Builderati

Matt Keveney maintains Animated Engines, a site with very clearly drawn animations of all of the major (and many minor) variations of mechanical engines. Check-out Matt’s site for the full listing of engine animatinos and a clear step-by-step, pictoral explanation of the workings of each engine design.

From MITer, Marsette Vona comes an inspired hack of a very hack-worthy object. Everyone who ever received a Billy Bass as a gift has wondered what to do with it after the initial chuckle subsided. See the “official” project site for details for Billy Bass hack.

“The Billy Bass Hack adds a 20 second re-recordable “special” message to the Billy Bass talking fish made by Gemmy Toys. The movements of the head, tail and mouth are also re-recordable, and the original factory messages are still available.”

My complexion demands the belt-and-suspenders approach to sun protection: SPF 30+ & shade. Since New England beaches are blustery on the best of days, I spent more time clutching my umbrella than enjoying the surf-sounds. None of those wimpy plastic screws could hold the umbrella fast in the face of the wind. Windjammer is a simple metal fabrication project that solved a problem that I experienced all summer–beach umbrella blow-down.

1. cut two dorsal fin-shaped blades from a mid-gauge sheet metal (I used 10 gauge steel) using a plasma cutter (as I did), a bandsaw, or cutting torch.
2. heat the blades using an oxy-acetylene torch (as I did), a smithing forge, or maybe even a propane torch. [heavier hammer work could substitute for heating]
3. hammer the blades into a propeller-like, curvy shape that presents the tip of the fin as opposing points (make them mirror images rather than identical — [hint: flip one over]).
4. cut a 2.5-foot section of steel tube or pipe with something like a 3/4″ - 1″ interior diameter (this needs to be big enough admit the shaft of your umbrella). I used tubing from a chopped-up bicycle.
5. cut a 3-foot section of 1/4″ steel rod or bar stock (maybe a piece of rebar?)
6. drill a 1/4″ hole about 2-inches from one end of the tube. (make sure that the hole does not weaken the tube structure significantly but allows the bar stock to enter easily).
7. now drill & tap a smaller hole through the tube about 2-inches below the first hole to allow you to screw in wing-capped screws (recommend drilling them through east-west if you view the first hole as north-south) [if the tube is too thin to tap effectively, you can also weld on a nut to the outside of the hole]
8. weld the flats of both blades at the other end of the tube on opposing sides. Position them so that the tips of both will engage the sand at something like a 30-degree angle.

I recently got an email forward containing these pictures of the unique art/engineering work. A little research turned up more information. The creator is Livio De Marchi of Venice, Italy. His unique take on high-tech automotive is not only eye catching but functional… well at least it floats. Read more about him.