Black Useless Box Kit

Product Description

Flip a switch and launch your very own nuclear attack with the Useless Box. Well, actually, turn the Useless Box on and this clever electromechanical box turns itself off. That's right, experience endless, useless fun with the Useless Box. Also known as the Useless Machine or Perpetual Machine. Every time you flip the switch on the Useless Box, a little finger pops out and turns itself off. Sure it's useless... but it keeps your itchy switch-flippin' fingers busy! The Useless Box Kit does NOT come assembled and requires a Soldering Iron to assemble it. Includes an attachable red LED so that you can make your Useless Box glow from the inside! A perfect fit if you are looking for Cool Gadgets, Geek Gifts, Desk Gadgets or Desk Toys. If you want the fully assembled version of the Useless Box, search "Fully Assembled Useless Box" on Amazon.

Top Reviews

Looks nice when completed
by Jared (4 out of 5 stars)
May 31, 2014

Electrical engineer here... The box gets a lot of attention sitting at the edge of my desk at work. The shiny black box with a switch on it seems to beckon people over.

The assembly of the plastic box is a pain. I don't know why they would use nuts and bolts to attach a plastic plate perpendicular to another. It takes four hands and some skill to assemble. When I was done the lid sat ajar, so I had to make a few adjustments. It stays together well enough, but does seem a little flimsy. When the arm retracted it would bounce against the switch in the bottom flexing the plastic piece that the motor is attached to. I fixed this by bending the metal tab on the switch up, so that the motor turns off sooner. The instructions are not a good step by step method. I found it easier to do things in a different order and there were a few things I had to guess at. It doesn't use much power, I suspect it will be a long time before I need to put new batteries in it. I am satisfied with the quality. I did have to use a utility knife to clean up the edge of one panel. I assembled this in a little over an hour on a day that I was stuck at home sick. If you have the tools and like a challenge I would recommend this kit. Some patience is required.

Tools used: jeweler's screwdriver set, needle nosed pliers, soldering iron, solder, utility knife, wire strippers (small)
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I assempled the box and it worked fine, ONCE
by fwoddo (1 out of 5 stars)
March 20, 2015

I assempled the box and it worked fine, ONCE. After much tinkering I found the problem the board or switch is not working properly. I called the company Solarbotics and there tech. support dept. does not have a phone so you have to write the a detailed explanation of the problem. Whats the big deal replace the part and let me move on. Bad Company Policy. Finally it became garbage which is what it was from the beginning.
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This box's finish is hi-gloss black
by Annette (1 out of 5 stars)
July 20, 2017

This is a very complex project, it's not a simple project. I thought it would be a fun project for my 6 yr old nephew and I to do together. Instead, his engineer father stayed up till 3am getting it assembled for my husband's birthday. All the photos show an industrial finish that I love. I didn't notice it says "color: black" because there isn't a single photo of a black box. The finish is high-gloss and shows every single finger print of any one who goes near it.
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Kind of disappointing for the price
by ~Swordys~ (2 out of 5 stars)
May 24, 2014

The kit is complete, and assembly is quite possible, just a pain in the rear. The assembly system is unlike anything I've ever seen before, and is quite finicky. The soldering part is actually fairly simple, so you shouldn't have issues with it. Overall, the assembly went okay for the first part, but because the instructions weren't very good for the later half of assembly, we managed to get several steps out of order, and fixing those mistakes was a huge pain without disassembling most of the box. Assembly took me and a friend roughly an hour.

The actual box is much smaller than I was expecting, and the assembly didn't come together as well as we'd hoped. The pieces are kind of loose. That being said, it is a Most Useless Machine, it does work, and it is definitely fun.

Is this worth 40$? Probably closer to 20$, given the lower quality of the materials, the size, and also the awkward assembly that is required.

EDIT: My friends cat played with this a bit. I'm guessing it fell, but part of it chipped off already. He has had it for about a week or week and a half. Yeah. If I could change my score, I'd give this 2/5 stars. Oh. Apparently I can change the stars.
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Great gift for your fellow geek!
by Bret (5 out of 5 stars)
November 7, 2014

I gave this as a gift to my brother and he loves it. We have seen these on line and wanted one, but never wanted to buy all the parts individually. This kit has everything and the quality looks good. We had the tools on hand and the instructions were clear enough that we didn't have any problems getting it together. I think it took us less than an hour. We did have good quality tools and a basic understanding of electronics so that helped. Right now it sits on his desk at work and he says people are always coming up and asking about it. Recommended.
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A very useful useless box.
by Lew (5 out of 5 stars)
August 14, 2017

Well, it's obviously a novelty. However, I have a small bar in our house and just leave it out, lots of laughs. Simple to assemble, with a little soldering skill (and they have a video on line to teach you if you need it). Of course everyone thinks it's ridiculous, but everyone is laughing, and that's the point. Excellent kit.
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This box is adorable. I bought it for my husband
by Kiley (5 out of 5 stars)
April 28, 2016

This box is adorable. I bought it for my husband, the electrician, and he was able to assemble it in just a few hours. No matter how many times you flip the switch it still doesn't get old. This was on my desk at work for a year. When I brough it home my 4 yr old slowly broke it down and my husband ended up turning it into a nightlight for her.
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Vicarious fun
by Thomas (5 out of 5 stars)
January 3, 2015

I gave this to my son for Christmas. He hasn't built it yet, so I can't comment on how it works. But a friend of his was familiar with it, and said everyone loves it. My son was thrilled with the present itself and is looking forward to assembling it. He has a good soldering iron that he has used for working on RC equipment, so the soldering part will be fun and easy for him. And what guy doesn't like putting stuff together with little nuts and bolts. Can't say kid - he's over 40. But like his dad (me) he never grew up. I wish someone had gotten one of these for me.
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Need manual dexterity, but pleased with finished box
by WRose (4 out of 5 stars)
October 12, 2014

Great gift for that hard to get person. Comes in pieces with easy to read directions (except for adding light). Not difficult to piece together, but had some problems, since don't have great dexterity in hands and fingers. The plastic pieces can be brittle, but will be replaced for free (or so was stated in instructions). Never had piece break, though did strip a hole or two, but quick fixes for that are included. Overall was very happy with completed box and would buy again.
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Awesome!
by Jim (5 out of 5 stars)
February 20, 2015

This was somewhat hard to put together. The wiring and soldering was difficult for me BECAUSE I HAVE NEVER SOLDERED BEFORE. With that said a family member showed me how and I went back and redid all the connections. This was really fun to put together and I will definetly buy again! This was given as a gift and they loved it. Just beware not good to keep out with a bunch of kids around... Your useless box will become quite useless in no time. Thankfully there was a computer engineer at the house and fixed the issue.
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Kind of disappointing for the price
by Bob McDuffStuff (2 out of 5 stars)
May 24, 2014

The kit is complete, and assembly is quite possible, just a pain in the rear. The assembly system is unlike anything I've ever seen before, and is quite finicky. The soldering part is actually fairly simple, so you shouldn't have issues with it. Overall, the assembly went okay for the first part, but because the instructions weren't very good for the later half of assembly, we managed to get several steps out of order, and fixing those mistakes was a huge pain without disassembling most of the box. Assembly took me and a friend roughly an hour.

The actual box is much smaller than I was expecting, and the assembly didn't come together as well as we'd hoped. The pieces are kind of loose. That being said, it is a Most Useless Machine, it does work, and it is definitely fun.

Is this worth 40$? Probably closer to 20$, given the lower quality of the materials, the size, and also the awkward assembly that is required.

EDIT: My friends cat played with this a bit. I'm guessing it fell, but part of it chipped off already. He has had it for about a week or week and a half. Yeah. If I could change my score, I'd give this 2/5 stars. Oh. Apparently I can change the stars.

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