Are You a Maker?
Do you dream of making your own Tesla coil, or think about how to get the parts to make your own Sound Effect Raygun? How about a working LEGO record player? Then Make: magazine might be right up your alley. This magazine is an excellent resource for anyone thinking of getting into the nitty-gritty of making something awesome out of things that can be found around the house.
Published four times a year, this magazine is jam-packed with all kinds of different articles. The Summer 2013 edition includes an interview with Jon Sarriugarte and Kyrsten Mate, who have built a variety of different fire-making metal constructs that have been displayed at the Burning Man Festival and at other Maker Faires throughout the United States. It also gives several different schematics for building your own Fire Tornado, a Homemade Sugar Rocket, and how to build your own EZ-Make oven using an empty (clean) paint can, an incandescent bulb, and several other electrical items. For those who are into sound manipulation, this issue also provides a step-by-step guide on how to do Advanced Arduino Sound Synthesis.
The Make: zine website is another excellent place to check out more videos and articles about on-going maker projects around the world. Here you can find reviews of several different crafting tools and products, as well as skill-builders for a variety of different crafting areas, and a whole bunch of other interesting news and interviews from the world of technology and crafting.
Since I haven’t had much experience working with any kind of circuitry and electronics since grade school, I won’t be trying any of the bigger projects anytime soon. I might, however, try some of the smaller projects they’ve included that don’t involve having to use a circuit board or a welding iron. After looking online, I was able to find links to some knitting, crochet and paper projects that I might check out later this summer. Maybe I might be able to finally learn how to crochet….
All in all, I think this magazine (and its website) is a great introduction to maker culture and gives some great ideas for anyone thinking of getting into all aspects of crafting.
3 thoughts on “Are You a Maker?”
This magazine sounds awesome! I would love to make things like this, but I just don’t have the skills or the materials… such a shame. But I do make crafts out of everyday items or random junk.
Sounds like a good magazine for those interested in that kind of stuff.
Sounds interesting.