Check out this ">tiny laser engraver from instructables user Groover. Using easily sourced and salvaged parts including and a couple optical drives and an Arduino, Groover was able to assemble a unit that, though low power, is able to mark wood and cut paper.

A commenter on Monday’s post about Rob Ives’ free downloadable resistor color wheel computer pointed us to the Japanese-language site of Ikkei Electronics, which provides this PDF created in 2007, and apparently dated to 1976, showing this cool hand-drawn-and-lettered version of the same idea. [Thanks, ikkei!]

A commenter on Monday’s post about Rob Ives’ free downloadable resistor color wheel computer pointed us to the Japanese-language site of Ikkei Electronics, which provides this PDF created in 2007, and apparently dated to 1976, showing this cool hand-drawn-and-lettered version of the same idea. [Thanks, ikkei!]

We saw a small sample of “tapecraft” artist Matthew Buckley’s work in yesterday’s Flickr pool round-up. You can see more of Matthew’s stuff in his Flickr set. Shown here are two views and a plan of Matthew’s entry in Scotch’s Off The Roll Tape Sculpture Contest, which John Baichtal blogged about back in November. Entries are now closed, but the gallery of entrants is open for viewing, and for voting until the end of the month. Good luck, Matthew!

OK, so, it’s not really that hard to learn to read a resistor without a special tool, but ever since I saw the free downloadable nuclear bomb effects computer I have had a soft spot for these circular slide rules. And this one from Rob Ives might make a cool gift for a young maker to get him or her painlessly over the hump. [Thanks, Rob!]

OK, so, it’s not really that hard to learn to read a resistor without a special tool, but ever since I saw the free downloadable nuclear bomb effects computer I have had a soft spot for these circular slide rules. And this one from Rob Ives might make a cool gift for a young maker to get him or her painlessly over the hump. [Thanks, Rob!]

I really like this idea from Sivan Toledo. Although labor-intensive, the price is certainly right and the results are, IMHO, as good-looking as many purchased enclosures and with much more character. The mold is formed from scrap cardboard and covered with the wet paper mixture, and there are lots of finishing options. [via Hack a Day]

Check out all the cool paper-currency-gami in the Flickr Origami pool. User tend2it's 2 Dollar Demon is a personal fave. [Thanks, Tim!]