Most awful hack job, but my kid likes it

It has metal parts, therefore in my opinion it should have a three-wire plug with an earth wire to the metal parts. (Either that or a properly approved double-insulated transformer and AC wiring.) I think people over here pay a bit more attention to things like that because 240V is more effective aversion therapy - once you know what it feels like, you don't want to do it again. Still 120V could be dangerous if there is water around.

Chris

Of course they're worthless. You remove them to plug in clearly dangerous toys to pass around to kids.

The first thing I remember building using mains voltage was when I was

1. It was a disc sander made using a shaded pole induction motor which drove the fan inside an electric oven. I cut out plywood squares on a treadle-powered fretsaw to make an enclosure, then pinned and glued them together with Dad's help. Dad did the wiring but let me watch, then we sealed the enclosure. I cut out a disc of linoleum to support the sandpaper. It was a fun project and taught me a lot. I still have the sanding machine somewhere. Kids are better learning about electricity that not, but they need to appreciate the danger.

Chris

I wish I'd had more friends into this kind of stuff, too. I built a few crazy projects with friends, but most I did on my own. A friend and I hooked up a large centrifugal ventilation fan to a spin dryer motor, put it in the attic with the door open and poured a bag of flour inside. The suggestion of setting light to the flour arose, but neither of us dared! Then we tried to build a spud gun, which was a dismal failure, and assembled a few Estes rockets from kits. We never did get round to replacing the parachute with a water balloon filled with petrol, but my parents were always at home... Later on I built a spud gun which worked, a Van de Graaff generator and a small tesla coil when I was about 16 or

1. The tesla coil made a trip to school and we enjoyed frying gum and chewy sweets with it, but eventually some muppet yanked the cord out of the plug, and created a shower of sparks. That was probably the most dangerous bit :-).

Chris

I wish I'd had more friends into this kind of stuff, too. I built a few crazy projects with friends, but most I did on my own. A friend and I hooked up a large centrifugal ventilation fan to a spin dryer motor, put it in the attic with the door open and poured a bag of flour inside. The suggestion of setting light to the flour arose, but neither of us dared! Then we tried to build a spud gun, which was a dismal failure, and assembled a few Estes rockets from kits. We never did get round to replacing the parachute with a water balloon filled with petrol, but my parents were always at home... Later on I built a spud gun which worked, a Van de Graaff generator and a small tesla coil when I was about 16 or

1. The tesla coil made a trip to school and we enjoyed frying gum and chewy sweets with it, but eventually some muppet yanked the cord out of the plug, and created a shower of sparks. That was probably the most dangerous bit :-).

Chris

I took apart a nice toy truck at about 4 years of age, and made moonshine with a homemade apparatus by the time I was 15.

i

Ig,

Curiousity and its partner creativity comes in many forms....some of us work with "stuff", others with words, music or paint.

Whatever the medium if the result is a sense of accomplishment and pride, you can be sure that the endeavour will continue.

Ask yourself what in your youth sparked the interests that you now pursue?

Ever since my sons and daughters were about three, they all have been "helping" Dad with changing oil in the car, putting air in the tires, taking items apart and building things, whatever ....and many times kinda of being in the way to doing the work in the most efficient and timely manner. I valued the interaction and their sense of accomplishment over and above getting the work done ASAP...we all have to learn sometime. From my experience, kids are naturally curious and eager to interact in the adult world....we really are their role models. And I think we can all think back and remember with fondness the adults who took time with us as children. My kids still talk about the time when at the age of five, they got to use a chainsaw with "help" from Dad...or the time we blew up the gopher holes in the backyard...or had belt sander races....or rigged an air horn on their bikes...or...well you get the idea...everything including a lifetime interest in "stuff" is built a step at a time.

One approach my father took is to set up a workarea for my sibilings and me. This had our own small workbench with its own set of tools, vise and storage. This also included a 12 volt isolated power supply so we could work with electricity as we chose fit. This gave us a location to work on whatever we wanted and of course we always had some great project going on. Where it was taking the discarded television apart or reassembling our bikes for the Nth time to "improve" their performance, it was always something. Many times when he had a few minutes, he would come to help us where he took the role of the assistant and we were in charge of what was done. The reversal of roles was an interesting twist that he deliberately did to have us teach him what we had learned (remember that sense of accomplishment and pride?). He also made sure we had plenty of books about science experiments, radio, Popular Mechanics and Popular Science mags to fuel our imaginations. Our natural curiousity and youthful ignorance of not knowing what was impossible did the rest.

Three points that I see today undermining this natural drive of exploration and curiousity are the many mindless (in my opinion) activities vying for our children's attention (television comes immediately to mind), lack of adult interaction (remember your wife and you ARE their greatest role models and time spent with them is never wasted) and lack of resources (space, tools, stuff and time that the kids need to have to work with). In reference to the last point, many household actively discourage children from exploring the world since it would "make a mess". The next time you drive through a neighborhood, check out the open garages. Of the dozens of garages on display, only one or two will have any sign of a shop area..all the rest are used simply for storage. In my opinion, many times a clean garage is a sign of an empty mind.

Finally I leave you with this quote...

"When I was sixteen I thought my father was the dumbest man alive, when I turned twentyone, I was surprised to see how much the old man had learned in five years." -- Mark Twain

Some kids are late bloomers....I have seen kids that had no interest when they were younger but blossomed later into individuals that have some serious mechanical/electronic interests....and they credit their interests to those adults who took the time and exposed them to the wonderful world of "stuff".

Good luck,

TMT

On Fri, 04 Nov 2005 21:45:58 GMT, via , Rich Grise spake thusly:

Hmph. You safety nazis are ignoring the obvious attention given and care taken to cover the unused outlet with a plastic insulating plug. So you see, the project is COMPLETELY safe. So there. :-P~

Ha. I managed to get all of the screws at that age. Parents came in the front door and it fell off in there hands. :-)

I can barely remember it but I think I stacked some stuff in a chair in order to reach the top screws. :-)

Wayne Cook Shamrock, TX

That is correct ;-) I was doing those around 50 years ago when I was in Junior High (now called Middle School).

I used to wow the crowd by melting bottles with PP and glycerine.

I also found that Jetex capsules (for model airplanes) can generate a LOT of smoke... quite sufficient in fact to empty a restaurant ;-)

...Jim Thompson

--
|  James E.Thompson, P.E.                           |    mens     |
|  Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
|  Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC\'s and Discrete Systems  |    manus    |
|  Phoenix, Arizona            Voice:(480)460-2350  |             |
|  E-mail Address at Website     Fax:(480)460-2142  |  Brass Rat  |
|       http://www.analog-innovations.com           |    1962     |
             
I love to cook with wine.      Sometimes I even put it in the food.

We found that PP & glycerine in those small glass screwtop soda bottles (anyone in the UK remember Panda Pops?) made excellent hand grenades - complete with time delay :o)

Fortunately we had enough common sense NOT to chuck them at other kids... (at worst, I think we killed a couple of minnows in the local pond.)

TCM

Sheesh! Use a wall wart to power the damn thing. Or batteries. Ed

You should take him in and have him checked for autism.

Good Luck! Rich

You, Gunner, can take a flying leap...

And in advance, to those who rise to criticize me for making a strong remark, consider the mean-minded provocation, and how very ugly it appears to anyone to the right of George Bush.

--
 Thanks,
    - Win

And your CONSTANT calling Bush a liar is NOT mean-spirited?

To "the right of George Bush"? We're making progress ;-)

...Jim Thompson

--
|  James E.Thompson, P.E.                           |    mens     |
|  Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
|  Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC\'s and Discrete Systems  |    manus    |
|  Phoenix, Arizona            Voice:(480)460-2350  |             |
|  E-mail Address at Website     Fax:(480)460-2142  |  Brass Rat  |
|       http://www.analog-innovations.com           |    1962     |
             
I love to cook with wine.      Sometimes I even put it in the food.

You read too many scandal magazines ;-)

...Jim Thompson

-- | James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens | | Analog Innovations, Inc. | et | | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus | | Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | | | E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat | |

| 1962 | I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.

My error, of course.

--
 Thanks,
    - Win

That's not a strong remark. Strong remarks are terms like lib-tard, brain-dead leftie, pinko-commie-socialist-welfare freak, repug, shrubbie (actually kind of mild), neocon, whacked out left winger, right wing liar, left wing liar...

Tillman