Here’s an interesting DIY that re-uses an old State Farm insurance sign into a chair re-make.

This chair is made from, obviously, a 25-year old metal sign — but, to complete the concept, all the wood I used is recycled campaign sign posts. In this election season, those wooden stakes should be plentiful. They are generally crap, rough-sawn wood, but with a little sandpaper and elbow grease, they can be cleaned up. It is 100% recycled, save the fasteners.

via instructables

DIY - How to Make Steampunk Gold and Silver Waterproof Flashlight!

Here’s a really cool DIY on how to make your own Steampunk Gold and Silver Waterproof flashlight.  Of course, this will complement your pool very well in the dark.

For this project, you need:
@ Gold, Chrome (silver), copper, and gold (brass) paint, clear coat/paint for finishing
@ One large 6v flashlight (mine is also waterproof)
@ Paper fasteners, Sharpie/permanent marker, hole punch, ruler, scissors
@ Hotglue, epoxy
@ Assorted gears, Small tube, Nut that fits on the tube, Three-way section of pipe/plastic that fits in tube, Screw that fits in three-way, copper wire, small spring
@ Small container

via instructables

DIY - How to Make your own RC Helicopter!

Although most of us would be better off buying an RC helicopter off the rack at the local hobby store, you can make your own if you want to with this terrific DIY guide on how to make your own RC helicopter.

Flying RC helicopter is really very exhilarating. Their versatility gives a RC pilot a complete access to the three-dimensional space in such a way that no other machines can! I have played RC helicopter for more than one year but still find that I have just learnt a few tricks that it can perform.

There are generally two micro-helicopters ( indoor ) in the RC market. I have already planned to buy one of them as they can fly inside the living room and even take off on ours hand. Unlike those operated by gas, these electric helicopters are very clean and give out no terrible noise at all. In one nightfall, I visited a web site, which is about how to make a hand made RC helicopter. I was totally impressed and started designing my own helicopter. Here is my helicopter:

via hackedgadgets, DIY Page

Check out this cool DIY on how to make your own Golf Ball Pool Table where golf balls are used for balls.  (Better yet, the Pool Table would go well with real “green” grass that requires an in-house maintainence guy.)

It’s basically just a table-top pool table that uses golf balls. It’s actually quite fun and makes for a nice, quiet, drinking game. Plus, it stores as easily as a card table.

via progolferdigest, DIY Page

DIY - How to Build a Traffic Cone Lamp!

Traffic Cone Lamp seems like a such a great idea for making traffic cones safer in general by contractors and alike who use them on a daily basis.

In case you want to just make a Traffic Cone Lamp for your garage, here’s how to do it.

Cones are available on eBay for cheap, but the shipping can be a bit much. Orphan cones are a dime a dozen in cities, but often too dirty and messed up to use. Please don’t steal them from active job sites, because they are safety equipment for someone. Other good places to check are auto salvage yards and the county/municipal dump, because that’s where the local government takes their bulk waste.

My cone is 28″ tall and 14-3/4″ square at the base, and weighed about eight pounds before the lamp parts were added. They come in all different sizes, and you could even make a desktop one out a of a little tiny cone. I used a 75-watt equivalent compact fluorescent. A brighter fixture could eliminate the need for the holes. Do not use conventional bulbs; they get hot enough to damage/burn/melt the cone if there’s nowhere for the heat to escape.

via instructables

DIY Pedal Powered Snow Plow is fun even for your Kids!

For the ultimate snow plowing this winter, you might want to consider making one of these DIY Pedal Powered Snow Plow which even your kids would love to ride on.

Kevin Blake, who by day is an engineer at Trek Bicycles, came up with the idea of using pedal power to push show about 13 years ago. In 1993 Blake built a recumbent commuter tricycle with a friend and remembers thinking “could I put a blade on the front and push snow?”

His friend was skeptical about it working at all because of traction and weight issues with the light weight trike. Undeterred, Blake figured that if he could “snowplow” with a regular shovel then it should be possible to use the legs in a pedaling motion to do the same thing.

via hackedgadgets, Hack Page

Check out this DIY PacMan Mini Portable Gamer, pretty amazing how everything has been compacted to fit this little box.

-2.5” Intec game screen (CCFL Backlight)

-Uses a PCB taken from a Jakks Pacific - Namco TV Games

-Runs off 4x AA batteries (2.5 Hours Play)

-Charging port for when rechargeable batteries are used

-Power LED and reset button

-No sound support (maybe in the future)

via technabob, benheck

DIY - How to Build Your Own HDTV Antenna and use Direct TV Satellite as Mount!

Don’t get the wrong idea here.  The idea is to use an existing Direct TV Satellite as a mount for the HDTV antenna.  This does awfully better than anything you can buy and probably get really good reception with this method.

I got my Tv converter Box (with the Government program Coupon). I hooked up with a regular rabbit ear antenna and although the signal and quality are waaaay better that the analog ones, I couldn’t get all the stations and some where a bit erratic. I went on Google and start looking for HDTV antennas and I found several easy to make DIYs setups, but they can be big and ugly to keep in my living room. So, I build the antenna but and I use an old Direct TV dish mounted in my garage (I don’t have the subscription and I don’t want too), the dish has been in my place since I move, and the best thing, it’s wired to my living room.

via instructables

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Do you have a lot of pretty little birds in your yard?  Then, you might want to consider building your birds their own birdhouse to live in and breed.

So bring some modernism to your house, whatever its era, by creating a home for your native avian population by building a mid-century birdhouse. I’ve included my measurements and process here, but feel free to model yours after architecture you love. And don’t worry if you don’t have a full collection of woodworking tools (I don’t either…) You can build a birdhouse with any handsaw, an electric drill, and glue. Or, you can borrow tools from a local tool lending library or have the employees at your local lumberyard or home center make the cuts for you.

via make, curbly