“The 12 Days AFTER Christmas” Giveaway: Day 21 – A DIY delight: USB Drive enclosure and Tools
This contest is closed. Congrats to faithful Macenstein reader Connor.
On the Twenty First Day After Christmas, Macenstein gave to you (or, more accurately, gave you a chance to win…) an OWC Express USB drive enclosure and a NewerTech 11-Piece Portable Toolkit to help you build it!
Yes, there’s nothing quite like the geeky satisfaction that comes from building your own stuff. Sure, it usually doesn’t work as well, isn’t as sturdy, and ultimately often costs you more than the store-bought version, but building your own gear makes you appear smart to your friends, and you can’t put a price on that!
So to that end we have two geeky items up for grabs today to help you get started on your way to DIY geekdom. First up we have the OWC Express 2.5″ Portable USB 2.0 Enclosure for SATA NoteBook HDs, an easy DIY project that will help you add portable, USB-powered storage to your Mac.
Add a 2.5″ drive from an upgrade or build your own with a new drive. Pocket-sized USB bus powered ventilated enclosure for 2.5″ drives. Offering the ultimate combination of style and value in portable data storage and backup.
Of course, no TRUE Do-It-Yourselfer would be caught dead without a spudger, and we’ve got you covered there too! Behold the The Newer Technology 11-Piece Portable Toolkit
Toolkit Contains:
Straight Blade 1.8mm
Straight Blade 3.0mm
Phillips #00
Phillips #2
Torx T6
Torx T8
Torx T10
Scissor Clamp
Tweezers
(2) Nylon Pry Tools (aka “Spudgers”)*
To enter: There’s nothing quite like the satisfaction that comes from building your own stuff. So to enter, leave us a comment telling us “What’s the best thing you’ve ever made? (without help)” Did you build your own computer or hovercraft? Or is the best thing you ever made that slopey, misshapen coil pot in 1st grade for Mother’s Day? Winners will be picked randomly 7 days later and notified (kind of like in The Ring, only with less killing… we hope). Open to ALL readers WORLD-WIDE. Good luck, and thanks for reading Macenstein! (Oh, and be sure to enter ALL our “12 Days AFTER Christmas” Giveaways!)
Please note: Comments may take a while to show up, please do not double-post. Thanks!
Macenstein's "Mac Chick of the Month" (January 2009): Mai
Macenstein's "Mac Chick of the Month" (November 2006): Becca
Macenstein’s “Mac Chick of the Month" (March 2007): DeBranne
Back in the 1980s, I made a computer & terminal. Used them for several years.
A remote-controlled model airplane that was pretty badass.
Best things are my two sons and daughter. Oh wait, that was with help of my wife.
I guess then I would say I took my Etymotic ER-6i that had a messed up cable. I soldered the earpieces to the Apple iPhone earphone cable. Now I have the great sound of the ER-6i with the microphone and click control of the standard iPhone earphones.
Wooden desk for my iMac
Fits perfectly in my living room
when I was 5 I draw mushroom and win first prize
The “coolest” was a DIY warning sign student drivers are supposed to have hear in Finland. It’s an all-white 20 cm high triangle usually taped/glued/magnetically stuck on your trunk to say you’re having driving lessons, watch out. Our car didn’t have enough space for a magnetic one so I made one which could be fitted onto the trailer hitch.
I assembled a chair plus two cupboards all by myself…
The best thing I’ve ever made?
A side-scrolling computer game.
the first blanket I ever crocheted
Definitely my kitchen table. That thing might be made out of deck lumber, but it’s solid as a rock.
My MIND, I have MADE up my MIND.
a roasted chicken
tree house
A lot of money in Apple stock since it traded at $14.
give my girlfriend puzzle photo of us in new year eve !!! it’s really nice !!! and the thing is ” I did it by myself !!! alone !! only for her !!! ” yeahhhhhh Thanks !!!
A Media Server
A Coffin Case for my bagpipes. It’s cut from a Coffin Case for a guitar amp head. Though I’m thinking of reupholstering it with red crushed velvet and dumping the emerald.
http://img.skitch.com/20100118-ky2pkjjek6nrqqawc46x3nrhwq.jpg
The best thing I’ve ever made was a mistake.
a lighted end table out of 2 G5 shells
A sugar cookie house for my girlfriend’s family, because she is allergic to cinnamon. Pro baker Skippy, at your service.
a lego model of the Space Shuttle
Nothing yet, sadly
Hoping this DIY will change that!
I’ve made a lot of music in my life!
It was a electronic circuit that gave the La (A) sound for tuning a piano, guitar, etc.
A second story on my house.
A complete mess of my life
a paper airplane… or paella… hmmm i guess the paella
’73 Corvette. More of a repair than a ‘create’ – but all the same…
computer
A clear plastic pig with blinking LEDs inside.
My kitchen.
I built a Spaceship with found objects
my crooked picket fence, and I still haven’t got around to painting it
A giant clay bowl
A giant spaceship from Legos
I built a small wooden stool =)
Entertainment center and desk
The front porch!
stencilled canvas re-useable bags for all my friends and family. Or was it the padded photo albums. Hmm. We’ll never know for sure.
I have built my own computer in the past. I have also made a built-in-book case and cabinet for my son’s room.
One of those crystal radios. I don’t know if it’s the BEST thing I’ve ever built, but I remember it was pretty sweet.
I built a PC about … 11 years ago.
A mistake. But it was an impressively BIG mistake.
A nice workbench for the garage that was nicer than most of our furniture.
A digital dice using 7400 basic chips, no 7seg decoder, and candy stripe caps
A complete pool/spa computer controlled eco-system
oh, there are so, so many half-finished . . .
the toy storage in my son’s room is pretty neat – you can’t beat a bit of woodwork
A dollhouse for my daughter