Category: DIY

DIY Valentines

Heart EggsOver on Cool Hunting there’s a lovely list of do it yourself Valentines Day projects.

Often considered a marketing invention to help boost sales in an otherwise slow economic period for retailers, Valentine’s Day needn’t be another excuse to express love through our capalitistic, consumeristic ways. There are plenty of options to give without hitting the mall, so this year CH decided to put together a list of homemade Valentines gifts (and kits).

I’m partial to the naughty ice cream sandwich myself but the sun jar would be cool to give as a gift.

Cool Hunting: DIY Valentines

Spaceship Serenity Paper Model

I found this beautiful paper model of the spaceship from the science fiction TV series ‘Firefly‘. I just started watching the DVDs yesterday so I naturally was looking around the ‘Net for more info on the show. It’s pretty good, pity that it was axed so quickly by Fox, but I guess everyone says that.
The ship looks like a pretty complex build, it has more detail that you would expect, it even has the ambassadors  shuttle craft.

Serenity (ingles)

Fire Starting Flashlight


Now I can see why the British call them ‘torches’! A modded MagLite, some high power batteries and a projector bulb will get you one hell of a hot flashlight. WARNING! Do not use this to read books under the covers, that is unless you sleep on a stone slab and your sheets are made of asbestos.
Extreme Geek – Fire starting flashlight

DIY Nikon D70 Infra-red Remote Control

This is just the thing you need to have in your camera bag. I have one that I bought online but if your not in a rush and have the skills to solder this would be a clever little device to have around. Very handy for tripping the shutter when your doing macro work or your doing long exposures where camera vibration is a bad thing.

This is a replacement for the sparsely available Nikon ML-L1 and ML-L3 IR remote controls. Like the original remotes, this very simple circuit allows you to remotely release the D70 shutter or do a bulb exposure while avoiding camera shake. It should also work with other Nikon (d)SLR’s, provided they are supported by the ML-L1 or ML-L3. The IR sensor of the D70 is behind the round black plastic spot above the D70 logo on the body.

[via steve]
Nikon D70 infra-red remote control

DIY Analog Video Synth

Who says that you can only circuit bend audio devices?

Video synthesis tends to be dominated by digital technology these days however analogue video synthesis techniques can still offer a great many advantages in terms of aesthetics, performance, simplicity, and adaptability. Not to mention the non-linear surprises which can come from working in the analogue domain. This "VGA Expropriator" will be the first in a series of proprietary analogue hardware devices which seek to explore the possibilities of digital/analogue hybrid technology in video/audio performance and studio production contexts. The first offering here is essentially a new design with its creative process making ample use of circuit-bending methodologies.

[via Retro Thing]

VS001 – VGA Expropriator Analogue Video Synthesizer

EasyStill Home Alcohol Making Kit

EasyStillIf your as lazy as I am the idea of not having to drive down to the local liquor store to get a bottle of booze is quite appealing. How cool would it be to have a distillery in your back room?

EasyStill is a tabletop distillation unit. 4 liters of mash or wine are added and the unit plugged in. No cooling water required no thermometer or other nuisance. The unit is fan cooled. If you forget the unit it switches itself off when the boiling vessel is empty. Warming up takes one hour, and then distillation takes 3 hours. This gives 1.4 liters of spirits of approximately 46% alcohol. Active charcoal purification takes place during distillation through a 500mm purifying tube. The spirits produced have the flavour of vodka and are ready to drink or flavour with essences or herbs. Those choosing the easy way connect up a timer so the process looks after itself.

[via ohqizmo]
EasyStill