14th Jun 2013

Easy Wind DC Motor

Here is the latest version of the DC Motor project. Improvements over the last version are as follows. Commutator: This is a wound commutator that uses the same piece of...

12th Jun 2013

Bark-B-Gone

Does your puppy bark excessively? This American Eskimo puppy sure likes barking. But don’t panic, there’s a solution! Bark-B-Gone! Actually the yogurt container isn’t actually stuck on his nose. It...

12th Jun 2013

DIY Two Pole DC Motor

I worked on the Easy Motor kit for kids project today. I am hoping I can get something very simple that kids can snap or glue together to learn about...

11th Jun 2013

Business Cards from LP Records

I make business cards out of cutoffs (waste material) and with my vinyl clock project I wound up with extra vinyl. Here’s the latest version. The spindle is a 45...

04th Jun 2013

DIY Electric Motor for Kids

My friend Bill Kuhl has been making electric motors from kits (among other things of interest to science teachers). The photo with the red wire is one of the kits...

02nd Jun 2013

Simple DIY Galvo

I am experimenting with a simple galvo for directing a laser pointer to draw images on a surface. A galvo is a mechanism that moves a mirror. You shine a...

01st Jun 2013

How to Fix a Cordless Drill

The Good: I was given a Makita 7.2V cordless drill. It’s nice and tiny with variable speed, reversing and key-less 3/8″ chuck (discontinued but $125 on ebay). The Bad: The batteries...

06th May 2013

Hey Kids! Red’s Not a Primary!

That’s right! It’s a primary for light but not paint. The red, green and blue circles (below and right) show primary colors for your eye. The additive RGB system reflects human physiology since we have receptors...

05th May 2013

To the Park, Squirrel in Hand

Yesterday I took a nice walk in the park just for fun. Of course I brought a Squirrel model plane with me. What a pleasant afternoon! Anybody want to come...

05th May 2013

Foam Planes

I made up this batch of Foam Squirrels for a group of kids in Montreal. I don’t sell these yet but I must say they are great flyers.  

04th Apr 2013

TV-B-Gone!

Mark, Michael, Doug and I worked on our wearable electronics project. It will have RGB LEDs, a microcontroller, sensors and infrared communications. Possibilities are endless. Here we are conducting a...

31st Mar 2013

Social Badge

Mark, Michael and I are working on some badges for Nuit Blanche and possibly other events. With my background in social networks and related tools I want to give the...

31st Mar 2013

Designing a Propeller

I’ve been working on some propeller designs for rubber-power model airplanes. This is a fun project and the plan is to use a 3D printer for prototyping. I’m quite excited...

23rd Mar 2013

Martin Creed

I went to see Martin Creed’s Work No. 202 “Half the air in a given space” (01 Feb 2013 – 01 Apr 2013 at the National Art Gallery). I was...

19th Mar 2013

Motorcycles: Yea or Nay

I’ve had a few motorcycles (currently a Honda Shadow VLX). Want to go for a spin? Hop on: Motorcycles have their perks. You can park anywhere, hop curbs and have...

02nd Mar 2013

3D Printer Meetup Success Ottawa

Today’s 3D Print-A-Thon meetup was a total success (Saturday, March 2nd, 2013, 2 Daly Avenue). Around 400 people came to see the 12 or so 3D printers in our small...