Making Metal Springs

You can make homemade pizza with a minimum of tools, or you can buy the entire yuppie menagerie (and let's face it—if you're a foodie, you probably want the toys). Below is a brief rundown of the different options available. Since I'm a relative beginner to the process, I've a ...more

In 1782, an English plumber named William Watts came up with a clever method for making shotgun ammo. Watts constructed a six story "shot tower", consisting of a series of perfectly lined up holes, drilled into all six floors of the structure. Watts then poured molten lead thr ...more

Professionally and academically speaking, I am a computer scientist, but I also enjoy lock picking as a hobby, so I thought I would share what knowledge I have with this. Before we start doing anything, first we need to understand the fundamentals of how locks work and then ac ...more

In this article, I'll show you how to build a simplistic circuit to generate negative ions. Negative ions have been known to contribute to fresher air, happier mood, and general health benefits. However, they also look amazing in the dark (check out the photos below, purple pl ...more

Even if you live in a big city, chances are you have some wild raccoons or foxes that cannot abide a vertical trash barrel. While apparently omnipresent, these phantasmic critters usually vanish in the night leaving only a shameless trail of refuse you never wanted to see ever ...more

Video: . Dent Repair - Using a Stud Welder Gun A stud nail welder is basically a tool that welds a small stud to the metal surface to perform dent repair. This stud provides something for the t-handle or slide hammer to grab on to. Force can then be applied to remove the dama ...more

In this project, you'll learn step by step how to modify a microwave oven transformer into a high-current device that can pump out 800 amps of electrical current, which is enough amperage to melt metal. If you liked the Metal Melter you saw in my previous project, here's how y ...more

Thought I would cross-post a piece I did a while ago. So here is a piece I made a while back. I found this brass and glass bottle at the thrift store. At the time of purchase it had a broken music box on the bottom. I actually was able to fix the music box and it plays "How D ...more

Believe it or not, it's possible to make your very own lava—if you have a furnace capable of heating up to 1,200 degrees Celsius, that is. Bob Wysocki and Jeff Karson started the Syracuse University Lava Project to study basaltic lava and give students a hands-on way (hypothet ...more

As you know, it's impossible to be a Steampunk without a pair of goggles. In fact, there are entire communities dedicated to judging other Steampunks based solely on their goggles. A Steampunk without goggles is like Samson without his hair, or a duck without a beak—totally po ...more

Since it's October and Halloween is fast approaching, it's time for a series of articles on how to make the coolest Steampunk Halloween decorations for your home! In this installment, we'll look at some jack-o'-lanterns, skulls, and a few other things that are easy to Steampun ...more

Whipped cream is one of the most iconic dessert toppings around, but the full-fat version is not the most forgiving when it comes to fat content. With the holidays just around the corner, learn how to spare yourself a few calories—especially if you love the creamy texture of w ...more

Lurking inside your old junk microwave is an abundance of useful parts that can let you melt metal, spot weld, and make electrifying Jacob's ladders. You can even make a powerful AC arc welder, perfect for making hard-to-solve puzzles and even makeshift weapons for the zombie ...more

Arcades have long faded away from popularity, but their legacy is being kept alive thanks to emulators and the avid fans who grew up loading quarters into all of those coin-op games. Although nothing beats an actual arcade environment, my favorite emulator from the early 2000s ...more

Many people drink green tea for health reasons, and it's no wonder. This beverage is a superstar when it comes to antioxidant levels, and is being studied for its potentially curative properties on multiple health concerns, whether it's staving off the aging process or fightin ...more

Thrift stores! As a Steampunk, they can be your best friend, but it's easy to make a tragic mistake. This hands-on guide will help you navigate the murky waters of successful thrifting in order to find the hidden gems that will make your Steampunk outfit complete! Thrift Stor ...more

Other than providing a convenient vessel for your carbonated beverages so that they don't go completely flat, aluminum soda cans are also quite useful for a number of other things once they're completely empty. Remove the top and bottom part of the soda can to create a metal ...more

I have an interest in using recycled materials in sculptures, particularly circuit boards and other wasted electronic and mechanical components with which I put together sprawling cities lit with fairy lights. These cityscapes can conjure an image of a parallel society built f ...more

The weather outside might be frightful, but heating bills are downright scary this time of year. Heat is absolutely essential during the winter season, but it's also really expensive. If you aren't blessed with a fireplace or unlimited disposable income, fear not, because you ...more

While ARKit and ARCore are poised to bring AR experiences to millions of mobile devices, one company is poised to anchor those experiences anywhere in the world with just a set of geographic coordinates. The geospatial augmented reality platform Aireal enables developers to p ...more

The decadent, chewy, fresh-from-the-oven brownie is a classic American dessert. US History Scene states that the first brownies ever made were a result of socialite Bertha Potter Palmer's request of her chef at Chicago's Palmer House Hotel in 1893 "to create a dessert that cou ...more

Even the most seasoned cook is always looking for ways to make cooking easier and cleaning up after meal prep a breeze. There are a million and one tricks and tips out there to simplify your kitchen routines, but some of them are more valuable than others. Don't Miss: 5 Commo ...more

Making a good pie crust can seem intimidating to the uninitiated, but once you master this skill, a whole world opens up to you. Not only can you make all manner of fruit, custard, and cream-filled pies once you know all the tricks, you can branch out into the world of quiches ...more

I drop my smartphone a lot. Like an absurd amount of times. Practically multiple times a day. So it's surprising that my iPhone 12 Pro has lasted nine months without a cracked screen yet. Part of that has to do with the late-2020 model's durability, and the other part is thank ...more

The Recycleart Facebook group frequently posts awesome pictures of steampunk-friendly sculptures. Not all of them look steampunk, but enough do that it's worth checking out. Here are a few examples:

First off, don't be frustrated. YOU CAN DO IT! Contrary to the message in the image above, it's NOT over. It's just beginning. And when it comes to solving the New York Times crossword puzzle, the old cliche does apply: practice makes perfect. I've read quite a few books and ...more

Clothespins are pretty innocent-looking, but with a mod here and a hack there, that innocence quickly turns into danger. Well, sort of. In this project, we'll be turning an ordinary spring-action clothespin into powerful matchstick and toothpick shooter that can shoot apples a ...more

Piezoelectric Energy In this article, I'll show you how to make a small, wallet-sized device that generates electricity from kinetic energy. The concept is simple: Piezoelectricity is the charge that is produced when certain solid materials (commonly ceramic and crystal) in r ...more

Apple's sixth iOS 13 developer beta was a welcome update for us beta testers. New options for toggling Dark Mode, a way to hide website previews when peeking links, plus UI changes made for a significant iOS 13 upgrade. We're hoping Apple continues this trend of fun and excite ...more

It's new phone season — new handsets are releasing every few weeks, we're seeing endless software updates, and the holidays are right around the corner. We asked our tech-obsessed writers and editors to give us the lowdown on their must-have accessories when they splurge on a ...more

Images of BlackBerry's two upcoming Android phones have surfaced. Reportedly named "Hamburg" and "Rome," keeping with the company's tradition of using cities as code names for its devices, the images come from BlackBerry Central founder Dylan Habkirk (via Times News UK/GSMAren ...more

Wet-plate collodion photography is a process that lets you develop a photo onto a piece of glass. It has some neat applications, but it's not a simple process, and most people use a special camera to do it because the silver nitrate used to process usually ends up leaking, whi ...more

Technology is awesome. You can use your iPad to record music or even turn your tunes into a solar system, but sometimes being plugged in all of the time can leave you nostalgic for simpler times. This new concept by Joelle Aeschlimann brings together the best of both worlds by ...more

Yesterday showed us our first look at the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max. But it wasn't all about hardware. Apple also released the iOS 13 Golden Master, making iOS 13.1 the main focus for us beta testers. Now, Apple just seeded the third public beta, followin ...more

Apple dropped the sixth public beta for iOS 13 today, Aug. 15. This public update comes just hours after the release of developer beta 7, an interesting move for Apple. The company has recently stuck to a schedule of seeding the public beta at least one day after the developer ...more

If tradition holds, we're roughly one month away from Apple's big iPhone announcement. While we're excited to see what will mainly be a significant camera upgrade, it's not all about the hardware. Apple will also release the official version of iOS 13 to coincide with the iPho ...more

Lenovo, the company that now owns Motorola, just announced two new entries in their wildly successful midrange Moto G series. The Moto G5, and its bigger brother, the Moto G5 Plus, were both shown off in detail at Mobile World Congress 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. Highlights for ...more

Spring has sprung, which means it's time to plant all those delicious vegetables and lucrative cash crops. If you are like me, every year you meticulously plan every aspect of your garden before dutifully neglecting it all summer. I decided enough was enough and built this sim ...more

Sometimes I forget that I'm also a fiction writer, so I thought it might be a nice change of pace to share one of my stories with you. I wrote this piece awhile ago for an anthology that never came together and I'm tired of just sitting on it. It's one of the more odd stories ...more

Advancements in technology have made it perfectly possible to make a short film or even an entire movie with your iPhone or Android — as long as you've got the right gear. Lenses, stabilizers, tripods, lighting, microphones, chargers, and cases can make the difference between ...more

The new iPhone 12 Pro Max is equipped with MagSafe, the iPhone 12 lineup's most talked-about feature. While Apple previously used MagSafe for its magnetic charging connectors on older MacBook models, it's given new life to it on the iPhone, and in a much better way. But can it ...more

There are plenty of reasons to upgrade to the iPhone 12 mini. Maybe you want to take advantage of the improved camera system, or you're intrigued by the return to a smaller form factor. But one of its coolest features might be MagSafe, a completely different way to charge and ...more

If you're getting or already have a new iPhone 12 or 12 Pro, its big-ticket feature is MagSafe, something you'll definitely want to explore. While the technology is new to iPhone, Apple used the MagSafe name for its magnetic charging connectors on older MacBook models until US ...more

After years of speculation and rumors, Apple finally debuted AirTag, its tiny Bluetooth tracking device, during its spring 2021 event on April 20. Unlike with Tile trackers, there's no way to attach an AirTag to an object, but there's an entire market out there for AirTag acce ...more

It's a strange time for us iOS beta testers. While Apple prepares for the general release of iOS 13 on Thursday, it's also beta testing that software's successor, iOS 13.1. An iPhone updated to iOS 13 on Sept. 19 will only have 11 days before seeing 13.1 in its Software Update ...more

Apple's iOS 13 is nearly here. After four months of beta testing, the latest iPhone software update promises over 200 brand new features, like system-wide dark mode and an overhauled Reminders app. That said, it'll be shortlived, as Apple plans to release iOS 13.1 as a supplem ...more

It's a big day for Apple. First, the company announced its new suite of phones: iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max. Then, we get the iOS 13 Golden Master, the beta version of iOS 13 that will eventually release to the general public on Sept. 19. Now, it seems the ...more

Apple has pulled quite the headscratcher in anticipation of its big iPhone unveiling next week. Its latest iPhone update, iOS 13.0, is just on the horizon, going through eight beta versions so far. And yet, before that software's official release, the company has started beta ...more

When Apple takes the stage next week, we have no idea what version of iOS it will release. For months it seemed like a given that we would, of course, see iOS 13 seeded to our iPhones. Now, we aren't sure if Apple will tout iOS 13 or iOS 13.1, since the latter is now the focus ...more

Beta testing certainly has its perks. While you do need to deal with bugs, you're introduced to new features before the general community. And if we're talking iPhones, there are over 200 new features in iOS 13 beta. If you're already on board with iOS 13 public beta 6 for iPh ...more

Apple shocked us all yesterday when it released iOS 13.1 developer beta 1. It was an unprecedented move since iOS 13.0 is still in beta testing and since Apple has never pushed out a "point" beta release before the stable base version. And now, you can get your hands on iOS 13 ...more

Apple's upcoming update for the iPhone, iOS 13, is introducing over 200 new features. Many of those were never formally announced, instead silently released in new updates to the beta. After eight developer beta cycles, we were anxiously awaiting the release of developer beta ...more

September is nearly here, which means new iPhones are, too. We're looking forward to iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max, as well as the more affordable iPhone 11R. All three iPhones will run iOS 13, so Apple's entrusting beta testers to ensure its new OS is ready. The latest update, ...more

Life's pretty good for iOS public testers — we get to check out new iPhone features months before the general public even knows they exist. That said, we aren't first to the party. Developers get priority during beta testing, as evidenced by yesterday's iOS 13 dev beta 6 relea ...more