Awesome Diy

The G-Boy is a handheld gaming system that can play classic Wii and GameCube games with actual Nintendo hardware. Shank Mods shows off the kit that lets you build your own portable using the actual circuit board from a Wii. GMan’s slick, professional-looking system simply trounces those that run emulators.

We’ve featured lots of DIY building videos over the years, but we’re pretty sure this is the first time that the entire process was documented in animation. Woodworker Willie’s birdhouse building instructions aren’t exactly precise, but Slouch Show’s animated short is endearing, and has an amusing punchline.

Carpenter Chris Salomone finds working with laminated bent wood to be one of his more intimidating pursuits, but from the looks of these shelves for his kicks, we think he’s mastered the technique. He first routed and assembled a bending template, then layered, glued, and clamped in sheets of wood veneer until they set into shape.

Cloud’s Buster Sword from Final Fantasy VII is one of the coolest weapons in gaming history. While a real world version would be too heavy to effectively wield, one made from cardboard is totally manageable. Watch as Crafty Transformer turns a bunch of corrugated paper into a lightweight replica of the iconic combat tool.

Make It shows off a very impressive DIY build project – a substantial desk made from reclaimed pallet wood. It features a hidden compartment in its top for storing his laptop, keeping it out of sight when not in use. There’s also a space for hiding a power strip.

Maker The Q adds to his collection of homebrew toy weapons with a toy that rapid-fires pellets using compressed air stored in a backpack made from an array of plastic soda bottles. We’re wondering how much further you could scale this up with more bottles.

Thanks to hoarding and panic buying, it’s become much harder than normal to find toilet paper these days. Household Hacker thinks the solution is to split your 2-ply rolls down the middle, giving you two single-ply rolls instead. We’re not sure you’ll actually use less, but it might be a short-term solution if you’re desperate.

DIY Machines shows off a really creative design for a wall shelving unit. Not only does it provide 12 illuminated cubbies for items like small plants or collectibles, but its light-up edges double as a colorful digital clock. To build one for yourself, you’ll need a 3D printer, plus the items listed on the project’s YouTube page.

Want a cool replica of the moon for your desk? Check out this clip from How to, who shows us how you can use a plastic sphere, candle wax, sandpaper, and paint to cast and sculpt a nifty, textured lunar model. We suppose if you stuck a wick in it, you could make a moon candle.

For his latest Scrapwood Challenge, Pask Makes decided to see if he could build an electric fan from wood. But this isn’t just any fan, it’s got a ring-style design like Dyson’s innovative bladeless “Air Multiplier” fans. It could use a more powerful fan blade inside, but it looks really awesome.

HomeMadeModern wanted to find a cool use for glass blocks, so he set about making an outdoor LED-lit glass deck. It’s definitely not a project for everyone – it takes a lot of expertise and work – and not everyone has a freakin’ mountain, but the setup is pretty sweet.

Scrap wood City wanted to make a sword out of wood. But rather than just build a weapon, he created a funky musical instrument instead. The three-stringed electric lap guitar features brass and copper hardware, and can be played with a slide like a steel guitar.

Woodworker Adam Zawalich crafted a truly unique electric guitar using concrete and anchoring cement. He started with a burled walnut body which he used to create a silicone mold, and then cast the concrete for the heavyweight guitar. He got a two-for-one deal by using the wood to make a second guitar.

Usually, you want the deck of a skateboard to be made from wood, fiberglass, or maybe a durable composite. But maker James Bruton wanted to see if he could build one using cardboard. His design takes advantage of the structural rigidity of poster tubes, stacked and glued together to help distribute weight.

There are places where you can get some really nice, professional business cards these days, but if you really want to stand out from the crowd, you need to do something extra special. 3D designer Stian Ervik Wahlvag (aka agepbiz) did just that, and made himself some custom cards that look like packaged toys.

I Like to Make Stuff shares this home renovation project that he worked on with a friend. They turned one long room into two rooms, with the second one hidden behind a wardrobe. It even has a secret switch and a smart lock.

There are professional card throwers out there who can land a playing card on its edge every time. But if you don’t possess those skills, you could always build a mechanical solution, like The Practical Engineer did. His motorized launcher can fire playing cards at speeds nearing 200km/h (or about 124 mph).

Bitluni’s Lab follows up his sweet LED video wall with a much bigger and more spectacular version. This time, the light grid is made up of 1200 RGB LEDs, set into a punched sheet of aluminum, each capped with a ping pong ball to diffuse the light. This one can also stream live video.

Inspired in part by a scene in The Dark Knight, maker Coltography decided he wanted a fully-illuminated drop-tile ceiling. While he could have gone with old school fluorescent tubes, he built his system using lots of LED light strips. Those touch-based wall controls he made are really slick.

Kris Temmerman wanted to learn how to TIG weld. He ended up doing way more than that. Watch him create a small motorized six-wheeled vehicle that resembles the Mars rover (with a seat). It has an aluminum body, six-wheel drive, and four-wheel steering.

Most furniture is made primarily from wood or metal, but HomeMadeModern’s funky, angular chair is crafted from steel-reinforced concrete. He made the chair’s mold using strips of melamine, hot-glued, and sealed with silicone caulk. By filling the inner core with foam insulation, he was able to dramatically reduce its weight.

It might not be strong enough to stop an actual bear, but this pointy-toothed trap made from cardboard, a ruler, skewers, and rubber bands can definitely bust some balloons. Mr. Hot Glue’s Family walks us through the build of his silly contraption with an equally silly video clip.

Modustrial Maker shows us how to build a sweet looking ceiling pendant lamp that looks like it came from an expensive modern lighting store. The trickiest part was getting the wood pliable enough to bend in two directions without cracking, but the finished piece looks like it was worth the effort.