Love Super Nova Wallpaper

I thought put this together for the world. Love ya.
it's 1920 x 1200. enjoy.

Happy Valentine's Day

I LOVE YOU BABY!

iPad Stylus

The iPad2 releases tomorrow and I'll finally be swoopin it up. I intend on using it as a digital sketch pad and don't really fancy the finger painting that goes along with it. So, in anticipation, I decided to make a stylus. Inspired by a diy project I saw in Collin's Lab on Make. I designed a relatively easy way to create a stylish stylus. At first, I thought the whole bic pen deal that Collin shows was cool and worth the project. That is, until i saw the Alupen by just|mobile. After that, it had to be aluminum.

This project was on the cheap, pretty easy, and took roughly an hour. I'd say it's a relatively easy project.

Materials list :.

. Aluminum tube stock that came from a local hobby joint $? a few bucks, I don't remember

. Conductive foam. I grabbed a good sized sheet from Fry's for $5

. Cannibalized a Micron pen top. $0

Tools :.

. Hand Saw with metal cutting blade

. Square straight edge

. Files

Before I got busy I taped my straight edge for a little protection since I was going to be cutting and working on it.

Step :. 1

. Cut the Tube

I used my straight edge as a guide since I didn't have a miter box. I thought it worked really well. The aluminum is soft and the blade tracked nicely down the edge of the ruler. I held the tube in place and a few seconds later it was done.

After inspecting the cut, I noticed it was off a little, as you can see here. I was going to clean it up with the file anyway, so, not a big deal.

Step :. 2

. Square the end

Here's where the tape comes in. I wanted to use the flat side of the square to guide my file. However, the file would file the square if it were unprotected, no good! The tape is an easy trick and a perfect solution. With a minimal amount of pressure, the file glides over the square and does the work on the protruding part of the tube. When you're done, it's nice an' clean.

Step :. 3

. Cut the Foam

Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of this. We'll see what I can do about that if I make another one.

Now then, I used an exacto (or you could use a razor or scissors) to cut the foam. The foam is kind of brittle so it cut pretty easily. It was cut into a 1/4" x 2" strip (roughly the diameter of the tube). In order to not use glue, I needed a snug fit. I folded the foam in half, length wise, and compressed it to fit it in the tube. After it was started, I twisted and pushed it in the tube until the fold of the foam reached the end of the tube. The result created a nice roundish nib. In an effort to shape the nib I tried filing it and quickly realized it was a waist of time. I also realized, after using it, that it needs a finger sized tip to be recognized by the device.

Step :. 4

. The Holder clip

As I mentioned I robbed a Micron pen for the clip to finish off my stylus. I thought it was the same size and would be an easy trade. However, it was a little big so I had to bend it in on itself a little to get the compression needed to hold the stylus. I used 2 pairs of pliers for that.

Viola :.

. Your done

From here you can continue on with any finishing techniques. I, however, am calling this one finito.

...and it was made in the time it takes to have a cold one.

Initial tests went well. I'm not sure if I'm surprised or not. It takes a little getting used to tho. I've already learned a lot about the nib and how it's working. This foam is a little stiff so it requires a little pressure to flatten out and be recognized by the phone in the picture. All in all, it works well, I'm stoked, I had some fun and all for under $10. I'll be posting a video of it in action in the near future.

I hope this help and/or inspired you.

Have fun and create your world!!!
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