Articles : Crafting Creativity: Making Creative Gizmos for Fun

Crafting Creativity: Making Creative Gizmos for Fun

Inexpensive and Rewarding Projects

By Alan Detwiler

Making simple, homemade devices is fun for any young person who likes to tinker and build. The build-it-yourself enthusiast will get a great sense of accomplishment from creating self-designed items.

Someone looking for a hobby or anyone interested in hands-on building and creating can use common materials and items from around the house. You may need to purchase some inexpensive items such as glue or a small styrofoam ball. Many simple devices can be made with tools that most people already have such as scissors, hammer and pliers. Simple devices can be built in between 15 minutes and 1 hour. Particularly involved projects may take many hours to complete.

Some projects could be useful items, artistic, or clever devices and gadgets. A variety of projects can be made: toys and playthings, curiosities and novelties, useful and practical items. Some projects require well written instructions to adequately explain how to complete them.

There are books written particularly for the adolescent or young adult who enjoys making interesting mechanical devices and gadgets. Some books are written to make constructing the described items easy. Projects are described using clear wording. Diagrams are included to assist in ease of understanding.

Choose a book that has these features. Most casual do-it-yourselfers will have the needed items around the house and/or garage. Only low cost and no cost materials are needed. Most items are made from small pieces of wooden boards, coat hanger wire, paper, used containers, and discarded household items or low cost items found in hardware stores. There are no kits to buy. The projects require common tools such as a scissors, hacksaw, screwdriver, pliers, knife, file or drill.

Books are available on a wide variety of projects. Books can be chosen that deal mostly with items that are mechanically interesting, clever or useful. The items may be toys or playthings. They may be simple mechanical curiosities, appealing because of their shape or structure.

Building homemade items is fun for the tinkerer who enjoys improvised devices. It is fun for anyone who wants to develop ingenuity to use the tools and materials that happen to be available. Building homemade items lets you enjoy structural and mechanical devices and therefore more enjoy the world around you. •

About the Author
Alan Detwiler is the author of Clever Construction: Use What You Have To Make Cool And Useful Gadgets and Fun Gizmos. His Web site about homemade items is at www.MakeGizmos.com.

02/17/05