Table of Contents
Watch, Learn, Do by Adam Savage in Welcome
How I became a maker. Page 11
Reader Input in Reader Input
Young makers, DTV praises, a melted museum, and a CRAFTer's lament. Page 12
Learn by Making by Dale Dougherty
Tom Zimmerman has volunteered in San Jose, Calif., schools, engaging students in hands-on activities and teaching science and technology. Page 13
Shortcut to Omniscience by Cory Doctorow in Make Free
Wikipedia's secret weapon and its greatest weakness. Page 14
Baby Hacking by Saul Griffith in Making Trouble
If you suffer from inventor-itis, as I do, the first thing you notice about the baby world is that everything is broken. Page 16
A Major Model Village by Julian Darley in Made on Earth
Bekonscot, the world’s oldest model village. Page 18
WALL-E World by Gareth Branwyn in Made on Earth
Before the Disney/Pixar film WALL-E premiered in 2008, replicas of its robot star were already showing up on the internet. Page 20
Bug Warriors by Megan Mansell Williams in Made on Earth
A new breed of bionic air and ground forces, a cyborg army designed and built by artist Dean Christ. Page 21
Treespotting by Jeanne Storck in Made on Earth
The Detroit Tree of Heaven Woodshop is a collective of artists, arborists, and woodworkers that transforms the ghetto palm into lumber. Page 22
Hit Me With Your Stretch Shot by Megan Mansell Williams in Made on Earth
The Rubber Bandit, a rubber band gun created by 21-year-old Andy Mangold. Page 23
Oilcan Canopy by Bruce Stewart in Made on Earth
Sanjeev Shankar and the residents of Rajokri, India transformed old oilcans into a suspended shade pavilion called Jugaad. Page 24
Pedal Smoothie by Keith Hammond in Made on Earth
David Butcher's Pedal Powered Prime Mover as seen on Make: television. Page 25
Makezine.com Rules the DIY Web in Tales from the MAKE: Blog
A few of our favorite online offerings from recent months. Page 27
Doing Science With a Digital Scanner by Forrest Mims III in Country Scientist
When the subject is two-dimensional, flatbed digital scanners can play a major role in imaging science.Page 28
The Maker's Bill of Rights by Mister Jalopy
Revisiting Mister Jalopy’s Owner’s Manifesto on MAKE’s 5th anniversary. Page 31
Transcendental Problem-Solving by Paul Spinrad in Maker
MythBuster Adam Savage talks about making his way growing up. Page 32
Toy Story by Michael McGinnis in Maker
How the creator of the Superplexus turned a childhood idea into a lifelong passion. Page 40
Mayor of Britannica by Robyn Miller in Maker
For 40 years, Michael Chesko has been mapping the country of his dreams. Page 46
Iron Man by Lisa Katayama in Maker
Japanese blacksmith Kogoro Kurata forges ahead. Page 47
Be an Angel by Dan Woods in Maker's Corner
Take a school or teacher under your wing this holiday. Page 48
Productive Plastic Playthings by Bob Knetzger
A look back at 1960s maker toys. Page 50
Wooden Mini Yacht by Thomas Martin
Authentically rigged model boat sails across pools and ponds. Page 56
More Kid-Friendly Projects by Laura Cochrane
Crowd-pleasers from the MAKE vault. Page 59
10-Rail Model Rocket Mega-Launcher by Douglas Desrochers
Make the cub scout rocket derby a blast. Page 60
The UnaBox by Claudio Bernardini
Make a keyless, secret, wooden compartment. Page 65
The Lost Art of Lashing by Gever Tulley
Build rafts and towers without nails. Page 68
The Weight-Powered Vehicle (WPV) by Richard B. Graeber
How far can a car go on one foot-pound of energy? Page 74
Teachers’ Pet Projects by Laura Cochrane
We asked teachers to share their favorite classroom & science fair projects. Page 76
Marble Adding Machine by Matthias Wandel
Make a mechanical, gravity-powered, Binary calculator that uses wooden levers and channels to count.Page 80
Getting Back to Nuts and Bolts by Dale Dougherty
Actor John Ratzenberger wants to see every kid become a hands-on maker. Page 86
Hydrogen-Oxygen Bottle Rocket by Tom Zimmerman
Use electricity to split tap water into hydrogen and oxygen gases, then use this explosive gas mixture to power a two-stage, electronically timed rocket. Page 90
The Autophenakistoscope by Dan Rasmussen
Motorize a 19th-century parlor novelty, and keep its frames synched to an LED strobe by using a sensor and an Arduino microcontroller. Page 100
Lunchbox Laser Shows by MIke Gould
Build three different laser effects machines that fit into metal lunchboxes to create exciting sound and light shows. Page 110
Remote-Controlled Camera Mount by Ben Wendt in 123
A street-level action cam that captures video on the move! Page 120
Scope Photography Rig by Peter Torrione in DIY: Imaging
Microscope and telescope photography made easy and cheap. Page 121
Invisible Strobe Flash by Jerry Reed in DIY: Imaging
Near-infrared photography captures bats and other night movers. Page 123
A 1673 View of the Microscopic Universe by Patrick Keeling in DIY: Science
Make your own van Leeuwenhoek microscope. Page 125
Boarders and the Backcountry Sublime by Damien Scogin in DIY: Outdoors
Seeking untouched powder? Mod a snowboard into a splitboard. Page 129
Rubber Band Power! by Nancy Dorsner in DIY: Toys
Build a mini toy car launcher out of scraps. Page 135
Saving Your Specs by Dmitri Monk in DIY: Workshop
Repair plastic eyeglass frames with thread and super glue. Page 138
WireFinder 9000 by Christie Noe, Jim Noe, John Noe, Terry Noe in DIY: Home
Find buried cable breaks with a radio. Page 141
The Civilized Cat by Josh Klein in DIY: Home
Train your feline companion to use the toilet. Page 144
EconoWave Speakers by Ross Hershberger in DIY: Home
Turn good vintage speakers into great modern ones. Page 147
Retro Wireless Handset by Jeff Keyzer in DIY: Telephony
Adding Bluetooth to an old phone. Page 151
MakeShift: Property Condemned by Lee D. Zlotoff in MakeShift
An urban spelunking misadventure. Page 154
Toolbox by Rob Bullington, Marc de Vinck, David Delony, Sam Fraley, Saul Griffith, Keith Hammond, Dylan Kirdahy, Tim Lillis, Hayden Lutek, Anton Ninno, Tim O'Reilly, Meara O'Reilly, Arwen O'Reilly Griffith, John Edgar Park, Joseph Pasquini,Sean Michael Regan, Bruce Stewart in Toolbox
Motion-memory toys, best holiday kits for kids and grownups, cool new tools, books, sites, and the ultimate Dremel. Page 156
Rolling Paper Plate by Nick Dragotta, Saul Griffith in Howtoons
Harness the power of the wind. Page 164
Humphry Davy and the Arc Light by William Gurstelle
More than 70 years before Edison’s 1879 incandescent lamp patent, the English scientist Humphry Davy developed a technique for producing controlled light from electricity. Page 166
Puzzle This by Michael H. Pryor in Aha!
Tanks a lot. Page 169
50¢ Bottle Openers by Tom Parker in Make Money
Sometimes it costs more to buy it than to make it from the money itself. Page 174
Maker's Calendar by William Gurstelle in Maker's Calendar
Our favorite events from around the world. Page 175
My Adventure Tower by Tom Heck in Homebrew
The coolest playground on the block is of course handmade. Page 176