This book would never have come to exist without the enduring patience, kindness, charity, and friendship of hundreds of folks, from loving kin to affable store clerks to the many industrious makers who’ve tinkered in solitude and shared their findings online. Two standouts in this latter group are Steven L. Sachs (who, unbeknownst to him, taught me most of what I know about didgeridoos) and Tim Escobedo (much-loved throughout the Internet for his simple and fun sound circuits).

More immediately, I’d like to thank everyone at No Starch Press for both their patience with my innumerable revisions and faith in this project—thanks that should be especially amplified for Bill Pollock (No Starch’s publisher), Tyler Ortman (my editor), and Riley Hoffman (both a dear friend and a fantastic compositor and graphic designer). I similarly would like to thank my technical readers: Sara Swanson (along with her son, Oscar, and father, Doug Schneider, who tested most of the toys; her brother, Matt Schneider, who crafted the first PVC teepees I ever saw; and her husband Fritz, for pizza boxes, diddley bow feedback, and sharing his boyhood experience with NASA’s Finest Paper Airplane), Vince Russo, Tom Clark, and J.P. Sweeney (especially for his help with the Marshmallow Muzzleloader firing circuit and the Ticklebox schematic). More casual toy testing—as well as vital enthusiasm—was provided by my own son, Otto, and my nephews Jake and Griff.

Lots of folks provided little notes that had a big impact on specific projects: My brother-in-law Paul Spindler schooled me on the limitations of step-up transformers; David Helder provided input on the Spring Reverb and the $10 Electric Guitar; and my own father, David Robert Nelson, had surprisingly helpful suggestions on business in general and the specific design of the $10 Electric Guitar’s tuning machine. The $10 Electric Guitar likewise benefited from the luthiery opinions and anecdotes of Adam Stein (http://www.steininstruments.com/). The flying toys in this book owe their existence to Ted Bailey and Hamil Ma. In the summer of 1996, Jason Michael drunkenly demonstrated his potato canon to me, doing fatal damage to a sober pumpkin. I was impressed. There’s no way of getting around the fact that I basically stole and miniaturized that design thirteen years later. Thank you, Jason. I also stole a propane torch from Dean Melmoth and deeply appreciate the fact that he has never pursued me on this matter. Finally, I’d like to thank Dale Dougherty of MAKE magazine, whose enthusiasm for this book—and for making in Detroit—gave me a needed boost as I rounded the final bend.