Category: Home Makerspace

Home Makerspace, Small Projects, Woodworking1 Comment

Home #Makerspace: Slingshot #Scouting Project

woodshopcowboy

sling-shotHere’s a project that comes with a liability warning: a child can get hurt, very hurt, using this project.  The slingshot is a weapon and should be treated as such.  This project is only appropriate for outdoor use, closely supervised by an adult.  While young children are more than capable of physically using a slingshot, that doesn’t mean they should.  You have to judge your child’s readiness. By building this project, you are accepting responsibility for anything that happens.dsc_4547

But when you are ready…dsc_4579

…fire away! (Down range, away from people and property, with appropriate safety gear on.)

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Home Makerspace, Jigs, Small Projects, This Week In the Shop, WoodworkingLeave a comment

This Week in the Shop: DIY Height Gauge

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A quick jig can make the difference in a woodshop.  This height gauge helps measure and set cutting tool heights and thicknesses for rabbets, dadoes, chamfers, etc.  Since it incorporates a digital caliper, the dial is easy to read, precise and accurate.

diy-height-gauge

This tool came in handy building the light box project – I hit the rabbet depth and thickness dead-on each time.

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In the next few weeks, I will be developing new projects for NoVA Labs and this blog which utilize more intermediate woodworking skills.  Build this jig now and it will be used over and over again.

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Home Makerspace, Small Projects, Woodworking2 Comments

Home #Makerspace: How to Make a Light Box for Art and Play

woodshopcowboy

This week, art class happened at night.  Using some leftover holiday string lights and acrylic sheeting, I made a light box for my two young boys to draw, play and design on.

light-box

Light boxes lend themselves to lots of different explorations.  Bits of colored paper become kalidescope-like confetti, simple photographs become complex tracings, colors combine unexpectedly and learn the physics of light.  Plant life and structures light up to the biologist.  Plus, with a little red and yellow construction paper, you can light a fire for ghost stories!

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This tutorial utilizes a table saw to create the necessary rabbets and miter joints.  These are great intermediate table saw skills to learn, practice and utilize in your work flow.  Strong, clean joinery really sets your project apart from the pack.  While kid-focused, this project isn’t really designed to be made with young maker help.

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Home Makerspace, Outdoor Projects, Woodworking, Woodworking1 Comment

Home #Makerspace: DIY Street Hockey Sticks

woodshopcowboy

It’s winter here in Northern Virginia and my sons discovered a strange and wondrous sport of the North:

hockey-sticks

Hockey!

To help them become familiar with the game, we’ve watched a few movies, plan on attending a game or two and we built a pair of matching shafts to fit a pair of hockey blades.

This is a quick technique to build a shaft with minimal tools.  Shafts built with this technique can be used in tool handles, lacrosse sticks, shovels, poles, furniture, etc.

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Classroom Project, Home Makerspace, Maker Eduation, Maker Project, Scouting, Woodworking1 Comment

Home #Makerspace: Build a Pinewood Derby Car With #YoungMakers

woodshopcowboy

pinewood-derby-carEvery winter, millions of families prepare for serious bonding time at kitchen tables, in garages and in workshops across the country.  We enter with dreams of speed, beauty and glory.  With a little luck and skill, we leave with pride, joy and a completed Pinewood Derby Car.

Here’s how to generate that little bit of luck and skill for your family so you too can guide your young maker with confidence.

Too Much Weight!

The Pinewood Derby is a race between small gravity-powered model cars.  Each official Scouting kit contains a solid pine block, four nails and four plastic wheels but specialized kits are available online.  Official rules vary from organization to organization, and in Scouting, district to district.

This guide will show you how to support and help your young maker design, make and race their derby car.

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Classroom Project, Home Makerspace, Maker ProjectLeave a comment

Home #Makerspace: Two Easy #KidArt Mobiles

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This week, we took to the skies with a two simple mobiles.

mobile-project

Mobiles are kinetic sculptures which rely on and play with the scientific concept of equilibrium and center of gravity.  The pieces often spin and flutter with the breeze, presenting a constantly shifting face and focus to the observer.  Some mobiles are motorized, such as the spinning toys hung over a baby’s crib.dsc_3756-001

Here are two very quick and easy ways to make spinning mobiles in your own home.

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Classroom Project, Home Makerspace, Maker Project3 Comments

Home #Makerspace: #DIY Custom Kid’s Bike with #Maker Tools

woodshopcowboy

Every few years, I find an excuse to engage in one of my favorite old-school projects, rebuilding and repainting a kids bicycle.

Let’s paint some flames.dsc_3067

I mean, dragons.  We will paint dragons.

This project is approachable for middle-school and high-schoolers.  High-interest elementary school kids can definitely accomplish parts of this project with help from an involved adult.  This project does involve dangerous fumes, so great ventilation and respiratory masks are a must.  Be prepared to give over your work space for a three days to a week and a half to this project.

This project teaches basic competencies in graphics software, cutter plotter use, mechanic’s tool usage – wrenches, ratchets, etc., and paint prep and execution.  These skills are directly transferable to manufacturing, automotive and graphic arts fields (for my fellow CTE/Shop teachers out there).  Bike mechanics earn about $12 per hour nationally, offering a student an entry point into the skilled trades.

In school, I began with donations from student families. I then taught my students how to use tools and the basics of gears, force, torque and work.  We fix’m up and get the bikes running.  At the end of the experiment, we would give the bikes away to kids who need them.  Workshop Houston began with a similar model and Cycle of Houston has given away 100,000 bikes in just over ten years of existence.  Bikes can and do change a child’s world by offering opportunities to develop balance, judgement and freedom in the wider community.

Update:  I’ve since found my write up from 2011.  This is my second or third version of this project.

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Education, Furniture, Furniture Projects, Home Makerspace, Maker Eduation, This Week In the Shop, WoodworkingLeave a comment

This Week in the Shop: The Split-Top Bench with Plans

woodshopcowboy

split-top-bench

This week in my home shop I finished up a new bench project I developed for class at Nova Labs in Reston, VA.  While simple in design and execution, it does involve the full suite of woodworking tools and a custom jig to complete.  This great intermediate project uses the Fab Five of a powered woodshop:  table saw, band saw, miter saw, jointer and planer.

starred-photos1I built the entirety of this project at Nova Labs, Inc using their woodworking tools.

Nova Labs is a membership-driven all-volunteer makerspace based in Reston, Virginia that was founded in 2011 with the purpose of empowering everyone to Rediscover the Joy of Making Things!

The current 10,500 sq. ft. facility located at 1916 Isaac Newton Sq West houses classrooms, workspace, incubator offices and a shop that includes both common tools and advanced fabrication equipment. Members enjoy 24-7 access and help co-manage our space by teaching classes, maintaining equipment, and promoting making in the community.

I cannot say enough good things about the membership and openness of the culture they have built up.  It’s rare to find a makerspace that has such a grassroots structure and active volunteer culture.

If you are interested in learning woodworking, you can join me in class in 2017.

Nova Labs members support a wide range of open source development projects that benefit both the local community and the world! Consider joining today to learn how and meet the people behind these projects!

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Home Makerspace, Maker Eduation, Maker ProjectLeave a comment

The Home #Makerspace: How To Build Your Own Pinball Machine (with Working Launcher & Flipper)

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dsc_2716-collageSometimes, a teacher needs to court a little controversy.  This week, Things 1 & 2 & I build a device which was banned in New York City from the 1940s until 1976, and can be found in high quality dens of iniquity and vice, such as bowling alleys and boardwalk amusements.

Pinball.  I’m talking about pinball.  Cue the Who!

This project is most appropriate for older makers in 5th grade and up depending on their skill and available supervision with box cutters.  Makers in grades 3/4 would benefit greatly from guided adult supervision.  I estimate 10 work-hours for young makers to build this machine.  Simplifying or eliminating the mechanics will greatly reduce the time necessary.

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While not difficult in terms of physical execution, this project involves a lot of cutting and gluing.  The mechanical complexity can be daunting for younger makers.  My 5-year old lost interest building the mechanical parts, but thoroughly enjoyed assembling and decorating the game.  I have included plans in SVG & DXF to help you build your own baseball pinball game.  Just print out full-size or copy the dimensions!

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