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Sugru hits B&Q

Cory Doctorow — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 07:04:38 +0000

Congrats to Sugru, the wonderful, maker-ish polymer fix-it clay, on the news that it's been picked up for distribution at 300 B&Q stores across the UK!

The Fixer's Manifesto: if it's broken, fix it!

Cory Doctorow — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 15:24:52 +0000

Jane from Sugru sez, "We've been working on The Fixer's Manifesto. for ages, and we're pumped about it!"

Fixing is the unsung hero of creativity. And it really shouldn't be. It's the most common, humble and beautiful form of creativity there is. Let's wear that belief proudly. Let's notice and celebrate these little everyday triumphs, and help others see their value whenever we can. We made this to fuel the conversation about why a culture of fixing is so important.
If you like it - fix it, evolve it, improve it.
We spent ages on it, arguing over what was important and what wasn't - crafting, editing and tweaking. But fixing is something people feel strongly about, so we're pretty sure you won't agree with all of it, and you'll want to fix it. So this is version 1. There are plain text (Markdown), EPS, and PDF copies on GitHub, where you can contribute improvements, fork the manifesto, or make stuff with it. If you're not into Github, you can download a PDF for free, and we made beautiful letterpress prints. Each one ships with a pink pen for editing.

The Fixer's Manifesto - the future needs fixing - sugru (Thanks, Jane!)

Fun commercial for Sugru repair putty

Mark Frauenfelder — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 21:59:08 +0000

[Video Link] This is a cute commercial for Sugru, the delightful moldable repair compound that I use to fix suitcase zippers, dishwasher rollers, headphone strain reliefs, and many other things around the house that break.

RPG miniatures Kickstarter hits $1M

Cory Doctorow — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 13:55:36 +0000

Matt writes in with news of the Reaper Miniatures Bones Kickstarter, which has hit an eyepopping $1M with five days to spare. Reaper makes paintable RPG miniatures and paints, and they're rather good (I have several sugrued to the top of my monitor, bought expertly painted at the Orcs Nest in Covent Garden).

Matt sez, "Even if you just want paints it's a great deal. The paint sets are $18 more for a set of 12, which is half or less what you pay retail. For minis the $100 is up to 182 plastic minis. Reapers claim, and the reviews agree, that their products are flexible hard to break and don't need primer (though you can use it). Among the minis there are some that are steampunk (the Chronoscope minis). Who wouldn't want a cybernetic gorilla? There are pirates and horror as well. You can also add for a little more cash a clockwork dragon, a jabberwocky, and a set including Cthulhu."

Some of the highest pledge levels include minis cast in sterling silver, as well as original molds.

Reaper Miniatures Bones: An Evolution Of Gaming Miniatures (Thanks, Matt!)

Sugru's short film about maker dads

Mark Frauenfelder — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 18:16:29 +0000

[Video Link] Jane ní Dhulchaointigh is the inventor of Sugru, a moldable plastic repair material. I've been using Sugru ever since I discovered it a few years ago. Here's a video Jane made about fathers who have come up with neat ways to use Sugru. She says:

We make lots of films about awesome fixes, and we've been wanting to make more films about you, the awesome people behind the fixes, for ages.

With Dad's Day as the perfect excuse, we jumped on a plane to go meet some sugru Dads!

There's a spirit to how these guys think that we love - fixing and improving things can be much more than simply a practical solution - the film reveals a mindset, an attitude, an approach to life.

Cheap Ikea anglepoise knock-off is a good articulated arm for webcams

Cory Doctorow — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:39:56 +0000

Ikea makes a super-cheap, $9 articulated anglepoise knock-off lamp. The articulated arm is a useful for anything lightweight that needs to have an adjustable X- and Y-axis. Instructables user Brianandrewparker shows how to use a blob of Sugru to mount a webcam to the lamp-base and give yourself a nice, adjustable camera. He notes that this would be useful for mounting other things, too.

Tertial Webcam (via Lifehacker)

Sugru and Lego: turn anything into a mount for anything else

Cory Doctorow — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:47:02 +0000

I love Sugru, the polymer clay that sticks anything to anything and dries to a durable, dishwasher-safe finish. In this little Sugru ad, they demonstrate how using Sugru to stick single Lego bricks to various surfaces turns anything into a mount for anything else. It's really fun, and reminds me of another great Sugru use: sticking a blob of Sugru over a rare-earth magnet and fixing it to a wall or other surface to make a magnetized sticky-point. (via Make)

Head-sewn-on necklace

Cory Doctorow — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 13:02:03 +0000

Etsy seller WeirdlyCute (an apt name!) makes these "Zombie Stitch" necklaces that make it appear that your head has been sewn on. Alice and I went as Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein last year, and this would have made a dandy addition to my Sugru neck-bolts.

(via Neatorama)

Halloween Zombie Stitch Necklace in All Sewn Up - Weirdly Cute Halloween Jewelry [etsy.com]

Camera ruggedized with Sugru

Mark Frauenfelder — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 15:10:38 +0000

This camera was colorfully ruggedized with a moldable silicone rubber called Sugru. I've used it to mend suitcase zippers, two pairs of headphones, a dishwasher, and other broken things around the house. The downside of Sugru is that it cures inside its foil pouch after a couple of months. I hope they come up with a formula that stays fresh longer!

Bouncy Kids Camera Made Using Sugru Silicone Rubber

Tool Dots: Adhesive-backed rare-earth magnets for tool organization

Cory Doctorow — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 14:00:19 +0000

Jeff sez, "We'd put tools into the tool drawer but they'd never come out. Other tool storage systems didn't suit us, so we created the Tool Dot. A tiny, powerful, magnetic tool holder that you stick to walls and other vertical surfaces to store tools in any arrangement you want."

I do a similar thing -- overlay little rare-earth magnets with Sugru and stick 'em to the wall. It's lumpier, but more colorful. Chacun son gout!

Tool Dot (Thanks, Jeff!)

Branch Holder for making stick-swords

Cory Doctorow — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 17:47:10 +0000

This is a cute design concept: a rubber sword-guard intended to be affixed to stray branches to make them more sword-like. I can't tell whether designer Naama Agassi has produced these, but they look like they'd be a fun DIY project to make out of cardboard or Sugru or some other material.

Branch Holder (via Geekologie)

Cool Tools Quick Fix Contest

Cool Tools — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 08:00:22 +0000

When things break down it's not likely you'll have the tools needed to make a perfect fix. That's why for this week's contest we are looking for quick fixes. These aren't meant to be perfect, but rather stop-gaps that will let you get by until you have the resources needed for a longer term solution. We want you to send us your tools, tips, and accumulated know-how that allow for quick fixes when things break down. For this contest we have a special prize pack graciously contributed by Jane ni Dhulchaointigh, inventor of the quick-fix wonder-material Sugru. The winner of the Quick Fix Contest will receive three Smart Hacks Super Packs of Sugru, and a special Maker themed T-Shirt. Runner up will receive their own Sugru Super Pack. Be sure to check out Sugru's gallery of uses for inspiration. There is no limit to how many tools, tips, and quick fixes you can submit, but remember to keep the following five parts in mind: 1) a succinct description of what the tool/tip/fix is, 2) how it changed your behavior, 3) why Cool Tools should run it, 4) why it is superior, and 5) why we should believe you. Submissions will be accepted until Wednesday, May 11th. This time the author of the most publishable tool/tip/fix will receive three Sugru Super Packs (or, if they'd like somethin else they can choose what they'd like from the Prize Pool). For inspiration, here are some previously reviewed Quick Fix Cool Tools: Gorilla Tape Shoe Goo Superglue Stitches Tongue Depressors Get fixing! -- Oliver Hulland, Editor, Cool Tools

How-To: Make cheap castable silicone from caulk

Mark Frauenfelder — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 12:01:52 +0000

Sean Michael Ragan of Make: Online says:

Simple, elegant garage casting hack here from Instructables user mikey77, who calls the stuff "Oogoo," which is, I think, a portmanteau of "Oobleck" and "Sugru."
If you've ever bought casting silicone, you know it can be pretty expensive. If, seeking a cost-saving alternative, you've ever experimented with making castings using the dirt-cheap silicone caulk they sell at the hardware store, you know that it doesn't work very well. Large volumes set up very slowly, if at all.
Turns out, though, that mixing in some cornstarch accelerates the drying process; just how much depends on how much starch you add. The author recommends starting with a 1:1 mix. I'm not sure about his explanation that the process works because the hygroscopic starch carries moisture into the internal volume of the silicone, but in any case there are probably other additives that will accelerate the process as well as or better than cornstarch. You might even find one that's not opaque and allows for translucent castings.

How-To: Make cheap castable silicone from caulk

Profile of creator of Sugru, the super fixum gunk

Cory Doctorow — Fri, 07 May 2010 18:28:33 +0000

Wired UK has a nice profile of Jane ní Dhulchaointigh, the inventor behind Sugru, a polymer clay that dries to a dishwasher-safe plastic that you can use to fix pretty much anything. I've used it to fix cracked cups, suspend fossils from my walls, and repair cracked picture frames. Love it.

"I was making things with silicone sealants and sawdust, and started using the leftovers around the house," she says at her east London base. "I modified a knife handle to make it more comfortable. My boyfriend said, 'Imagine if everyone could do that -- like with stiff jam-jar lids.'
It was a great idea." It took seven years, two experts and the materials department at Queen Mary, University of London, to create a silicone that would be sticky but would also set rock hard without heating.
The result is a substance officially called Formerol. Each pack includes hack suggestions, but ní Dhulchaointigh has seen some original uses: "Someone sculpted a pair of hands coming out of their bathroom sink to hold the soap." This enthusiasm, she says, is influenced by user-generated online suggestions. "If digital stuff can be manipulated then people are going to expect it from physical products as well."

Wired meets the woman behind Sugru (via Wonderland)

(Image: Perry Curties/Wired UK)

Previously:

Sugru: polymer clay that fixes and sticks to pretty much ...

Polymer robots, mecha, vintage racecars, and the like

Cory Doctorow — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 01:34:06 +0000

Artist Matei Apostolescu (AKA "Beaucoupzero") creates stunning robots, mecha, fighter jets, cute tanks, vintage racecars and other oddments out of polymer clay. I got lost in the gallery and only pulled myself out when the drool started to pool on my chest.

Matei Apostolescu - Toys (via Superpunch)

Previously:

Sugru: polymer clay that fixes and sticks to pretty much everything

Cory Doctorow — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:14:42 +0000

Sugru is a soft modelling clay that dries in 30 minutes at room-temp to a waterproof, heat/cold-resistant, dishwasher safe, flexible semi-solid. It's self-adhesive and bonds with many metals, glass, ceramic, plastics, etc. It can be used to make or fix or remake things from shoes to spectacles to plumbing-pipe. I've just ordered some for home and office -- it comes in four colors and looks like it'd be hella useful, and at £7, I'm certainly willing to give it a try!

Sugru (via Core 77)

Previously: