If Andy Can Make/Do This Stuff, So Can You!


If you're looking for the most ridiculous project I've made (or, I'm still making), look no further and click to head over to the official website of the Office Chairiot Mark II.

This project is comprised of many little sub-projects, like kits and breakout boards I will be selling on StuffAndyMakes.com. It's been over two years in the making, maybe more. I've lost count.

The plan for this beast it to release all of the code for it as Open Source, as well as the control boards and whatnot. Perhaps all the people who've expressed interest in building one will contribute improvements back to the system!


Useful

Sometimes I make stuff that's actually pretty useful. The coolidor I made from a wine fridge and an automatic cigar humidifier has been keeping my cigars in perfection condition for me for years!

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Useless

I absolutely LOVE the "Ultimate Useless Machines" out on the YouTubes and whatnot. I've built several now as gifts and there's even one on my own desk in the man cave.

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Fun

Most of the time, I make stuff that's just fun to look at or interact with. The mood lamp I made for my wife has a custom-built dodecahedron RGB LED "bulb" inside that was art by itself.

I Like to Make Stuff

Bob Clagett likes to make stuff: Music, websites, software, furniture, vintage scooters or motorcycles – you name it. It's a great maker inspiration site!

MAKE Magazine

MAKE adds amazing and inspirational projects to their blog on a constant basis. I also recommend subscribing to MAKE: Magazine.

Maker Shed

Get cool project kits and supplies for all your making at the Maker Shed shop! So many cool gadgets and kits, so little time!

Workshopshed.com

Another maker named, "Andy" who has a workshop in a shed. Lots of great articles on many cool projects he's made.

Electronics Engineering Tools

A bunch of handy little electronics design calculators and tools.


Comfy. Fast. Lots of switches and buttons.

 

The IKEA Poäng chair is definitely up there in the ranks of comfortable office chairs. Where most people see bouncy comfort in the flexible but sturdy wood structure, I see springy suspension capability.

Now add two 3/4-horsepower electric scooter motors, a battle robot motor controller, an Arduino microcontroller and some LED lighting. Oh, right! Toss in a master control panel with over 32 actual functional buttons and switches (inluding a "Weapons" quadrant), some voltage meters and a 20-WATT sound system.

Now THAT is what I call an office chair! Walking to the conference room is lame. Getting there in two seconds is bad ass.

In fact, it's so incredible, it even has its own website and Twitter handle. Check 'em out:

http://OfficeChairiot.com

@OfficeChairiot

 
On display at the Local Motors Idea booth at SEMA 2014 in Las Vegas

On display at the Local Motors Idea booth at SEMA 2014 in Las Vegas

Office Chairiot Mark II "Wunderglow" under-chassis RGB LED lighting

Office Chairiot Mark II "Wunderglow" under-chassis RGB LED lighting

A control panel worthy of an Apollo command capsule: 30+ buttons and switches and toys!

A control panel worthy of an Apollo command capsule: 30+ buttons and switches and toys!

They do it on the DIY Channel all the time. You can do it, too!

 

OK, sure, the pavers are heavy and you need to get a small pile of them home from your local home improvement store, but other than that, there isn't much to making a cool back yard liquid propane gas fire pit that burns clean and hot.

See how I did it on my blog. There isn't much you CAN'T DIY these days. This propane fire pit is no exception. We've since replaced the glass beads with lava rock to radiate heat better. Either way, it looks like a million bucks!

 
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Molds, epoxy, ribbon cable & LEDs

 

From a screenshot of the movie to a working and wearable homemade arc reactor. Read this post to find out how I did it. It also helped that my wife kinda looks like Pepper Potts, as well. Add a couple of Stark Expo badges and we're in.

 
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"Know when it's time to go!"

 

With a microcontroller, a couple of ambient light sensors and some nifty little Mac OS X software, I was able to make it easy for people to figure out the right time to wander over to the potti.

The controller at the heart of the original iPotti #1 from 2009 defunct, sadly. Good news is that I've started working on iPotti No. 2. That's hilarious for several reasons!

 
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Save a GPIO pin: Charlieplex an LED

 

Want to turn a handful of LEDs on and off, but you don't want to sacrifice digital I/O pins on your microcontroller? Charlieplexing is for you.

Because LEDs are truly diodes, they conduct current in only one direction. Put to of them parallel to each other but connected with opposing polarity and you can switch them with just two pins on your Arduino.

 
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