Invent Design Make

The last three videos have all been about using old washing machine parts! Two have shown the de-construction and upcycling of the bearings and frame, into something I could use as a multi purpose rotary machine, and the latest one, is all about the options faced by the maker who wants to control a motor […]

Most pro-grade spray guns for painting require something like 7 to 8 cubic feet per minute (CFM) of clean and dry compressed air at about 35 psi of pressure. That usually requires a very large expensive compressor. In this instalment we make a super cheap compressor system capable of delivering! In the process I add […]

The Dremel Moto-Saw arrived in the mail from the US the other day – excitement! It was a prize for the everlong stove top fan instructable which was in the ‘Trash to Treasure Challenge’. So the saw claims to be a 2 in 1 tool, a fretsaw (electric version) and a scroll saw. Lets take […]

I have been fiddling with this steel framed bandsaw ever since I got it, second hand, about ten years ago. Some of the things have made a big difference, some very little. The most innocuous, but time saving has been the quick release blade tension handle. This simple cam mechanism makes it super easy to

Here’s a tool we built that’s been on the to-do list for ages. It all started when we found a discarded floor scrubber/polisher in a skip. It was soaking wet and needed a good dry out, but after that I tested it… and it worked great! Since then the motor has sat in the corner […]

There are a few special travelling chisels that don’t stay safe in their case at the workshop, but are stashed in my ‘tool box’ (which is actually an 18v drill case) and come with me everywhere I go. Tired of them banging about against other tools and acquiring small dinks in their finely honed cutting edges, […]

If you have been following our scrap made wood stove progress, you will already have seen a glimpse of the power hacksaw, but we did promise more… Here is a little video and some info on the saw. It came from Aberystwyth University, where it has sat in storage for years, unused and unloved. There were a few other things being […]

After struggling to hand plane timber to correct and precise dimensions, we have finally taken the plunge and got a planer thicknesser. The planer part should allow us to make two precise, flat surfaces at an exact angle to each other. And the thicknessing facility should, well, let us work a bunch of wood to […]

“Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm” – Winston Churchill Today I have broken things attempting to tweak the scroll saw / sewing machine with a splinter guard. The idea was that I would use a piece of transparent polycarbonate (scavenged from some old safety goggles) to sit […]