Woodworking projects, laser cutting guides, product deep-dives, and maker tool reviews from the shop in Massachusetts.
RSS FeedFilter cartridges cost $250 and clog. Here's why I cut a 4-inch hole through the side of my house instead, how the exhaust is built, and what to check before you run a laser in a basement.
Take a flat blank panel and turn it into something that looks like it came off a spacecraft. A start-to-finish kitbash: layout logic, gluing order, paint sequence, and the mistakes that read as 'craft project'.
A realistic four-week plan for building Halloween props that actually get finished — what to build, what to buy, how to make cheap materials read as metal, and the audio trick that does most of the work.
Acrylic cuts cleaner than wood, edge-polishes itself, and glows when you light it. Here's how to pick the right sheet, what settings logic actually matters, and the projects worth making.
A wood switch plate sits right where every hand in the house touches the wall. Here's how to clean one safely — what to use, what ruins the finish, and how to bring back a plate that's gone dull.
The freezer switch, the sump pump switch, the one nobody labeled — a toggle switch guard physically blocks the lever so it can't be flipped. Three designs compared, plus how to lock a switch ON or OFF.
Both lengths are 6-32 thread and both fit switches and outlets — the choice comes down to plate thickness and how deep the box sits. Here's the rule, the exceptions, and why erring long is the safer default.
A free live star map showing the stars, planets, satellites and meteor showers visible from your exact location right now — with a red night-vision mode for actually using outside.
Twenty releases in six months across five personas — the nine-volume Silent Machines drone series, COSMIC SOUP, PORTABLE SOUND DEVICE, Space Jaaz, a Christmas single, and the cinematic noir debut of JWM.
Chameleon is a free Windows system-tray utility that automatically switches your Wi-Fi network the moment an external monitor or dock attaches — and switches back when you undock. Set it once and forget it.
Nitpicker is a free Windows tray app that syncs brightness and contrast across every monitor from one slider — with per-monitor offsets and optional automatic day/night dimming. (And yes, a nit is a real unit of screen brightness.)
Older homes and older switches don't always match today's standard screw spacing. Here's the simple top-edge-to-top-edge method to measure your existing plate's screw holes so a custom cover lines up perfectly.
BoxWright turns your box's inside dimensions into a print-ready laser-cut SVG in seconds — pick material thickness and closure style, no CAD software or account required. Works with Glowforge, xTool, OMTech, and LightBurn.
Oil-based poly needs 24–48 hours before foot traffic; water-based can take sock traffic in 3–6 hours. The full walk-on timeline, why stairs need extra caution, and how to sand between coats.
A Windows system tray app that keeps Bluetooth speakers connected, auto-sets the default audio device, plays silent keep-alive tones, and falls back to wired output on disconnect.
ClaudeTray is a Windows system tray app that monitors Claude Code usage and shows rate limit status like a battery meter — always visible, color-coded, with a full web dashboard for usage history.
BluFang is a PowerShell script that lists all paired Bluetooth devices, lets you rename any of them, and shows connection details Windows hides: signal strength, battery, BT version, manufacturer, and device class.
Prime Day 2026 is live June 23-26. Curated deal lists for makers and creators — tools, tech, home, beauty. Browse deals through MakerManifest with automatic affiliate tagging.
PlainText for Claude is a Windows system-tray utility that squishes multi-line, indented text from Claude or any AI assistant into a single clean paste-ready line — perfect for fixing broken URLs from terminal output.
Custom stickers, labels, and exclusive brand designs from VARØ Industries — now available on Sticker Mule, with more designs dropping regularly.
Emergency signals, water purification, heat & cold illness, Morse code, poisonous plants — five outdoor reference stickers that live on your Nalgene so critical info is always in your pack.
Pilot hole sizes, fraction/decimal/mm conversions, wood glue types — three shop reference stickers that stick where you work so you stop reaching for your phone mid-project.
FairKeep is a web app for craft fair and market vendors — track events, log income and expenses, manage applications, and get weather forecasts. Annual plans from $25/year.
How to calculate your break-even point for a craft fair booth — and how to use it to decide which markets are actually worth doing. Free calculator at break-even.cc.
FairTracker is a free directory of craft fairs, farmers markets, and vendor events in New England and beyond. Filter by state and event type, then track applications directly in FairKeep.
EtsyMan is a web dashboard for Etsy sellers — sync listings, track orders, bulk-edit products, and manage your shop more efficiently than Etsy's own interface.
A free reverse sales tax calculator for craft fair vendors — enter the total amount charged and your state rate, get back the pre-tax price and exact tax collected.
Free sales tax owed calculator for craft fair and market vendors. Enter your state, total sales, and get the exact tax amount owed for your quarterly filing.
MarginD is a free pricing and margin calculator for handmade product sellers. Enter your costs and target margin, get the right retail price instantly.
Free cash change calculator for market vendors — enter the sale total and cash tendered, get exact change instantly. Works offline, no app required.
Free credit card processing fee calculator for craft fair vendors. Enter your sale amount and processor — Square, Stripe, PayPal — and see your true net after fees.
Free craft fair booth packing list tool — build and save your checklist so you never forget a display fixture, payment terminal, or supply again.
Free inventory counting tool for craft fair and market vendors — tap to count items, export totals, and track what sold at the end of each event.
Free printable price tag generator for handmade sellers — customize name, price, and description, then print on standard label sheets for a polished booth presentation.
Free QR code generator for craft fair vendors — create QR codes for your Etsy shop, payment links, Instagram, or website. Download as PNG for print, no account required.
VendorTools.app is a free suite of calculators and tools for craft fair and market vendors — tax, pricing, change, card fees, packing lists, inventory, price tags, QR codes, and more.
Soft white, warm white, daylight, cool white — what those labels actually mean, what Kelvin to use in every room, and the free interactive tool that shows you exactly what each temperature looks like.
Enter any US phone number, area code, or NPA-NXX prefix and get carrier name, line type, rate center, LATA, OCN, and full area code history. Free, no signup, powered by NANPA public data.
KnotDo is a full-featured task management app with every view you actually need. Five views, team collaboration, offline support, REST API, and data import/export. Currently in private beta.
Real-time collaborative documents with built-in team chat, task tracking, and version history. A modern alternative to Salesforce Quip — without the enterprise price tag.
Free desktop app for Windows and Mac. Back up your YouTube channel videos, metadata, playlists, thumbnails, and comments every day. Your data stays local — no cloud, no subscription.
Over 190 five-star reviews. 549 people have favorited this listing. Here's what buyers love about laser-cut wood switch and outlet covers — and why they keep coming back.
Walnut, cherry, white oak, sapele, cedar, bamboo, and 8 more. A practical guide to every wood species available for laser-cut switch plates — grain, color, and which rooms they work best in.
Those little metal boxes that hung on your car window were their own fascinating piece of American tech history. Here's where they came from.
You don't need a $300 prop to look good at a convention. Here are the best bang-for-buck sci-fi props — including a few I make myself.
I've used Kutzall wheels on walnut, soft maple, and a few other species. Here's an honest take on what they're good for and where they fall short.
The pattern is available in the Etsy shop. Here's how I designed it, what leather to use, and what to watch out for when you cut it.
Three albums of purpose-built dark ambient soundscapes for home haunts, professional haunted attractions, and anyone who needs a genuinely unsettling sonic environment.
Over 50 albums of ambient, experimental, and drone music from musical nature — layered textures, field recordings, and minimalist compositions spanning more than two decades.
Hypnotic atmospheres with glitchy textures, pulsing synths, and dark ambient synthwave aesthetics. The Torchwood Archive catalog.
Rustic Americana instrumentation meets modern lofi beat production. Country, bluegrass, and backwoods fusion from the PFRD collective.
Kit.co permanently closed on May 11, 2026. If you used it to share gear lists, affiliate links, or product recommendations with your audience, here's what to do next.
New doormats, updated switch plate configurations, and a few things I've been testing. Here's what's new in the shop this spring.
MakerManifest is a free tool for makers and YouTubers — gear lists with affiliate tags baked in, short links, click tracking. Here's how it actually works.
Setting up affiliate tags once and having them apply automatically across hundreds of product links is the right way to do this. Here's my setup.
EnvForge is a Windows GUI tool for managing User and System environment variables side by side — with drill-down support for multi-value variables like Path.
KillSwitch is a Windows system tray tool that instantly kills messaging, video conferencing, screen-sharing, VPN, and social apps with a single double-click. Panic button for your taskbar.
I needed a better way to share my tool lists and earn from YouTube recommendations. So I built it. MakerManifest handles gear lists, affiliate links, short links, and click tracking — all free.
PlainText is a Windows system-tray app that monitors the clipboard for rich text (HTML/RTF) and strips the formatting before you paste. Supports OCR extraction from clipboard images.
Over the years I've released a bunch of free laser cutting files — lightsaber mounts, butter knives, bandsaw templates. Here's where to find them all.
SpoolMedic is a lightweight Windows system tray utility that resets the Print Spooler service and clears stuck print jobs on demand — everything your printer needs in a single click, no reboot required.
A vinyl window sticker that looks exactly like an alarm company decal — except it reads 'Gun & Shovel Armed System.' Weatherproof outdoor vinyl, 3×3 inches.
Greeblies are the small detail bits that make sci-fi props look real. Here's what they are, how prop makers use them, and where to get a pack.
The Kutzall wheels changed how I think about shaping wood. Here's everything from the build — the tools, the process, what went wrong, and what the final piece looks like.
Inspired by the sleek hand terminals seen in science fiction — those personal communicator tablets every character seems to carry in the belt. Here's how I make mine from laser-cut acrylic.
Asanoha, Seigaiha, Kikko, Shippo, Hanabishi — Japanese geometric patterns have centuries of history. Here's what they mean and which one belongs on your front step.
We've added dozens of coir doormats to the Etsy shop — from antisocial humor mats to Japanese pattern designs. Here's a tour of what's available.
Switch plates, clocks, doormats, laser cut files, leather goods, props, magnets, and more. A full tour of the shop with links to everything.
Between the sawdust and the laser fumes, there's a music label. Primary Field Recording Device spans ambient, lofi beats, dark synthwave, and rustic Americana across four distinct personas.
Both cut shapes from flat material. They're completely different tools for completely different jobs. Here's how to know which one you actually need.
I made two serving tray designs that ended up selling well. Here's what I learned about designing for both aesthetics and a CNC router — and where to get the files.
SVG, DXF, AI, PDF — laser cutting files come in a lot of formats and it's not always obvious which one you need. Here's a plain-English breakdown.
The companion post to my most-watched video. Every tip, expanded — with notes on which ones I still use every week and which tools they come from.
Things I wish someone had told me when I started laser engraving. Settings, materials, common mistakes, and why your first 50 test pieces are an investment.
The Plus, the Pro, the Aura, the Spark — Glowforge has four machines at very different price points. Here's an honest breakdown of which one makes sense for what.
Walnut in the kitchen, cedar in the bedroom? Here's how to match wood species to room style — and what to avoid.
NASA launched a record into interstellar space in 1977. Here's what they put on it — and why it makes such a compelling clock face.
The Voyager Golden Record is one of the most fascinating objects humans have ever made. Here's why I turned it into a clock, and what makes it work.
Installing a laser-cut wood switch plate takes about 60 seconds. Here's exactly how to do it — and what to watch out for on older boxes.
Walnut vs maple vs oak vs cedar — every wood species I offer for laser-cut switch plates, what they look like, and which rooms they work best in.
Found two original drive-in speakers at a tag sale for $5 each. Here's how I modded one with a Bluetooth amp and got it running outdoors.
The iconic cast iron covers that dot New Orleans streets make for one of the most distinctive clocks in my shop. Here's the story behind it.
Edwin Ford designed it for the city in 1921. It's been stolen, reproduced, trademarked, and fought over ever since. Here's the full story.
I've made hundreds of these. Here's what makes laser-cut wood switch plates so popular — and why they might be the easiest home upgrade you're not thinking about.