resonate at the greatest efficiency. The results can be quite spectacular. The image I used for this entry is of a Tesla coil I shot a few years ago. It was pounding out a million volts of electricity and producing a dazzling display of sparks. The coil was about three feet high and the breeze made by the charge was downright amazing.
The guys at Deep Fried Neon have all the info that you will need to get started in the wonderful hobby.

DeepFriedNeon – Tesla Coils