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Make: Volume 91 — Core Strength: What’s Inside This Maker Magazine Issue

Make: Volume 91 — Core Strength is a wide-ranging maker magazine issue featuring companion robots, development boards, fabrication, energy, and more.

By Bettesworth Construction Team 2 min read

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Core Strength is the subtitle of Make: Magazine, Volume 91—not a fitness program. The issue is a broad maker-project sampler focused especially on companion robots and development boards, alongside projects in fabrication, energy, music, lighting, and practical tools.

What is Make: Volume 91 — Core Strength?

It is a 128-page English-language issue of Make: Magazine, published in November 2024, according to O’Reilly catalog metadata. Its subject is hands-on making rather than exercise. The publisher’s contents range across electronics, art, fabrication, energy, and practical projects rather than following one sequential course. Make:’s issue page is the primary source for the editorial contents.

What projects and topics are covered?

Companion robots and development boards

The issue’s “Board Tricks” coverage opens up a range of boards and includes an embedded-AI companion robot by Shawn Hymel. Make: describes this Raspberry Pi 5 project as running a large language model locally and says it requires no internet connection; that is the publisher’s description, not an independent test. The same coverage offers a simpler companion-bot route using a micro:bit and servos. The public summary does not give exact versions, servo quantities, power requirements, or a complete parts list.

Other board-related features include an introduction to lesser-known boards, Joan Horvath and Rich Cameron’s micro:bit projects, an Oxocard Connect Innovators Kit feature, and an Adafruit badge-board wedding invitation. The publisher also highlights a Make: Guide to Boards 2025 listing 77 new boards, a publisher-stated count.

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Energy, fabrication, and creative builds

The “DIY Energy” section surveys batteries and includes a beverage-battery project. Other listed builds include 3D-printed mirror fabric, an autotune kazoo, a laser-cut ski chalet birdhouse, a walk-in camera obscura, Arduino DMX lighting, a DIY powered respirator, a router restarter, magnets made from salvaged toothbrushes, and a laser-cut Makey toy.

Skills and workshop tools

Skill-building coverage includes a teardown of a K18 bug detector and a look at inexpensive ESP32 LCD boards. The toolbox section discusses choosing robot kits for children. Taken together, the contents suit readers who want project ideas across several maker disciplines, not a single build path.

How extensive is the project selection?

Make:’s store summary advertises “38+ projects.” This is the publisher’s stated count, not an independently checked tally. The issue combines projects with board guides, teardowns, and advice, so readers should treat that figure as the publisher’s description of the issue rather than a promise of 38 complete, step-by-step builds.

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Where can you buy the issue?

The official Maker Shed listing presents print and digital editions. When accessed on October 8, 2026, it showed the print issue in stock for $14.99 and the digital edition for $9.99. Those are U.S. store observations from that date; prices, stock, shipping, and regional availability can change. The listing does not establish subscription terms. Check the official store listing for current formats and availability.

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Print may suit readers who want a workshop copy, while digital is an alternative for screen-based access. The public summaries do not include full project bills of materials, compatibility details, firmware versions, tool requirements, build costs, or time estimates. Check the issue itself and the relevant hardware documentation before buying components for a specific project.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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