DIY Life

A few months back, the control knob on my clothes dryer broke. Since it involved only a minor DIY repair job, I thought this a fab opportunity to try shopping for spare parts online. Result? A 10 out of 10 experience. I used PartSelect and was really happy. Other likely-looking choices include PartStore and big box store sites like SearsPartsDirect, to name just two of the many sites out there.

I was thrilled with how easy it was to locate such a tiny and obscure plastic doo-dad via the Web. Thrilled because ordering it online was possible in the first place. Also thrilled because such sites make simple appliance repairs easier for the beginner DIY'er. Interested? After the break, I'll share what you should know before cracking out that credit card:

The Speed Factor. Buying spare parts online saves you lots of valuable time. In the olden days, you would have to flip through the phone book to find likely parts suppliers. Then you would have to make some phone calls. Next, you would waste at least an hour driving to and from the supplier.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Louisville Ladder Inc. have announced a voluntary recall of about 25,000 Louisville/Davidson and Michigan brand fiberglass extension ladders. The extension or "fly" section of the ladders can fail to lock, posing a fall hazard to consumers. No incidents or injuries have been reported.

Manufactured in Mexico, the recalled ladders were sold at home centers and industrial supply stores nationwide from September 2007 through December 2007 for between $130 and $760. This recall only involves models that were manufactured from September 2007 through October 2007. Please see the CPSC press release for complete details and model numbers involved in the recall.

Stop using the ladder immediately and contact Louisville Ladder at (800) 660-4356 for instructions on inspecting the ladder or information on how to get a free repair kit. You may also visit the firm's website at www.louisvilleladder.com.

I wrote about gingerbread houses a few times last month, what with them being seasonally-appropriate and all, but one thing I noticed is that people who love building with food will do it whenever they want, not just in the last month or two of the year. There was a Valentine house, several houses that people mentioned waiting until January to build, and a few houses that, for one reason or another, didn't look "wintry" at all.

I think I have just found the ne plus ultra of cookie-and-candy building. Behold, friends, the Battle of Pelennor Fields from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Return of the King, done almost entirely in candy. This isn't technically a "gingerbread house": the base is made of cardboard and covered with icing. The only cookies involved seem to be the wafers used as the stones in the walls of Minas Tirith.

I must admit, I am terribly intimidated by all the different sewing machines on the market today. I am just not sure which one to choose. I want to get a new sewing machine so that I can expand my limited sewing capabilities. I'd really like to learn how to make intricate stitches.

Imagine my excitement when I found a tutorial at A Dress A Day: How to choose a sewing machine. My surprise came when Erin said I should not purchase from mass merchandisers, such as Walmart. Too bad, as I was eyeing up the one my local Pamida has on sale.

While it is ultimately up to you to choose the right model sewing machine that fits in your budget and has the features that you need, Erin indicates that the choice should not be too intimidating. Why not call your local sewing supplier and see if they have a used sewing machine that they can teach you how to use? For all the novices out there like me, who can sew enough to get by, your local sewing retailer should offer classes and help you through your purchase, and in no time, you'll be sewing like a pro.

Everyone knows that the best way to win a costume contest at Halloween is to make your own gear -- and be good at it. The costume that's custom tailored for you, and detailed by you, is going to be so much more impressive than something that you can buy off the rack for fifty bucks. Careful selection of appropriate accessories, whether you made them or not, is one way to take your look the extra mile.

Instructables user Honus has gone more like the extra marathon, with his article detailing How to make a Green Lantern ring -- including a glowing version. You'll learn to make several different styles of the Green Lantern's ring, by creating a "wax pattern" (an exact model of the item you want to make, only in wax), a rubber mold, and finally, a resin ring, with optional instructions for including an LED so the ring can glow.

It's a revision of an article that was initially about silver-casting, and those instructions are included, as well. (The author explains that he rewrote the article because most people don't have access to silver-casting equipment, whereas it's pretty easy to cast resin at home. I'd like to see a version of this article written for metal clay, which is somewhere in between in terms of difficulty: it shrinks when it's fired.) Overall, not only will you learn to make an extremely cool ring, you'll also learn a lot about the basics of jewelry design... and maybe come one giant leap closer to the costume contest prize.

Stop the presses! This just in! Breaking news! Lego has released their largest ever building set and Star Wars fans are drooling themselves to death. The Ultimate Collector's Millennium Falcon kit boasts over five thousand pieces and is large enough, at nearly three feet long, to hold action figures in it's flip top cockpit. The kit comes complete with five action figures including Han Solo, Chewbacca, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa. Also included is an official certificate of authenticity.

The kits from the original production run (undeclared quantity) will each be released with their own certificate of authenticity sealed in the protective box. The Lego site indicates that certificate numbers will be randomly released in the interest of fairness. The model features many moving parts, comes with a display card detailing ship specifications and stands without a base on it's own landing gear.

Oh yeah, the kit will set you back $500. No one ever said being a Star Wars fan would come cheap.

Here are some other great Lego ideas we've blogged about!

Most DIY projects have some greater purpose; helping you do things by your own devices, faster, cheaper, and more creatively. This isn't going to fill any of those, but it is very cool and it will give you a 30 second thrill. The original rocket powered matchbox car inventor, kipkay, calculates that it travels 1800 scale miles per hour. You're sure to have a blast, but be careful.

Materials

1. A10-PT model rockets
2. 32 gage wire
3. Coffee stirrer
4. Glue
5. Sharp knife
6. String - 100 ft
7. Race controller

Did you know that today is International Talk Like A Pirate Day? Every year, I take this opportunity to call my dog a "scurvy bilge rat" while she barks for her breakfast, to say ARRRRRRRR! a lot, and, of course, to watch Certain Films Starring Johnny Depp.

Last year, I was hit with the inspiration to do a massive post on my personal craft blog, full of every pirate-related craft I could possibly find on the Internet. The focus was knitting, but I also looked at kids' crafts, model ships, beading, embroidery... you name it, and if it was out there, I tried to find it.

What I came up with was Craft Like A Pirate: more pirate craft links than you can shake a parrot at.* Many of these crafts are admittedly those with skull motifs, but there are also treasure chests, booty, striped items, and so on. A few that are close to my heart are the We Call Them Pirates hat, The Pirate Queen's Booty Bag, Jack Sparrow's Favorite Socks, and Yorick, a scarf with skull shapes on both ends.

Since then, I've turned up much more. Sail on through to the rest of the article to see what treasure awaits!

*Please don't shake parrots. It's a mean thing to do to the parrot, and besides, they will bite you.

Based on a tip from our friends over at Autoblog, I dove back into the nether regions of the Internet to investigate a kit building site called paperinside.com. Yes, the paperinside folks are providing instructions for building cars out of paper. They are model cars and they look just great in the pictures on the website but I find it hard to believe that anyone has the time required to successfully carry out one of these projects.

Not only does the site provide instructions for the building of model cars, you can get your modeling habit into the farthest reaches of the galaxy also. Take for instance this model of an Akyazi Defense Cruiser. It's a 1/1000 scale representation of an intergalactic warship that would make any Klingon craft person proud. The indication is that the model build is easy to complete. I suppose it might be, for people who are accustomed to tweaking phasers and building proton torpedoes.

More in line with my time frame and abilities might be the group of characters which are based upon our favorite Star Wars movie series. This representation of Yoda is particularly fine. I still can't reconcile myself to spending the time it would take to create these little cellulose based creatures but I must admit it does look like it would be fun to try making one. I bet I could whip up a quick Jabba the Hut by throwing some newspaper in the blender and then paint some eyeballs on the resulting pile of pulp.

Perhaps I'll just try to make this model of Kenny from South Park. The model looks to be just about my speed and I don't think the project would take up too much room on my desk. Besides, being that I'm really not a fan of the inane humor upon which South Park exists, the completed model would provide me with one additional artistic outlet. Believe me when I tell you that I'd take particular satisfaction in stepping on the entire lot of them. Model making can be sooo much fun!

"Well, I met him in a swamp down in Dagobah / Where it bubbles all the time like a giant carbonated soda.... Yoda!" - Weird Al

Over at the Star Wars Blog, there's a link to these instructions for a train-set-like diorama perfect for displaying your Star Wars figures. This was made by a seven-year-old, with his uncle's help, from common hobby-shop items. It's mostly easy papier mache and paint, with some details.

If you aren't into this version of Dagobah, starwars.com also offers a "Dagobah Terrarium" project.

Build an environment you can! Tiny green sage not included.

[via CRAFT.]

Got the notion to build a miniature Enterprise? How about a tiny version of the Protector from 'GalaxyQuest'? I stumbled upon this list of sci-fi models you can print and build. Note that some of these are incredibly difficult, and might not be suitable for small children or short-tempered adults. Here are a few of the coolest:

• B-9 from 'Lost in Space'
• Nautilus and squid from '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'
• a bunch of Star Trek ships
• a bunch of Star Wars ships and vehicles
• totally sweet replica of the ST:TOS Enterprise bridge
• the flying sub from 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'