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How To: Snap set a six prong pendant

One important part of jewelery making involves properly setting stones. This jewelry how-to video demonstrates the proper way to snap set a six prong pendant. Begin with your stone flat face down on a surface, with your casting in hand gently press the setting down over the gem stone. You will feel it snap into place. To tighten and secure that your setting is in place use needle nose pliers.

How To: Use the protractor tool in Google SketchUp

Take a look at this instructional video and learn how to use the protractor tool in Google SketchUp. To measure in any direction or orientation, the protractor will align itself to any surface that it touches. This tutorial covers how to measure angles, create construction guidelines, control the tool orientation, and how to establish roof slopes.

How To: Use the eraser tool in Google SketchUp

Take a look at this instructional video and learn how to use the eraser tool in Google SketchUp. Keep in mind that the eraser tool only works for edges in SketchUp, and you won't be able to erase surfaces with the eraser tool. This tutorial covers how to erase single or multiple edges easily and how to soften or hide edges with the eraser.

How To: Use the freehand tool in Google SketchUp

Take a look at this instructional video and learn how to use the freehand tool in Google SketchUp. This tutorial covers how to use freehand to draw free form edges. To do this, simply click and hold the mouse button to draw with the freehand tool. Like other drawing tools, be careful not to cross over edges while drawing, and draw to and from existing edges to properly break surfaces.

How To: Model from the shelf in Houdini

This Houdini 9 tutorial teaches you how to work with the shelf tools. There are shelves for all the areas of Houdini from modeling to dynamics, to animating and particles. This particular tutorial shows you how to use the viewport and shelf tools to model within Houdini 9 and work with surface operations (SOPS).

How To: Sweep in Houdini 9

In this Houdini 9 modeling tutorial you will learn how to create objects using the sweep sop (surface operator). You can create or animate objects by sweeping them along curves or other objects. Watch and learn how to use the sweep sop in Houdini 9.

How To: Carve in Houdini 9

In this Houdini 9 modeling tutorial you will learn how to use the surface operator the carve sop. Carving objects is a fast way to model and manipulate them using curves and lines or other shapes. Watch and learn how to use the carve sop in Houdini 9.

How To: Make a Japanese style stab book

This tutorial shows you how to make a basic Japanese style book. You'll need two different styles of paper, a cutting surface, a ruler, a paper cutter, and a ruler. Watch this video bookbinding tutorial and learn how to make a Japanese stab book.

How To: Build a useful inexpensive Tripod for your camera

Watch this instructional photography video that shows how to build a useful, inexpensive tripod for the amateur photographer on a budget. This tripod will be more useful than most commercial tripods with only a plastic bag full of beans. The result is a stable, useful extension with minimal photographic inhibitions that works on any surface. A great how to video for the amatuer photographer.

How To: Install RC airplane hinges

Model Airplane News Editor Gerry Yarrish shows how to install RC airplane control surface hinges. You'll need an Xacto knife, hinge installation tools, and hinge glue. It's a pretty basic procedure. Watch this video tutorial and learn how to attach hinges onto a remote control airplane.

How To: Sculpt geometry in Maya

In this software tutorial you will learn how to sculpt geometry using the sculpt geometry tool in Maya. The sculpt geometry tool is like a paint brush that allows you to paint the surface of an object in 3D. It is best used for creating terrains and other organic geometry. This tutorial will cover all the basics of learning to sculpt geometry in Maya.

How To: Use a Peltier module to create free electricity from heat

A Peltier module allows you to turn heat into electricity. Because you can place it in areas that are normally warm anyway, the electricity created is "free" in a sense, though it does work best when one side of the module is cold and the other is hot. In other words, all you'll need for this project is the Peltier module and a cooler surface such as soil or water, and a warm area such as a well lit window or warm pan.

How To: Create good flowing geometry in Maya

This two part Maya tutorial explains many elements of modeling and how to make sure you create geometry that is well constructed with good flow. It covers cutting holes in objects / Flowing one weird form into the next and still maintaining uniformed polys across the 3d surface.

How To: Tie a tie artfully with Gianny L

Ever see someone tie a tie so that it looked more like an art project? Check out this video tutorial from Gianny L to learn a new way to tie a tie, using a table as a flat surface. The sexy GiannyL demonstrates this tie tying several times.

How To: Move components the way you want in SketchUp

You may find when you are working in SketchUp that you can't get certain components to move the way you want - this is because when you first use them, by default they are automatically stuck to the surface you first put them on (glued). This video that accompanies Chapter 16 of the book Google SketchUp for Dummies will show you how to get around this.

How To: Crush velvet

This crushing process brings out color variations by flattening the pile or nap of the velvet, and adds surface texture by pleating the fabric. One benefit to this method is that a simple wash and tumble dry will restore the fabric to its original condition, so watch this video and see just how to create crushed velvet.

How To: Clean a granite countertop

With the proper care, your granite or marble countertop will stay new-looking for years. Stone is one of the easiest surfaces to maintain. And granite, being 7 on the Mohs hardness scale of 1 to 10, is virtually unscratchable.

How To: Simpify a fairway bunker shot

The main reason we mess up our fairway bunker shots is because we allow the hands to interfere and cast the golf club down too early into the sand. Learn to strike the golf ball cleanly off the surface of the sand and you'll have the distance to land it on the green, no problem.