Steampunk gadgetry is sometimes looked down upon since majority of steampunk devices don’t actually work.  These retro-looking weapons, including a “black powder” pistol and rifle break the common stereotype because they fire rubber balls as well as ping pong balls.

• See our collection of Steampunk Projects

Steam Punk Rifle:

Below is a video of the “blunderbuss” rifle shown above.  It shoots small rubber balls which penetrate cardboard from a modest range.

Steam Punk Pistol:

Here we have the “black powder” pistol which fires ping pong balls and confetti paper.

Top SteamPunk Projects:

• Epic Steampunk Arcade Cabinet
• Make a Steampunk “Atomic Disruptor” Raygun
• Robotics and Steampunk Ray Gun Gallery

10. Top 25 Outstanding DIY Dorm Projects

School is back in session shortly for most college students.  While you could be an average Joe and and buy all your back to school goods, you’ll be far better off building your own DIY projects to pimp your bland dorm room.  These fantastic tutorials will walk you through creating custom, outstanding dorm rooms to show off your DIY skill.  Read full post >

9. Incredible, Sleek Blue LED Case Mod

Combining his incredible carpentry and circuitry skill, this modder created a fantastic, modern LED case mod design. Based on a Beijing building, it incorporates sleek, circuitry-like lines creating a fantastic ambient effect. The full tutorial will take you step by step through the modding process.  Read full post >

8. How to: DIY Star Wars Lightsabers & Replicas

Using some spare parts from eBay (a Graflex flash bulb) and a bit of ingenuity the guys at Systm show you how to create your own legit lightsaber (using actual parts they used in the movies). Read full post ->

7. How to: DIY Cable Management on a Budget

In just a few minutes and for less than $6, you can transform your workstation into a cable free sanctuary. If there is one thing that really annoys people about computers it is the ridiculous amount of cables that need to connect everything together, especially if you have scanners and printers close by. Thankfully there is a simple way to fix that.  Read full post >

6. Dirt Simple Office Supplies iPhone Stand

Holding your iPhone for hours while watching a movie can be an annoyance. Using five pencils and a few rubber bands, you can easily construct a makeshift iPhone stand. So easy a noob could do it. Not much of a hack, more of a simple, useful tool.  Read full post >

5. How to Make your Own Ringtones

Are you one of those people who changes their ringtones frequently? If so, you may be surprised to learn that there are many online tools that allow you to create your own ringtones within a matter of minutes. To get started… Read full post >

4. How to: iPhone as a Wireless Router for your Laptop

Transform your iPhone into a wireless router, allowing you to connect your wifi deprived laptop to the internet anywhere phone service is available. It’s also perfect when you’re browsing the web but the small screen is too cramped. Now you can easily switch over to your laptop for a larger viewing window. Read full post >

3. How to: DIY Solar and Wind Energy Tutorial

Mother nature provides us with countless ways to produce our electricity. The tricky part is harnessing it. Learn how to install solar panels and wind turbines to generate all the electricity you’ll ever need. Read full post >

2. DIY Arcade Style Joystick Controller

We’ve seen some giant NES controllers in the past and even an Xbox 360 arcade controller. Now we have a coffee table style controller custom made for arcade games like Street Fighter 4. The first controler is basically a wireless Xbox 360 controller with larger buttons substituted for the standard ones. Read full post >

1. Top 40 Arduino Projects of the Web

Since we love the ever-popular Arduino, we’ve scoured the vast reaches of the interweb and unearthed the best Arduino projects just for you. The Arduino is an open source programming platform which allows you to easily control electronics with a microcontroller.  Read full post >

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Need a project for that dead Xbox 360?  Check out this detailed Xbox 360 mod which converts the console into a functional PC. Give it a new identity – the Xbox 360 PC.  If you are wondering about the specs that was pushed inside the small case of an Xbox 360, here they are:

• 3.0Ghz Pentium 4 HT (upgraded from 2.26GHz P4 at start of mod)
• 512MB RAM
• 60GB 4200rpm SATA HDD
• DVD-ROM, CD-RW
• 8x USB 2.0 ports
• Integrated Intel graphics

The main challenge with an Xbox to PC mod is fitting everything inside the cramped space of an Xbox 360. The CPU and the power supply have different sizes and line up differently. Innovation is the name of the game as electric0ant shows through careful planning and his project illustrations. Check out a few below. The complete step by step is given on his project page.

Step by Step:

1. The project is born from a faulty Xbox 360 scrapped for the outer case.  Below is fitting the motherboard inside is the first test.



2. Installing Windows XP. In the final mod XP is exchanged for OS X.



3. Fitting the heatsink (taken from a dead P4 laptop) vertically.



4. Wiring up the power supply to the Xbox 360.

The Final Results:

The well illustrated project gives you the headsup about the pitfalls. Maybe you can work your way through it with your own take on it. Let us know what you would do differently if you managed to find yourself a spare Xbox 360 lying around.

Check out some Xbox 360 case mods we’ve covered in the past.

• 15 Exceptional Xbox 360 Case Mods
• All-in-One Wii, Xbox 360 and Ps3 Arcade Cabinet
• DIY Xbox 360 Arcade Style Controller

So, you’ve got an Xbox 360 like millions of other people.  It’s white, it’s boring, and it’s begging to be customized.  It’s time to learn from the modding experts and stand apart from the average gamer.  Throw in a few game inspired themes, chrome, and LEDs to create your own custom masterpiece.

• Don’t Miss: 5 Ways to Hack your Xbox 360 Controller

1. Epic Halo Mod
   




Check out the detail as these two Master Chiefs battle it out.  There is even a plasma pistol mixed in with the realistic terrain!

2. Xbox 360 Car Mod?


First up is the questionably legal Xbox 360 car mod.  Check out the console in the dashboard – The Xbox 360 has been seamlessly fit into the car. The wireless controllers have also found a place for the driver and the passenger.  Learn 3 ways to install an Xbox, PS3, or any console in your car.

3. Hot Rock case Mod for Xbox 360


The LED on the side glows with the rise in temperature of the gaming console. It’s time to switch off but not before admiring the LED luminescence.

4. Xbox 360 Hellboy Case Mod



Comic books and movies are the inspirations for case mods this year. If it was the Wall-E case mod or the Star Wars Nintendo Wii Case Mod then, it’s a Hellboy inspired case mod for the Xbox 360.

5. Chrome HDMI Case Combo



While this wasn’t done custom (it was a kit), the High Quality Chrome HDMI Case definitely adds style to the otherwise bland, white console.

6. Master Chief Helmet Case Mod


Another Halo inspired case but modeled on the Master Chief’s helmet. The Xbox bares its innards through the cutout in the shape of Master Chief’s visor.

7. Xbox 360 Laptop Mod



Why go back to being a computer when you are an Xbox? Because you get to be portable with a 17? 1280×720 progressive-scan LCD VGA monitor and Water-cooled custom-built radiator. A keyboard and Wi-Fi gives you the best of both worlds. Created by Ben Heck.

8. The 360 PC



This modder added keyboard and mouse functionality to his Xbox making it a compact, powerful “PC” but has the power of the Xbox to play cutting edge games.

9. Water Cooled Xbox Mod




Play your favorite games without worrying about the Red Ring of Death.  It’s temperature controlled with cool blue water.

10. Half Life Mod



An Xbox case mod with a game theme is common, but what’s not common is the detail that goes into this Half Life inspired mod with cut away windows and raised HL2 logos.

11. Rockstar Case Mod



This one is for the GTA buff. All in silver and orange, with controllers to match, the case mod gives a transparent peek into its guts.  It’s a special edition Xbox, not a custom case mod, but it looks stunning so we’re including it on the list.

12. The Joker Inspired Xbox 360 Mod
    




The Joker’s face pokes out accompanied by the now famous line, “Why so serious?” Creepy, but definitely a fantastic mod for Batman fans.

13. Gear of War Case Mod



This one looks evil and wicked. Blame it on the Gear of Wars addict who wants to kick some ass with this deadly mod.

14. The Xbox Millennium Falcon



If you know your Star Wars, you would want this to play your favorite Star Wars classics.  Although it’s the original Xbox, it’s still worthy of being added to the list for inspiration.

15. Texas Longhorn Case Mod



A tribute to the University of Texas, this burnt orange stylish Xbox mod features a Longhorn logo as a window.

Dig deep into our archives of our past Xbox 360 mods:

• DIY Xbox 360 Arcade Style Controller
• Simple Xbox 360 Case Mod using Bondo
• Xbox 360 Hellboy Case Mod

The Dr. Frankenstein MAME cabinet is a retro gaming rig that takes inspiration from the monster novel. The steampunk cabinet is almost gothic in its design. Our previous post on DIY Arcade Rigs was about building an old styled arcade cabinet from the ground up. This Frankenstein build is just about giving the game rig a classically inspired touch.

These pictures above illustrate the building phases starting with the first woodwork. Every little touch adds to the antiquated appeal like the vintage panel meters on the control panel. Awesome detail!

The steampunk, mixed with the retro switches and gagues, and finally the rusted paintjob give it an astonishing vintage effect.  It took the builder about 60-80 hours of loving labor on the arcade rig. Not bad at all when you stand back and applaud a work of art.

Our other top arcade projects:

• Make your own Vintage Arcade Marquee
• Make your own Arcade Cabinet
• How to Build a DIY Nintendo Arcade

You’ve probably played the classic racing games like Burn Out, Need for Speed, and Gran Turiso on consoles but using the standard controller just doesn’t cut it sometimes.  Learn to build your own racing cockpit through this super comphrehensive step-by-step guide to bring the speed, thrill, and realism of the game to life.  This is definitly not your average build tutorial, it’s a 66 page PDF walking you through each nut and bolt of the assemply process.

Above is an example of the intricate level of detail the tutorial.  Each page shows these comprehensive diagrams with detailed measurements showing you how to build your own.

Related Racing and Arcade projects:

• Our full collection of DIY arcades
• Build a DIY Nintendo Arcade
• Simple Arcade Racing Chair

Classic arcade games is a staple memory of anyone who remembers the good old days. Today, we have online versions and offline clones playable on PSPs and PCs but the coin operated feel of playing a round of Pacman is gone. If can’t keep nostalgia at bay then this DIY from MaximumPC is the one for you.

Nope, you don’t have to hijack one from the local museum. You can start from scratch with a MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator). MAME is a software application which replicates the gaming look and feel of a vintage arcade game. Here’s what the official MAME site says –

When used in conjunction with images of the original arcade game’s ROM and disk data, MAME attempts to reproduce that game as faithfully as possible on a more modern general-purpose computer. MAME can currently emulate several thousand different classic arcade video games from the late 1970s through the modern era.

MAME is the heart but an arcade game wouldn’t be one without the other elements like the cabinet, monitor, buttons ‘n joysticks and the control panel. The DIY tutorial looks at the host of options you can use – from the style of cabinets to the choice between LCD and CRT for the monitors. Controllers can come as joysticks, buttons or trackballs and spinners. The control panel is where you have to put it together.

The look is important but it’s the hardware specs that will do the game playing. A second hand computer with the proper specs will do fine. The MAME arcade console though requires an ArcadeVGA card and a specialized keyboard encoder.

Mounting the components is where you will need a pair of skilled hands and some finesse.

It’s back to geekdom with the task of software integration. Hardware, motherboard and video drivers are given a run through. MAME and its front end, MaLa (which displays the Arcade ROMs) requires installation and configuration.

It’s going to take time and painstaking work. But when you through the first switch, you would have just brought back the good ol’ days.

If nostalgia still bites, then check out our list of DIY arcade style projects -

• Make your own Arcade Cabinet
• How to Build a DIY Nintendo Arcade
• Make your own Vintage Arcade Marquee
• DIY Xbox 360 Arcade Style Controller

Super Nintendo (SNES) still has fans worldwide – Who doesn’t love the retro consoles? Thanks to SNES emulators, the Super Nintendo is still alive and kicking in some corners of the game world.

Emulation of the SNES is now available for a number of console platforms. Snes9x for example is a portable, freeware SNES emulator. Snes9x is coded in C++ for Linux and Windows. Many ports of Snes9x are easily available. SNES 9xGX specially, is a Super Nintendo emulator for the Wii based on the SNES9x.

But this hack could be the very first homebrew emulation for the Xbox360. The innovative project used the SNES9X GX emulator ported to the Xbox360. OS dependence was bypassed by using Libxenon (which is a library for writing programs for the Xbox 360). The end result, as the video shows is a success. The GUI may not be eye pleasing but you sure can get those old games back into action on your Xbox360.

Go back in time with some of our retro-hacking emulation projects –

• How to Build a DIY Nintendo Arcade
• How to Hack and Customize a Retro Atari Game
• NES Emulator on the iPhone

Don’t miss all of our arcade style NES and Atari Hacks:

• Make your own Vintage Arcade Marquee
• Physical Punch-Out Interface for the NES
• DIY Xbox 360 Arcade Style Controller

If you’ve ever wanted to play virtually any game from any console all on one machine, this hack is for you. It illustrates step-by-step, one man’s ambition to stuff a full-fledged gaming PC, an Xbox 360, a PS3 and a Wii into a custom arcade cabinet. Everything from power consumption to the display, to the custom video-switching mechanism is explained. The end result is what some might describe as the ultimate gaming machine.

If you liked this, you’ll also enjoy:

• All of our DIY Arcade Projects
• Make your own Vintage Arcade Marquee
• DIY Xbox 360 Arcade Style Controller