Hot MacGyverisms Posts

How To: Make a MacGyver-Style Chess Set Using Just Nuts & Bolts

You know what ladies love? A man who can handle his tools. What do the ladies love even more? A man who can say checkmate. Well, except maybe this lady.

How To: 20 Simple Solutions to Life's Most Irritating First World Problems

Just because a problem is small or superficial doesn't mean it can't annoy the living crap out of you. Others may think you're overreacting, or even have the audacity to roll their eyes, but you're in your own personal hell.

How To: Make a Homemade Bee & Wasp Trap (Kill or No-Kill)

Bees are the key to pollination and healthy vegetation, and wasps may help by assisting in pest control, but despite their benefits in the world, they're still a real pain in the ass if they're in your face.

How To: Remove Scratches & Scuff Marks in Your Car's Paint Job with Toothpaste

Whether you drive a new or used car, discovering a new dent, scratch, or scuff mark can send you into a frustration spiral. While there are many DIY ways to deal with dents, scratches and scuff marks are trickier because using the wrong stuff could make your car's paint job look even worse.

How To: Make a DIY Home Theater Projector and 50" Screen for Only $5 (Great for March Madness!)

Today's project will show how you can convert your laptop, smartphone, or tablet computer into a makeshift projector—just in time for March Madness! It's super cheap to build, and can add a little bit of creative fun to your next sports party.

How To: Remove Water Rings on Wood Furniture with Toothpaste

Most wood furniture is long-lasting, durable, and resistant to great wear and tear over the years. However, set a single sweaty, wet cup or bottle on the surface of your favorite wood dining table, or your prominently placed wooden coffee table, and you'll end up with a round water ring stain that is difficult to get rid of.

How To: Refill an Air Duster Can with a Bicycle Pump

In this life hack video, I am going to show you how you can refill your air duster can with a bicycle pump.

How To: 5 Easy Ways to Make an Emergency DIY Candle from Household Items

Candles can be pretty expensive, which is why most of you probably resort to flashlights during a power outage. But when your batteries run out, you're out of luck, unless you know one of these methods for making a DIY emergency candle out of household junk.

How To: Inflate Any Ball Without a Pump or Needle

What happens when you find your ball deflated and there's no pump or needle in sight? You could always cancel your plans of kicking around the soccer ball or starting that pickup football game in the park. Better yet, you could be terribly clever and find another way to get air into the ball. From a pen to a balloon to a gas station, there are ways to inflate it.

How To: Build a $20 Super Antenna for Better Signal Strength & More Free Broadcast TV Channels

If you've recently joined the ever-growing ranks of the cable cutters, you're far from alone. More and more people (myself included) are getting fed up with service providers' outdated subscription models and absurd pricing—and canceling their service.

How To: 5 Clever Ways to Make a Simple No-Kill Trap for Mice & Rats

Once when I was a kid, my dad used a glue trap to catch a mouse in our basement. The result was so awful for the mouse that my mom and I made him promise to never use that kind of trap again. Call me a softy, but I'm a firm believer that you don't have to kill pests to get rid of them.

How To: Fix the Worn Out Heel Linings in Your Ragged Shoes & Sneakers—MacGyver Style!

The worst thing about running shoes is that they're expensive, but you're supposed to abuse them. Even if you're not a runner, everyday wear and tear takes its toll. No matter how well you take care of them, if you use them enough, they're eventually going to wind up looking like this: And it's not just running shoes. I have a pair of Vans that I've worn for almost four years, and the heels are just about ripped all the way through.

How To: Screw Staples—You Don't Need Any with This Stapleless Paper Trick

Staples may be an office staple when it comes to joining sheets of paper together, but they're a pain in the ass if you ask me. They're annoying to take out, you can't shred 'em, and they eventually loosen up. Plus, staplers tend to stop working right when you need them the most.

How To: Turn Any Ammo Box into an Awesome Set of Portable Speakers

Believe it or not, an ammo box can still be of use to you once its rounds are gone. You can use it for storage, as a toolbox, or possibly even as a Faraday cage. But if you want to use it as more than just a container, why not turn it into a portable set of speakers that you can take with you anywhere? The ammo can speaker pictured above was made by Instructables user Dustin White. He started with an empty .50 cal box, though you could probably even use thinner 5.56 or 7.62 mm cans. He remove...

1 Buck Toothpaste Hack: Make This Tube Squeezer in Under 5 Minutes

Let's face it—if you care about anyone around you, then you brush your teeth. Brushing is an excellent way to not only prevent tooth decay, but to keep people from running away from you with their noses pinched.

How To: Extend the Life of Your Disposable Razors & Keep Them Sharp

Early in the morning, there's almost nothing worse than discovering your razor is dull midway through your pre-work routine. No matter how hard you try to preserve those precious blades, it can seem like they're dull every time you reach for the razor. With one, seconds-long step after each use, you can save your razor blades and make them last longer.

How To: Make an Impossible-to-Find Doortop Safe to Hide Secrets, Cash, & Other Valuables

Thanks to the internet and its increasingly lack of privacy, secrets don't even seem safe in our own homes anymore. So how do you hide your secrets, stash your cash, or keep your valuable jewelry out of sight where no one can find it? Well, the answer might be right above you... if you're standing under the threshold of a door, that is.

How To: Make Your Own Waterproof Matches for Faster, Easier Fire-Starting

Camping in the rain sucks. It's not enough to deal with your clothes and tent being soaked—it makes starting a fire nearly impossible if you're not carrying waterproof matches. You can buy them pretty much anywhere that sells camping gear, but if you've got regular matches and a candle at home, they're just as easy to make yourself..

How To: Repair & Waterproof Leaky Winter Boots Using Sugru

For those who live in climates where winter actually feels like winter, a good pair of boots is a must. When you're trudging through the snow to chisel the ice off your windshield, the last thing you want is for your feet to be unprepared. Wet socks are bad enough when the weather's warm.

How To: Make a Simple No-Sew Workout Armband for Your Phone or MP3 Player (No Sock Required)

I've never been much of a runner. I've tried running alone, with a partner, on busy sidewalks, and back country roads, but I just never got it. There are a few other forms of exercise I genuinely enjoy, but have yet to experience that "natural high" that avid runners are always talking about.

How To: Beat the Heat for Cheap with These Five DIY Sprinklers

What’s better in the summer than playing around in the water? Lounging in the pool, water balloon fights, and playing in the sprinklers helps us forget how much it sucks to be outside in 100+ degree weather.

How To: Turn Your Spare Pocket Change into DIY Batteries with This Penny Power Hack

What's a penny worth these days? Not much. But could there be some free energy hidden inside your spare pennies? You'd be surprised! See how I hack together stacks of pennies into makeshift batteries that can drive small-current devices like LEDs and calculators.

News: How to Make a Manly Curtain from a Wool Blanket

Check out this cool How-To about making a manly curtain from a wool blanket! It is great for a man cave! Experience a Curtain Call - ReadyMade.

How To: Make Sticky or Stubborn Wooden Drawers Slide More Smoothly

When I was moving into my current apartment, I had to store some of my things in my ex-roommate's garage for over a month while I was getting settled. One of those things was my dresser. Upon moving it into my new place, I realized something was horribly, horribly wrong—none of the drawers seemed to fit quite right anymore (if they fit at all). The combination of the differences in temperature and humidity in the garage caused them to swell and change shape. Several months later, they fit bet...

How To: The Trick to Keeping Your Home Warm During Winter for Cheap

When temperatures drop and hit new lows during the cold, winter months, it's hard not to crank the heat up. That means increased energy bills each month, no matter if you rely on gas, electric, or another fuel for heating.

How To: 3 Easy In-Flight Hacks for Hands-Free Movie Watching on Your Smartphone or Tablet

The closest I've ever been to first class was when I was a young kid running up and down the aisles on a long international flight. I remember being in awe of how big the seats were and how much food was available. Ever since that moment, I've made it my life goal to earn enough money to make first-class flights a regular occasion.

How To: Build a Simple Flat Screen TV Ceiling Mount from Unistrut and Pipe

So you bought a new flat screen, and now you have to tackle the next issue—you have to mount it somewhere. Most people go for the wall, which is the most obvious place, but if you want to go for something a little different, the ceiling is always an option, too.

Winter Hack: How to Turn a Dead Battery into a Hand Warmer

My least favorite aspect of the winter season is how my fingers always turn into stiff, numb digits, unfeeling and seemingly incapable of making even the slightest movement. Yes, that might sound overdramatic, but if you hate wearing gloves like I do, you probably know exactly what I mean.

How To: 7 Ways to Make Your Own Cold Packs at Home

Having a store-bought cold pack on the ready is the perfect solution for minor bumps, bruises, sprains, and strains, but why spend money on bright blue ice packs when you can make your own right at home?

How To: Slope Your Dish Rack Pan for Perfect Draining

Let's face it, pretty much everyone has an automatic dishwasher. They are super convenient and are becoming cheaper to allow the general public better access to them. With that being said, though, dishwashers are also becoming a lot smaller.

How To: Use Vinegar & Baking Soda to Fluff Up Worn-Out Bath Towels

It feels great to wrap up in a big, fluffy towel after a steamy shower, but it's frustrating when that towel isn't quite up to the job. Over time, towels lose their ability to hold water and dry as needed thanks to daily use and the biggest culprit—laundry detergent.

How To: Keep Tall Boots from Slouching (And Organize Your Closet Chaos)

During the colder months, it seems like almost everyone wears boots. Even when it's hot out, people can be spotted with knee-highs and westerns. Whether it's for fashion or because you live in a place where 3 feet of snow is common, a good pair of boots (or five) is nice to have.

How To: Fix Your Broken Vertical Blind Slats MacGyver-Style

Most of you probably have a set of blinds at home, the most popular being horizontal or vertical. They're great for keeping the sun out of your eyes and maintaining privacy, but unfortunately, each comes with its own set of problems.

How To: Protect Your Wall from Stray Darts with This DIY Dartboard Cabinet Made of Wine Corks

The worst part about playing darts is that when you miss—it can damage not only your ego, but also the wall behind the dartboard if it's not protected. Redditor mavantix found a solution to this problem in wine corks. Over a year, he collected over 1,000 corks from family and friends to make this DIY Cork Dartboard Cabinet—that's a lot of wine!

How To: Build a Corn Dog Rig for Easy Deep Frying

Fairs and festivals are awesome, and one of the best parts about them is the food. Sure, it's all deep-fried and terrible for you, but it's so delicious. It's also always on a stick, which makes eating fried food even easier for us fat Americans.

How To: Turn a Toilet Paper Tube into a Car Dash Mount for Your Phone

Everyone knows that using your phone and driving is illegal, and rightfully so. Tons of people die on the road everyday due to careless people texting or calling someone. Everybody knows that it's wrong, yet everyone still does it anyway.

How To: 8 Easy Ways to Remove Cigarette Smoke Smells from Your Car

The lingering smell of cigarette smoke can bother just about anyone, including smokers themselves. Unfortunately, it can be quite difficult to mask or completely get rid of the smell altogether. While you can go through extremes like washing and even repainting the walls in your home, those options don't exist when the odor is in your car.

How To: How You Should Really “Fold” Socks to Prevent Stretching Them Out

I don’t buy socks—I get a pack from my parents on Christmas Day, so I’ve got to make sure they last all year. Other than losing them mysteriously in the dryer, the biggest threat to my limited sock collection is a stretched out cuff. Nothing's more frustrating than a loose sock sliding down into your shoe.

How To: Replace Worn Off Lettering on Home Appliances with Sugru

Whether you've had them for years or bought them used off Craigslist, old appliances can always benefit from a facelift. One of the first things to go is usually the lettering on the knobs, buttons, and other surfaces that are frequently touched, leaving them faded and difficult to read.

How To: Extend Your Wi-Fi Signal with This Super Cheap and Easy-to-Make Directional Biquad Antenna

There are plenty of ways to speed up your wireless network at home, some as simple as changing the placement of your router. While you can always buy equipment to boost your signal, there are plenty of cheap or free DIY solutions you can try as well.