MagTacks
$7 makezine.com/go/magtacks
Ever wanted to tack something up but not
mar it with permanent holes? Mag Tacks are
the answer to your prayers. Each one is
a magnet and a tack rolled up in one compact,
nonslip package. Simply push the tack end
into your corkboard or wall, then separate the
two magnetic sides and use them to hold
your item in place. Perfect for displaying
(while preserving) photos, schematics, plans,
posters, you name it. You can even get crazy
and reverse the usage to “tack” something to
your fridge. And when you’re using only the
magnet, you can flip the tack around to store
it safely in its own cushion. I heart simple
ingenuity! —Goli Mohammadi
MoteDaemon
Free screenfashion.org
Screenfashion has released MoteDaemon, an
application that allows Adobe Flash/Flex developers to create Wiimote-controlled applications for
OS X. Imagine the potential for homebrew video
games and VJ applications.
Pairing the Wiimote to MoteDaemon is a snap.
(If you aren’t comfortable with ActionScripting
in Flash, you won’t be able to get much immediate use out of this software.) Fortunately, a little
test-drive application, WiiCockpit, is included,
and although the documentation is in German,
they were kind enough to include the .fla document with all the ActionScript for WiiCockpit.
Experienced Flash developers will quickly figure
out how to integrate MoteDaemon from a peek
at WiiCockpit’s code. —Bill Byrne
Mini Metal Lathe
$525
grizzly.com
I don’t have a lot of room or money to spend on fancy
machine tools, but I really enjoy making things out of
metal. This meant I needed a lathe. Not a wood lathe
or a pen lathe — I needed a metalworking lathe.
Lucky for me, I found an entire community centered
on 7"× 10" and 7"× 12" mini lathes. You can buy them
from many sources; mine is from Grizzly Industrial, Inc.
It’s small, but it can do quite a bit. Plus, there are many
people who are constantly upgrading or hot rodding
their machines to get the most out of them. I used
mine in the first month to repair a pulley on my ancient
garage door for which there were no replacements.
I figure I saved the cost of the lathe right there. And
I plan on using this for years to come to make all sorts
of things. —Brian Graham
Make: 177
