Today someone was asking about my first metalworking project as a kid, so I
thought I would share it with you guys.
When I was 12, my uncle gave me an old lawnmower, along with an old
wringer washing machine. These were my first project parts aquisitions. I
wanted a power tool, so I took the motor off the washing machine. The mower
was next, losing the head and all external engine parts along the way,
except for the flywheel and coil assembly. I made angle clips and mounted
the
engine block to a plywood base with the piston upright. Took the rings off
the piston, drilled holes in the top of it to mount two angle clips a couple
of inches long. Added an oil dipper on the connecting rod. Cut pipe spacers
and mounted a small piece of plywood to the top of the block with
countersunk head bolts to allow the "table" to clear the angle clips. Bolted
a sawzall blade to the top of the piston using small bolts through the
clips, and cut a slot in the table for it to pass through. Belted the
flywheel and motor together, wired it, and plugged it in.
I was proud as hell of my new "jigsaw" I had created, and got my Dad the
carpenter, to show him my work. He was duly impressed, and asked me if the
spark plug wire was still sparking. This got me to thinking, so I rigged up
a ground rod and attached it to the block, then ran a probe from the
ignition lead to ground a foot or so away from it. Upon trying my new
device, I discovered I could saw wood and shock fishing worms out of the
damp ground nearby at the same time!
I'm 51 and I haven't stopped building things since that first worm
shocker/saw. I chuckle out loud every time I happen to think about that
thing.

Anyone else brave enough to share THEIR first project?

RJ
--
"You're just jealous because the voices are talking to me, instead of you."

If you were that creative and fluid with your thinking at
12, and you are now 51, howscome you're not chief engineer
at NASA, or bragging how you were best buds with Kelly
Johnson? Hmmmm?
JR
Dweller in the cellar

Backlash wrote:

Today someone was asking about my first metalworking project as a kid, so I
thought I would share it with you guys.
When I was 12, my uncle gave me an old lawnmower, along with an old
wringer washing machine. These were my first project parts aquisitions. I
wanted a power tool, so I took the motor off the washing machine. The mower
was next, losing the head and all external engine parts along the way,
except for the flywheel and coil assembly. I made angle clips and mounted
the
engine block to a plywood base with the piston upright. Took the rings off
the piston, drilled holes in the top of it to mount two angle clips a couple
of inches long. Added an oil dipper on the connecting rod. Cut pipe spacers
and mounted a small piece of plywood to the top of the block with
countersunk head bolts to allow the "table" to clear the angle clips. Bolted
a sawzall blade to the top of the piston using small bolts through the
clips, and cut a slot in the table for it to pass through. Belted the
flywheel and motor together, wired it, and plugged it in.
I was proud as hell of my new "jigsaw" I had created, and got my Dad the
carpenter, to show him my work. He was duly impressed, and asked me if the
spark plug wire was still sparking. This got me to thinking, so I rigged up
a ground rod and attached it to the block, then ran a probe from the
ignition lead to ground a foot or so away from it. Upon trying my new
device, I discovered I could saw wood and shock fishing worms out of the
damp ground nearby at the same time!
I'm 51 and I haven't stopped building things since that first worm
shocker/saw. I chuckle out loud every time I happen to think about that
thing.

Anyone else brave enough to share THEIR first project?

RJ
--
"You're just jealous because the voices are talking to me, instead of you."

--
Remove X to reply

--------------------------------------------------------------
Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth
If you're not the lead dog, the view never changes
Doubt yourself, and the real world will eat you alive
The world doesn't revolve around you, it revolves around me
No skeletons in the closet; just decomposing corpses
--------------------------------------------------------------
Dependence is Vulnerability:

"Open the Pod Bay Doors please, Hal"
"I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that.."

Well RJ I gotta say that was also probably one of my first powered projects.
I had built some coaster cars before but a subscription to Popular Mechanics
and finding the jig saw project you describe led me to build this saw also.
I ran across the saw head and blade a few years ago in dad shop, but it was
quite rusted.. I also am a year north of 50. I didn't do the worm thing
though as I don't fish.
lg
no neat sig line

RJ wrote
I'm 51 and I haven't stopped building things since that first worm
shocker/saw. I chuckle out loud every time I happen to think about that
thing.

Anyone else brave enough to share THEIR first project?

RJ
--
"You're just jealous because the voices are talking to me, instead of
you."

I used to LOVE those old 60's Popular Mechanics when there were things to
BUILD in there. Do you remember the saucy skimmer? But, alas, they, like a
lot of magazines, turned into glossy ads. You might still be able to find
bound volumes of the magazines at your local library. My library still had
copies back to 1947 about 3 years ago.

RJ

--
"You're just jealous because the voices are talking to me, instead of you."


"larry g" wrote in message
...
Well RJ I gotta say that was also probably one of my first powered
projects.
I had built some coaster cars before but a subscription to Popular
Mechanics
and finding the jig saw project you describe led me to build this saw
also.
I ran across the saw head and blade a few years ago in dad shop, but it
was
quite rusted.. I also am a year north of 50. I didn't do the worm thing
though as I don't fish.
lg
no neat sig line

RJ wrote
I'm 51 and I haven't stopped building things since that first worm
shocker/saw. I chuckle out loud every time I happen to think about that
thing.

Anyone else brave enough to share THEIR first project?

RJ
--
"You're just jealous because the voices are talking to me, instead of
you."

The words used were PROJECT, not invention. I like working with my hands. I
don't know Kelly Johnson.
BTW, what was YOUR first project? Hmmmmm??

RJ

--
"You're just jealous because the voices are talking to me, instead of you."


"JR North" wrote in message
...
If you were that creative and fluid with your thinking at
12, and you are now 51, howscome you're not chief engineer
at NASA, or bragging how you were best buds with Kelly
Johnson? Hmmmm?
JR
Dweller in the cellar

Backlash wrote:

Today someone was asking about my first metalworking project as a kid,
so I
thought I would share it with you guys.
When I was 12, my uncle gave me an old lawnmower, along with an old
wringer washing machine. These were my first project parts aquisitions.
I
wanted a power tool, so I took the motor off the washing machine. The
mower
was next, losing the head and all external engine parts along the way,
except for the flywheel and coil assembly. I made angle clips and
mounted
the
engine block to a plywood base with the piston upright. Took the rings
off
the piston, drilled holes in the top of it to mount two angle clips a
couple
of inches long. Added an oil dipper on the connecting rod. Cut pipe
spacers
and mounted a small piece of plywood to the top of the block with
countersunk head bolts to allow the "table" to clear the angle clips.
Bolted
a sawzall blade to the top of the piston using small bolts through the
clips, and cut a slot in the table for it to pass through. Belted the
flywheel and motor together, wired it, and plugged it in.
I was proud as hell of my new "jigsaw" I had created, and got my Dad
the
carpenter, to show him my work. He was duly impressed, and asked me if
the
spark plug wire was still sparking. This got me to thinking, so I rigged
up
a ground rod and attached it to the block, then ran a probe from the
ignition lead to ground a foot or so away from it. Upon trying my new
device, I discovered I could saw wood and shock fishing worms out of the
damp ground nearby at the same time!
I'm 51 and I haven't stopped building things since that first worm
shocker/saw. I chuckle out loud every time I happen to think about that
thing.

Anyone else brave enough to share THEIR first project?

RJ
--
"You're just jealous because the voices are talking to me, instead of
you."

--
Remove X to reply

--------------------------------------------------------------
Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth
If you're not the lead dog, the view never changes
Doubt yourself, and the real world will eat you alive
The world doesn't revolve around you, it revolves around me
No skeletons in the closet; just decomposing corpses
--------------------------------------------------------------
Dependence is Vulnerability:

"Open the Pod Bay Doors please, Hal"
"I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that.."

Backlash wrote:

Today someone was asking about my first metalworking project as a kid, so I
thought I would share it with you guys.
When I was 12, my uncle gave me an old lawnmower, along with an old
wringer washing machine. These were my first project parts aquisitions. I
wanted a power tool, so I took the motor off the washing machine. The mower
was next, losing the head and all external engine parts along the way,
except for the flywheel and coil assembly. I made angle clips and mounted
the
engine block to a plywood base with the piston upright. Took the rings off
the piston, drilled holes in the top of it to mount two angle clips a couple
of inches long. Added an oil dipper on the connecting rod. Cut pipe spacers
and mounted a small piece of plywood to the top of the block with
countersunk head bolts to allow the "table" to clear the angle clips. Bolted
a sawzall blade to the top of the piston using small bolts through the
clips, and cut a slot in the table for it to pass through. Belted the
flywheel and motor together, wired it, and plugged it in.
I was proud as hell of my new "jigsaw" I had created, and got my Dad the
carpenter, to show him my work. He was duly impressed, and asked me if the
spark plug wire was still sparking. This got me to thinking, so I rigged up
a ground rod and attached it to the block, then ran a probe from the
ignition lead to ground a foot or so away from it. Upon trying my new
device, I discovered I could saw wood and shock fishing worms out of the
damp ground nearby at the same time!
I'm 51 and I haven't stopped building things since that first worm
shocker/saw. I chuckle out loud every time I happen to think about that
thing.

Anyone else brave enough to share THEIR first project?

RJ
--
"You're just jealous because the voices are talking to me, instead of you."
mine was a metal turning lathe.. did not know even if a lathe existed,
but this is what i did.. took an old washing machine motor and used to
plug in in to just watch it spin... i then found a 9 in. piece of pipe
which seemed to be alum.. i beat it on the motor shaft and then watched
the motor spin the pipe... wow i thought, now i can put a file on the
pipe and make something... used to file away on the pipe with the motor
running... well i had long sleeve shirt on and the cuff got caught into
the end of the pipe.. it pulled me down into the pipe.... the inside of
the arm was pretty red from the force of the pipe pulling me into it....
well that was the last of the lathe.. it took me about 20 more years
before i had chance to play with another lathe.. this one i bought and
remembered to roll up my sleeves....

"Backlash" wrote in message ...
I used to LOVE those old 60's Popular Mechanics when there were things to
BUILD in there. Do you remember the saucy skimmer? But, alas, they, like a
lot of magazines, turned into glossy ads. You might still be able to find
bound volumes of the magazines at your local library. My library still had
copies back to 1947 about 3 years ago.

RJ

Most libraries have converted them into microfilm these days, alas.
Bandsawed the binders off and photographed them, then pulped them. I
do have my personal set of Popular Science from about '70 or so back
into the mid-30s. Microfilm just isn't the same.

Stan

"larry g" wrote in message
...
Well RJ I gotta say that was also probably one of my first powered
projects.
I had built some coaster cars before but a subscription to Popular
Mechanics
and finding the jig saw project you describe led me to build this saw
also.
I ran across the saw head and blade a few years ago in dad shop, but it
was
quite rusted.. I also am a year north of 50. I didn't do the worm thing
though as I don't fish.
lg
no neat sig line

RJ wrote
I'm 51 and I haven't stopped building things since that first worm
shocker/saw. I chuckle out loud every time I happen to think about that
thing.

Anyone else brave enough to share THEIR first project?

RJ
--
"You're just jealous because the voices are talking to me, instead of
you."

When I was a kid 10 speed bikes were a new thing. They had the derailer
type shifter that moved the chain across a series of sprockets. I always
wanted one. My bike was the old style English 3 speed.

Finally I got one. I bought it from a kid that had busted it up. I fixed
it up and rode
it for a while but I was not satisfied. I wanted more speeds than anyone
else.
I wanted 30 speeds!

I took the 3 speed hub from my English bike and mounted the 5 sprocket hub
on it from the 10 speed bike. I had to braze the center of the 5 speed
sprocket
to the mount point where the sprocket went on the 3 speed hub. I had to
lock the
ratchet in the 5 sprocket hub because I needed the ratchet in the 3 speed
hub to operate.
I could not have both ratcheting mechanisms work at the same time because
the English hubs required the ratchet to work so that they could shift.

Unfortunately the English 3 speed hub had a different number of spokes than
the 10 speed bike rim. I solved this problem by rearranging the spoke
pattern in an uneven arrangement that was good enough to have a straight
wheel.

I put the 10 speed bike back together with my combined rear wheel and had
my 30 speed bike. It worked great! I rode it on my paper route for about
a year until someone stole it. I never did get my 30 speed bike back but
afterwards, I checked every bike that I saw for my 30 speed modification.

Pete.

Peter Reilley wrote:

When I was a kid ...
I wanted 30 speeds!

... 3 speed hub ... 5 sprocket hub ...

Boy, I'm impressed. That would be a significant project for me now, I
wouldn't have known where to start when I was a kid.

Bob

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Hash: SHA1


I doubt it was my FIRST project, but it sure was strange.

I built a (mostly) wooden 1 cylinder electric motor when I was in junior
high.

A wooden flywheel, wood main bearings, a wood cam, all mounted
on a piece of plywood. The non-wood bits were the crankshaft (a bit of
coathanger wire), the solenoid (the cylinder/piston), and the microswitch
(actuated by the wood eccentric cam on the crankshaft, to fire the solenoid)
It was all powered by a Lionel electric train transformer.

And, to get some metalworking content in here...

A project that my dad & I worked on together was a WORKING model
of an 18th century ships cannon. I turned the barrel out of bronze, and he
built the carriage. The whole thing is about 14" long, bored to 60 cal, or so.
We didn't have any plans to work from, other than a picture out of a
Sears catalog.

Did I mention, fully functional?
About 50 grains of FFF black powder, some rolled up newspaper, and a coule
inches of waterproof cannon fuse.

FIRE IN THE HOLE!

BOOOOOM!

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--
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jim Wygralak | PGP (or gpg) signed messages get a free ride past my spam
| filters. Public key available on request.

I also lost a left sleeve many moons ago on my Atlas/Craftsman 12" right
after I first got it during the winter. Impressed me, too. G

RJ


--
"You're just jealous because the voices are talking to me, instead of you."


"jim" wrote in message ...
Backlash wrote:

Today someone was asking about my first metalworking project as a kid,
so I
thought I would share it with you guys.
When I was 12, my uncle gave me an old lawnmower, along with an old
wringer washing machine. These were my first project parts aquisitions.
I
wanted a power tool, so I took the motor off the washing machine. The
mower
was next, losing the head and all external engine parts along the way,
except for the flywheel and coil assembly. I made angle clips and
mounted
the
engine block to a plywood base with the piston upright. Took the rings
off
the piston, drilled holes in the top of it to mount two angle clips a
couple
of inches long. Added an oil dipper on the connecting rod. Cut pipe
spacers
and mounted a small piece of plywood to the top of the block with
countersunk head bolts to allow the "table" to clear the angle clips.
Bolted
a sawzall blade to the top of the piston using small bolts through the
clips, and cut a slot in the table for it to pass through. Belted the
flywheel and motor together, wired it, and plugged it in.
I was proud as hell of my new "jigsaw" I had created, and got my Dad
the
carpenter, to show him my work. He was duly impressed, and asked me if
the
spark plug wire was still sparking. This got me to thinking, so I rigged
up
a ground rod and attached it to the block, then ran a probe from the
ignition lead to ground a foot or so away from it. Upon trying my new
device, I discovered I could saw wood and shock fishing worms out of the
damp ground nearby at the same time!
I'm 51 and I haven't stopped building things since that first worm
shocker/saw. I chuckle out loud every time I happen to think about that
thing.

Anyone else brave enough to share THEIR first project?

RJ
--
"You're just jealous because the voices are talking to me, instead of
you."
mine was a metal turning lathe.. did not know even if a lathe existed,
but this is what i did.. took an old washing machine motor and used to
plug in in to just watch it spin... i then found a 9 in. piece of pipe
which seemed to be alum.. i beat it on the motor shaft and then watched
the motor spin the pipe... wow i thought, now i can put a file on the
pipe and make something... used to file away on the pipe with the motor
running... well i had long sleeve shirt on and the cuff got caught into
the end of the pipe.. it pulled me down into the pipe.... the inside of
the arm was pretty red from the force of the pipe pulling me into it....
well that was the last of the lathe.. it took me about 20 more years
before i had chance to play with another lathe.. this one i bought and
remembered to roll up my sleeves....

A memory comes to mind of when I dismantled our power reel lawnmower, and
built a wooden go-kart, with tiller steering, from the drive unit.
After I got it together, I had to take it for a spin. up the alley and on to
the street. I went about ½ a block and got pulled over by a cop.
He told me to get that piece of **** off the road. Since he was yelling it
over the bullhorn, it startled me so much that I jerked the rope handle, and
ran the kart into the curb. When I hit the curb it ripped the nails out
holding my steering board on. I had to drag the unit home in pieces.
My Dad was not thrilled when he got home from work to find the lawnmower
dismantled.

The go-kart was very dangerous by today's standards, as the reel was still
attached and spinning. The positive outcome of the go-kart incident was Dad
bought a riding lawnmower. it didn't take long for me to discover that the
new lawnmower would get the front wheels off the ground when I let out the
clutch fast. not real good wheelies, but being under 10 years old they were
enough to keep me mowing the yard almost everyday.


--
Please visit my website.
http://www.wallenderengineering.com


"Backlash" wrote in message
...
I also lost a left sleeve many moons ago on my Atlas/Craftsman 12" right
after I first got it during the winter. Impressed me, too. G

RJ


--
"You're just jealous because the voices are talking to me, instead of
you."


"jim" wrote in message ...
Backlash wrote:

Today someone was asking about my first metalworking project as a kid,
so I
thought I would share it with you guys.
When I was 12, my uncle gave me an old lawnmower, along with an old
wringer washing machine. These were my first project parts
aquisitions.
I
wanted a power tool, so I took the motor off the washing machine. The
mower
was next, losing the head and all external engine parts along the way,
except for the flywheel and coil assembly. I made angle clips and
mounted
the
engine block to a plywood base with the piston upright. Took the rings
off
the piston, drilled holes in the top of it to mount two angle clips a
couple
of inches long. Added an oil dipper on the connecting rod. Cut pipe
spacers
and mounted a small piece of plywood to the top of the block with
countersunk head bolts to allow the "table" to clear the angle clips.
Bolted
a sawzall blade to the top of the piston using small bolts through the
clips, and cut a slot in the table for it to pass through. Belted the
flywheel and motor together, wired it, and plugged it in.
I was proud as hell of my new "jigsaw" I had created, and got my
Dad
the
carpenter, to show him my work. He was duly impressed, and asked me if
the
spark plug wire was still sparking. This got me to thinking, so I
rigged
up
a ground rod and attached it to the block, then ran a probe from the
ignition lead to ground a foot or so away from it. Upon trying my new
device, I discovered I could saw wood and shock fishing worms out of
the
damp ground nearby at the same time!
I'm 51 and I haven't stopped building things since that first worm
shocker/saw. I chuckle out loud every time I happen to think about
that
thing.

Anyone else brave enough to share THEIR first project?

RJ
--
"You're just jealous because the voices are talking to me, instead of
you."
mine was a metal turning lathe.. did not know even if a lathe existed,
but this is what i did.. took an old washing machine motor and used to
plug in in to just watch it spin... i then found a 9 in. piece of pipe
which seemed to be alum.. i beat it on the motor shaft and then watched
the motor spin the pipe... wow i thought, now i can put a file on the
pipe and make something... used to file away on the pipe with the motor
running... well i had long sleeve shirt on and the cuff got caught into
the end of the pipe.. it pulled me down into the pipe.... the inside of
the arm was pretty red from the force of the pipe pulling me into it....
well that was the last of the lathe.. it took me about 20 more years
before i had chance to play with another lathe.. this one i bought and
remembered to roll up my sleeves....

" The go-kart was very dangerous by today's standards, as the reel was
still
attached and spinning. The positive outcome of the go-kart incident was
Dad
bought a riding lawnmower. it didn't take long for me to discover that the
new lawnmower would get the front wheels off the ground when I let out the
clutch fast. not real good wheelies, but being under 10 years old they
were
enough to keep me mowing the yard almost everyday.

When I was quite young my Dad helped my little brother and I build a go cart
using a Maytag washing machine motor, baby buggy wheels and some 3/4" pipe.
He made the motor slide forward to tighten the drive belt by stepping on a
pedal. It had a farm implement seat that sat over the motor. quite top heavy
but when you are going 6-8 MPH it was safe enough. Boy we had a blast with
that rig.

On Wed, 25 Feb 2004 20:48:27 -0500, "Backlash"
wrote:

Anyone else brave enough to share THEIR first project?

Some 1-tube and 2-tube radios about 5th and 6th grade.

A 35mm photo enlarger made from an old Argus camera, a lamphouse
made of a tomato juice can (1 quart) with a vacuum cleaner blowing in
it to keep the bulb heat from curling the negatives.

A jet engine, run on gasoline, that never produced any thrust but
made a pretty spectacular flamethrower that would melt snow instantly
for at least 15 feet.

On Wed, 25 Feb 2004 20:48:27 -0500, "Backlash" wrote:
Anyone else brave enough to share THEIR first project?

As a kid, my fascination was with radio. I built a couple of crystal
radios, a working telegraph (metalworking content, I made the keys
and the sounders), etc. I was about 7 then. Later I made a radio
telescope (stacked homemade yagis on a homemade az-al mount).
It used a 416B as the preamp and it would actually show sun noise
on the oscillograph (paper tape). Won a science fair with that when
I was 12.

Then I got interested in high voltages. I built a Winhurst machine,
a Van de Graf generator, and a Cockcroft-Walton voltage multiplier.
Also built assorted Tesla coils and Jacob's Ladders. My workshop,
a converted brooder house, looked like something out of a 1930s
science fiction movie.

Any metal parts I needed for any of those projects would send
me off to my father's machine shop. Either I made the parts myself,
or my father or my uncle helped when I didn't know how to do
something.

Gary

In article , Gary Coffman says...

On Wed, 25 Feb 2004 20:48:27 -0500, "Backlash" wrote:
Anyone else brave enough to share THEIR first project?

As a kid, my fascination was with radio. I built a couple of crystal
radios, a working telegraph (metalworking content, I made the keys
and the sounders), etc. I was about 7 then. Later I made a radio
telescope (stacked homemade yagis on a homemade az-al mount).
It used a 416B as the preamp and it would actually show sun noise
on the oscillograph (paper tape). Won a science fair with that when
I was 12.

Likewise. The first "thing" I ever built that really worked
was a one tube radio, right out of the "boys first book of
radio." I forget the author's name but it was a classic.

My radio didn't *look* like the one in the book, but after
building crystal sets that got only one station (wabc) it
was great to have some volume and selectivity.

I didn't have a socket that fit the 37 tube so I just strapped
the tube down over its base and soldered to the pins. The
fillament was by battery, but the B+ was from a suplus military
dynamotor, with the 28 volts provided from an old train transformer.

I recall being vaguely amazed that the thing had enough pizzaz
to give me a good shock once.

Jim

==================================================
please reply to:
JRR(zero) at yktvmv (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
==================================================

"Gears" wrote in message
...
A memory comes to mind of when I dismantled our power reel lawnmower, and
built a wooden go-kart,

The go-kart was very dangerous by today's standards, as the reel was still
attached and spinning.

Remids me of my firsy go-cart. I found a rell mower with motor in the junk
yard near by and brought it home. I poured some gas into it and it started
riht away. So at least I knew it ran. Next I removed the handle. I then
drilled a hole through the narow deck. I then mounted some buggy wheels on a
board and attached the board to the hole drilled in the deck. It was great
fun. Went through a deep puddle with, and you guessed it, when the reel hit
the water I got a shower. That was my first and only go cart.

After reading all the messages and seeing what guys did to entertain
themselves it makes me wonder what kids of today are going to say what there
first project was 20 or more years down the road?

Bernd

Mine wasn't a radio, but a mount to carry a portable radio on my bicycle.
Vacuum tubes didn't take too kindly to the bumps, but it did play most of the
time.

Those were great days. Bicycling out Croton Lake Road on a summer day, radio
going to WINS, fishing rod across the handlebars and a few friends along. Still
like the same music, but I sure don't miss that old one speed tank on the
hills. Or maybe I do miss it.... but not on the hills.

The go cart came next.

Too bad that my two sons, and most of the kids their age that I know, won't be
posting replies to a thread like this forty years from now. Growing up, my dad
had a bench grinder, a power drill, and a flexible shaft tool, and later a
radial arm saw that I wasn't allowed to use. I have a basement full of saws
(table, band, scroll), lathes (wood, 2 metal), shapers (wood, metal), milling
machine, drill press, jointer and planer. Not to mention the power hand tools.
And, yes, that old bench grinder and the flexible shaft tool. While each boy
- now 24 and 20 - has built things in the shop, I don't think either has ever
done a major project entirely on his own. That's sad.

John Martin

my Dad helped my little brother and I build a go cart
using a Maytag washing machine motor, baby buggy whee...............

Ah-memories.... Especially the Maytag motor.
Did that ever remove my little brother's jeans. And did he cry.... Not a
scratch but was he worried about the neighborhood girls seeing him withou pants
on...

That big open flywheel was wicked!!!




Paul in AJ AZ

Backlash wrote:
The words used were PROJECT, not invention. I like working with my hands. I
don't know Kelly Johnson.

Kelly Johnson was the project manager at Lockheed on the YF-17, which
became the SR-71. They were working on something about 20 years ahead
of anyone else in the world.

Jon

In article , JMartin957 says...

Those were great days. Bicycling out Croton Lake Road on a summer day, radio
going to WINS, fishing rod across the handlebars and a few friends along. Still
like the same music, but I sure don't miss that old one speed tank on the
hills. Or maybe I do miss it.... but not on the hills.

Hmm. Croton lake road, now just where would that have been?

Jim (who now motorcycles to work around the croton reservoir)

==================================================
please reply to:
JRR(zero) at yktvmv (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
==================================================

, JMartin957 says...

Those were great days. Bicycling out Croton Lake Road on a summer day,
radio
going to WINS, fishing rod across the handlebars and a few friends along.
Still
like the same music, but I sure don't miss that old one speed tank on the
hills. Or maybe I do miss it.... but not on the hills.

Hmm. Croton lake road, now just where would that have been?

Jim (who now motorcycles to work around the croton reservoir)


Thought that might get you - I recall your mentioning something about the
reservoir. We lived on W Main in Mt. Kisco, right about where the Saw Mill
crosses it. Moved later to Tripp St., near the Armonk line.

Bicycling to Croton for summer fishing was either out Croton Ave/Croton Lake
Road or out Crow Hill Road. Crow Hill Road was the fun one - downhill, anyway.

Where you at?

John Martin

Jon Elson wrote:

Backlash wrote:
The words used were PROJECT, not invention. I like working with my hands. I
don't know Kelly Johnson.

Kelly Johnson was the project manager at Lockheed on the YF-17, which
became the SR-71. They were working on something about 20 years ahead
of anyone else in the world.

Jon


and still are....

Jon Elson wrote:

Backlash wrote:
The words used were PROJECT, not invention. I like working with my hands. I
don't know Kelly Johnson.

Kelly Johnson was the project manager at Lockheed on the YF-17, which
became the SR-71. They were working on something about 20 years ahead
of anyone else in the world.

Jon

Huh? The YF-17 was precursor to the F-18 Hornet. Similar in shape but
with spindly little Air Force landing gear. Thinking of the YF-12 maybe?

Cheers
Trevor Jones

John, this is sad. I've got a shop full of tools now.
Bandsaw/shopsmith/table saw/2 routers/and old wards wood lathe/compound
miter/hand tools out the ears/grinders and a LeBlond lathe on the way and
I'm all of 29. It just floors me that the current youth aren't interested in
how things Work....or even yet how things are put together. Of course I had
to fire my last SWMBO in order to get all of the above and "keep" them. She
took all the money and a new car (paid for) but that's another story. I'm
sure some of you guys can console with me on that one. But either way I
digress I'm a young'n and I enjoy figuring things out. Projects? Give me
one. =) Currently I'm building a automated counter pressure bottle filler
for home brewers soda and beer. (quite possibly just for me.)

Anyway I had to put my 2 cents in.

Reno, Paul


"JMartin957" wrote in message
...
Mine wasn't a radio, but a mount to carry a portable radio on my bicycle.
Vacuum tubes didn't take too kindly to the bumps, but it did play most of
the
time.

Those were great days. Bicycling out Croton Lake Road on a summer day,
radio
going to WINS, fishing rod across the handlebars and a few friends along.
Still
like the same music, but I sure don't miss that old one speed tank on the
hills. Or maybe I do miss it.... but not on the hills.

The go cart came next.

Too bad that my two sons, and most of the kids their age that I know,
won't be
posting replies to a thread like this forty years from now. Growing up,
my dad
had a bench grinder, a power drill, and a flexible shaft tool, and later a
radial arm saw that I wasn't allowed to use. I have a basement full of
saws
(table, band, scroll), lathes (wood, 2 metal), shapers (wood, metal),
milling
machine, drill press, jointer and planer. Not to mention the power hand
tools.
And, yes, that old bench grinder and the flexible shaft tool. While each
boy
- now 24 and 20 - has built things in the shop, I don't think either has
ever
done a major project entirely on his own. That's sad.

John Martin

In article , JMartin957 says...

Thought that might get you - I recall your mentioning something about the
reservoir. We lived on W Main in Mt. Kisco, right about where the Saw Mill
crosses it. Moved later to Tripp St., near the Armonk line.

Bicycling to Croton for summer fishing was either out Croton Ave/Croton Lake
Road or out Crow Hill Road. Crow Hill Road was the fun one - downhill, anyway.

Where you at?

You bicycled on crow hill rd?? Nowadays that's unfortunately
not possible, it's a fairly major shortcut for folks who are
heading in/out of mt kisco. Narrow and cars drive real fast.

I live in peekskill, so I ride the back roads that wind around
the reservoir to get to IBM in yorktown heights. I can go
either on the north or south side, and now that I've got
a dual sport bike, the dirt roads that border the reservoir
are open to me as well.

For those who are interested, the New Croton Reservoir is a larger,
expanded version of the reservoir that made NYC possible. In the
mid 1800s the city decided they needed water because NY simply
had nothing to drink, and no way to put fires out. So they
created an aquaduct about 50 miles long and ran water from
westchester county down to New York. All by gravity.

Later on, around the turn of the century, they realized that
bigger was better, so they expanded the size of the reservoir
by about ten times, and created the largest hand-hewn stone
structure in the world, the New Croton Dam, and this still
provides a major source of NY's drinking water.

The story of how the dam was built is among one of the most
fascinating engineering stories I've ever come across.

Jim

==================================================
please reply to:
JRR(zero) at yktvmv (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
==================================================

"Backlash" wrote in message
...
Anyone else brave enough to share THEIR first project?
RJ

When I was in sixth grade in 1963, some of the guys in the
neighborhood were trying to build mini-bikes. Standard procedure was
to scrounge some electrical conduit, cut and bend into something
resembling a frame, then find someone to braze it together. Thinking
this was too complicated, I decided to use an old bike frame. I
mounted a 14-inch spoked solid rubber wheel from a tricycle on the
front. On the back was an eight-inch solid rubber utility wheel that I
somehow wedded to a large bike sprocket. For $7 I bought a junk Reo
reel mower whose engine had built-in gear reduction. At my buddy’s
house, we nailed it to his dad’s workbench and removed the carb. After
using some gas to wipe it down, I pulled the starter rope. It roared
to life for a second and scared us to death, but we took it as a good
omen that it didn’t even need a carb to run.

With a pair of high handlebars from Santa, I was ready for action. I
pushed my stuff two miles to the local machine shop (the one with
overhead lineshafts) and begged a busy machinist to braze a couple
pieces of angle iron onto the base of my bike frame to hold the
engine. Years later I realized what a feat of craftsmanship this was.
(Apparently this was before the Age of Liability.) Of course the
engine and rear wheel chain sprockets had to line up, which meant the
engine had to hang way out to one side. No problem, we just leaned the
bike over enough to balance!

I couldn’t afford a centrifugal clutch, so the starting procedure
consisted of raising the back tire off the ground by lifting on the
seat, running forward a few feet, dropping the back tire and hopping
on as the engine roared to life and the machine took off. Very soon I
realized it would be nice to have a way to stop other than pulling off
the spark plug wire. Thus was born the “dead man’s throttle”, as we
called it. I ran a piece of monofilament fishing line along the frame
from the spring-loaded throttle up to the handlebar grip, and adjusted
the idle so slow that the engine would stall unless you kept tension
on the string with your thumb. A wad of duct tape to protect the thumb
was my lone concession to comfort. A cone-shaped plastic nozzle from a
CO2 fire extinguisher made a great exhaust pipe megaphone. “Sounds
more boss than a Honda 50!” claimed my friends.

Our driveway was soon covered with skid marks from drop-starting and I
recall my dad not being outwardly amused when he came home and found
that we had turned the front lawn into a muddy oval track. It had not
taken long for us guys to realize you could do better spin-outs on the
grass when it was wet.

Of the half-dozen home-made mini-bikes in my neighborhood, rarely more
than one would be running at the same time, so our dream of a pack of
us running traffic off the roads never came true. But we did amuse
ourselves greatly by occasionally driving onto the school grounds in
the evening in order to get the janitor to come running out after us.
He never learned we were always a little faster than he could run.

I kept track of my project expenses: the whole thing cost $17,
including the welding. My family moved a few weeks after finishing it
and I couldn’t take it along. I sold it to another kid for $24 and
discovered capitalism.

Carl Joplin

Thought that might get you - I recall your mentioning something about the
reservoir. We lived on W Main in Mt. Kisco, right about where the Saw Mill
crosses it. Moved later to Tripp St., near the Armonk line.

Bicycling to Croton for summer fishing was either out Croton Ave/Croton Lake
Road or out Crow Hill Road. Crow Hill Road was the fun one - downhill,
anyway.

Where you at?

You bicycled on crow hill rd?? Nowadays that's unfortunately
not possible, it's a fairly major shortcut for folks who are
heading in/out of mt kisco. Narrow and cars drive real fast.

I live in peekskill, so I ride the back roads that wind around
the reservoir to get to IBM in yorktown heights. I can go
either on the north or south side, and now that I've got
a dual sport bike, the dirt roads that border the reservoir
are open to me as well.

For those who are interested, the New Croton Reservoir is a larger,
expanded version of the reservoir that made NYC possible. In the
mid 1800s the city decided they needed water because NY simply
had nothing to drink, and no way to put fires out. So they
created an aquaduct about 50 miles long and ran water from
westchester county down to New York. All by gravity.

Later on, around the turn of the century, they realized that
bigger was better, so they expanded the size of the reservoir
by about ten times, and created the largest hand-hewn stone
structure in the world, the New Croton Dam, and this still
provides a major source of NY's drinking water.

The story of how the dam was built is among one of the most
fascinating engineering stories I've ever come across.

Jim


Crow Hill Road was a great ride, but that was 1956-1960 or so. Things have
changed there, I agree. When we moved down to the Armonk end of town in 1959,
Tripp Street had only recently been paved. Check that one out sometime -
especially Murphy's Hill at the south end.

Many of my friends growing up were the sons or grandsons of Italian stonemasons
who had originally come over to work on the water projects. I've never seen a
book about the building of the dams and aqueduct, but would like to.

The aqueduct itself was an interesting mystery - there were lots of guesses as
to where it actually ran, but no one that I knew really knew its exact route.
I would imagine that most of the town engineers knew, but we didn't - and I'd
imagine that post-911 it's even harder to find out. I do recall that one of
the action movies - a Bruce Willis, maybe? - had a chase scene involving bank
robbers using the tunnels to escape from Manhattan.

John Martin

One of my earlier projects was making a brass headed hammer on my
dads atlas lathe for driving dress maker's pins when building comet
airplane kits. Later made a motor-bike out of a bicycle and a 3 hp
briggs engine. It would go like hell until it would tear the guts out
of the 3 speed rear hub.
Later I had a Wizzer motor-bike. The valves were about the size of
a dime. Using the atlas lathe I put in a much bigger intake valve from
a briggs engine. Way to fast for me.
Went through a" November Sky " phase, amazing that I am still alive.
Some times a parent like me is thankful that their kid is a mere
vidiot. Larry Reiss Omaha NE



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Later I had a Wizzer motor-bike.

Me tooo.... Then I got two false (front) teeth. Made a nervous wreck out of
my mother.


Paul in AJ AZ

In article ,
Backlash wrote:
Today someone was asking about my first metalworking project as a kid, so I
thought I would share it with you guys.
When I was 12, my uncle gave me an old lawnmower, along with an old
wringer washing machine. These were my first project parts aquisitions. I
wanted a power tool, so I took the motor off the washing machine. The mower

[ ... ]

Anyone else brave enough to share THEIR first project?

Reading through the thread, I've been trying to figure out
what *was* my first project. It depends on just what you would call a
"project". :-)

1) Lots of things from Tinkertoy and Erector sets, none of which
survive, and I never could tighten the screw sufficiently at
that age.

2) Probably the earliest was an electric motor kit in which you
assembled the frame and rotor, wound both assembled a
(short-lived) commutator and brushes. It worked (from a single
screw-terminal dry cell), but didn't really have enough power to
run anything worthwhile.

3) An adaptor to turn what used to be a music stand (I guess) into
a camera tripod (of sorts), involving taking a length of 1/4"
mild steel rod to the town's machine shop to get 1/4-20 threads
(before I discovered things like dies), and then I sawed off end
and with some time with a hacksaw and a file, managed to add the
ability to tilt the angle of view up or down. (I also "invented"
rivets, using part of a nail as material. :-) By this time, I
actually had a power tool -- an electric drill.

4) Things like home-built telegraph keys and sounders. (We were
too far from any citys for a crystal radio to be worth much. :-)

5) And eventually, I built a 10-1/2" reel-to-reel tape deck in
imitation of the Ampex that I saw at the school radio station.
(But not nearly as good. :-) Lots of metalworking in that one.

Enjoy,
DoN.
--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

I wish I could convince my parents to equip the basement, so far the wood
lathe has not gone over well at all, metalworking content: me trying to
harden the damn carbon steel rod that I payed 16$ for, and finding a way to
attach the tool rest(train track) to a bench. A go kart would not last very
long here, the police are right now handing out 109$ tickets for riding on
the sidewalks with bikes, or riding no helmet.
While each boy
- now 24 and 20 - has built things in the shop, I don't think either has ever
done a major project entirely on his own. That's sad.

John Martin

On Wed, 17 Mar 2004 06:15:15 GMT, Reyd Dorakeen wrote:
A go kart would not last very
long here, the police are right now handing out 109$ tickets for riding on
the sidewalks with bikes, or riding no helmet.
Sounds good to me! Puppy is deathly afraid of bikes since the sidewalk
warrior wiped out at high speed while swerving around her on the grass
and damned near landed on her. On the other hand, civic employees shut
down the mower used to mow the boulevard, even though I have picked
her up and indicated that they do not need to do so.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

"Gerald Miller" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 17 Mar 2004 06:15:15 GMT, Reyd Dorakeen wrote:

Sounds good to me! Puppy is deathly afraid of bikes since the sidewalk
warrior wiped out at high speed while swerving around her on the grass
and damned near landed on her. On the other hand, civic employees shut
down the mower used to mow the boulevard, even though I have picked
her up and indicated that they do not need to do so.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

Gerry, You have confused me entirely. You picked up the mower?
Reno, Paul

On Wed, 17 Mar 2004 16:21:54 -0800, "Paul"
wrote:


"Gerald Miller" wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 17 Mar 2004 06:15:15 GMT, Reyd Dorakeen wrote:

Sounds good to me! Puppy is deathly afraid of bikes since the sidewalk
warrior wiped out at high speed while swerving around her on the grass
and damned near landed on her. On the other hand, civic employees shut
down the mower used to mow the boulevard, even though I have picked
her up and indicated that they do not need to do so.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

Gerry, You have confused me entirely. You picked up the mower?
Reno, Paul

Never seen a female mower, OTOH female puppy is the BOSS, especially
when she needs to find a puddle at 3 AM. Right now she is objecting to
my typing because she had her nose snuggled in between my body and my
elbow.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

"Gerald Miller" wrote in message
...
Never seen a female mower, OTOH female puppy is the BOSS, especially
when she needs to find a puddle at 3 AM. Right now she is objecting to
my typing because she had her nose snuggled in between my body and my
elbow.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

Ah Yes! Yes I have.

Reno, Paul