I Have the Maker’s Itch

I’ve always had the urge to make things.

If I see something interesting, my first thought is rarely “I should buy one.” It’s usually “How could I build that?”

Projects tend to sit in my head for weeks, months, or sometimes years before I finally start building them.

So I have an affliction with making stuff. I always have some project or other on the go. I get a whacky desire to make something and mull it over for weeks, months, or years before having to start.

If I don’t start I just keep thinking about it and thinking about it! I am either planning, making, fixing, or repurposing something. I have many projects on the go at one time.

I have to say I enjoy the whole process. I see something and think I can make one of those. I don't have much of a desire to buy it but given the chance to build or make it. How can I build that? and then I'm off.

Projects That Stay in My Head

The perfect project is something that takes a long time and has many stages to it. It can evolve and be shaped. I love to spend time subconsciously sketching out in my mind how I can make parts, how I can adapt parts, and how I can engineer something. It's those moments when I am waiting or daydreaming I will be engineering something in my head.

Looking back now, I can see this connects strongly to how I think visually. A lot of projects are mentally assembled long before anything physical gets built.

Learning Through Making

Building the boy's Jeep was a perfect example of this. It had lots of parts, it required research, it needed different types of skills and I had to adapt and repurpose things. The front steering mechanism was a problem I spent ages thinking about. I needed a way of having a 3 axis mount that could swivel in all three directions. I'd sketch out diagrams, play with bits of metal, Lie in bed awake thinking how to solve the problem. Inspiration and a final solution came while in the local hardware store. Large eye bolts normally used for gates bolted together in an X-Y-Z orientation were a quick reasonably cheap and strong solution. Relief, I can stop thinking about that problem.

The Joy of Solving Problems

Both my boys sleep in custom beds I have made. Jamie wanted a high sleeper in the shape of a Campervan, and Thomas wanted a Pirate Ship. Both required research, planning, and design. The Campervan was drawn out using a digital projector that beamed the outline of a Campervan onto a giant sheet of MDF that I then traced around with a black Sharpie.

It has working lights a real sliding door, and a surfboard as a ladder to get to the top bunk.

Thomas's Pirate Ship bed is a similar construction and has an anchor, a ship's wheel, and a bell (last orders at the bar type bell from eBay). The anchor and ship's wheel were cut out on my mini X-carve CNC machine.

I am a bit of a petrol head and one of the big projects I wanted to do was build my own car (I mentioned this in previous posts). My first attempt was to dismantle my mum's Mini Clubman estate when it was parked up after terminally failing its MOT. I didn’t get very far. I was only 12 and had a limited budget and tools. Years later I set about researching and choosing something new I could build, I had the maker's itch that needed to be scratched. It was a long project that took 4 years to build and get on the road. I took my time and enjoyed all the detailed parts of the build. Again I loved all the little projects and spent lots of time daydreaming solutions along the way.

Why I Keep Making Things

This year is no exception. I started collecting materials to make a “Mega Den" for the boys... A sheltered hangout In the garden that we can escape to, we can draw, play games, and pretend we are on holiday all while still in the garden at home. It needed to be bigger than the fort (another scrap wood project I made a few years ago).

I found some windows free from Gumtree, and some old doors also from Gumtree, and they sat under a tarpaulin for over a year as I planned out in my head how I could use them. A chance discussion with a farmer saw me collecting 12 scaffold boards and I had enough to get started.

I have spent a few happy weeks and evenings sawing, hammering, and drilling to get to the stage of something resembling a "summerhouse" no MegaDen in the back of the garden. Roofing materials arrive next week and it will be fully watertight and ready for action.

Electrics arrived this week (thanks to Amazon Prime) and a length of armored cable that I have squirreled away in the garage for over 10 years will see power running up under the grass for lights and sockets.

A couple of weeks should see it finished and that will be another project completed, and I can stop thinking about it.

There is more in the pipeline…

I have to build another Jeep. I have all the parts. The boys are bigger now and starting to outgrow the first one. I want to make something all metal and try to use the full 900W capacity of the motor's power in this one. (The Jeep currently is only using a third of that)
I need to build a double computer desk for the boys. They will have a workstation and storage each for homework and school projects

I have an Arduino Yun bought with the sole purpose of warning when the garage door has been left open and it's dark. I can’t see the door from the house unless I go outside. It has an electric opener and the plan is for it to email me to tell me it is open and from my phone, I'll be able to close it. It will involve some wiring and some code but I have planned out in my head what it needs to do. I am tempted to also connect the Arduino to a Speaker and have it play the Thunderbirds theme via WAV file when the door is opened. But that might annoy my neighbors

So yeah, I have the maker's itch and the only way to stop it is to keep on making.

I think of projects as good therapy, and if you remember that 80's kid's TV program "Why Don't You"...

P.S... top marks if anyone knows the next line?

Looking back, I think making things has always been a form of problem solving, creativity, and probably even therapy for me.

Some people switch off by relaxing. I seem to switch off by building, fixing, planning, and figuring things out.

The only real cure for the maker’s itch is to keep making.

A lot of this connects closely to my reflections on LEGO Technic and engineering mindset, where my fascination with systems and mechanisms probably began.

It also links naturally to my thoughts on visual thinking and mentally modelling projects before building them.

Many of these ideas also appear in my posts about fixing things instead of replacing them and building the Megaden.

I’ve always enjoyed building, fixing, adapting, and simplifying things—whether physical or digital.

A lot of the same mindset now goes into helping people untangle technical problems and improve systems.

You can take a look at my TechFix service if that sounds useful.

10 Objects That Shaped How I Think

I’ve always become attached to objects that carry memories, stories, or ideas with them.

Looking back, many of the things I value most aren’t expensive or rare—they simply represent creativity, learning, engineering, family, or moments in time.

So it's been a super busy week and my usual write-my-blog-on-the-bus time did not pan out. I keep meeting interesting people. What I have written this week I did a while ago.

I am a bit of a hoarder and like things with sentimental value. Anyway here are my 10 favourite things. Note this does not include friends and family, I should maybe title it my 10 favourite inanimate objects...

Objects Connected to Family

One – Grampa’s hip flask

I'm glad I found this. After my grandpa died years ago his car lay abandoned outside my parent's house. They asked me to clean it ready to sell.

In the driver's door pocket, I found his hip flask. Well bashed, worn and shiny it still had his favourite tipple in it. My mum said why don't you keep it.

Now it lives pride of place on a shelf in my study. Still with my Grampa’s whisky in it. Johnny Walker Black Label.

Two – LEGO

I am a massive LEGO fan. I grew up with LEGO. Starting with blocks then LEGO City and moving on to Technic LEGO when I grew older.

I have two young boys and we have a lot of LEGO in the house. A lot. It's a brilliant and timeless educational toy.

I love sitting on the floor with my boys watching them create cars. Some have many different-sized wheels with no hope of steering in reality. They have lasers and guns sticking out at odd angles.

We have several big boxes around the house ready for creative minds. I have a few select constructions that took a bit longer to build that also live pride of place in my study.

Tools, Making, and Creativity

Three – Mini socket set

I love my tools, and this little red socket set is one of my favourites. It came free with a classic car magazine subscription many years ago.

It is a good quality set made by Teng Tools. It's a great size and has 13mm and 10mm sockets, hex bits, a universal joint and an extension bar.

I built my own car a few years ago so I guess I could say I have enough tools to build a car.

Four – Hot Wheels cars

These little 1/64 scale cars are almost a currency in our house.

“I'm going shopping anyone coming?... can we have a Hot Wheels car dad?”

Tesco trips involve sifting through the Hot Wheels display looking for rare finds.

90% of them end up in a big play box and have a hard life, chipped and crashed. The 10% I rescue and give them a concours life.

It's the ones I recognise from my childhood. This little Mk1 Escort is possibly the rarest one. Found in Tesco for 99p and currently trading on eBay for 10 times that.

It was mint in the box till the boys got hold of it.

Five – Coos head

Jamie made this coos head (with a little help) and I just think it's brilliant.

He made it from scraps of wood in the shed all his own design. He pulled the bits from the scrap bin and glued them together.

A few bits were cut to length, sanded, and given a rub with finishing wax.

We have made and sold quite a few of these as part of Udny Designs. Ours, and the first one, hangs pride of place in our dining room.

Six – Spring picture

This is more artistic flair from Jamie. We went to a parent-child art competition at his primary school.

You were given lots of materials, paints, glue and an hour to make a spring-themed picture. Bright colours and of course a tractor (Jamie is tractor daft).

We had a busy hour cutting and sticking, laughing and joking. In a frantic rush up to the buzzer, we had made this picture.

Jamie and his classmates all voted for their favourite picture by placing a tiddlywink on their favourite. Cheers and clapping followed as Jamie was rewarded with first place and an Easter egg.

Chuffed to bits, the picture lived in the house and Jamie proudly showed it off before disappearing.

Several months later it reappeared professionally framed as a gift for my birthday from my wife.

Well chuffed, it now hangs in our hall. It is framed brilliantly including hanging some of the worms (pipe cleaners) which had been dug up by the tractor plough.

Seven – Coffee table

We had to move house because of this table.

Inspired by a restaurant in Florida where the tables were wood framed with maritime maps under glass as the surface, I decided to make my own and use a local OS map.

I joined an evening woodwork class at Ellon Academy, bought some materials and set to work making my table.

It's big. OS maps are big.

I built the frame and legs, mortise and tenon joints and all, and glued them together.

The top was actually so big it wouldn't fit in the car so I had to walk it home.

We lived in a one-bedroom semi in Ellon at the time with a table for a mansion.

It lived for a year or so under the bed while we looked for a bigger house.

It has now been in active service in our living room in Udny. Scuffed, scraped, wine glass stains and 9 years of kids later, it's looking well used but still looks great.

The map is long gone and now replaced by hundreds of little Instagram photos scattered below the glass.

I can't see it being replaced any time soon apart from maybe updating the pictures.

Eight – Tiger

I built my Tiger 9 years ago. It took me 4 years to complete. I have had it for 13 years.

Most people these days only keep their cars for 3 years. Well, I spent years dreaming of building my own car, so I saved up my pennies and ordered a kit.

I use the term kit loosely as what I bought was a hodgepodge of the basic parts: frame, body, and some new and used parts.

Unlike the more expensive Caterham or Westfield kits, where you get every nut and bolt and a comprehensive build manual, mine required a lot more figuring out.

I had a brilliant 4 years pottering away in the garage at my own pace, chipping away at the build one small project at a time.

I have blood, sweat and tears in this car so it will continue to be tucked up in the garage for years to come, only coming out in the dry when the weather is good.

Tools, Technology, and Problem Solving

Nine – MacBook Pro

This is a computer without actually feeling like a computer.

I was fed up with firing up a Windows PC and waiting, then waiting for updates and virus checks.

Being a massive iPhone and iPad fan, I made the jump and bought a desktop Mac and loved it.

Then when I went to CodeClan they gave me a MacBook Pro which I cosseted for 4 months until they asked for it back.

Lost without it, I splashed out again.

Mine is a 2016 model with a graphite grey solid-state drive. It gets opened and starts immediately and I can work. No waiting.

Looking back, I think I’ve always valued tools that feel simple, reliable, and frictionless to use.

Ten – Notepad and pen

I carry a notepad and pen with me most days.

Electronic ways of keeping notes are ok but you can't beat pen and paper.

I think in pictures so I like to jot down notes and add diagrams.

My current notebook is a Moleskine lined notebook which has been modified with duct tape to hold a pen on the spine.

The pen I carry is a simple four-colour Bic ballpoint.

Having multiple colours in one pen is genius and makes diagrams and underlining much easier.

Why These Things Still Matter

Looking back, none of these things are really valuable because of what they cost.

Most of them matter because they represent memories, creativity, learning, problem solving, or people.

I suppose the objects we keep often tell us a lot about how we see the world.

A lot of this connects closely to my reflections on LEGO Technic and engineering mindset.

The maker side also links naturally to my post about having the maker’s itch.

Many of the same themes around creativity and systems thinking also appear in my reflections on visual thinking.

I’ve always been fascinated by tools, systems, creativity, and the objects that quietly shape how we think and work.

A lot of the same mindset now goes into the projects, systems, and technical work I still enjoy building and improving.

You can find out more here.

Building Wooden Robots With Kids Across Aberdeenshire

So I'm starting my new job on Tuesday next week. I'm super excited to move into a new career and see what it's like to be a full-time Web Developer. I need to figure out how to get to the center of Aberdeen from out in the sticks of Udny Station each day. It's either bus all the way or park and rides part of the way. I might have to get my old mountain bike running again and take up cycling part of the way too. Anyway, that's next week.

Looking back now, this post feels like one of the earliest examples of how much I enjoyed combining creativity, making, teaching, and technology.

At the time it simply felt like a fun Udny Designs project with Jamie. But it also reflected something deeper about learning through building things with your hands.

Building Robot Kits in the Shed

Jamie and I have been busy with Udny Designs over the past couple of weeks. We have been bombing around Aberdeenshire building robots with kid's holiday clubs. We had made simple-to-construct kits in the shed along with small wooden hammers and put all the parts in little zip-lock bags. We made 50 in total and had a good production line going on in the house.

Teaching Kids Through Making

Tuesday and Wednesday last week we found ourselves in Banff and Peterhead in local schools. The classes had about 8 to 10 kids, and we would step by step take them through the construction of their individual robots. Starting with adding the googly eyes to the head, then with the hammer and lots of noise, banging adding the neck to the head, and then to the body. A pair of legs and feet had them standing up, then shoulders and arms had them waving or impersonating Superman. We had printed off some stickers and each kit included a couple of body, arms, and head stickers. We had even made little stickers for the kits which made the whole thing feel very official.

Then this week we did another 3 classes in Inverurie, Stonehaven, and Fraserburgh. 

Why the Workshops Felt So Rewarding

I have to say that every class was great fun and left me with a real sense of achievement. All the kids had additional needs so being able to let them build and take home a robot that they had made them selfs felt great. 

Creativity and Confidence

There were lots of questions from the kids about what else they could make when we came back. I look forward to doing some more classes later in the year. Possibly reindeer kits nearer Christmas.

Discovering CivTech and Startups

In other news, I went to a meet-up of the Aberdeen Entrepreneur Club at The Hub in Bridge of Don. There were two presentations. The first is some dragon's den-like pitches from some of the current cohorts running through the Elevator program at the hub. There were 5 of the 15 currently taking part. It's a 12-week program and they are now in week 6. It was great to see interesting new businesses in the making. And for me, they all needed tech and software to help them get fully started.

The other presentation was on CivTech North. I attended a CivTech meet-up last year in Edinburgh so am familiar with the concept. Basically, the public sector has come up with problems that need creative input to resolve. 8 problems in total are selected and made public. People and businesses are invited to try to solve the problems by submitting a description of how they plan to solve the problem. If selected they are given £3000 and given 3 weeks to explore their idea and create a demo. If successful they get through to the next stage and are given £17,000 and an additional 15 weeks to create something that meets its MVP (Minimal Viable Product). If all goes well and the solution is selected to go to the product stage, additional funding ( I wrote down £100K but am not sure about this) and time is provided to create a full product.

The only catch I can see is that the public sector gets to use the product royalty-free (covering material costs) but you are free to keep the product and sell it to the public.

The one I remember from the Edinburgh meet-up (I may have mentioned it before) was to help the tourism on the A9 after it is dual ed from Perth to Inverness.

The guys I met had come up with a tourist App that would suggest points of interest on the journey... restaurants, hotels, etc that people could visit on route. The last I heard of this project the guys were adapting their app to cover Route 66 in the USA.

Looking Back at the Bigger Picture

Reading this back now, it’s interesting how many themes that still matter to me today were already appearing here — creativity, learning, making, technology, entrepreneurship, and helping people build confidence through practical projects.

At the time it simply felt like a busy and exciting few weeks before starting a new career in technology.

A lot of the same themes around creativity and building things also appear in my post about having the maker’s itch.

Looking back, many of the same ideas around learning through making probably started with things like LEGO Technic.

The connection between creativity, imagination, and practical learning also links closely to my reflections on visual thinking.

Looking back, projects like this reminded me how powerful creativity and hands-on learning can be — especially when people get the chance to build something themselves.

A lot of the same curiosity around making, technology, systems, and problem solving still shapes many of the projects and ideas I continue to explore today.

You can explore more of those projects and reflections here.