Where makers offer praise, brickbats, and swell ideas.

I made the Steadicam while I was up in northern Minnesota at my girlfriend’s family’s house. Her dad had a drill press and we bought all the parts at a local Minard’s hardware store. He and I put it together in an amazingly short amount of time, and it really works well with the larger cam-corders like my Panasonic DVX-100a. Following Johnny Lee’s advice on his website, we made a sled for extra support. Really good bang for the buck. And so easily transportable ... broke it down and brought it all back to New York in an already-full duffle bag. —Derek Wang

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Learn to weld, mill, cut tubing, fiberglass, use a lathe, anodize, repair a clock, construct a stirling engine, use a bandsaw, make a pen, assemble a motorcycle, use a heat treating furnace, bend sheetmetal, turn a bowl, build a boat, hit a target.

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