Gearfuse

…and believe it or not, you can make your own. Instructables user I_am_Canadian created this awesome how-to on how to make your very own chess set out of Knex.

The individual pieces actually clip onto the board, which means even if you have a pet or a child or likes to step all over your board game, or if the board accidentally gets thrown across the room in a fit of rage, the pieces are likely to stay right where they are. Quick, get your Knex out of retirement and put them to work, stat!

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I love handling dog feces just as much as the next guy, but it’s the smell I can’t stand. Using my hands, the smell gets a little to close to my nostrils for comfort. The Shoe Shovel eliminates any hand-to-dog-feces contact, leaving you, if all works out, relatively scentless.

I know, I know, there’s nothing quite as fulfilling as holding a warm lump of dog shit in your plastic covered hand, but trust me, this will save you some work. Check out the video demonstration, complete with chocolate fecal models, after the jump.

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Sure, “Talk Like a Pirate Day” might be exciting, but there’s no free candy for slurring your words like a drunken sea hobo. Halloween is now officially less than two months away, which means its time to start playing around with a few costume ideas.

If you’ve been dying to dress up in something super geeky this year, you can make your own Rubik’s Cube Costume if you don’t mind sweating a little for your day of dress up. Instructables has an easy five step (four step if you’re not entering a costume contest) DIY project to create your very own. All you’ll need is two cardboard boxes, some tape and zero dignity.

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A generous Instructible user laid out the step-by-step process of building your own custom Nintendo bartop cabinet. Warning: Two cases of Diet Coke are required for completion.

This cabinet supplies you with your very own personal NES arcade console, compact into one arcade-ish interface.

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It’s a brick world, baby. But some gadgets, believe it or not, are better left un-brick-ified. While this LEGO Safe looks killer, I sincerely doubt that it would do much good protecting your valuables. The most I would store in here is maybe a few other LEGO bricks, some spare change, perhaps you could throw your stash in as well.

Despite its fragility, this is one awesome piece of work. Check out the video after the jump to scope out the safes intricacies. Even cooler? You can make your own. Yes, kids. There is a step-by-step DIY tutorial.

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All of the fun of cigars, without the smell! This helpful step-by-step DIY allows you to create your very own USB Cigar Flash Drive. A perfect gift for expecting fathers and dudes who like smoking cigars after successfully fending off an alien invasion.

The drive glows orange like the hot embers of the finest stogies. When you delve into disk access, the glow gets even brighter, much like a cigar in the process of being inhaled.

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Instructables strikes again with another incredibly useful HOW TO. The next time you go camping, pick up a can of tuna on the way. After eating it for dinner and washing it down with a beer, you can saw the top off the beer can and turn the whole thing into a compact, portable stove. Genius.

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The Arduino makes a fierce return, this time in the form of a hat. Using flex sensors and a hat-mounted Arduino, Instructables user RonanOD created a game of Pong where you use your eyebrows for play. The hat senses how much pressure is being created along the brim and uses the related data as input in the game. Instructions are available, but I can’t promise it’ll be fun twitching your eyebrows like Mr. Bean all day long.

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Apologies for the lack of linkage lately. I’ve had finals and I’m sure any college student can understand. To make up for it, we’ve launched our latest contest.

• Bus stops in San Fran now have WiFi
• Adorable Space Invaders soaps
• Video of Android running on an Eee PC
• An Electro-Harmonix guitar pedal is coming to Rock Band!
• This table is about to blow up
• How to make an indoor boomerang
• Without a doubt the world’s most creative lantern

Have great links you want showcased on Afternoon Linkage? E-mail us: tips AT gearfuse DOT com.

Using some scrap wood he had lying around, Seamster set forth and built his very own pinball table. Complete with working paddles, it uses an old mouse tracking ball and has plenty of ramps and other bonuses, just like the arcade version of the game. It’s not an easy build but there’s an Instructable available should you have the courage to try to build your own.

The only thing missing are the bright lights and ability to tilt the machine.

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