I made a baseball bat that uses explosives to add a bunch of energy to your swing and hit a baseball really far. It uses the explosive blanks normally used to shoot nails into concrete (e.g. ramset). It worked way better than I expected, didn't have a kick, and turned out to be just a really neat thing to look at while sipping a frosty beverage. I also made a video about it if you're interested: https://youtu.be/Puo6Vgcbxps
Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?
361–370 of 694 posts
Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?
#362Recently, I've delved into creating and modifying electric guitars. Here are some of the enhancements and modifications I've made: - Pickups: Upgraded to Fleor's pickups, which are both excellent and budget-friendly. - Blender Knob: Replaced the traditional pickup selector switch with a blender knob. Most blender knobs aren’t designed effectively. I've found using a dual potentiometer (stereo fader) with a center det…
I have recently started modding my guitars also!
It such a fun activity, especially if you are an engineer+creative type since its involves reading circuit wiring, planning the tones and the sounds that you actually like in the guitar, buying and testing cheap(ish) parts, soldering them and finally playing the guitar with all the mods.
I recently changed the 5 way switch in my Harley Benton Fusion and now the guitar sounds so crisp and bright. All the buzzing and honkyness in the pickups disappeared. The pickups circuit with a 5Eur mod sounds as clear and bright as my EMG retroactives.
Next I want to buy a kit-guitar and learn to stain them for custom finishes. Want to try some of the beautiful bursts that ~10k$ PRS custom shop does.
Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?
#363I made a baseball bat that uses explosives to add a bunch of energy to your swing and hit a baseball really far. It uses the explosive blanks normally used to shoot nails into concrete (e.g. ramset). It worked way better than I expected, didn't have a kick, and turned out to be just a really neat thing to look at while sipping a frosty beverage. I also made a video about it if you're interested: https://youtu.be/Puo6…
Is that your favorite project so far? Too many to pick from!
Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?
#364I made a baseball bat that uses explosives to add a bunch of energy to your swing and hit a baseball really far. It uses the explosive blanks normally used to shoot nails into concrete (e.g. ramset). It worked way better than I expected, didn't have a kick, and turned out to be just a really neat thing to look at while sipping a frosty beverage. I also made a video about it if you're interested: https://youtu.be/Puo6…
Hi Shane, I'm always fangirling when I see you on HN. Much love and keep making the content I love!
Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?
#365I built a canoe out of plywood with no wood working experience. It was very difficult, and involved a lot more epoxy, sanding and clamps than I expected. But in the end I could float around Town Lake in Austin and adventure to snake island.
Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?
#366I built a small alarm clock with 2 states: night and day, to try to prevent my daughter from waking us up at 6 in the morning! Just uploaded a small write-up here https://cosmith.fr/projects/nightbox
Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?
#367Other than children, the coolest thing I have made is a medical device. It’s only Class I (requiring no pre-market approvals) but I still had to register with the FDA before selling it.
At first I was making software while selling my device on the side. The feedback from patients and practitioners was so encouraging that I couldn’t bear to keep making software despite the generous compensation.
The majority of the device is 3D-printed and the remainder is formed in 3D-printed molds. I have over a dozen printers and one full-time employee keeping them going. Hoping the business will make enough to start paying me, too!
Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?
#368This Wemos D1 mini dev board was my first PCB, I learned how to design PCBs and made this: https://github.com/fellowgeek/wemos-d1-mini-dev-board
Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?
#369You guessed it, boats. I have built a stitch and glue (plywood) sea kayak[0], an Aleutian-style skin-on-frame sea kayak[1], and a skin-on-frame canoe[2]. All were fairly approachable and straightforward projects (I built the first two with basically some hand tools, a drill and a jig saw, on my deck, but a table saw is highly recommended for skin on frame). Tons of fun and the feeling of being a couple miles offshore…
Another would be boatbuilder checking in. I started a rather ambitious project during covid to build a 21 ft sailing dory. It's my first boat but I insisted on going with traditional solid timbers and rivets and all that. I'm just about to rivet the last plank and still have the gunwales, rigging, rudder, centreboard etc. to do. It's been an amazing process though and I already can't wait to begin another build.
Re: Ask HN: What's the coolest physical thing you've made?
#370Earlier quoted context omitted.
If I was an absolute beginner (which I am) I would be definitely very wary to do by myself the electrical wiring or the gas connections... while half-assing the rest can only look bad, those can kill you and your loved ones (neighbors need not apply).
I had the gas heater checked by a professional who agreed to do the yearly maintenance. The electrical wiring you shouldn't do if you're not serious about electrical safety, and not reverent to the industry standards. I read the Dutch standards for electrical wiring, but it's actually hard to do it wrong if you have a small house and no complications like solar panels because building stores don't even sell wrong mat…
> I read the Dutch standards for electrical wiring
Aside: Do you have a handy link to those standards?
> it's actually hard to do it wrong [...] building stores don't even sell wrong materials.
It's quite easy to get it wrong, e.g. buy stranded instead of solid wire, then plug it into a wago connector.