Here is how to make your own cast concrete tombstones. These are easy, inexpensive, impressive and tough Halloween props, ready to spook in 24 hours.
Tag Archives: diy
Bookends for physics geeks
Books falling over? Here’s a simple bookend project. Total cost under a buck, and you can make them in just a few minutes.
The symbols on these particular bookends are in bra-ket notation, which is very common in many fields of physics related to quantum mechanics. Obviously, you can use other symbols as well– we put /* and */ around our programming books.
Remaking a portable stool
My grandfather used to make portable stools from a couple of thin pieces of wood that tied together with a simple string. Growing up we usually had a couple of these “tie stools” conveniently stashed around the house, and we always got them out for backyard barbecues and took them with us when we went camping.
Although my woodworking skills are nowhere near what my grandfather’s were, we’ve been inspired by that stool to play around with making small, lightweight furniture that can be disassembled, stacked flat and tied together for easy transport. My first try was pretty wobbly, and felt like a little twist would splinter it. A couple of revisions later, I have a reasonably sturdy stool that is held together with a nylon strap. The leg pieces are notched on the sides so that when they are stacked together, the strap on the seat piece can be used to hold all the pieces together. There are handles cut into the leg pieces as well for easy carrying.
While plywood is inexpensive and a reasonable material for prototyping, miniatures in paperboard are much faster to make and are a pretty good analog for the behavior of the wood.
But if we took the bones out…
DIY Skirt Guards in the wild
Photo by Brittany Turner
Brittany recently let us know that she had made skirt guards for her bike using my instructable. She used floral wire instead of cable ties since that’s what she had on hand. The guard following the shape of the rack is a nice touch, too.
We always love hearing about your projects and seeing your photos in the flickr auxiliary! Keep ’em coming!
Improved handbags of holding
The retro-dork-chic-DIY D12 handbag is back and better than ever– We’ve added a zipper, a handle cord, panel stiffeners and beautiful numbers.
Comparing this side by side to the original, it looks as though the original is getting floppier. That’s partly age, and partly just how much nicer the new model is. The new version is easier to assemble and holds its shape much better, thanks to internal pentagonal stiffeners that are fused to each face. The neat and tidy zipper closure is much neater and more reliable than the original magnetic enclosure.
And… those athletic style numbers (which are the best that our local craft stores carry) just had to go! We used a neat font called BPreplay to get simple rounded numbers that look like they could have been carved into a die. But we carved them with a laser: They’re made from cotton-poly blend which fuses as it is laser cut so that it the edges of the numbers won’t fray. Finally, the new handle cord is an obvious improvement over the simple fabric strip on the first verison.
And, by popular demand, we’ve designed a d20 as well:
The d20 has the same basic design as the new d12– complete with triangular internal stiffener panels to give it the right shape.
Today we’re releasing both of these new designs along with their patterns and assembly instructions. The d12 project is documented here and the d20 project is documented here. We’re also making kit versions of both projects available here.
As always, if you are inspired to make something by our projects, we’d love to see the results in the Evil Mad Scientist flickr Auxiliary.
d20 Handbag of Holding: How to build it
By popular request following the d12 bag, here it is: the d20 bag! Now you can make your very own icosahedron.
We’re making a pattern and kit for this project available in two sizes: darling and practical. The tiny one is just over three inches tall, and holds little things for you. The larger size is about five inches tall and will fit your phone, wallet and keys along with your dice.
New and improved d12 bag: How to build it
This is the set of build instructions for the updated version of our original retro-dork-chic-DIY D12 handbag.
This accompanies an article about the new version, and the d20 bag that we designed as well.
Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories: Year 3
Happy birthday to us! Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories is now three years old.
To celebrate, we’re rounding up our most interesting projects from this past year.
Quick projects and observations:
The monetary density of things
Contact Lens Case Small Parts Tray
Simple LED Projects:
Quick, easy, temporary, and beautiful LED garden lights
Food Hacking:
South Indian Restaurant Menu Decoder
Improved Custom Message Hearts
CandyFab
Papercraft
Electronics Projects
Interactive LED Dining Table Circuit
Dark detecting jack-o’-lantern
Kit Projects
Crafty Projects
Microcontroller Projects
Tennis for Two, a video game from 1958
Scariest Jack-o’-Lantern of 2008
Geek Design
(Whew!)
Small Parts Tray made from Contact Lens Cases
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