Zinc Plating on the Cheap

Recently, I took on a project to restore a little Honda Z50R motorcycle for my son for Christmas. Ive always worked on motorcycles, and my father restores vintage dirt bikes so I was comfortable taking on the project. However, I try to learn something with each project, and this one was no different. Instead of…




2020 Pinewood Derby Ferrari F1 Car

It’s that time of year again – Pinewood Derby time!!! This is Cooper’s fourth year in scouts and was his fourth car. Each year, we’ve decided on a unique design. Looking through Google for inspiration, we came across some photos of a Pinewood Derby held at the 2006 French GP, where several of the teams…




Boneyard Buildoff Finl Product

2018 Dayton Maker Faire Boneyard Buildoff Recap

It’s the Monday after Dayton Maker Faire, and I’m reading texts from my Boneyard Buildoff teammates – “My body hates me”, “Feel like we just fought a war…”. With the heat, this year’s Faire was brutal, but at the same time, awesome. First and foremost, a huge thanks goes out to Josh and Emily Cory,…



Raspberry Pi Photo Booth

Building a Raspberry Pi Powered Photo Booth

As part of the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ product launch at work, all the business units had small internal launch events with cake, etc. I thought it would be neat to build a photo booth using a Pi and set it up as part of the event. There are many tutorials out there, for…




Pinewood Derby Trophy

3D Printed Pinewood Derby Award

It’s pinewood derby season again! This year, both the Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts are having derbies, which makes for twice the fun. At the time of this writing, Claire had already competed in her derby, and with a little luck, she finished second of 57 racers – just .01 out of first! While the…



Swim Bike Run Hero

Swim-Bike-Run Medal and Bib Number Hanger

I got to give some great gifts for Christmas in 2017, but this was my favorite. It’s a medal hanger for my dad’s 5k and mini-tri medals and bib numbers. The picture of him was taken from an event photo, laser engraved and cut (using Michael’s new Glowforge), as were the acrylic letters at the…




Electronic Symbols on Tree

3D Printed Electronic Schematic Symbol Christmas Ornaments

At our office here in Centerville, our tree was looking a little bare, so I whipped up some 3D printed ornaments. And because we’re an electronics distributor, I thought it would be fitting to make them in the shape of commonly used electronics schematic symbols. You can download an .stl here.



Cooperspeed Pinewood Derby Car at Weigh In

Pinewood Derby 2017

Cooper joined a local Cub Scout pack this year; pack 618. In the past, he would have been too young, but they started a “Lion” den just for preschoolers. This helps ease them into scouting. So far, it’s been a lot of fun. The outings and meetings have been great, and participating with older kids…




ADA Vanity Build Complete

Make an ADA Compliant Vanity for Your Bathroom

There aren’t a lot of options out there for ADA compliant vanities. Most are wall-mounted, which I didn’t want. They’re also very expensive. I wanted an ADA compliant vanity that would look have legs, but still accommodate a wheelchair under it. The best part? It’s exactly what I wanted, at a fraction of the cost….




Dayton Maker Faire Swag

Dayton Maker Faire 2016

The inaugural Dayton Maker Faire is in the books. Both Real Art and MCM Electronics put a huge effort into making the event a memorable one. There was plenty to do for folks of all ages, from learning about various different types of art, to taking part in activities like learning to solder. Both companies…