Tag Archives: DIY

Piezo Pickup

Piezo Pickup - topI needed a way to tune monitor a washtub bass around other instruments and the mic on my tuner kept picking up the other instruments because they were louder than the bass.  Plus, I wanted a way to record from a ukulele that didn’t have a pickup.  So, I built a pickup from a piezo transducer.  It was pretty easy, didn’t cost very much, and works surprisingly well.  Read on…

Updated: 13 December 2011

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35mm SLR Body Cap Pinhole Conversion

I have made and used a few pinhole cameras that used photo paper as “film” but I wanted to try m hand at using real, negative film.  Recently, someone gave me a 35mm film developing jar and so I decided now was the time to try my hand at negative film.  I have several old Canon 35mm SLR cameras which all take FD lenses so I decided to make a pinhole “lens” for them.  Read on…

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Quart Can Pinhole Camera

quart can pinhole cameraI got into pinhole photography recently because I like the idea of building my own camera, taking photographs with that camera, and developing my own film and prints.  I was wandering the aisles at Ax-Man and came across some 1 quart metal cans.  They looked like an ideal shape, material, and price to be made into pinhole cameras so, I bought half a dozen.  It was quite easy to turn these cans into very usable pinhole cameras.  Read on…

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Cooler Spout Replacement

Cooler Spout ReplacementI make homebrewed beer and have been doing partial mash brewing lately.  The processes involves steeping malted barely in a 2 gallon beverage cooler then transferring, via the spout on the cooler, this wort to a brew pot to boil.  The spout on my beverage cooler didn’t have good flow and I had to keep the little button depressed while the hot wort flowed out and burned my finger.  Here’s how I fixed the problem.  Read on…

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Solar Cell Light Meter

solar cell light meterI recently got into pinhole photography and needed a light meter to calculate exposure times.  Light meter are ridiculously expensive and I figured there had to be a way to make one myself and it turns out, I was right.  I will walk you through how to make a light meter from a cheap battery tester and a solar cell ripped from a calculator.  You should be able to make one yourself for significantly less than $10.  Read on…

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How to Drill Glass

Drill glassHere is how to quickly and easily drill holes in glass.  In fact, you can drill a 1″ hole in a 10 gallon aquarium in under 3 minutes from start to finish!  I’ve tried several methods and the method I describe is by far the fastest and easiest.  All you need is an electric drill, some cheap modeling clay, and diamond drill bit.  I’ve also included a how-to video!  Read on…

Updated: 7 Nov. 2010

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Bike Tire Belt

Bike Tire BeltI needed a new belt and had an old bike tire laying around so I decided to turn that tire into a “new” belt.  All I needed was a an old bicycle tire, a box cutter, a rubber mallet, a punch set, a rivet set, a belt buckle, and some rivets.  The belt looks great, performs well, and ended up being very inexpensive.  Plus, reusing materials is always a good thing.  A win-win-win!  Read on…

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