If you've ever seen It Might Get Loud, you probably remember the part where Jack White makes a one-string guitar out of household scraps. This type of guitar is called a Diddley Bow, after Bo Diddley, and is about the simplest and easiest electric guitar you can make. Watch this video to learn how.
Analog robots might seem a little backwards conceptually, but they are still really fun to make if you're into robotics and electronics. This video will teach you how to make a simple self-balancing analog robot. It's basically a small, robotic, analog Segway.
The lightsaber is one of the coolest weapons in the history of cinema, and the original props came from a junkyard. Funny how that works right? If you want a lightsaber for your own film, costume, or just because they're awesome, watch this video for a guide to making three types of lightsabers: a cheap one, a medium one, and very expensive professional-quality one.
Far Cry 2 set the bar for video game graphics when it came out, and it's grenade launcher is one of the best-looking in games. This video will teach you how to bring the grenade launcher into reality by making a replica out of cardboard and clay, perfect for a film or costume.
The shrink ray as always been one of the oddest and least-useful sci-fi guns, but alien invaders seem to love them and so we'll keep seeing them. If you want to use a shrink ray in a film you're working on, watch this video. It will teach you how to first make a generic ray / laser gun, and then how to make an object shrink in After Effects.
Master Chief, the star of the Halo franchise before it's most recent iterations, is one of the most recognizable and beloved protagonists in gaming history, and that's without players ever actually seeing his body through his inconic and intimidating armor. If you want to dress up as Master Chief for a Halloween costume, film, or other purpose, watch this video to learn how to make your own DIY Master Chief armor for cheap.
Organic LEDs (OLED) are even more efficient than their standard LED cousins, but does that mean they're harder to make? Perhaps somewhat, but no excessively. Watch this video to learn how to make a DIY OLED at home, allowing you to make really cool light-up displays.
The seals in your car had best all be functioning properly if you expect your car to work right. To test the ones in your engine cylinders you'll need an automotive cylinder lead down tester, and if you don't want to buy one, you're in luck because this video contains easy-to-follow instructions on how to make one in your garage.
If you are the proud owner of a laser cutter, you had better be careful with your expensive new toy. Some materials can damage the optics in your laser or produce poisonous gas when you cut them, so you need to make a gas containment chamber to work in. Watch this video to find out how to do that out of silicon wafer, silicone sealant, and a metal cookie tin lid.
Do you like the analog look of old handheld video games like Mr. Game and Watch or clock with 7 segment displays? It's pretty easy to simulate them nowadays by making an electroluminescent display on printed circuitboards with EL ink. You'll learn how to do just that in this video. It almost looks like Lite Brite.
At a loss as to whom you should vote for in the next election? In this clip from TekZilla, we learn about VoteEasy, a web app built to help United States citizens determine which candidates' views align most closely with their own. For details, and to get started learning which candidates are most like you, watch this video guide.
The Eldar Harlequins are some of the most charismatic and seldom-played models in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, but did you know that you can make an entire powerful army out of them? You can. Watch this video to learn how to make an awesome 1750 point army list out of Eldar Harlequins.
Home farming is easier than you think, especially when it comes to incubating your own chicks from eggs to raise! If you're curious on how to build your own cheap egg incubator, check out this video! In it you will get all the info about temperature, humidity and more for your home incubator!
Octaves are a cool way of spicing up your solos either by adding in the ocatve note after playing the lower note, or, in the way that George Benson and other great Jazz artists have made famous, playing full octave type power chords that allow you to play all sorts of melodies on the guitar. In this video you will learn how to find octave centers and begin to build your own melodies, solos and rhythm patterns!
If you loved the look of the robot hand from the Terminator movies, or the look of Hell Boys hand of doom, then you probably really want to be able to have one in your movie! In this video you will learn how to make a robotic hand on a low budget with moveable fingers using some pupeteering techniques.
If you're just starting with Minecraft for the first time and seem to be failing at surviving through the first night, maybe it'd be a good idea to watch this video from Machinima! In this video you'll learn how to get started, harvest resources, create a work station, and other tips for survival.
Learn how to take advantage of the BlackBerry Bold 9650's built-in GPS. This clip will show you how it's done. Whether you're the proud owner of a BlackBerry smartphone or are merely considering picking one up, you're sure to be well served by this video guide. For detailed information, including step-by-step instructions, take a look.
Learn how to take advantage of the Address Recognition feature built into the BlackBerry Bold 9650 phone. This clip will show you how it's done. Whether you're the proud owner of a BlackBerry smartphone or are merely considering picking one up, you're sure to be well served by this video guide. For detailed information, including step-by-step instructions, take a look.
With help from this free video tutorial, you'll learn how to style list items with CSS. Whether you're using a fancy WYSIWYG (or what-you-see-is-what-you-get) page editor like Adobe Dreamweaver CS5 or a barebones text editor like Notepad, if you want to build websites, you'll need to have some understanding of HTML (for the structure of your web pages) and CSS (for their style). And this free coder's guide will get you started along that path.
If you are unhappy with your Mac's built in date and time and need something a little easier to access, check out this clip. In this tutorial, learn how to install, set up and use a free app called MagiCal on OS X to streamline your calendar and clock.
Real rockets require top ingenuity from physics and engineering experts, but you can construct a smaller replica that costs almost nothing can can be made from materials you already have at home or can find at a hardware store.
Are you piano neophyte frustrated with your scale drills and constant replay of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"? Learn how to play the blues - no joke - by watching this video.
Regular hexagons are so blah, so amp up the tried and true geometric shape (and kindergarten building blocks toy) by adding a whole new dimension!
Looking for a guide on how to create icons for your website? With the Adobe Photoshop, it's easy. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular image editing software or simply looking to pick up a few new tips and tricks, you're sure to benefit from this free video tutorial from Tutvid. For more information, and to get started creating navigation bar-style web icons yourself, watch this graphic designer's guide.
Create a cherry wood texture in Photoshop with the noise filter and few other built-in tools. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular image editing software or simply looking to pick up a few new tips and tricks, you're sure to benefit from this free video tutorial, which offers a step-by-step guide on how to generate wooden textures at any resolution in under five minutes.
You may know how to fold an origami paper boat, but chances are you don't know how to origami a paper boat that can actually float. This video tutorial will show you the step-by-step instructions for each fold involved in the boat building process. You only need on sheet of paper for this floating boat, which means it's actually really easy to fold.
In this Home & Garden video tutorial you will learn how to build a landscape retaining wall in a weekend. This video is from www.allanblock.com. You can do it by using the Europa collection from Allanblock. Get the installation details and the location of the nearest dealer from the website. Tolls you need are a shovel, hand compactor, wheel barrow, measuring tape, level, hammer, rake, broom and gloves. This project will require the AB Barcelona, AB Palermo and AB Dover blocks. The first step...
blockvideos shows how to build a cinderblock compost bin for recycling needs. The builder will need 20 corner blocks, 36 AB York blocks, 12 AB Dublin blocks, 17 wall caps, 5 fifty pound bags of crushed rock, and and 2 tubes of masonry adhesive. To begin, find a location to build the compost bin and lay out the first layer of back wall and side wall blocks, lining them up straight. Check the dimensions of the layout. Once confirmed accurate, use a shovel to mark the grass around the blocks. Re...
This video shows us how to build a garden bench out of cinder blocks. Before you get started, you need to refer to the How To sheet #320 for all your materials and make sure you have everything you need.
In this Home & Garden video tutorial you will learn how to build an outdoor kitchen. You can build it yourself using the AB courtyard walls collection. You should have all tools as per How-to sheet #341 before you begin. Determine the location of your outdoor kitchen and with a measuring tape mark the location of the back wall. Mark the line with masking tape. Begin the 1st layer by placing a corner block in the corner. Then place a large piece of a split block next to it. For information on ...
As far as your audience is concerned, there are few things less magical than a card trick seen a dozen or more times. As such, as a magician, it's important that you build a strong repertory of tricks to maintain your public's interest. And what better place to start than the "flying" card trick outlined in this free video magic lesson.
If you have an extra speaker cabinet, a broken XLR cable and a little bit of soldering knowledge, you can create a functional kick drum microphone in just a few minutes' time. This audio engineer's guide will walk you through the entire process. For detailed, step-by-step instructions, and to get started building your own sub mic for extra low-end, watch this hacker's how-to.
Weekend Project: Pinhole Panoramic Camera
Special effects are so cool and so..expensive! In this tutorial, learn how to make a portable green screen for very cool effects for less than 30 bucks. This green screen can move with you so you are ready to shoot no matter where you are! Follow these step by step instructions and you will be practicing your Oscar speech in no time.
Built from the ground up just for the Apple mobile device, the iPad Keynote app makes it easy to create beautiful and dynamic slide presentations—provided, that is, that you know how to use it. Learn how to use Keynote iPad application to create your own presentations with this helpful video guide from Apple.
Leigh Ramsdell and Hal Brindley with The Environmentals discuss how to build a worm composting bin. To build a worm composting bin, you will need a plastic tub or a box with a lid. Calculate one square foot of surface area per pound of worms. A pound of worms can process a half a pound of food per day. Worms need air so put holes in your bin on the top and sides. Also put holes on the bottom for drainage so your worms don't drown and die. Add screens to cover the holes. Put bricks on the bott...
Want to pitch correct vocals on your Mac without dropping $120 on Antares Auto-Tune? If you've got GarageBand 2, you can — and easily at that with GarageBand's own, built-in pitch correct feature. Get that pop radio sound with this how-to.
In this Flash tutorial you will start from scratch and build a navigation bar and then convert one of the buttons to a drop down button. You will also learn how to link the buttons within the drop down to sites and pages out on the web.
Want to play your video collection on any media extender, console or AppleTV? Step one is to get your movies off of the DVDs and onto your hard drive! If you're like most people you probably have a huge library of DVDs that you've bought and collected over the years. Unfortunately, it's an inconvenient format if you want to playback all that content anywhere around the house. So, learn how to rip and encode that stack of DVDs into a format that you can play on your Windows Media Extender, set...
Systm is the Do It Yourself show designed for the common geek who wants to quickly and easily learn how to dive into the latest and hottest tech projects. We will help you avoid pitfalls and get your project up and running fast.
