Square Inch Search Results

10th Time's the Charm: Success and Failures of Making a Jam Jar Jet Engine

I finally got around to trying out this jam jar jet project. The most successful and longest lasting pulse was somehow the only one I did not record. You can imagine how frustrating that probably was, though my tenth and final attempt was nearly as satisfying. But even the failures were fun to watch, especially the blue flame floating, almost dancing, around the jar. I especially liked the small foghorn sound that my first failed attempt produced.

How To: Make Yin-Yang Modular Polyhedra

Last Thursday's post demonstrated how to Make Yin-Yang Pillow boxes, which were based on equilateral triangles and squares. The units for making these boxes were created by Phillip Chapman-Bell, who runs an amazing origami blog and has a spectacular flickr photostream. Using these units, you can make also make 4 of the 5 platonic solids. I made an additional template based on the regular pentagon so that the dodecahedron can be built completing the set.

News: Palm-Sized Pentakis Dodecahedron

I finally got around to making the pentakis dodecahedron from the instructions in Math Craft admin Cory Poole's blog post. It's not tightened/straightened up yet because I just noticed that I have two black and white and two blue and green compound modules next to each other (but no purple and pink modules next to each other—to the math experts, this is a parity thing, as you can only have even numbers of modules paired up next to each other).

How To: Origami a puppy dog

See man's best friend come to life fold by fold as Origami aficionado, Michael LaFosse, teaches this terrific project that'll have you barking for more. It's so easy you'll have a whole pack of pups in no time! All you need is a square piece of paper. Follow along with this video origami tutorial and learn how to fold a puppy dog. Origami a puppy dog.

How To: Hang a door

Changing your doors can instantly improve the look of your home, and yes, it is a job you can do yourself. It just takes a couple of hours, a lot of patience and this step by step video tutorial. Stop hanging around, watch this video on how to hang a door and get to it.

How To: Use the self-centering mortise jig

The shop-built router jig detailed in this video uses an innovative system to position a workpiece square and centered when cutting matching mortises for loose mortise-and-tenon joinery. This jig relies on two vertically aligned, rotating circles with protruding metal bolts to align a workpiece, and a moveable fence to set the width of a mortise. After watching this video, you should easily be able to use this tool. Use the self-centering mortise jig.

How To: Cut plywood without a table saw

Cutting plywood on the table saw can be difficult because you have to move the unwieldy 4x8 sheet across the blade. A better solution is to move a circular saw over the sheet. For rips, the saw table rides next to a guide strip and for cross cuts, a fence squares the jig to the work. Watch and learn these alternatives to cutting plywood on a table saw. Cut plywood without a table saw.

How To: Knit a Ball

Knitted balls can be used for all sorts of projects. The obvious is a Christmas ornament, but knitted balls can also be the basis for knitting toys or snowmen. And of course, they can be used simply as balls which make a lovely gift for a baby. They can be all one color, striped or patterned. To get started, follow the directions below for a one-color knitted ball. You will need to know how to knit on double-pointed needles, so if you need help with that, check out my other article.

How To: Vent Your Hood for Only $3

The guys at Poor Man Mods show you how to vent your hood to reduce engine bay temperatures, which can lead to lower intake temperatures and protection to components in your engine bay. To do this, they just take a few coupler nuts and screw them onto the studs on the hood where the hinge is. Doing so, they create about a 1 inch gap in-between the hinge and the hood itself, which raises the rear of the hood up, allowing hot air to escape. Near the turbo, this help reduce engine bay temps by 12...

How To: Make plain Chinese stir fried noodles

In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to make Chinese stir fried noodle. The ingredients required for this recipe are: 1 package of egg noodle (8 oz), 2 tbsp of soy sauce, 1 tbsp of salt, 1 tbsp of sesame oil and 2 green onions that are sliced into 2 inch pieces. Begin by boiling some water and add in the egg noodles for about 7-10 minutes. Then strain the noodles, add the sesame oil and let them dry for 5 minutes. Now add 1 tbsp of oil into a wok and heat the oven at medium heat. Add in ...

How To: Make a picture puzzle

Learn how to make the nifty puzzle frame in this how-to video that makes a great gift for a friend or family member! Grab some wooden blocks and 2 photos to get started. You will need 6 (2-inch) wooden cubes, silver paint, blue paint, paintbrushes, a rubber band, a thin black marker, 2 photos (4x6), double-sided adhesive sheets, scissors, and the step-by-step instructions in this video activity tutorial. Make a picture puzzle.

Chromebook: The World's First Web-Only Laptop Computer Coming Soon

It's been about five months since Google first unveiled their prototype future computers running Chrome OS, and the time is nearly here for the Chromebooks to be unleashed on the public. But there are a lot of qualms over the release of Chromebooks, with most criticism coming from their lack of traditional laptop-based features such as an optical drive, storage space and the ability to run comprehensive software programs like Adobe Photoshop.

News: All Raw Cheesecake

Just because my kids can't eat white flour and sugar doesn't mean they never get treats. This cheesecake is a favorite in our family and is often used as birthday cake. You can decorate it with fruit such as sliced strawberries to give it a more festive look. The recipe is taken from the book Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.

How To: Distress and crop a jean jacket

In this video, we learn how to distress and crop a jean jacket. First, grab your jean jacket and decide where you want it to be cropped at. You can determine this by putting it on and then marking it at the spot you want to cut it. Measure it a couple of inches from where you want it at, then fold the end inside and sew it closed so it's the correct length. To distress this, you can just leave the ends frayed and not sew them so they are straight. You can also cut off the arms of the jacket t...

How To Live Underwater: A Nevada Family's Bubble Fort

Would you rather live far up in the trees? Or deep underwater? A Nevada family of scuba divers have built the ultimate childhood getaway: the Needham family's "Bubble Room" is an underwater fort that sits at the bottom of a lake in the Sierras. The room is an air-filled pocket, made with vinyl and anchored down by an octagonal framework of metal pipe.

HowTo: Spike Your Popsicles

No better way to celebrate summer coming to an end than ice cold party favors. The Jewels of New York offer up two mouthwatering booze popsicle recipes, gratis, for your enjoyment:

How To: Cut mitered half-lap joints

There are many ways to attach pieces of wood. You can use screws or nails to keep them nice and secure or another option can be wood glue. But when making certain items, it's a good idea to use joints when connecting pieces of wood. In this tutorial they talk about how to make mitered half-lap joints. The best time to use these joints is when you're using one to two inch stock. Items like desks and dressers usually have half lap joints. It adds studiness to the internal structure without need...