Big Book Of Hacks

Charge up that drill, fire up your soldering iron, and get ready to hack! Starting with a robust introduction to basic yet essential maker skills and followed by four comprehensive chapters of hack projects, this book has everything you’ll need: BASIC MAKER SKILLS From setting up your workspace to using basic hand and power tools to tinkering with robotics, find the top tips and essential skills every maker and maker-in-training needs to be successful. Other skills include 3-D printing, lasercutting, CAD design, and more! GEEK TOYS Be the life of the party with quirky drinking amusements, amazing pyrotechnics, and robots. Includes projects for installing a shower beer caddy, freezing LEGO ice cubes, wielding a potato launcher, building an LED-light dance floor, and constructing a light saber, with updates like a sword that detects free Wi-Fi, a solar-powered rover that really goes, a replica of a Roman catapult, and more! HOME IMPROVEMENTS Pimp out your pad with a laser-security system, an improvised sous-vide cooker, a secret door, an aquarium in an old TV, the perfect gaming chair or a life-size cardboard display of anyone you want. New projects include a sensor that lets you control your home’s temperature and energy use from afar, an automated pet-feeder, and a light made with pennies! GADGET UPGRADES Want to use an XBOX 360 controller as a phone case or build a polygraph test? Looking to brighten up a standard flashlight or charge your phone with solar rays? Improvise a fisheye lens for your camera or dye your laptop? Now you can upgrade many household items without breaking the bank. Look for updated content, such as a hacked radio that lets you listen to meteor showers, your very own DIY particle detector, and a cool soldering stencil. THINGS THAT GO Give your motorbike a Tron vibe or make a unicycle out of an old bike, deck out your car with an action-figure hood ornament or install a bed in your van, upgrade your kayak to a sail boat or take aerial photos with a balloon. Find these mobile projects and more—plus new stuff, like a heart-rate monitor you wear on your sleeve, a bike jacket with flashing turn signals, goggles with prescription lenses, and a bicycle-powered generator! With its clever...