makezine.tv: MAKE: technology on your time

Introducing Make: television

Presenting a new national series from MAKE magazine, Twin Cities Public Television, and American Public Television.

Make: is the DIY series for a new generation! It celebrates "Makers" - the inventors, artists, geeks and just plain everyday folks who mix new and old technology to create new-fangled marvels. Check out the Episode Guide to watch segments and read descriptions of previous episodes.

MAKE: television Episode 1: Bicycle Rodeo & VCR Powered Cat Feeder

For those of you who like to see the whole episodes of Make: television, here's a chance to see episode 1 in all it's glory. Meet Cyclecide, an inventive band of performance artists who build outrageous bicycle contraptions straight... Read More

MAKE: television Episode 2: Aerial Kite Photography & Burrito Blaster

Make: television Episode 2: Maker Cris Benton takes spectacular aerial photographs by rigging remote-controlled cameras to high flying kites. In the Maker Workshop John Park builds a Burrito Blaster, which can propel a burrito 50 yards, and Mister Jalopy... Read More

MAKE: television Episode 3: Steampunk & Pole Camera

Enter the alternative universe of Jake Von Slatt, a leading Steampunk Maker, who turns modern technology into Victorian works of art. In the Maker Workshop, John Park mounts a remote control camera on a painter's pole to take stunning... Read More

Make: television Episode 4: Fire Sculpture & DTV Antenna

Meet the Flaming Lotus Girls, a women-centric maker collaborative that creates gargantuan, fire-breathing sculptures. In the Workshop, John Park builds a digital TV antenna from wire coat hangers and a $10 video camera stabilizer. William Gurstelle shows surprising uses... Read More

MAKE: television Episode 5: Kinetic Wave Sculptures & Shopping Cart Chair

Tour the elegant and hypnotic motorized wave sculptures, created by visionary maker Reuben Margolin. In the Maker Workshop John Park upcycles a discarded shopping cart into a stylish easy chair, and Mister Jalopy details the unsung wonders of his... Read More

MAKE: television Episode 6: Music Machines & Trebuchet

Enter the plugged-in world of Tim Kaiser, a maker who fashions experimental musical instruments from scavenged objects. In the Workshop John Park assembles a portable trebuchet from plastic plumbing pipe, and circuit bender Bianca Pettis demystifies the art of... Read More

MAKE: television Episode 7: Urban Projections & Wind Generator

Bike along with Ali Momeni and his fleet of mobile video projectors that transform public spaces into massive sound and light shows. In the Workshop, John Park combines a used treadmill motor and PVC pipe to build a wind... Read More

MAKE: television Episode 8: Watershed Sculptures & Miniature Robots

We journey upstream with environmentalist Dan McCormick, a maker who crafts intricate watershed sculptures out of woven willow. In the Workshop, John Park shows how to build lively and inexpensive miniature robots. Mister Jalopy reveals the hidden treasures of... Read More

Make: television Episode 9: Computer Making Music & Personal Flight Recorder

Meet CCRMA, a group of musical makers who stretch the sonic boundaries by turning personal computers into an electronic symphony. In the Workshop, John Park hacks a Wii controller and turns it into a personal flight recorder that can... Read More

MAKE: television Episode 10: Wearable Technology & Cigar Box Guitar

Visit SparkLab founder and designer Syuzi Pakhchyan, a maker who explores the new frontier of high tech and fashion with her space age handiwork. In the Workshop, John Park shows us how to build a guitar out of a... Read More

Make: Online

with the editors and authors of MAKE Friday November 20, 2009

Suggest a Site!

Make: Projects - Pneumatic trough, part II

image from golden book of chemistry experiments page 28.jpg

Last week I wrote about how to construct a simple sheet metal "bridge," which, in combination with an ice cube bucket and an olive jar, makes an effective pneumatic trough for collecting gas samples over water. This week I'm going to show you how to use this apparatus to generate and collect pure oxygen, and how to use that oxygen to observe the brilliant blue flame of sulfur oxidation.

Tools:

Pneumatic trough apparatus from part I
Small piece of plate glass (I used the mirror from a makeup compact)
Lighter
Twisted wire sample loop
250 mL Erlenmeyer flask (I got mine from The Maker Shed)
#7 two-hole rubber stopper to fit Erlenmeyer (mine came from this assortment)
Two 80 mm lengths of 5 mm glass tubing to fit stopper (such as this)
Approximately 18" length of 5/16" OD x 3/16" ID PVC tubing to fit glass tubing (common hardware store item)

Materials:

Water to fill bucket
Elemental sulfur powder (also called "Flowers of Sulfur," available at some drugstores and here.)
3% hydrogen peroxide (common drugstore item)
Manganese dioxide (can be recovered from an alkaline dry-cell battery or purchased here)
Petroleum jelly (drugstore)

Read full story

Posted by Sean Michael Ragan | 12:30 PM in Chemistry, DIY Projects, Education, MAKE Projects, Science |

Cardboard tube battle

My local library picked up on the festive trend of Cardboard Tube Fighting. The Boston Globe covered the preparations: The group discovered cardboard tube fighting last summer in time to incorporate a bit of it into a presentation on Greek mythology at a reading program party. The weapons are cylindrical pieces of thick cardboard about 4 feet long. The appeal, explains young-adult librarian Ellen Snoeyenbos: "It's totally ridiculous.'' As word of mock combat with reliably harmless weaponry spread among the town's youthful warriors, Snoeyenbos and the Bookmarks seized on the fund-raiser as a chance to exploit their discovery of the fighting fad made popular by YouTube. Saturday's event will feature one-on-one tournaments, guild-on-guild skirmishes (up to 10 fighters per team), "and an all-out battle for possession of the Royal Crown,'' according to the club. Read More

Make: Holiday Gift Guide 2009: Gifts for dads

There's a funny thing about dads' toys. Very often, kids borrow dad's supposedly grown-up toys and dad plays with toys designed for a much younger demographic. With that in mind, we present the Gifts for Dads list, filled with stuff that may appeal to more than one generation in your household. Read More

LEGO-sized hole punch by MUJI

Paper craft meets LEGO with MUJI's quad hole punch and kits, available November 27th at MUJI Japan. [via CRAFT]... Read More

Cross multi-tool

Dutch designer Michiel Cornelissen sells these cruciform screwdrivers, which are laser-sintered stainless steel. There's a flat-blade, a Phillips head, and an IKEA-sized hex bit. [via Dude Craft] Read More

How PCBs are routed

One hour of PCB routing with EAGLE, compressed to seven minutes, over at adafruit.... Read More

NEC announces universal translator … sorta, kinda

NEC announced what could be an early, real-life version of the universal translator -NEC said the Tele Scouter was intended to be a business tool that could aid sales staff who would have information about a client's buying history... Read More

Arcade button MIDI controller kit

DJTechTools' upcoming solder-free MIDI controller kit provides users with 16 arcade button triggers + LEDs and will apparently be released as an open source product at launch - • Release Date: November 30th • Price: Aprox $125 for the... Read More

DIY Devo domes

Troy Davis created some very awesome recreations of Devo's signature Energy Domes. Beginning with a tiered stack of fiberboard for the mold, through to vacuum forming, paint job, and padding - a thorough explanation can be found in his... Read More

Weekend Project: Beetlebot

Simple robot from your parts bin that avoids obstacles. Thanks go to Jerome Demers for the original article in MAKE, Volume 12. To download the Beetlebot video, click here or subscribe in iTunes. Check out the complete Beetlebot article... Read More

Weekend Project: Beetlebot (PDF)

Simple robot from your parts bin that avoids obstacles. Thanks go to Jerome Demers for the original article in MAKE, Volume 12. View the PDF of this project. and then subscribe to MAKE Magazine for other great projects you... Read More

DIY accelerometer controlled USB gamepad

Check out this homebrew accelerometer controlled USB gamepad using a PIC18F2550 from Starlino. You'll find code and schematics on their site. Read More

New in the Maker Shed: Mystery Box kit

The Mystery Box kit is a clever puzzle box made by our very own John Park, host of Make: television. Here is how it works; first you assemble the laser-cut wooden box, placing a treasure inside. Read More

Popsci sees our gift guide...

Popsci's Mike Haney liked our Under $20 Gift Guide so much, he raised us another five, adding additional under $20 gifts from the Maker Shed. Thanks, Mike! We love you guys, too. [And in the spirit of Phil's guide,... Read More

Money hats

Origami money hats, sent in by a maker - anyone know where this is from?... Read More

BEAM turns 20

Speaking of BEAM robotics, this "school" of robotic architecture celebrated its 20th anniversary on Nov 10th. Twenty years ago, on that date, BEAM creator Mark Tilden built his first BEAMbot, the Solarover 1.0, out of two dead calculators, two... Read More