I’ve had this fold up magnifying glass for like 35 years. I use it all the time. I was using it to do all the soldering on the huge clock that I’m making. I spent all day on it and I was like man, I wish this thing had a light underneath it! Read More...

I love fixing things for free. Read More...

It's coming up on two years since I bought my kids their 17" HP Omen gaming laptops. They've been rocking these things pretty hardcore with the games and the fan on one of them is paying the price. It sounds horrible and is definitely on the way out. Read More...

My collection of watch straps is starting to grow. I need a place to store them, but all the boxes that I see on Amazon just aren't fitting the bill. I love making things that you just cannot buy in stores. Read More...

It's been a week and I'm having a blast playing around with the Glowforge. It's so easy to use. Although I haven't done much since it's been a busy week. It's been mostly tests and experiments. The first thing I really wanted to do was to come up with a better solution for the exhaust hose. It's not very practical just hanging the hose out the window. That, and it's a real pain to reach up to the top of the window behind the Glowforge. Read More...

I've had my Drobo since February 2011. It's been almost 7 years. Yesterday I got home and went into the computer room and heard a horrible noise coming from the Drobo. It sounded like the fan was on the way out. It made a horrible rattling sound. The bearings were definitly shot. Time for a fan upgrade! Read More...

I had one of those crappy spirit levels with a LASER in it. It was a piece of junk. It was falling apart. It’s been sitting in the tool box for over a decade. I was cleaning some stuff out and was about to throw it out, but I can’t just throw away a LASER. What to do with it? Read More...

I haven’t picked up my guitar in years. It’s mostly due to the fact that it’s in its case tucked away in my closet. Out of sight. Out of mind. I’d really like to get back into playing, but every time I think about it, I never seem to get to the point that it comes out of the case. I got to thinking that if the guitar was in the computer room where I spend most of my time, I’d be more likely to pick it up and mess around with it. I decided to make a guitar stand for it. Sure, I could hop on Amazon and buy a stand, but what fun is that? Read More...

When starting a print on my ROBO3D R1 3D printer, I periodically get an error message that pops up just after the bed has leveled. The error message pops up and the printer just stops. I have to power cycle the printer, restart MatterControl, and enter M999 into the console. I posted an entry on the ROBO3D forums asking for help. The consensus was that the extruder thermistor was bad and needed to be replaced. However, I ended up frying my board during the repair and needed to replace the Arduino MEGA inside. Read More...

With all the electronics complete, it was time to work on the enclosure. It took 15 hours to print, and a day or two for the stain to dry. I can’t believe this project is almost finished! Read More...

Read More...

This is going to be cool. I’ve always wanted my own reflow oven. Read More...

Finally! After waiting 3 weeks for my ATX Breakout Board to arrive, I got to work on my DIY bench-top power supply. I really like the way it came out. It’s going to come in especially handy with all the upcoming nixie projects I have in mind. I’m going to get a lot of use out of it. Read More...

My wife came home today with her friend’s 12 year old junker of a Dell. The machine is toast. The motherboard is shot. The only thing left to do was gut it for parts. The only real gem out of the lot was this 250 watt ATX power supply. I’d love to make use of Dangerous Prototypes’ ATX Breakout Board and make a bench-top power supply for prototyping. Read More...

Back in 2010, I scored a clock from the maintenance guys at work. They replaced all the clocks around the building and put the old ones in the break room for people to take home. I refinished it and used a 1977 Star Wars LP as the face. I was very happy with the way that my Darth Vader clock came out. It hangs in my 7-year old son's room. However, he tells me that he has a hard time seeing what time it is without numbers on the clock. Understandable.

Read More...

I’ve decided to scan our entire family photo library. I got my parents to mail me all the negatives for all our family photos. The 35mm negatives aren’t a problem, it’s the large “medium format” negatives that need a good solid hack. Time to build a lightbox! Read More...

The cables under my credenza were getting a little unwieldy. Time for some DIY cable management. Read More...

Board etch FAIL. The toner transfer method is a no go, at least not with my laser printer anyway. Read More...

It’s been a good 12 years since I’ve etched my own board. I’ve been meaning to give it another go for some time, but it can be rather time consuming and the end results just don’t hold a candle to professionally made boards. I needed some parts from Jameco, so I tossed some Etchant powder into my order while I was at it. I’ve used the liquid in the past, but the powder was cheaper. I figured I’d give it a try. Read More...

The first attempt at a stand wasn’t that great. I needed to try something a little heavier than acrylic. Let’s try wood… Read More...

I took a trip to Staples to buy an acrylic photo frame or sign holder and was very happy to see that they had 3”x5” acrylic sign holders for only $3 each. Read More...

With the addition of the iPhone 4 to my collection, it has been made clear that I need a 3-way charging solution for my iPhones. I find myself constantly juggling power supplies, docks, and cables in order to make sure that all my iPhones are charged when I need them. Read More...

They replaced all the clocks at work with cheap plastic ones from Staples. All the old-school ones made of metal and glass were headed for the garbage. Luckily, they decided to put them in a box and threw them in the cafeteria with a “FREE CLOCKS” sign.

I have an old Star Wars 12” LP from 1977 that I have always wanted to use as the face for a clock, but never got around to it. Immediately I saw the opportunity for a nice weekend project.

Read More...

I picked up this portable CD player years ago from the clearance rack at Staples. I think it was something ridiculous like $4 bucks. I hack it so I can connect my iPhone up to it. Read More...

I’m tired of the clutter on my desk. None of my peripherals seem to have a home. It’s all just kind of lying under the MacBook and Display. Read More...

I was tired of looking at my $30 remote lying belly up on my desk like a dead Opossum. I needed to build a remote stand.
Read More...

I needed a pocket sized iPod charger. You know, in case of an emergency. Read More...

This is a really old monitor stand that my Dad used to use with his ’84 Mac. Despite being over 20 years old, it’s in pretty good shape. Recently it’s been used to sport my 17” MacBook Pro. However, the vintage beige finish didn’t sit right with my theme. A little restoration was in order…maybe something a little more “Apple”. Read More...

I need an iPod dock. I have the Apple Universal Dock for home, but I would like to have one on my desk at work. I can’t see myself shelling out another $40 for one. Sounds like build time... Read More...