Builderati

This custom conveyance was built for the FrankenBike competition organized, but later cancelled, by the Museum of Science. Without the deadline pressure, the project was never quite finished. I needed the space in the garage so that I could do the welding workshops for Boston Burners. The bike has two front wheels which need to be joined with a bike chain to synchronize steering. The rear wheel drive is functional, but the deraileur system needs some work to get multiple gears. The steering wheel was salvaged from the bus chassis used for the Busycle Project. The wiring harness is in-tact and can easily be united with a battery and some lights, horn, or other fun addition. It should be easy to put in shape by someone with a little bit of bike mechanics skill.

This go-anywhere blender brings the horsepower to power through those frozen drinks. An inspired build from the maker of the The V8 Snowblower.

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.

Kinetic sculptor and uber-builder Arthur Ganson hosted the annual FAT Friday at MIT this past Friday-After-Thanksgiving creating a Chain Reaction

I have been building skeletal dragon forms whenever steel and time are available. It seems obvious that the next thing to do is to make a life-size dragon head that is capable of spewing a jet of flame.

And, while I am at it, why not mount it on the roof of my ‘89 Honda Accord? I was recently gifted the Accord by a generous member of the Boston Burning Man group. All it needed was a new alternator to fix an internal short and of course a new dragon-head for the roof.

In researching the design for the flame cannon, I came across this well documented design for a homemade flame thrower posted in a number of places (but best laid out here) by Builderati, RolandTower.

My own design will use liquid propane (just like your grill uses) as a fuel source and produce more of a gush of flame like a flame cannon rather than a steady stream like flame thrower. I have done the trip to Lowes for the necessary plumbing fittings and I need the time to buy, assemble, and test. I have been delaying since I have a clearing in the woods in mind for a test spot rather than my backyard and I don’t want to be in the position of holding a flame cannon without the ability to immediately (and safely) test it out.