Table of Contents
Foreword Jacob Ward 8
Introduction Doug Cantor 10
How To Use This Book 11
Put Together a Soldering Kit 12
Learn Soldering Basics 13
Study Circuit Components 14
Build a Circuit 15
Choose a Microcontroller 16
Program an Arduino 17
Know Basic Woodworking Tools 18
Make a Straight Cut in Wood 18
Master Woodworking Joints 19
Dad a Hole 19
Suit Up with Metalworking Tools 20
Cut Metal Pipes and Sheets 20
Learn to Weld 21
Geek Toys
Freeze LEGO Ice Cubes 24
Cook a Hot Dog with Electrical Current 24
Mod Your Toaster for Far-from-Average Toast 25
Wield a Potato Launcher 26
Improvise a Planetarium 28
Put On a Liquid Light Show 29
Jam Out to a Sound-Reactive Light Box 30
Wave an LED Lighter at a Concert 31
Party with an LED Glow Stick 31
An LED-Lit Disco Dance Floor 33
Make a Sonic Tunnel of Fire 34
Turn Your Campfire Green 36
Hold a Flaming Ball in Your Bare Hand 36
Set off a Spinning Fire Tornado 37
Ignite a Homemade Sparkler 37
Wreak Havoc with the Ultimate Squirt Gun 38
Make a Mini Catapult 39
Play with a Bike-Part Spirograph 40
Turn Junk Mail into Pencils 40
Set Up a Turntable Zoetrope 41
The Real Iron Man Suit 42
Mix Magnetic Silly Putty 43
Cook Up Ferrofluid 43
Catch a Thrill on a Backyard Coaster 44
Set Up a Pinball Game at Home 46
Play DIY Skee-Ball 46
Build a Mint-Tin Racer 48
Shake Up a Limeade in a Mint Tin 48
Strum a Mint-Tin Guitar 49
Carry a Pocket Billiard Set 49
Build a Mini Arcade Game 50
Cinch a Nintendo-Controller Belt 51
Set Up a Supersize Came of Operation 52
Play Giant Checkers 53
Make a Reflection Hologram 54
Wield a DIY Light Saber 55
Hack Your Magic 8 Ball 56
Co Anywhere with Virtual-Reality Classes 57
File-Share with a USB Dead Drop 57
Build a Bristlebot 58
Make a Mini Whirling Motor 58
Rig an Animatronic Hand 59
The Electric Giraffe 60
Create Audio Art out of Cassette Tape 62
Scratch a Pizza-Box Turntable 63
Pirate a Vinyl Record 63
Craft a Boom Box Duffel Bag 64
Make Your Tie Glow in the Dark 64
Put Headphones in Your Hoodie 65
Use a Clove on a Touchscreen 65
Pump Jams through an Old-School Phonograph 66
Amplify Music with Paper Cups 67
Make Custom-Fit Earbuds 67
Put a New Spin on an Old CD 68
Get Your Air Drum On with Electrified Drumsticks 70
Amuse Yourself with a Flipperdinger 71
Play a Pocket Theremin 72
Home Improvements
Customize Your Welcome Mat 76
Organize Your Entry way with Recycled Cans 76
Give a Doorknob a New Spin 77
Set Up a Secret Door 78
Make Invisible Speakers 79
Monitor Your Home with a Laser Security System 80
Snooper-Proof Your Wallet 81
Install an Electrical-Outlet Wall Safe 82
Carry a Film-Roll Keychain 83
Make a Musical Stash for Your Cash 83
Turn Your HDTV into a Magic Window 84
Craft a DIY Digital Photo Frame 85
Give an Old TV a Rerun 86
Hack the Perfect Gaming Chair 87
Make a TV Oscilloscope 88
Hack a TV Console into a Seat 88
Install an Aquarium in an Old TV 89
Build a Boob-Tube Cabinet 89
Set Up a DIY Drive-in 90
Hang a Liquid Lamp 92
Mold a Retro Lamp Base 93
Create a Mesmerizing Persistence-of-Vision Clock 94
Tell Time with a Dart Clock 95
Make a Modern Mag Rack 96
Sew an Easy eBook Reader Case 97
Turn a Printer into a High-Volume Document Shredder 98
Sort Mail with Old CDs 99
Improvise a Postage Scale 99
Turn Your Roomba into a Sentry 100
Make a Robotic Artiste 101
Remove Rust with Electricity 102
Clean with a Toy-Car Broom 103
Rig a Superpowered Scrub Brush 103
Track Your Food's Freshness 104
Mod a Crumb-Collecting Cutting Board 104
Harvest Fridge Magnets from an Old Hard Drive 105
Do Stuff with Bottle Caps 106
Avoid Burning Your Mouth with a Smart Coaster 108
Potan Old Coffee Can to Good Use 109
Dinner to Go in a Nitrous-Injected-Dining Table 111
Improvise a Sous-Vide Cooker 112
Build a DIY Smoker 113
Set Up an Umbrella Solar Cooker 113
Construct a Toilet-Powered Zen Fountain 114
Double Your Showerhead Action 115
Craft a Toilet-Paper Dispenser 115
Hang a Magnetic Stud Finder 116
Turn Your Hard Drive into a Tool Grinder 116
Capture Screws with a Magnetic Wristband 117
Rig the Poor Man's Laser Level 117
Kit Out an Instant-Charge Screwdriver 118
Make a Mini Screwdriver 119
Remove a Stripped Screw with a Rubber Band 119
Make a Rubik's Cube-Inspired Chest of Drawers 120
Sand Tiny Trim with a Razor 121
Make Duct Tape Do Double Duty 122
Create a Life-Size Cardboard Cutout 124
Lounge in a Cardboard Hammock 124
Chat on a Cardboard Telephone 125
Hang Up Cardboard Blinds 125
Man's Best Friend Gets a High-Tech Home 126
Make an Automatic Pet Feeder 127
Build a Cat Door 127
Put Together a Homemade Wind Mill 128
Hook Up a Solar Charger 129
Make a Geodesic Dome out of PVC Pipe 130
Rouse an Old Garden Hose 131
Makefile Lazy Man's Mower 132
Set Up DIY Grow Lights 134
Build a CD-Case Greenhouse 135
The Ultimate Snow blower 137
Gadget Upgrades
Rig a DIY Polygraph Test 140
Listen In with a Foxhole Radio 141
Tack Up a Dipole Antenna 142
Craft a Cell-Phone "Cantenna" 142
Boost Wi-Fi with a Steamer 142
Hang HDTV-Antenna Art 143
Mod an Xbox 360 Controller into an Smartphone Case 144
Make a Phone "Bounceable" 145
Build a Hands-Free Phone 146
Make a Remote Display for Your Computer 147
Rig a Smartphone Projector 148
Charge a Phone with Solar Rays 149
Make a Smartphone Tripod 149
Torn Your Old Netbook into a Touchscreen Tablet 150
Fashion a DIY Stylus for Your Touchscreen Device 151
Protect Your Touchscreen with Thin Vinyl 151
Stash a Flash Drive in a Cassette 152
Make a Pink-Eraser Flash Drive 152
Fake it with a Sawed-Off Flash Drive 153
House a Flash Drive in a LEGO 153
Hack a Foot-Operated Mouse 154
Trick Out Your Computer Tower with Engraving 155
Turn Your Laptop into a Whiteboard 156
Dye Your Laptop 156
Make a Steampunk-Inspired Laptop Case 157
Turn On Your Computer with a Magnet Switch 158
Print Secrets with Invisible Ink 158
Fake Out Thieves with a Desktop Hack 159
Shield Your Screen from Prying Eyes 159
Set Up a Laptop Cooling System 160
Control Your Mouse from Afar 161
Make an External Hard Drive 161
Add Keyboard Thumbtacks 162
Rig a Superportable Keyboard 162
Create a Glowing Mousepad 163
Upcycle an Old Circuit Board 164
Make a Laptop Stand from a Binder 166
Build a USB Hub into Your Desk 166
Stash Your Printer in a Drawer 167
Mount Stuff behind Your Monitor 167
Organize Loose Cables 168
Make a Floppy-Disk Box 169
Get Pumped with a CD Dumbbell 169
Assemble a Cereal-Box Spectrometer 170
Rig a Super Simple Radiation Detector 171
Set Up a Plasma Globe Inside a Simple Lightbulb 172
Illuminate Sketches with Homemade Conductive Ink 174
Hack Infrared Goggles 174
Decimate Stuff with a DIY Laser Cutter 175
A 3D Printer That Runs on Sun and Sand 176
Shine a Mini Flashlight 176
Brighten Up a Standard-Issue Flashlight 178
Beam a Batman-Style Spotlight 179
Repurpose Foil for Techie Use 180
Improvise a Tripod 182
Mount a Camera to Your Bike 182
Build a Time-Lapse Camera Stand 183
Rig a Plastic Bottle Diffuser 184
Create a Peephole Fisheye Lens 185
Adapt a Manual Tens to Your DSLR 185
Snap a Self-Portrait with a DIY Remote Shutter Release 186
Set Up a High-Speed Audio-Triggered Flash 187
A Camera That Shoots Huge Photographs 189
Things That Go
Ride with a Grease-Free Pant Ley 192
Reinforce Your Tire with a Seat Belt 192
Stay Safe with a Bottle-Cap Mirror 193
Keep Your Handlebar Grips Tight 193
Bring the Party with a Bike Speaker 194
Stay Warm on Chilly Rides 195
Make a Unicycle Out of a Bike 195
Navigate with an Old-Fashioned GPS 196
Make Your Bike's Tires Snow Proof 197
Protect Your Bike Saddle from Theft 197
Reuse a Busted Bike Tube 198
Shred on a Fan-Propelled Skateboard 200
Give Your Motorcycle a Futuristic Vibe 202
Light Up Your Motorcycle Helmet 203
The Rooming Hot-Rod Hauler 205
Mount a Rad Hood Ornament 206
Hang a DIY Air Freshener 206
Black Out Your Taillights 207
Install Air Horns in Your Car 207
Fend Off Fender Benders with a Sonic Distance Sensor 208
Hack an Emergency USB Charger 209
Shift with a Custom Gear Knob 209
Build a Bed in Your Van 210
Ring a Camping Shower 211
Kit Cut a Solar-Charging Messenger Bag 212
Stay Cool On the Go with Ad Hoc A/C 213
Refill a Tiny Toothpaste Tube 214
Assemble a Collapsible Travel Hanger 214
Give Your Suitcase the Gift of Wheels 215
Pack Your Razor Safely 215
Take Aerial Photos with a Weather Balloon 216
Make a Mini Hovercraft 217
Launch a Mini Rocket 217
Build a Better Canoe Paddle 218
Upgrade Your Kayak into a Sailboat 219
The Incredible Amphibious Tank 221
Hack an Oversize Air Hockey Puck 222
Score with Ping-Pong Paddle Gloves 222
Assemble a PVC-Pipe Soccer Goal 223
Transform a Bike into a B-Ball Hoop 223
Serve Up a Tennis Ball 224
Turn Your Backyard into a Badminton Court 226
Make a Mini-Golf Course 227
Install an At-Home Rock Wall 228
Hang PVC Fitness Rings 229
A Tilting Ping-Pong Table That Throws Off Opponents 230
Organize Curds On the Go 231
Run in No-Slip Shoes 231
The Motorized Easy Chair 232
Glossary 236
Further Information 240
Index 241
Thanks To Our Makers 246
Image Credits 247
Acknowledgments 248
Disclaimer 248