Things to make for fun

Easy Things to make: devices, gadgets, gizmos, thingys, easy projects; most use common tools and materials; instruction and diagrams.

	A pair of stilts, a shadow box, a cool toy boat, and a boot jack (for removing boots without using your hands). --  This is a few pages from the ebook "Homemade Devices For Inventive Teens".
	Fold a sheet of newspaper to make a hat. A simple gizmo that surprises someone in the same sort of way as those cans that something pops out of when opened. -- This is a few pages from the ebook "Clever Construction".
	Duct tape wallet - Genuine, homemade, make-it-yourself, handy-dandy wallet made from duct tape.
	Paper chain - How to make those chain-like things out of gum wrappers.
	Hummer buzzer - Make a simple noise maker.
	Friendship bracelet - String and a few beads can be used to make a bracelet.
	Balanced butterfly - This model butterfly seems to hold on to whatever it is perched on.
	Bird house - Build it . Use a board, nails, hand saw, and a drill with a hole saw attachment (or coping saw).
	Photo holder - Make this to display a photo on a desk or bureau top.
	Big mouth puppet - Made from a sheet of paper, it resembles a bird's head with a large mouth.
	Fob cord - From shoestrings a decorative handle for keychains, zipper handles or whatever.
	Led light - How to make a portable, battery friendly reading light.
	Untested projects - Descriptions of several projects thought out enough that the next step would be to build the project.

 

Easy Things to make: homemade items and devices; photographs of what the MakeGizmos webmaster has made. Choose one of the following 9 pages.

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throwing dart: plastic fins on a foot long stick. duodecahedron: 12 sided regular(all sides the same) polyhedron made from paper. About 6 inches across. mechoinsecta: Made from wire and a spent CO2 cartridge. A wire sculpture that suggested it is half insect and half mechanism. pinwheel: About 4 inches across, made from paper, a straight, plastic bead and a little glue. string climber: About 7 inches high. You repeatedly pull and release the string which hangs below the climber to advance the climber upward. time projector: Flashlight that projects the time of day onto the ceiling above my bed. disc ball: Made from thin cardboard discs. geodesic dome frame: 7 feet across made from newspaper. wooden spoon/laddle: About a foot long. cubbybox: Made from a pizza box, glue and string. Hangs on a wall to display small knicknacks. ride pulley: Put it on a steel cable that is stretched between two trees. Grab hold the handles and ride. keyboard heater: electrical heat tape that keeps the hands warm when keying in a cold room. tv holder: holds a very small tv for viewing by someone lying on their back in bed. speaker box: made from particle board, screws and nails. duodecahedron: 12 sided regular(all sides the same) polyhedron made from paper. About 6 inches across. shelf: on the wall down about 10 inches from the ceiling, goes most of the way around my room. grape arbor: made from wooden posts and 60 amp aluminum electrical cable. box lid latch: made from coathanger wire, holds the lids of a cardboard box closed. box lid latch: about the same as the last one, this one is a little easier to make aimable light shade: thin aluminum pie pan and clothes hanger. Turn it to light or shade an area of the room. radio hanger: bent wire, holds weather radio on wall. paper hanger: a piece of steel strapping mounted on the wall, is something to hang sheets of paper from. therapy hole: I dug this hole in my garden when my marriage was breaking up. It's about 6 feet by 8 feet and 4 feet deep. Dug 2 of those holes that summer. bicycle generator: The rear wheel turns a generator from an old Volkswagon. You can use it for exercise and to charge a 12 volt car battery. bicycle/generator stand: Made from hardboard(like 3/16 inch thick hard particle board) nailed to 3/4 inch thick boards. The pipe pieces rest in notches on the stand's uprights. Wood block wired in place over pipe holds it in place. Generator is mounted with a hinge so that it pivots. A spring pulls on the generator keeping the pulley pushed against the tire. key force measurer: to measure how much force it takes to push down the keys on a keyboard. watch battery: AAA battery sends power to the watch. Should last about 4 years or so. binocular brace: Tire inner tube and a loop of cord holds the binoculars reasonably steady. trap car: Wheels are cds, mouse trap for power. Goes 30 to 40 feet on a smooth surface. trileg what's it: Made from coathanger wire, plastic water bottle lids, and a pineapple can. Looks like it was made to do something ... knit hat: My first knitting project. I like the one-of-a-kind look to this hat. glovittens: Part glove, part mitten. knit hat: My first knitting project. I like the one-of-a-kind look to this hat. glovittens: Part glove, part mitten. night socks: Made using extra thick yarn to keep my feet warm on winter nights. loom-made hat: My Mom made this. The hat is a gift for her sister's son-in-law. antenna jack: A coax connector was added to this weather radio so an external antenna can be connected to improve reception. weather radio antenna: It's on the roof of my car. Used clothes hanger wire for the antenna which is 36" long. dental tool: Does the same job as floss, maybe better. Safety pin, plastic tube from a discarded mechanical pencil, and rubber band. Keyboard light: A 4 watt bulb that lets me see my keyboard in a dark room. Gives enough light to find those infrequently used keys or to find something laying somewhere near my keyboard. thick gloves: The extra thick yarn and tight weave makes them good for very cold weather. Homemade Dental Tool: This is a replacement for a previously posted item. Had to make another one. Can't seem to find where that first one is. Car Speakers: mounted my car's speaker (all four) within 1 foot of my ears. Sounds a lot better than the factory placement. Overhead Fan: keeps me cool, even in a very hot room, while I sit at my computer. Kitchen Computer: makes recipes easy to find and edit. I hung the monitor on coathanger wire where it's out of the way but convenient. Clock Buttons: defunct watch batteries used to change tiny, recessed alarm clock button into ones that are big, stick out and are easy to push. Pants waist tuck: When the waist in a pair of pants is too big, use a shoe string to tie a tuck for a good fit. Downhill shoe strap: A add-on strap keeps shoes from causing pain when walking downhill trails. Laptop base: Tilts a laptop so keying is easier and less painful. weather radio antenna: Put it in your attic. Get hazard alerts and weather forecast far from the transmitter. pants waist tightener 2: No belt needed after putting this on pants that are a bit too big. Electrified garden fence: Keeps out vegetable eating varmints. Homemade parabolic antenna: In the attic, receives NOAA broadcast, All Hazards alerts. Draught ameliorization big ditch: Roof runoff and deep soil. Coffee grinder mod for fine grind: A piece of paper, a couple of tools. Make flour, cappuccino grind, herb and vegetable powders. Draught resistant garden: Deep soil and rain water catchment/direction/collection using a slope and a tarpulin. Homemade wallet: Made from a cardboard milk cartoon - does the job and I like it. Greens press: Modifying a Bodum coffee press to remove bitterness from single serving size quantities of dandelion, swiss chard, and other greens. Arrowhead necklace: Found Indian arrowhead attached to a flashdrive necklace reminds me that I want to be aware of past, present, and future.

Slickditty's books on things to make: at the www.diesel-ebooks.com:

Clever Construction (for those 12 to 14 years of age, but some adults might enjoy making the items in this book

Homemade Devices For Inventive Teens

 
MakeGizmos home page
 

Our greatest abilities began as small accomplishments. A child's first words began with learning to make noises. Later the child learned to make sounds like those the parents made. The meanings of the words were learned. Then sentences were formed. A long process led to speaking and listening using language with the ability of an adult. It is the same with all our abilities: they begin small, they build upon previous achievement. Be proud of all your small accomplishments and nurture them, for they are what your most cherished abilities are built upon.