salthaus

I just finished making 8 of these. I painted drink cups from the local BBQ joint black because I didn't want to wrap the socks around the whole unit to reduce evaporation, as you suggested. I used a rock to hold the socks down. But, I didn't pull the socks down far enough on the outside to cover the drain holes. So, with my units, the mosquitoes could get out the drain holes. Alas, I got some REALLY, FOUL, SMELLY, NASTY water from the shady depths of Pestilential Bog and don't really want to touch them. I think I'll poke some little screen cones in the holes with a stick. Next time I make more of these, I THINK I could get two units per sock by cutting the sock in half and tying the bottom of the open sock tube together with a string, making two "half socks". I hope th...

I just finished making 8 of these. I painted drink cups from the local BBQ joint black because I didn't want to wrap the socks around the whole unit to reduce evaporation, as you suggested. I used a rock to hold the socks down. But, I didn't pull the socks down far enough on the outside to cover the drain holes. So, with my units, the mosquitoes could get out the drain holes. Alas, I got some REALLY, FOUL, SMELLY, NASTY water from the shady depths of Pestilential Bog and don't really want to touch them. I think I'll poke some little screen cones in the holes with a stick. Next time I make more of these, I THINK I could get two units per sock by cutting the sock in half and tying the bottom of the open sock tube together with a string, making two "half socks". I hope this works!! If it does it is really brilliant. THANKS FOR POSTING!!

Good information. The strategic weakening method is especially interesting. A cross discipline question here. Has anyone done any steam heating of large slabs followed by clamping during cool down to remove twist? I am interested in boat building, and the experts in that craft routinely induce some truly amazing twists and bends into normally flat wood to fit their needs. I was wondering if anyone had used these techniques to take twist out of a board?

Good collection of tips. I have used the dual-glue approach to add a stained/varnished frame to the surface of a 4X8 foot bathroom mirror while it was mounted on the wall. I was not creative enough to figure out a clamping system, so I attached the pre-finnished frame to the mirror one piece at a time using PL Premium construction adhesive spots alternated with and hot melt glue spots. A small amount of fill/finish touch-up at the corners completed the job.

Very good job on putting together a process for making these boats with kids. Good documentation. Concerning the Putt Putt boats, I am old enough to have purchased the commercial versions (then called Pop Pop boats) and to have made these as a kid. I found that a wind screen was a practical necessity for my home-made versions, but I usually opted for doing surgery on tin cans to create these, and that takes the whole difficulty/danger content of this project to a much higher level. There is a good article at the following link on the physics of the Pop Pop boat. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_pop_boat This article answers the question of water flow path. Both pipes are both intakes and exhausts and both intake and exhaust simultaneously. This same mass flow physics is curren...

Very good job on putting together a process for making these boats with kids. Good documentation. Concerning the Putt Putt boats, I am old enough to have purchased the commercial versions (then called Pop Pop boats) and to have made these as a kid. I found that a wind screen was a practical necessity for my home-made versions, but I usually opted for doing surgery on tin cans to create these, and that takes the whole difficulty/danger content of this project to a much higher level. There is a good article at the following link on the physics of the Pop Pop boat. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_pop_boat This article answers the question of water flow path. Both pipes are both intakes and exhausts and both intake and exhaust simultaneously. This same mass flow physics is currently being used by some "fan" manufacturers to cool electronics. But, instead of alternately flash boiling water into steam, a diaphragm alternately pushes and pulls air into and out of a set of orifices, creating jets of air. Your Instructable was somewhat of a time machine in that it brought back lots of very old very good memories. Kids who make these will never forget what they have learned. You are giving them a great gift. Thanks.

Outstanding work! Makes me thirsty for a good Weitzen. I am a student of sailing, and there may be some cross pollination of ideas possible between sailing and your mug building. The following link to an article on making birdsmouth masts might be of interest. (Or, just Google birdsmouth masts .) Instructions are also included for making tapered masts. http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/04/s/articles/bir... The primary advantages of birdsmouth construction are more gluing surface, and a somewhat self-aligning structure during clamping (using hose clamps as you do). The disadvantage is that it is more difficult to cut the staves. But, if an eight sided structure is selected, this difficulty is minimized somewhat. It is also possible to build tapered structures, but the taper would ...

Outstanding work! Makes me thirsty for a good Weitzen. I am a student of sailing, and there may be some cross pollination of ideas possible between sailing and your mug building. The following link to an article on making birdsmouth masts might be of interest. (Or, just Google birdsmouth masts .) Instructions are also included for making tapered masts. http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/04/s/articles/bir... The primary advantages of birdsmouth construction are more gluing surface, and a somewhat self-aligning structure during clamping (using hose clamps as you do). The disadvantage is that it is more difficult to cut the staves. But, if an eight sided structure is selected, this difficulty is minimized somewhat. It is also possible to build tapered structures, but the taper would exist on both the inside and outside, so turning the inside might be more difficult. But if tapering the basic structure is a good idea, it is possible with birdsmouth construction.Kudos also to your wife for her artwork! You all have a good combination of skills. Thanks for sharing.

I have two problems with this idea. The first is that I didn't think of it. Very clever idea. Well done. Really nice thought process. The second is that my bench is in my garage in the Texas heat, which means that rubber bands will deteriorate rapidly. I would like to see a music wire spring version. I think the retention spring would be fairly easy with music wire. The pop-up/rotation function would be harder, but perhaps possible with enough thought. Perhaps strong nylon string with a steel coil spring supplying tension?