Family Project

The Maker Box

A curated kit to inspire making, fixing, and inventing — because the best way to learn how the world works is to build something with your hands.

Warren Blackwell Living document
The Maker Box — all items unboxed into a single box, ready to inspire making, creating, and inventing
Everything in The Maker Box, unboxed and ready to go.
Monoprice Select Mini V2 3D Printer — the little printer that started it all
The little Monoprice Select Mini V2 that started it all.

A friend gave me a 3D printer a few years back and I was immediately hooked. It was small, single-color, and limited — but it planted a seed. Then a small cash award at work lined up with a video that blew my mind, and The Maker Box was born.

I picked up an ELEGOO Centauri Carbon 2 Combo and immediately started thinking bigger — not just filament, but soldering irons, LEDs, resistors, magnets, bearings, calipers. Everything a family needs to go from "I wish I had one of those" to "Let's make one."

ELEGOO Centauri Carbon 2 Combo — multi-color 3D printer with Canvas hub
The ELEGOO Centauri Carbon 2 Combo — the upgrade.

The goal is for my wife and our teenage daughters to have every opportunity to create, fix, invent, and experiment. Along the way — without losing the fun — we pick up real skills: basic circuits, materials, measurement, precision. The next time something breaks, the first thought should be "We can print a replacement for that," not "Throw it away."

I'm sharing this so anyone inspired to do something similar can grab the list and go. The project ideas, the shopping list, the ethos — steal it, remix it, make it your own.

The Maker Ethos

  • Make things. Art, tools, gifts, toys, replacement parts, experiments — anything.
  • Fix things. Before you throw it away, ask: can we repair or remake this?
  • Understand things. How does a circuit work? Why does this material flex? What makes a magnet stick?
  • Measure and specify. Practice the discipline of precision — calipers, dimensions, tolerances.
  • Share what you make. Teach someone. Bring a friend. Make it together.

Project Ideas & Inspiration

A growing collection of starter projects, organized from beginner to advanced. Every one teaches real skills.

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Beginner

Custom Phone Stand

Measure your phone, sketch the dimensions, and print a stand from scratch. Try different angles, styles, and materials. A perfect first real project.

3D Printing Measuring CAD Basics
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Beginner

LED Throwies

An LED, a coin battery, and a magnet — that's it. Stick glowing throwies on anything metal. Learn polarity and simple circuits while making art with light.

Electronics Magnets Circuits
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Beginner

Replacement Parts Challenge

Find something broken at home — a drawer pull, a clip, a hook, a knob. Measure it with calipers, model it, and print a replacement. Fix it instead of trashing it.

3D Printing Calipers Problem Solving
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Beginner

Personalized Keychains & Name Tags

Use the multi-color printer to design keychains or bag tags with custom fonts, shapes, and colors. Easy to personalize, fun to give away.

3D Printing Multi-Color Design
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Intermediate

LED Night Light with Switch

Print an enclosure, wire LEDs in parallel, add a rocker switch, and size a resistor. A satisfying project that combines printing with real electronics.

3D Printing Soldering Circuits Wiring
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Intermediate

Magnetic Jewelry & Accessories

Design bracelets, pendants, or hair clips with embedded neodymium magnets for snap-on clasps and interchangeable parts. A lesson in polarity, strength, and tight tolerances.

3D Printing Magnets Precision Fit
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Intermediate

Flexible TPU Phone Case

Scan your phone with the 3D scanner, then design and print a custom flexible case in TPU. A crash course in flexible materials, fit tolerances, and multi-material thinking.

3D Scanning TPU Printing Tolerances
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Intermediate

Desktop Organizer System

Design interlocking pen holders, trays, and a phone dock that snap together with magnets. A great exercise in modular design and designing for assembly.

3D Printing Magnets Modular Design
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Advanced

Addressable LED Lamp

Mount WS2812B LED strips inside a printed shade, wire them up, and program color patterns. Teaches addressable LEDs, power delivery, and light diffusion.

LEDs Soldering 3D Printing Programming
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Advanced

Electromagnetic Motor

Wind magnet wire around a printed armature, add magnets and steel rods, and watch it spin. Electromagnetic principles made tangible.

Magnets Winding Electronics Physics
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Advanced

Scan & Remix Real Objects

Capture a real object with the 3D scanner, then modify it in software — add features, repair damage, or remix it into something entirely new. The bridge between physical and digital.

3D Scanning CAD 3D Printing
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Advanced

Bearing-Driven Fidget Spinner

Design a spinner around real flanged bearings. Experiment with weight distribution, balance, and materials — PLA for rigidity, TPU for grip. Engineering meets fun.

Bearings 3D Printing Precision Fit

The Shopping List

Everything in The Maker Box, organized by category. This is a living list — items are checked off as they're acquired.

40 Items
7 Categories
12 Project Ideas
✎

3D Printer & Scanner

3 items
🎨

Filaments & Materials

14 items
⚡

Electronics & Components

11 items
🔧

Tools & Equipment

7 items
🔩

Hardware, Magnets & Fasteners

5 items
📦

Supplies & Consumables

2 items

This is a Living Document

The Maker Box grows as we do. New tools, materials, and project ideas get added as we discover what works and what inspires. The goal was never the best-equipped workshop — it's having just enough to start building.

The best project is the one you actually make.

Read Part Two

We published the follow-up: Maker Box, Part Two. It covers the real-world setup, first prints, what failed, and what we learned while dialing in the printer.