Made by Dad

DIY
1

My wife checked out a book at our public library called Made By Dad: 67 Blueprints for Making Cool Stuff

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There are some really cool projects in here! I spent the last three nights making the Slingshot Car Launcher. It’s a pretty cool toy that we worked on together. I just had such a good time building and working with my boys (ages 4 and 6).

Anyway, I thought I’d post it up here for those of you who are into the DIY mindset, like little projects, and have kids or grandkids around. Fun stuff.

There’s even a site for downloading templates for a lot of the projects. Totally worth checking out!

2

Enjoy those years. :slight_smile: My mom bought The Dangerous Book For Boys for my son when he was younger. He’s 19 now, so not much interested in that anymore.

When my oldest daughter had a project on simple machines, we built a toothpaste squeezer.

It was a block and tackle with 4 parts of line connected to a clamp on the tube.

Turn the hand crank and it squeezes the tube between a ramp and a roller.

We’ve dug clay out of a creek bank to make a mud hut.

Those projects were a lot of fun.

3

Sorry it’s taken me so long to post some pics. Here are a couple of our Matchbox car projects:

[size=150]The Car Jump[/size]

http://s391.photobucket.com/user/Shifty_Willis/media/e79083e4-edc8-4cd4-8d22-3436acb362ad_zps97d8e19b.jpg.html

[size=150]The Car Launcher[/size]


http://s391.photobucket.com/user/Shifty_Willis/media/b72b993d-edc9-4ee4-978d-c246577a9e5b_zps15a8fc2e.jpg.html

4

Saw this post and it reminded me of the HowToons series. I don’t have kids but love comics so thought for those who do have kids this might be fun. Image Comics has released a trade titled Tools of Mass Construction[/url] with 50 projects for kids, and they just released a new series called [Re]Ignition #1, #2, & [url=http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=8908&userID=819387&productID=544301635]#3
http://www.shareasale.com/m-pr.cfm?merchantID=8908&userID=819387&productID=536450418

5

Thanks a lot for sharing this. Totally liking it. :cheers:

6

that’s nice. Toys made by yourself would be of special significance.

I would like to make T shirt of my own as well. But most manufacturer would not manufacture just one piece. I know a China T shirt manufacturer who have manufactured for Manchester Union. But they just not retail.

7

[quote=“lukejade”]that’s nice. Toys made by yourself would be of special significance.

I would like to make T shirt of my own as well. But most manufacturer would not manufacture just one piece. I know a China T shirt manufacturer who have manufactured for Manchester Union. But they just not retail.[/quote]

There are some websites that you can supply your own design (or purchase from their library) and order the t-shirt. They also have many other products (hoodies, coffee mugs, tote bags, etc) where you can also apply the design and order. It’s like setting up an online store. You can even set the price (above what they charge) to make a profit. Or you can just leave it at cost if you’re just ordering for yourself.

I’ve done this using spreadshirt.com to raise money for cancer research but there are others out there.

8

[quote=“Mabus”][quote=“lukejade”]that’s nice. Toys made by yourself would be of special significance.

I would like to make T shirt of my own as well. But most manufacturer would not manufacture just one piece. I know a China T shirt manufacturer
http://www.szgoldjade.com/t-shirt/china%20t%20shirt%20manufacturer
who have manufactured for Manchester Union. But they just not retail.[/quote]

There are some websites that you can supply your own design (or purchase from their library) and order the t-shirt. They also have many other products (hoodies, coffee mugs, tote bags, etc) where you can also apply the design and order. It’s like setting up an online store. You can even set the price (above what they charge) to make a profit. Or you can just leave it at cost if you’re just ordering for yourself.

I’ve done this using spreadshirt.com to raise money for cancer research but there are others out there.[/quote]

Thank you so much for the information. I would definitely have a look at the website you mention for the T shirt. :cheers:

9

By the way, how would you suggest printing, plot printing or digital printing? I have chosen Turquoise with king’s blue printing.

10

[quote=“lukejade”][quote=“Mabus”][quote=“lukejade”]that’s nice. Toys made by yourself would be of special significance.

I would like to make T shirt of my own as well. But most manufacturer would not manufacture just one piece. I know a China T shirt manufacturer

who have manufactured for Manchester Union. But they just not retail.[/quote]

There are some websites that you can supply your own design (or purchase from their library) and order the t-shirt. They also have many other products (hoodies, coffee mugs, tote bags, etc) where you can also apply the design and order. It’s like setting up an online store. You can even set the price (above what they charge) to make a profit. Or you can just leave it at cost if you’re just ordering for yourself.

I’ve done this using spreadshirt.com to raise money for cancer research but there are others out there.[/quote]

Thank you so much for the information. I would definitely have a look at the website you mention for the T shirt. :cheers: [/quote]

I like the T-shirt style

11

Wow, I know the feeling of building something new and exciting. Thanks for the info. I love to build new things and really enjoy it with my boys. I’m definitely going to look at these sites and make some new things.