Snip, Burn, Solder, Shred

David Erik Nelson is a freelance writer and former high school teacher. His fiction has been nominated for a Nebula award and has appeared in Asimov's, The Best of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, and the forthcoming Steampunk Reloaded anthology. He developed the projects in this book at an alternative school with plenty of feedback from his students. He is a contributor to the "Ask the Giant Squid" advice column at Poor Mojo's Almanac(k), a weekly online literary journal.

"Nelson aims to make each project in Snip, Burn, Solder, Shred an opportunity to develop a new skill that you could apply to other pursuits. Sewing, sawing, silk screen printing, and soldering: Nelson somehow manages to make them all doable."—The Boston Globe"Former high-school teacher David Erik Nelson serves up a helping of fun."—Get Crafty, Good Housekeeping"If you want to spend 2013 with practical hands-on learning experiences, this is is a treasure trove of ideas. Better yet, they're all cheap ideas that you can do without buying a gigantic robotics kit or huge machinery, and there’s enough room to build on the ideas for new inspiration."—Marziah Karch, Wired.com's GeekMom"Do-it-yourselfers and other craftspeople who would like to introduce children (their own or borrowed) to the pleasure of using tools and creating things will find a lot to keep them busy within the pages of Snip, Burn, Solder, Shred."—Technorati

• DEDICATION; ACKNOWLEDGMENTS; Introduction; What's in This Book?; Further Reading; Support and Contact; Kid Stuff; Chapter 1: Lock-n-Latch Treasure Chest; 1.1 Tools; 1.2 Supplies; 1.3 Building It; 1.4 About Board Sizes; 1.5 Crosscut Saw vs. Pull Saw; Chapter 2: Switchbox: A Soldering Project for Greenhorns; 2.1 Tools; 2.2 Supplies; 2.3 Building It; 2.4 Voltage, Current, and Resistance; Chapter 3: The Sock Squid; 3.1 Tools; 3.2 Supplies; 3.3 Building It; 3.4 Sock Cthulhu; 3.5 Resources; Chapter 4: The PVC Teepee; 4.1 Tools; 4.2 Supplies; 4.3 Building It; 4.4 Building Tip; Chapter 5: Cheap Mesh Screen Printing; 5.1 Tools; 5.2 Supplies; 5.3 Building It; 5.4 Printing Tips; 5.5 Resources; Chapter 6: Shut-the-Box: A Pirate Dicing Game; 6.1 Tools; 6.2 Supplies; 6.3 Building It; 6.4 Game Play; Chapter 7: Ticklebox: Jolt Your Friends; 7.1 Tools; 7.2 Supplies; 7.3 Building It; 7.4 Scrounging Tips; 7.5 The Mean-Ass Jingle Bear; Chapter 8: Small-Board Go/Tafl; 8.1 Tools; 8.2 Supplies; 8.3 Building It; 8.4 Game Play; 8.5 Resources; Electro-Skiffle Band; Chapter 9: X-Ray Talking Drum; 9.1 Tools; 9.2 Supplies; 9.3 Building It; 9.4 Playing the X-Ray Talking Drum; Chapter 10: Thunderdrum; 10.1 Tools; 10.2 Supplies; 10.3 Building It; 10.4 Playing the Thunderdrum; 10.5 Resources; Chapter 11: The Electro-Didgeridoo; 11.1 Tools; 11.2 Supplies; 11.3 Building It; 11.4 Playing the Didgeridoo; 11.5 Resources; Chapter 12: The Dirt-Cheap Amp; 12.1 Tools; 12.2 Supplies; 12.3 Building It; 12.4 Tweaking the Amp; 12.5 Resources; Chapter 13: The $10 Electric Guitar; 13.1 Tools; 13.2 Supplies; 13.3 Building It; 13.4 Playing the $10 Electric Guitar; 13.5 Modifying the $10 Electric Guitar; 13.6 Building Tip; 13.7 Resources; Chapter 14: Dirt-Cheap Boutique Stomp Boxes: The Spring Reverb; 14.1 Tools; 14.2 Supplies; 14.3 Building It; 14.4 Using the Spring Reverb; 14.5 Resources; Chapter 15: Dirt-Cheap Boutique Stomp Boxes: The Blinkie Tremolo; 15.1 Tools; 15.2 Supplies; 15.3 Building It; 15.4 Tweaking the Blinkie Tremolo; 15.5 Stompable Stomp Boxes; 15.6 Resources; Chapter 16: Dirt-Cheap Boutique Stomp Boxes: The Two-Transistor Fuzztone; 16.1 Tools; 16.2 Supplies; 16.3 Building It; 16.4 Using and Modifying the Two-Transistor Fuzztone; 16.5 Resources; Chapter 17: Cigar-Box Synthesizer; 17.1 Tools; 17.2 Supplies; 17.3 Building It; 17.4 Expanding the Cigar-Box Synthesizer; 17.5 Resources; The Locomotivated; Chapter 18: Cardboard Boomerangs; 18.1 Tools; 18.2 Supplies; 18.3 Building the Fast-Catch Boomerang; 18.4 Building the Cross-Stick Boomerang; 18.5 Throwing; 18.6 Tuning; 18.7 Store-Bought Boomerangs; 18.8 How It Works; 18.9 Boomerang Design; 18.10 Resources; Chapter 19: Pop Can Flyer; 19.1 Tools; 19.2 Supplies; 19.3 Building It; 19.4 How It Works; 19.5 Bonus Project: NASA's Finest Paper Airplane; 19.6 Tools; 19.7 Supplies; 19.8 Building It; Chapter 20: Quick-n-Easy Water Rocket; 20.1 Tools; 20.2 Supplies; 20.3 Building It; 20.4 Building the Better Rocket; Chapter 21: Putt-Putt Boat; 21.1 Tools; 21.2 Supplies; 21.3 Building It; 21.4 How It Works; Chapter 22: Jitterbug: Your First Robot; 22.1 Tools; 22.2 Supplies; 22.3 Building It; 22.4 How It Works; 22.5 Modifying the Jitterbug; 22.6 Reverse Sumo Racing; 22.7 Resources; Chapter 23: FedEx Kites; 23.1 Tools; 23.2 Supplies for the Diamond Kite; 23.3 Supplies for the Box Kite; 23.4 Building the Diamond Kite; 23.5 Building the Box Kite; 23.6 Flying Tips; 23.7 Resources; Chapter 24: Marshmallow Muzzleloader; 24.1 Tools; 24.2 Supplies; 24.3 Building It; 24.4 Firing Instructions; 24.5 How It Works; 24.6 Going Commando; Electronics Components, Tools, and Skills; Components; Tools; Skills; Resources; Colophon; Updates;