Watch how I made the Wiggly Loaf House: from designing it on Inkscape to cutting it on Glowforge and gluing all the pieces together. You can win this house if you are hardcore enough to play the Wiggly Loaf game until you unlock at least one of the bonus characters. It’s a free download for iOS or Android phones. Check out WigglyLoaf.com and click on Contest. Good luck and enjoy the game!
Tag: makers
Make America Great Again
There are some on my facebook who seem annoyed at times with our president. Being a toy maker, I thought of a simple solution for them. Turn the crank, it hammers his head. Make your own laser cut Make America Great Again toy with the FREE JEMTOY SVG file.
Step by step build instructions are @ MakerShare
I added a few fancy beads to make cranking even easier. These crazy things are now available @ my etsy shop.
Space Invaders Necklace
My wife is a big fan of Space Invaders. Our love for science fiction, fantasy movies, and video games has made my geeky life a very happy place. Here is a nerd’s dream come true. A large 2″ wide Mother Ship with an Alien logo laser etched on front. Made from proof grade maple plywood, cut and etched in HD on a Glowforge laser cutter. Item ships fast via USPS Priority Mail. Wear this over a black tee shirt, and you’re ready for any cosplay or comic convention.
Atari Space Invaders is a pop icon that stands for the entire gaming community. Be counted among the invaded. You can get one for the geek on your holiday list at my etsy shop below. Thanks, and have a great holiday!
Twig Racer
Download Twig Racer SVG Project for Glowforge Laser Cutter
I thought I’d fool around on the laser cutter and recreate some of my childhood memories. I grew up on a farm in Maine during the 60’s. My grandpa used to whittle folk toys for me when I was a kid. The twig racer cars were one of my favorites. What I like about twig racers is how fascinating the mechanism is. All you need is a thin curved branch from the yard, a piece of string, and 1/8″ thick plywood or draft board, and access to a laser cutter that uses SVG files, like a Glowforge.
The back wheels have tread for added grip. As you roll the car backwards, the string rolls up on the back axle pulling down on the branch. When released, the branch pulls the string driving the car forwards. It’s neat. If you live in an area with plenty of sticks and trees you can easily apply the concept and make your own!
Look for a hardwood branch on the ground under a maple tree or oak. It should be about 20 inches long, and curved, like a letter ‘C’. Carefully use a knife to whittle the thick end so that it fits into the stick holder on front of the Twig Racer.
Here is a video of me prototyping the first Twig Racer design. At first I had axles made from round candy apple sticks I found at the grocer and a couple 4-40 nuts and bolts. I wanted to design a working axle system made entirely from laser cut parts since it’s not always easy to find candy apple sticks. Glad to say my final design works great, no candy apples required.
I have other SVG for Glowforge Projects at: JEMTOY.com/tag/svg
Homopolar Motor: Video Instructions
I have always been fascinated by how simple homopolar motors are. Kids are blown away by the immediate fun. But not just kids, everyone wants to check it out. Made only of a battery, a magnet, and copper wire, this simple motor can get really hot. It’s hard to play with them without forgetting and grabbing the hot wire or battery by mistake. I wondered if I could build little light weight wood structures to make them more finger safe. Getting the perfect wire shape can also be tricky, so I have to consider balance and stability, and of course see how fast I could get it to spin.
I’m really psyched about what I have cooked up in the JEMTOY studio, because these things can really spin. The design is laser cut from 1/4″ maple plywood, and is easy enough for anyone to put together. Here is a video of me assembling the JEMTOY Homopolar Motor Kit so you can see how crazy cool it is. I mean, for science, that is.
The homopolar motor kit contains everything you need except some glue and the AA batteries, which this toy will eat up in a one-hour sitting. You sorta just play with it until your battery gets hot and dies. It’s fun. To build the kit you will need some super glue or white glue to connect the wood pieces together, and a wire stripper/snipper or hobby knife to strip 1/2″ of plastic insulation off the ends of the two little wires. Be careful if you use a hobby knife, okay? Those things can be unpredictable. You might need a little screwdriver to tighten the bolt, but finger tight should work if you don’t have one. Really, this is a very easy kit to build. Check out the video, and get ’em while they’re hot at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/JEMTOY
EACH JEMTOY HOMOPOLAR MOTOR KIT CONTAINS:
7 Laser Cut Wood Pieces
1 Brass Nut and Bolt
1 Neodymium Rare Earth Magnet
2 Five Inch Insulated Wires
YOU SUPPLY GLUE AND AA BATTERIES!!!
OH NO! MORE SCIENCE! The nut and bolt in this kit are made of brass, not steel like most nuts and bolts. Steel is ferrous, which means it contains iron. Iron is magnetic, and a steel bolt would snap tight to the magnet, and then, the homopolar motor would not spin. The brass bolt is nonferrous, so it does not stick in place to the magnetized battery top. So much to think about for such a simple device, right?
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR FASTEST SPINNING KUNG-FU ACTION
- Let battery and magnet cool before touching it.
- Flip the magnet – sometimes it spins faster the other way!
- Use a fresh AA battery – remember it gets HOTTER the longer it spins!!!
- Glue the wood pieces together – white glue or super glue will work.
- Adjust wires on bottom to touch magnet loosely – not too tight.
- Don’t forget it spinning too long – battery gets hot!
- Parental guidance suggested for the wee ones – battery gets HOT I tell you.
Kids like that it’s slightly dangerous because kids like to be challenged. Every second you play with this homopolar motor kit, you will be learning, thinking, wondering, and expanding your understanding of the universe. For reals. It’s that cool. Great rainy day project to keep them busy for hours, or an amazing way to share the wonders of magnets and electricity with your students. Just keep them informed about how hot the battery gets, and let them have at it. Perfect project for science fairs, S.T.E.A.M. projects, maker faire booth. Kids have fun learning engineering, design, and the basics of how an electric motor works.
Google and Wikipedia have all the scientific explanations if you want to search the term homopolar motor. No matter how many times I read that stuff, I have to admit, it just looks like magic to me, so that’s another thing I love about it. I think the darn thing is magic!
Homopolar Motor Instructions
Art by AJ Lafave
AJ Lafave sent me a resin sculpture and print. Thank you! I’m glad the How To Make Resin Toys book could help inspire such awesomeness. This guy would be fun to mod. I have the urge to give him hair and googly eyes. I’d like to see a show where you post a bunch out to artists, then they return them modded out, and then put together into a show where they could all be seen as a whole. Thanks again AJ, and stay in touch! Jay ~
The Alien
The first wave of mini UFOs invaded our earth unmanned, controlled remotely by an invisible force from outer space. Who could it be? Men from Mars? Women from Venus? The Tralfamadorians? It soon became clear with the arrival of the second wave, little starships piloted by aliens. See their clear cut faces ominously catch the changing color light glowing inside the pod. Let’s just hope these little guys come in peace.
Choose from several versions of UFO Flying Saucers up in my etsy shop.
Pitik of Glory
I’ve been in the mood to create some new games and here is the first completed paper game, The Pitik of Glory. Players take turns trying to finger flick a penny, bottle cap, or glass blob into the hole in the goal post. Who ever can get it in from the furthest away wins. Players start at 20 inches away and if you miss you try again at 19, 18, 17 until you get in the goal. Your score is the number you got a goal from. Easy to play, hard to master.
Print the three pages of the game here: Pitik 1 ~ Pitik 2 ~ Pitik 3.
I have made a video tutorial for those of you who hate to read instructions as much as I hate writing them.
For more paper toys and games check out my book: Print! Cut! Fold! Glue! by J.E.Moores available at Amazon.
Kindle Countdown Promo
It’s spring! The weather is getting warmer, so it’s time to make toys!!! April 18 download the Kindle version of How To Make Resin Toys for only .99 cents! Each day the price slowly returns to full retail price. Act fast and get the book at the best price you can! See chart above for pricing schedule for the Kindle Countdown Promo!