Baichtal J. Hack This: 24 Incredible Hackerspace Projects from the DIY Movement

Que Publishing, 2011. — 312 p. — ISBN: 0-789-74897-5.Join today’s new revolution in creativity and community: hackerspaces. Stop letting other people build everything for you: Do it yourself. Explore, grab the tools, get hands-on, get dirty…and create things you never imagined you could. Hack This is your glorious, full-color passport to the world of hackerspaces: your invitation to share knowledge, master tools, work together, build amazing stuff–and have a flat-out blast doing it.
Twin Cities Maker co-founder John Baichtal explains it all: what hackerspaces are, how they work, who runs them, what they’re building—and how you can join (or start!) one. Next, he walks you through 24 of today’s best hackerspace projects…everything from robotic grilled-cheese sandwich-makers to devices that make music with zaps of electricity. Every project’s packed with color photos, explanations, lists of resources and tools, and instructions for getting started on your own similar project so you can DIY!
just some of the projects you’ll learn about include…
Kung-fu fighting robots
Home-brewed Geiger counter
TransAtlantic balloon
Twitter-monitoring Christmas tree
Sandwich-making robot
Interactive Space Invaders mural
CNC mill that carves designs into wood, plastic and metal
Telepresence robot that runs an Internet classroom
Toy cars that are ridden by people
Bronze-melting blast furnace
Laptop-controlled robot fashioned from a wheelchair
DIY book scanner
John Baichtal is a founding member of Twin Cities Maker, a hackerspace organization that has been collaborating for almost two years. Based in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, Twin ities Maker has its own rented warehouse complete with a welding station, woodshop, classroom, and ham radio transmitter. Baichtal has written dozens of articles, including pieces for AKE, the D&D publication Kobold Quarterly, and 2600: The Hacker Quarterly. He has contributed to Wired.com’s GeekDad blog for four years and blogged at Make: Online for two, publishing more than 1,500 posts during that time. He is now writing a book about Lego.Foreword
Introduction: The Bleeding Edge of the DIY Movement
It's All About the Community
Hackerspace U
The First Wave of Hackerspaces
Hackers on a Plane
The First Hackers
Hackers and Crime
Pranks
A Love of Community
Karate Champ Game
Hackerspace Profile: The Hack Factory
The Hack Factory Space Details
The Project
Sudo Make Me a Sandwich Robot
Hackerspace Profile: NYC Resistor
Space Details
The Project
Basic Building Steps
Further Reading
Networked Geiger Counter
Hackerspace Profile: Tokyo Hackerspace
Tokyo Hackerspace Details
The Project
Further Reading
Glass Block LED Matrix
Hackerspace Profile: Hive13
Space Details
The Project
Bronze-Melting Blast Furnace
Hackerspace Profile: Quad City Co-Lab
The Project
Milkymist VJ Console
Hackerspace Profile: /tmp/lab
Space Details
The Project
Further Reading
White Star Trans-Atlantic Balloon
Hackerspace Profile: LVL1
Space Details
The Project
Further Reading
Twitter-Monitoring Christmas Tree
Hackerspace Profile: Alpha One Labs
Space Details
The Project
Live Wire Go Game
Hackerspace Profile: BrmLab (Hackerspace Prague)
Notable Equipment
Space Details
The Project
Hack Signal
Hackerspace Profile: Hack Pittsburgh
Space Details
The Project
TARDIS Photobooth
Hackerspace Profile: Pumping Station: One
Space Details
The Project
Interactive Space Invaders Mural
Hackerspace Profile: Metalab
Space Details
The Project
Further Reading
Telepresence Robot
Hackerspace Profile: XinCheJian
Space Details
The Project
Further Reading and Viewing
The Polyplasmic Arcophone
Hackerspace Profile: The Perth Artifactory
The Project
DIY CNC Router
Hackerspace Profile: Harford Hackerspace
Space Details
The Project
Building the Model
Converting the Model to Toolpaths
Further Reading
LED Matrix Gaming System
Hackerspace Profile: Forsknings-avdelningen
Space Details
The Project
Additional Resources
MAME Cabinet
Hackerspace Profile: theTransistor
Space Details
The Project
Book Scanner
Hackerspace Profile: Ace Monster Toys
Space Details
The Project
Further Reading
OpenDuino
Hackerspace Profile: syn2cat
Space Details
The Project
Further Reading
Project-a-Sketch
Hackerspace Profile: HAC:Manchester
Space Details
The Project
Power Racing Car
Hackerspace Profile: Milwaukee Makerspace
Space Details
The Project
Party Land Pinball Game
Hackerspace Profile: Garoa Hacker Clube
Space Details
The Project
Further Reading
Store Front Music
Hackerspace Profile: Collaborative Research Association of Social
Hacktivity
Notable Equipment
Space Details
The Project
Further Reading
Wheelchair Robot
Hackerspace Profile: Noisebridge
Space Details
The Project
Conway's Game of Life
Additional Resources
Do It Yourself
Spread the Word
Decide on an Organization Type
Name Your Group
Hold Meetings
Create Bylaws and Rules
Choose Leaders
Raise Money
Find a Space
Equip the Space
Make Improvements
Keep It Clean
Secure the Space
Be Safe
Resolve Conflicts
Share Everything
Recruit New Members
Teach Classes
Help the Community
Now What?
Hackerspeak