Man Made DIY

While guns, Glocks or otherwise, are not necessarily masculine and a topic for ManMade, the genres in which is so often appears - nearly every crime film, ganster lore, hip-hop lyrics - certainly cross our paths from time to time. And supposedly the standard issue service weapon for two-thirds of U.S. police forces.

So, the real question is...why? What about the glock allowed it to permiate into Hollywood films and rap lyrics? Do actually criminals prefer the glock, or is it just the fictional imagination?   … read more

Over the last five years, the podcast has grown from that sorta strange, internet-interview-radio thing that no one really knew what to do with to some of the most engaging and informative, and often hilarious, media available. Most often for free.   … read more

ManMade reader and graphic design student Brandon Rampelt recently created an original DIY magazine for a school project. He got an A (good work, Brandon!), no doubt due in part to this great original how-to project: a Dieter Rams-inspired (with a dose of Jacob Jensen) clock stereo, made out of thrift store junk and a basic box from the craft store. Brandon was kind enough to write and and allow us to share the complete tutorial so you can whip one up yourself on the cheap. That's a lot of design (and rock!) bang for the buck.

Here's how to do it:     … read more

Yeah, sure, I like having every song I own in my pocket, able to be plugged into my car, several spots in my house, or any number of hotels, friend's homes, etc. But, many of use still miss the day where listening to music in public took effort. Where you'd have to run extension cords outside, tune the radio, or get enough D batteries to juice your huge Radio Raheem-style boombox.

Thankfully, the folks at TDK have heard our prayers. The same folks who's blank cassette tapes were iced out by the MP3 revolution are releasing a new take on shoulder-mounted magic. "Currently there are two models, the 3 Speaker Boombox and the 2 Speaker Boombox. … read more

Ah, the twenty-first century, and its provision to take weeks of music with you stored on a single device. Yet, in order to play these lovely contraptions for an audience, you music employ a speaker system, which are often shiny black plastic and simple won't do for a vintage-inspired decor.

So, what's a antique or retro enthusiast to do? Why, build a custom iPod speaker system within a vintage radio housing, of course.