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Maker Shed Now Selling The Ultimate Useless Kit

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The Frivolous Engineering Company Inc. is proud to announce that our flagship product:  The Ultimate Useless Kit is now available at Maker Shed.  This is a huge achievement for us, something we’ve been working towards for almost a year.

Maker Shed is the brick-and-mortar & on-line store for Make Magazine, one of the best sources for Do-It-Yourself information there is:

“MAKE unites, inspires, informs, and entertains a growing community of resourceful people who undertake amazing projects in their backyards, basements, and garages. MAKE celebrates your right to tweak, hack, and bend any technology to your will.”

Because Frivolous Engineering is located in Canada, orders going to the States are usually charged additional customs and duties. So if you live in the United States you’ll save time and money by ordering from the Maker Shed!

Currently, the Shed is only stocking the black version of the kit.  If you would like the clear case version, or a Parts Only Kit, or our Fully Soldered Machine you will still have to order directly from us.

Now Available in The Maker Shed

Were Back From New York City!

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Americone Dream, Hold the Nuts

We have returned safe and sound from Maker Faire New York City and this was without a doubt, the best trip I have ever taken in my life.

I managed to check off many items on my personal bucket-list.  Here’s a quick recap and I will be posting more details over the next few days:

  • Visited New York City
  • Saw a taping of the Colbert Report
  • Visited Downtown Manhattan
  • Rode the NYC Subways, trains, buses and taxi/limos.
  • Attended Maker Faire NYC
  • Had a Frivolous table at Maker Faire and demonstrated the Ultimate Useless Machine.

 

Marshall at our table at Maker Faire NYC

We met and spoke with:  Makers, Craftspeople, Artists, Engineers, Designers, Teachers, Enthusiasts and saw more humanity than I have ever seen in my life.  And not once did we encounter any of the bad things they warn you about when visiting a big city like New York.

The only negative encounters were a price gouging taxi driver when we arrived at the airport and some aggressive central park bicycle rentals men.

I only wish we had been more prepared and had more time because there was so much we didn’t get to do.  I’m already looking forward to next year.

So a big thank you goes out to everyone who has helped us go on a trip of a lifetime:   Make Magazine/Maker Shed including but not limited to Michael Castor, Mark Frauenfelder, Dale Dougherty, and Amy who got us the tickets to see Stephen Colbert  and The Colbert Report!

And an even bigger thank you goes out to our customers who ultimately funded this incredible adventure, the  Individual Makers who we’ve met online and now in person, and especially all of the fantastic people that visited us at our table at Maker Faire.

Frivolous is Going To Maker Faire New York

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Maker Faire New York

The Frivolous Engineering Company Inc. is proud to announce that we will be an exhibitor at World Maker Faire in New York City, this September 29th & 30th.

We want to thank the kind folks at Maker Faire for not only accepting our last-minute application but getting us in The Maker Shed!

The Ultimate Useless Machine Kits will be sold at the Faire, and we may be demonstrating how we laser-cut the cases (& other parts) as well as showing how easy it is to solder the electronics.

So if you are in or near New York city we hope that you will attend the Faire and stop in at the Shed to say hello.

Laser Cut Living Hinges

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Living Hinge

Back in October, Make Magazine ran an article about laser-cutting hinges in wood.  This caught my attention as I intend to sell a wooden version of the Useless Machine and this would make it even better.

Apparently I wasn’t the only one who had this idea:

MSRaynsford's Living Hinge Useless Machine

MSRaynsford came up with the unique design as shown on the left .  And just like a previous post, he scratch built the electronics, modding a RC servo for a gear motor and wiring everything to the toggle switch.

Now I know that A LOT of folks want to buy a wooden version of the machine, and this is in the works.  Now I’m wondering if it should have a living hinge.

What do you folks think?  Would you like the wooden version of the Useless Machine to be just like the original, or would you like to see it have ‘Living Hinges’?  You can post your views in the comment section below.

To see the YouTube video of the Living Hinge Useless Machine click the link below…

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Make’s Most Popular Projects: 2010

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Make Magazine came out with a list of the top ten projects of 2010 and The Useless Machine was number 3.

Coming in at number 2 was Install a Penny Countertop by Shane Selman, and the top project was Light Switch Time Capsule by Sean Michael Ragan.

What I find interesting about the list is that only 3 projects are for “practical” purposes, the rest are for amusement or edification.  I guess it’s true:  man cannot live on bread alone…