How To Install Invisible Shelves

Time to bring back the weekend project. This time, I’ve got a handy little video showing you how to make your own invisible bookshelf. All you need is an old book, an “L” bracket and some screws. The video says to put it right in a stud, but you can use a molly, or wall anchor is place of a stud. Enjoy, and Happy Easter!

For once, a hack that I use. At my desk, I, of course, have my MacBook. I also like to keep all the cables put away- hidden and off the floor. But with my MacBook, it just doesn’t work in the power cord department. I came up with a neat little way to keep way to keep my power cord and adapter tucked away and off the floor. This works with any MacBook, MacBook Pro, iBook- pretty much any device with a power adapter that has the prongs to wrap the cable around. READ MORE »

It’s been a while since I’ve shown off a unusual and completely useless project. Therefore, I will mention one today. Whether you’re wanting to show off, or just want to make your computer look cool, U-S-Blink might be worth considering.

I have found something to do with unused USB ports. I call it U-S-Blink and they are quick, easy and cheap to make. This is another product of boredom.

Since Flashing LED’s actually contain super small integrated electronic circuits for oscillation, a current limiting resistor isn’t necessary in most cases. This makes this project embarrassingly easy. Staying within the voltage range is still important. I didn’t have the specs for my LED, but +5VDC usually falls within the range of most blue SuperBright 5 mm Flashing LED’

Making your own U-S-Blink is very inexpensive, as you just need some parts from RadioShack. Enjoy!

U-S-Blink

I decided I wanted to take a break for today. But rather than not post, I’ll tell you about the Mac-O-Lantern.

With the creative use of spray paint, some epoxy paste, and a little photoshop work, the guys over at Bad Banana Blog took an old Mac Classic and gave it new life as holiday decor.

Sounds cool. If you can’t get your hands on a old Mac Classic, this project might hit the spot. Happy Halloween!

Mac-O-Lanterns [Bad Banana Blog via Gizmodo]

Ever since I started doing technical work for my Church, I’ve learned one thing: Projector bulbs are expensive to replace. Why spend over $500 for 2000 hours of use, when you can make an LED based projector that will last at least 15 times that and cost under a hundred.

All you need is an LED bulb and a constant-current circuit to make this work. For details, check out the link. Enjoy, and have fun!

Make your own LED Projector Bulb [Instructables]

It’s supposed to be a rainy weekend here in Fargo, and a perfect weekend for a project. Old outdated flatbed scanners are easy to come by, but a use for them is not. With a little hacking, you can turn your old flatbed scanner into a lamp.

I found my old serial port, flatbed scanner and decided to do something useful with it. I have seen other scanner Instructables, like this one from jpitz31 and this one from trebuchet03 but nothing like what I had in mind. This is easy to make and versatile.

All you need for this project is a flatbed scanner (the brand doesn’t matter as long as the light works), 1/2″ clear vinyl tubing, 2 Project Enclosures (Radio Shack Model: 270-1801) and a Switch. I will point out that scanner lamps are very very bright, so you want want to consider sticking a tint on your enclosure. Have fun, but I take no responsibility for any blindness you may cause to yourself or others. Enjoy!

Recycled Scanner Hack! [Instructables]

Trigger GREEN Traffic Lights! – Watch more amazing videos here

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m an impatient person – I can’t stand waiting. I especially hate waiting for a green light at an intersection. While people in the past have illegally hacked the stoplight system, I’d rather beat it.

So if you’ve got some spare time this weekend, give this a try. Get some Neodymium Magnets and mount them underneath your vehicle. This will trigger the light. How, you ask? Just watch the above video. Enjoy!

[Metacafe via Digg]

It’s never too late for a weekend project. Today I’ve got one I may try myself. Professional radio boom mics are very expensive, as I’m sure you know. Today’s project may save you some money by showing how to make your own boom mout.

All you need is a microphone with equivalent 1/4″ mic mount (standard shockmount), an old spring-style boom lamp, as well as a drill and drillbit, screwdriver (phillips), scissors or wire cutters.

The project consists of remove the lamp and the lamp housing, and then adding the hardware to connect your mic. The project is very straightforward and look fairly easy. Have Fun!

Professional studio boom for microphone [Instructables]

Let’s face it: Almost everyone’s got an iPod these days. If you’ve decided not to get one as a form of revolt, you may like this weekend project, an NES Controller MP3 Player.

If your gonna do this one you will need a few things:
- Dremel or similar tool
- Multimeter
- Soldering Iron
- Flux
- Solder
- Wire cutters
- Needle nose pliers
- Low heat glue gun
- Spare wire, a few paper clips, wire ties…just the usual crap for improvising.

This is a great way to stand out of the crowd. Have fun!

NES Controller MP3 Player [Instructables]

Sure, everyone’s got a Flash Drive these days; I’ve got four of ‘emthree – one just broke. But why settle with a Lexar Jumpdrive or a SanDisk Cruizer Micro when you can have a Mini Cooper Flash Drive – complete with hidden plug.

I’ve made several Hot Wheels/ Matchbox Flash drives, and with all of them I’ve tried to keep the plug hidden when not in use. The wow effect is kind of spoiled when you’ve got a USB plug sticking out the back of the car that at scale would be the size of a bookcase. Fortunately companies keep coming up with smaller drives and ways to hide/ retract the plug.

When I saw this little dude, I knew it would fit nicely in something. The working parts are contained entirely in the plug.

So, you will need an OCZ Roadster (appropriate, eh?) flash drive. I think these go up to 4 gig; this one’s 1 gig. Also, a Matchbox/ Hot Wheels car. I just took the drive to the store and held it up to various cars until I found one that fit. Turns out, the Mini’s perfect.

He chose a Mini Cooper because of the fit, but you could easily do this to any car you wanted. This is a relatively cheap and easy project to do. Have Fun!

1 Gig Flash Drive Mini Cooper [Instructables]