Cooking with Power Tools Article

My "Cooking with Power Tool" project has been featured in a "Hack Your Kitchen" article on
M e n s h e a l t h . c o m . It is tab 4/22 on the slide show. It is also being publish in the written magazine.

How to Make a Shirt Folding Board out of Cardboard and Duct Tape

Nobody likes folding clothes. So to try to minimize the time that it takes, I designed a simple folding board out of cardboard and duct tape. It works just as well as the commercial version but was essentially free to make.

How to Automate Your Coffee Maker

The only thing that is better than a fresh cup of coffee is having it already made for you when you wake up. To get that, all you need is a cheap Christmas light timer. Just set up the coffee maker with fresh grounds and water, turn it on and plug it into the timer. Then just set the timer for when you want to wake up in the morning. The timer will automatically turn on your coffee maker and brew a fresh pot.

How to Make a Two Color Pen

If you do a lot of editing, then you probably have a number of different color pens rolling around your desk. Here is a really simple mod that can cut that number in half. Just take two ball point pens apart, trim the ink reservoirs and put both heads on a single barrel. Then you have a single two color pen.

How to Make Banana Oxidation Art/ How to Tattoo a Banana

A while back, I came across a video by Phil Hansen that showed how to use a needle to draw on the skin of a banana. So I thought that I would try it out. I thought that they turned out pretty good. In the end I made a tutorial to share with the internet.

How to make impromptu camera stabilizers

Shaky footage can really ruin an otherwise great video. In the film industry, one way that they prevent camera shake is with camera stabilizer systems like the Steadicam and the Fig Rig. Unfortunately most amateur film makers don't have access to this kind of professional equipment. But you can use the operating principles behind these systems to make simple DIY camera stabilizers. While these homemade systems are not as good as the professional gear, they are significantly better than simple hand held shooting. Another advantage is that they much more affordable. Professional stabilizers can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars, whereas a DIY stabilizer will at most cost you a few dollars.

I show two simple examples. One uses a standard tripod and the other uses just a piece of 2x4 and a bolt. There are any number of things that you can use. Just follow these principles:
1: Adding weight to the camera increases its inertia and dampens shaking.
2: Spacing out the hand grips reduces the effect of random hand movements/

For step by step instructions for this project, check out my Instructables page: http://www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Make-an-Impromptu-Camera-Stabilizer/

How to Add Custom Ringtones to a Wireless Doorbell

I moved into a new house this year One of the many things left behind by the previous owner was a pair of wireless doorbells. So I took the opportunity to try modding them to make them more interesting. One idea that I had was to use a recording module to give the doorbell custom ringtones. Since the wireless receiver uses a ground signal to activate the ringer, all I had to do was move one wire from the doorbell's speaker to the recording module's play pin. Then you can just record whatever ringtone you want and use it as a doorbell. The only down side is that the recording module that I used was really quite so it wouldn't work for a whole house doorbell.

For step by step instructions for this project, check out my Instructables page: http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Add-Custom-Ringtones-to-a-Wireless-Doorbell/