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...]
Makerspace Is Just Newspeak for Workshop
The other day I saw this article about building makerspaces in schools and the photo showed what seemed to me to be a nice workshop, similar to what schools had when I grew up. Of course, now these spaces have things like 3D printers, not a tool we had years back, but the saws and drill presses are pretty standard fare. It made me wonder if there was any real purpose for using … [Read more...]
Wrench, Ride or Race?
A recent post here touched on the idea that riding time was fast disappearing, as work, for many of us, encroaches on formerly free time with smart phones a constant reminder of what we do all day. Long periods free of interruptions are harder to come by and what you do then is a choice between many competing priorities. The choice, though, isn't always a matter of what we can … [Read more...]
1983 Dnepr From Basket Case to Fascinating Custom by Robert Harms
We first wrote about this bike six years ago. Doctor Robert Harms bought a 1983 Dnepr Neval (Neval, I believe, is a UK variant of the Dnepr, though some Dnepr experts may be able to clarify) as a $500 basket case, primarily as a test bed for some development work for some aftermarket parts he planned to sell. Since he was having conceptual problems with another complex build … [Read more...]
1938 BSA Buell by Doctor Robert Harms Now For Sale
As noted in the last post, some of the motorcycles built by Doctor Robert Harms are for sale. This one is another fascinating hybrid, it's a 1938 BSA Star powered by the 500cc single from a 2002 Buell Blast. This differs slightly from the description in the eBay listing, but since my information comes from Doctor Robert Harms himself as given to me for our previous article on … [Read more...]