Parker zip line

Two year old rocking the zip line

So this is how my mind works when I am not in school or working. Parker and I were playing with an old box of Legos and Construx when I saw a little Construx pulley that reminded me of the spaceship zip lines I would make with string off my parent's balcony when I was younger. My first thought was to make something similar for Parker to play with. Then I thought why play with Legos when I could put parker on it. Then I was reminded of the last add I had seen from Harbor Freight and how cheap you can get 1/4 inch steel cable. Within a few hours I had Parker flying across our lawn... I like to think that Parker has enjoyed having me around more the last few months. One problem I ran into is that most pulleys use aluminum sheaves (the wheel of the pulley). Because the steel cable is a harder material, every time someone would go down the zip line on the original pulley they would get little bits of aluminum raining down on them. I decided to make my own trolley. I started by using the lathe to shape plastic from a cutting board for the sheaves and using ball bearings from an old set of rollerblades.

 I then cut out a basic housing for new trolley.

It took Parker a couple days to warm to it but he was really hooked once I added the seat. 

Here is a video of Parker in action.

Crane

Last month I decided to get rid of an old patio umbrella that had been falling apart in our backyard. Looking at the little pulleys on it and the good remaining wood I decided I couldn't throw the whole thing away and instead started making a little toy crane for our ever spoiled 2 year old.

Whenever we have guests he likes to pick it up so he can bring it over and show off his new toy. It is about the same size as he is so it has been cute to watch him try and carry it around the house.

Urban Dog Sled

My sister-in-law Jessica and her husband Nick have two beautiful huskies who they spent a little time training as sled dogs. Nick had mentioned that it would be fun to try it on a paved road so a few years back I thought i would attempt building an urban dog sled. There had been a damaged and abandoned shopping cart on our street for while (not the best neighborhood) that I recruited for the cause. I chopped off the top and built a seat on it. I then welded on steering knuckles to the front wheels and linked them together so they would work in tandem. Also welded to the front wheels were foot pegs allowing the rider to steer. A spring mechanism would bring the steering back to center whenever the feet were relaxed. Finally I added a break lever to one of the rear wheels that worked so poorly I am not sure if two energetic dogs would even feel it. Also, with no form of suspension the ride was bumpy enough to rattle fillings out of your teeth. I did try it out once but unfortunately I don't have any video. It is one thing to run dogs on a trail, but something else entirely to get them to run down a road with cars on it. I don't blame Jess and Nick if the sled never got used much, but it did make for an exciting ride.

Kiln

Dentists used to do a lot of their own metal casting for crowns and bridges but now we leave most of that up to dental labs. Consequently I was a little disappointed that that was a very small part of our education in dental school. Also, I saw a video on YouTube of someone melting down aluminum and pouring it into an anthill. After excavating it they had an aluminum casting of an anthill that looked so awesome it immediately went on my bucket list. I haven't found any suitable anthills yet but when I do this kiln will be waiting.

I decided to use an old propane tank for the shell. I started by bleeding the tank outside to get it down to 0 psi but I was still scared to cut into this thing with an angle grinder. I decided to remove the top valve first so I could fill the tank with water and guarantee I had evacuated all of the propane.

Turns out these things are glued in place and extremely difficult to remove. I ended up using a 10 foot breaker bar to get it moving.

 The inside is insulated with cement

 I opened a smaller propane tank to form the crucible

 A simple blow dryer works as a blower to pump oxygen in.

The crucible goes down in the middle and I use charcoal as fuel.

It goes well above the aluminum melting point and has a pretty glow to it when it does. Let me know when you find a good anthill for me!

Flight Box

I put this one together a few months ago. Whenever I would go out flying it felt like it would take forever to gather everything I would need. Sometimes I would travel light but then end up coming home early because I couldn't make that one little adjustment or repair. I wanted something simple I could thrown in the car but after looking at some different tackle boxes but none of them could fit my remote. I settled on this design with a locking mechanism on the back that would make it transport/ Parker proof. It was fun to do some wood work again, and it also reminded me why I don't do as much woodwork.

Pinewood Derby Cheater

A couple years back our elders quorum had a pinewood derby.


Perfectly legitimate entry...

just don't flip it over

the rubberband stretches around two pulleys before wrapping around the rear axle allowing it to be wound up. Rubber was added to the rear tires for the needed extra traction.

And the much coveted trophies

The Flying Weedwacker

When I was 13 I briefly attempted to get into RC airplanes. It proved to be too expensive for a 13 year old with no job and ultimately the whole experience ended in splinters. I have always been interested in having another crack at the hobby and was happy to find it now much more accessible. Now all you need is a little imagination, some surprisingly cheap electronic components from China, the ability to read Chinglish instructions, a few sheets of foam from the dollar tree, and you are in the air.
  Over the last several months I have built a few different planes but wanted to first share the flying weedwacker. This project started when I found a weedwacker on the side of the road and then embarrassed Maria by pulling it out of some stranger's garbage can. One man's trash is another man's new desire to see if he can make a weedwacker fly. With a little work I got it running again and then proceeded to cut/ break/ hammer/ saw off every component that didn't look too important.

This is about what I was left with. The body of the plane was made primarily out of a material called coroplast which is typically used for large election signs.

 

 It can be an emotional hobby because you put time into building these planes but there are no guarantees that it will work or that you wont pile drive it into the ground. I did the math the best I could but the whole time I was building it I wasn't sure it would actually get off the ground.

 getting ready for maiden flight

My mechanic checks to make sure everything looks snug

In the video of the first flight you can here audible surprise in the backround as the thing actually gets off the ground. The first flight went perfect until I finally decided to bring it back down. Here are some highlights from the video of it landing:
0.18- mother fearing for her child's life
0.22-me somehow managing to hit the only branch on the entire lake bed
0.23-firewall partially fracturing and severing the throttle control leaving the engine stuck at full throttle
0.28-taking off again like i am doing a cool touch-and-go but actually having no choice but to wait until the thing runs out of gas

you can watch the video here