The Big Book of Maker Skills ─ Tools & Techniques for Building Great Tech Projects

Makers, get ready: This is your ultimate, must-have, tip-packed guide for taking your DIY projects to the next level—from basic wood- and metalworking skills to 3-D-printing and laser-cutting wizardry, plus the entrepreneurial and crowd-sourcing tactics needed to transform your back-of-the-envelope idea into a gleaming finished product.

In The Maker Skills Manual: 333 DIY Tips and Tactics for Building a Better Future, readers learn classic, tried-and-true techniques from the shop class of yore—how to use a metal lathe, or pick the perfect drill bit or saw—and get introduced to a whole new world of modern manufacturing technologies, like using CAD software, printing circuits, and more. Step-by-step illustrations, helpful diagrams, and exceptional photography make this book an easy-to-follow and easy-on-the-eyes guide to getting your project done.

With an emphasis on making DIY projects that can change the world, The Maker Skills Manual includes sections and tutorials on:

‧ Setting Up a Hackerspace
‧ Picking the Right Tools
‧ Welding Smarts
‧ Circuitry Basics
‧ Programming & Arduinos
‧ Working with Wood
‧ 3-D Printing
‧ Laser-cutting
‧ CNC Routing
‧ Testing & Prototyping
‧ Drones and Space Exploration Tools
‧ Robotics
‧ Biotechnology
‧ Sourcing and Crowdsourcing

Hackett is an artist; the founder and director of Brooklyn’s maker combine, the Madagascar Institute; occasional television presenter; adjunct professor at New York University; and contributing editor toPopular Science. Hackett likes his coffee strong and his physics Newtonian, and he is a firm believer in “build it, then measure it.”

Founded in 1872, Popular Science is the world’s largest science and technology magazine, with 6.7 million readers. Each month, the magazine reports on the intersection of science and everyday life, and its popular Manual column offers tons of fascinating DIY tech projects for both beginning tinkerers and pro builders alike. Popular Science is one of the oldest continuously published magazines in the United States, and is published in five languages and nine countries. The magazine’s Web site, popsci.com, has been readers’ first stop for up-to-the-minute science news since the site first went live in 1996.