Make: Kit Reviews

Love to play the guitar, and want to add something custom to your kit? The Saga Electric Guitar Kit offers a blank canvas for guitar building. You could paint it, stain it, or classically distress it to look like your favorite guitar idol. In addition to the guitar body, the headstock has a paddle shape […]

Musical Instruments: guitar, music, paint, stain, wood

You don’t have to depend on commercial growers or expensive powders to get your spirulina fix. With this kit, you can have it fresh and alive, anytime. I made a few modifications to help mine grow faster and prevent clogging, like replacing the intake line with rubber tubing and swapping the bubble wand for a […]

Food: food, spirulina, superfood

I’ve been living car-free for 12 years. When I first saw Xtracycle’s cargo bike conversion kit, I was impressed by the broad utility of the design; it can be used to haul cargo and also passengers. I decided to build the ultimate people-and-stuff hauler so I could pick up friends who don’t bike and we could […]

Wheels: bicycles, conversion, Wheels

See what happens when someone asks you questions or when you laugh or get surprised. Everyone responds differently. See if you can turn the LED on with your mind. Try it on your friends or adversaries — it’s a great way to get to know someone! We’ve even included a few extra resistors, so you […]

Science: galvanic skin response, lie detector, Science

This kit includes everything needed to build a solar-charged, nighttime-activated, light-pulsing lamp. It charges all day from the SCC3733 solar cell, and “pumms” the four ultra-mega-super-bright LEDs to cast artistic silhouettes against the walls of the stylized cardboard lantern. The LEDs are a random grab of white, blue, red, orange, and green. Basic soldering is […]

Home & Shelter: home, LEDs, solar energy

In MAKE Volume 25, Sparkle Labs showed how to hack your TV remote control to make it solar powered. Just add a tiny solar panel and rechargeable batteries. It works with any AA- or AAA-powered remote. Now they’ve put together this easy kit: a flexible 4.8V solar cell with soldered leads and connector pads, and […]

Home & Shelter: home, remote control, solar energy, TV

Employing a centuries-old secret technique from the Edo period, this kit has everything needed to create an acrobatic doll, plus a festive kimono and a tiered pedestal on which to perform. You can even adjust the velocity of the doll’s action. The instructions are in Japanese with beautiful illustrations that make it easy to put together.

Toys & Games: Gakken, Games, toys