Make a Hanging Camera Mount to Capture Paranormal Activity!

I hope there is lots of activity going on in your shop this weekend.  Strange things have been happening in my shop, so I made two of these Hanging Camera Mounts to see what I could capture on video.  You won't believe what happened!

This was a really easy project and you probably already have the wood and hardware you need to make it.  Happy Halloween!

Repair a Stuck Fan!

A couple of days ago, my Lasko Cyclone Fan stopped working.  When I turned it on, it would make a humming noise but it would spin very slowly or not at all.  I was about to buy a new one when I saw Matthias Wandel's video showing how to fix this exact problem.  If your fan is stuck, watch these videos to see how to fix it.

Watch Matthias Wandel fix his siezed up fan:

John Heisz also had the same problem:

Before you throw away something, open it up to see if you can fix it.  What have you got to lose?  Just make sure you unplug it first!

Thanks to Matthias and John for showing me how to fix my fan!

Make an Airplane Hand Plane for Makers Care!

I made an Airplane Hand Plane for the MakersCare.org fundraising effort that Steve Ramsey of Woodworking for Mere Mortals has founded.  Watch my video of this project, then visit MakersCare.org to see how you can help make a difference in a child's life too!

This Airplane Hand Plane is made from mahogany and curly maple.  It actually makes shavings!

I borrowed the blade from an old cheap hand plane.  It would probably work better with a nicer blade.  I also made a fake wooden blade for display purposes, so that kids of all ages can safely check it out.

If you would like to make an Airplane Hand Plane too, Click Here to Download My Template and follow the instructions in the video.  It's pretty simple...just cut out all of the pieces, sand them, then glue it together.  Just wing it!

Cool Stuff at Maker Faire Atlanta 2015!

Rainy weather wasn't enough to stop me and my daughter from checking out Maker Faire Atlanta this year!  This was our first time attending a Maker Faire and we weren't sure what to expect.  It was lots of fun and we got to play with some cool stuff.  We were greeted by this huge inflatable MAKE: robot.

There was a small parking lot full of crazy bicycles.  This couch-cycle looked much more comfortable than the bicycle seats I remember having on my bikes.

This marble run was made from cardboard tubing.  This looks like a great use for all of those paper towel and toilet paper cores that you're not sure what to do with but yell through them.

The Google booth was showing off their Google Cardboard Virtual Reality goggle thingies.  We checked out a Jurassic Park style one with dinosaurs and an Amusement Park one with roller coasters.  Basically, you can pan around a virtual 360 world and look around.  Pretty cool stuff.

Georgia Tech students were showing off their Solar Powered Racer.  They said this one maxes out at 55 mph, but the best cruising speed is about 25-35 mph.

I finally got to meet the Geekspace Gwinnett folks at their booth.  They meet regularly within a few miles of my house, so I'm going to have to go check out their maker space.  I understand that their X-Carve CNC Machine is larger than the 1000mm version that I have.  Wow!  Evelyn enjoyed shooting their adjustable catapults that help kids learn about physics.

Carmichaels are suckers for musical instruments.  We had to have a turn at the thumb drums in the Geekspace Gwinnett booth.  They were very cool and sounded great.  I've added this to my project To Do list.

This giant robot was on display at the Geekspace Gwinnett booth as well.  I wonder what goes into making a big robot like this.  It looks really cool and heavy, but I see shoes there, so you must be able to wear it.  Rad!

It was good to see some woodworking going on.  Rockler had a nice booth with live woodturning.  Check out the smile on that kid's face.  Love it!

There was a giant Wolf puppet in one booth.  This is just the head.  It's legs were next to it.  Pretty cool and creepy at the same time.  I didn't catch what the booth was though.

For the second weekend in a row, I got to chat with Bob Clagett of I Like to Make Stuff at his booth.  It was cool to see some of the projects that he made in his videos, plus I got to meet his wife Ginny.  They are really nice folks from just a few hours down the road in Savannah.

We ended up bringing home some Google safety goggles and pencils, plus I got some ILTMS gear.  Thanks for the ILTMS Pencils and X-Carve Knob Bob!

My Top 10 Woodworking In America 2015 Moments!

I had a great time at Woodworking In America this year!  Watch this video to find out what my "Top 10 WIA 2015 Moments" were.  I've always wanted to throw Top 10 cards like David Letterman with the sound of windows smashing, so this was the perfect chance.

The Video Woodworkers booth was a big hit!  It was really busy with people crowding into the aisle for the whole show.  Both days were incredible.  Thanks to everyone who stopped by.  I enjoyed meeting y'all and I'm looking forward to the next Video Woodworkers booth event.  The booth could show up at next year's Woodworking In America and also other woodworking events, so visit VideoWoodworkers.com to subscribe for email notifications and updates.