You don't need permission to learn You can learn anything you want, starting today. If you want to learn how to do advanced mathematics, TIG weld aluminum, create complicated CAD drawings, do computer programming, 3D print a complex piece of your own design, or anything else you don't yet know how to do, you can start immediately, no permission necessary, no application … [Read more...]
Marvelous Magnetic Machines – Building Model Electric Motors From Scrap
The weather is cold or wet or it's late and all you want to do is tinker with a small project on your workbench. You turn on some tunes low in the background, spread out a few tools, maybe a cold adult beverage off to the side and you have some parts of various types sitting on the bench in front of you. You slide your stool over and sit yourself down, and with the light … [Read more...]
Paul Kalenian’s All Aluminum, Water Jet Cut, Home Built Special, Lulu
If you're a man of a certain age, like I am, you might remember Mickey Thompson's Indy Racer, the Harvey Aluminum Special from the early 60s. It impressed me at the time, because of its unique look, a wide and flat oval cross section and small 12 inch wheels with low profile tires. It resembled a roller skate of sorts and it picked up the nickname of the roller skate car. I … [Read more...]
When the Factory Gets it Wrong and You Have to Fix it
After clearing out all of this new workspace in the garage, I was looking for a worthy first project so I thought I'd start by changing the spark plugs on my F150. If you're thinking plug changes are easy, you have to know this is a 2004 Ford F150 with a Triton V8 engine. So what, you might ask? Well, back in the early 2000s, they designed the Triton V8 with a somewhat unique … [Read more...]
Reclaiming Garage Space and Contemplating Life
It happens slowly, after all it's just a walk behind lawn mower, but it takes a really long time to mow the lawn that way and who wants to mow for hours, so a lawn tractor makes sense, right? And what about those snow tires for the wife's car? You have to put them somewhere when the roads are clear. Of course when the snow gets deep you need a snow blower and if you park it … [Read more...]
Motorcycle Powered Full Body Go Karts are Ghraydon Wallick’s Newest Project
Ghraydon Wallick is at it again. If the name isn’t familiar, you might remember a couple of articles on The Kneeslider in 2010 about a leaning dual sidecar rig he built in his workshop in Thailand. Using limited resources he constructed a mechanism for sidecars, he designed and built, to be attached on both sides of a motorcycle and then to lean with it in the turns. Pretty … [Read more...]