Tag Archives: DIY

Useless Machine Kits For Sale!

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Edited Nov. 2, 2011:  Please note that I’m no longer endorsing this kit.  Please check this page for the new, improved kit:  frivolousengineering.com/?page_id=750

Useless Machine Kits are now available at Solarbotics for an astoundingly low, low price of $24.95:

http://www.solarbotics.com/products/60005/Included in the kits is the sweet laser-cut black acrylic case.

This is a full bundle and very easy to build.  All you’ll need to supply is tape, batteries, screwdriver and any basic soldering iron and solder.  This is a perfect introduction to electronics and a great way to learn basic soldering skills!

Each bundle includes:

  • 1 x 39300 Black acrylic “Useless Box” construction set (with nut/bolt hardware)
  • 1 x SWT8 DPDT toggle switch
  • 1 x SWT9 SPDT lever switch
  • 2 x #2 mounting screws for SWT9
  • 1 x BHoldAA 2-AA battery pack
  • 1 x DSST (double sided sticky tape, for mounting the battery pack)
  • 6″ hookup wire
  • 1 x GM4 gear motor
  • 4 x “Little Rubber Feet” to protect your Useless machine from abrasive counter tops!

And you can buy just the sweet acrylic case itself.

 

Dave Hrynkiw at Solarbotics came up with a fantastic design for the case and he was kind enough to post the laser cutting template at thingiverse.com:  http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5065

I hope to be making a build video for the kit, and to have a couple kits to give away so stay tuned.

 

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Zara’s Useless Machine

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Heres YouTuber ZaraAxelrod, and the Useless Machine she built.  She even constructed the wooden box from scratch.  As she mentions in the description:

Yay, I can’t believe I actually ended up making one! The time between actually saying to myself, “I will make this,” and finishing it was damn near six months because being completely in the dark about how to build things, I found it intimidating. I kept chipping away at the project from time to time, and then finally, in the last three days, things went really fast.

This was a group effort as she also gives credit to her friends who helped in the project, lending tools, supplying parts, and advice.

Zara also plays a mean ukulele!