Make: Kit Reviews

At MAKE Labs we built a squadron of balsa-and-tissue ornithopters for William Gurstelle’s how-to article in MAKE Volume 08. The trickiest part was bending the tiny wire crank that flaps the wings in time. Even with Bill’s clear instructions, that little wire was trial-and-error. This kit spares you that error. The pre-bent crank and laser-cut […]

Toys & Games: balsa, Games, ornithopter, planes, stick and tissue, toys

I built this Mousebot with my son, who had just turned 10. At first, I had to show him how to solder and helped him align the sides (not too easy), but by the end he was doing all the work himself and enjoying the “toughness” of the assembly. This kit is simple, but it […]

Robotics: robotics, robots

What’s kombucha? It’s a refreshing, lightly sweetened, sparkling tea drink that is naturally fermented (yet non-alcoholic). The Oregon Kombucha kit comes with everything you need to make your own kombucha at home. The instructions are clear and easy to follow. Boil a gallon of water, brew the tea satchel, dissolve the sugar, let it cool, […]

Beverages: beverages, fermentation, Kombucha, sparkling tea, starter kit

Android rocked the physical computing landscape last spring when it announced the Android Open Accessory Development Kit (ADK), an Arduino-based platform that combines the brains and connectivity of the Android with Arduino’s wealth of open source wares for controlling physical devices. The ADK presents almost limitless potential for projects. Now the ADK TinkerKit unleashes this […]

Electronics and Controllers Microcontrollers: Arduino, electronics, microcontrollers

Due to its hands-free interface (your body’s interference with its electromagnetic field controls the sound), the theremin is famed for both its novelty and its importance in 20th-century music. When I started building this kit, I had little soldering experience, but the straightforward instructions made for a great introduction to the world of circuits. The wooden casing […]

Musical Instruments: music, musical instruments, theremin

Musicians have long praised the tone of tube amps, and after a face-melting guitar solo, it looks pretty rad to have your amp glowing behind you on stage. I love the simplistic, wholly utilitarian design of the Mod102’s case, and the sweet tone it adds. The circuit design is point to point, giving beginners and […]

Musical Instruments: amplifier, guitar, music, musical instruments

This kit gets top marks for ease of assembly and low price, and because it’s preprogrammed to do all the heavy lifting, all you need to do is solder it together and attach it to the device of your choice. It’ll take an average-skilled solderer 1½ hours to assemble, and from there the possibilities are […]

Audio Gear: audio, MIDI, music

If you want a more challenging project that takes shape with some real cutting and sanding, small manufacturer Semroc produces high-quality balsa rocket kit reproductions. The Mars Lander, originally sold by Estes in the 1970s, is a beautifully realistic-looking spacecraft with spring-loaded landing legs. You can also try their Saturn 1B ($78), a 1/70 scale re-creation of the […]

Rockets: models, reproduction, Rockets

Indie makers RLT Industries of New Braunfels, Texas, sells this lovely wooden model kit of the classic “south-pointing chariot” mechanism. Set the chariot down with the vane pointing in an arbitrary direction — south, north, whatever — and a geared differential connected to the wheels will keep it pointing the same direction regardless of which […]

Wheels: heirloom tech, Wheels

Old-fashioned Nixie tubes are beautiful, but driving them in a circuit can be complicated since they often require voltages as high as 250V DC. The ArduiNIX board for Arduino makes it easy to add standard clock functions to your next project. Just be sure to design an enclosure that will keep those high voltages safe. I […]

Clocks: Arduino, clocks, Nixie tubes, old-fashioned