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'Other stuff' that I've been making
As well as building vehicles and things of that nature I occasionally get the urge to build 'other things'.
These are just a few of them I have done recently.
There aren't any as such, I just do some research ( on the net, books, magazines etc) and then go down the shed and give it a go ~ I guess I have plans in my head?
Made a MONSTER skateboard for some reason?
36" shed build sapele pintail deck and monster wheels
made a couple of bar stools/tables from some spalted beech bowl blanks and sheet steel
made a table lamp to go with the stools above, vintage bike light and aluminium plate
Bedside lamp from a old Bakelite French bicycle lamp and some other bits, 6v Led power
Olivewood catapults, one is my own design of 'Pickle fork slingshot'
few more.....
design from the web ( metro grade 'mantis'), bog oak, bamboo and mahogany
same design but in black palm wood
carbon fibre 'credit card' style, my design.
made a few new catapults (or slingshots if your that way inclined)
first one is the con rod I trashed in my triumph chop engine, now a catty and bottle opener
second one is an old belay I had lying around, it also has a magnetic ammo holder
both where from designs I found on the web
Both of the above are from designs I found on the web, first one is a made from HDPE Plastic, second is 6mm aluminium and made to fit in a tobacco tin, again with magnetic ammo holder
This one is 10mm aluminium core with red liners and carbon fibre scales, bands are secured with rubber well nuts.
all four of the above are designed to be shot TTF style
PIPES
and then there where four.....
again in pear wood but stained with leather dye
'ANGRY HALF SKULL'
another pipe, this time pear wood
'NOSFERATU'
Another hand carved briar pipe
'SATAN'
hand carved briar pipe
'SKULL'
done a bit of whittlin' with my new Flexcut Jack
couple of new knives, both are Cudeman blades, top one has bocote scales, the folder has stabilised spalted maple
Ammo box stove
works quite well. Got the idea from the web, it all comes apart and fits into the box including some fuel!
fantastic set of fire irons made for me by Albert the Blacksmith ~ albertsforge.weebly.com
packed away state!
Made a fire steel from a fire steel rod, brass, some left over bog oak and a used junior hack saw blade.
Made a Fire piston ( goggle them, you'll be amazed!) out of some scrap brass, it works!
As new Mad Max film is coming out soon I was talking to someone about it and they asked why I had never made a wrist bow like the one used by Wez in Mad Max 2 so..... well it's my take on it anyway. I can hit a playing card at 25 feet with it! not that powerful, purely for a bit of fun.
trigger is based on a medieval rotating nut design made in brass
Throwing knives. I've always had a bit of a fascination for them, it's the combination of skill and showmanship. The cheap throwing knives that are easily available are crap, they are too light and bounce back to easily; bloody dangerous! .The ColdSteel and Ziel 2 knives are a better weight but expensive. So I have been doing a bit of a design study to try and design a throwing knife that suits me. Some of the designs below are definitely inspired by other throwing knives I have seen but they are not a direct copy. Anyway, here they are........
From Left to right:-
1. The Showman, 2. The Bowie, 3. The Assassin, 4. The Sportsman, 5. The Gladius, 6. The Butcher
All throwing doe from a distance of approximately 14ft, the knife id thrown from the handle and does one full spin. All the knives were designed using CAD to get the centre of gravity at the mid point of the length plus or minus a few mm. They are all made of stainless steel (440C). Non of them have sharp edges; only the point needs to be sharp on a throwing knife. The black handles are phenolic resin held on with aluminium rivets. The Gladius has a Para cord wrapped handle.
Details:-
1. The Showman. 330mm , 0.48KG (13", 17oz)
2. The Bowie. 330mm , 0.46KG (13", 16.2oz)
3. The Assassin. 300mm, 0.27KG (11.8", 9.5oz)
4. The Sportsman. 330mm, 0.45KG (13", 15.8oz)
5. The Gladius. 320mm, 0.47KG (12.6", 16.6oz)
6. The Butcher. 325mm, 0.44KG (12.8", 15.5oz)
They all throw Ok, apart from The Assassin which is too light for my taste.
also made a leather sheath for my throwing Hawk
Pulse jet ~ more details later
version 2
version 3
new Damascus blade bowie with Irish bog oak scales and brass!
and my new bio-ethanol workshop heater
Designed a catapult!
attitude problem? me? damn right.
I was thinking about the whole anti-authority type stuff and this is the result
I made the original in clay and got a couple cast by Peter Hogan of www.milbroproshot.com
might get some more done if there is any interest?
'retro' looking blues harp mic ~ crystal element
If only I was any good at playing blues harp, but I can dream
I have built another 'prototype' harp mic, again small crystal element.
Got a couple of 'vintage' shure CM 99E556 elements and had an idea for a 'palm' mic ~ watch this space.
snow bike built for my mate Steve Turner ~ allows a normal mountain bike to be made into a snow bike for winter fun. Can be put back to a normal bike afterwards.
video of testing at indoor ski slope
I wanted to have a go at 'speedball' the boxing exercise. Haven't got room on a wall to mount the platform so I came up ith a door mounting system. Works well!
Had a go at building a few three string 'cigar box' guitars, one of them is actually a biscuit tin (a Canjo?) the cigar boxs both have piezo pickups, one of them is fretless. I made a simple bottle neck slide. All tuned to open G ( Gdg).
found an old folding knif that I hadn't finished off. Decided to try some black buffalo horn side pieces ~ turned out OK!
also made a 'lanyard' for the cut out of the racing mowers ~ made from paracord
new guitars
Steve with his new guitar
home made throwing knives and a log end target ~ the knives are custom designed and made from stainless. The tomahawk is a bought one!
Catapult in a tin!
Over the years I have built quite a few vehicles ~ British motorcycles mostly ~ but also a fair number of electric vehicles, mostly for street theatre companies ( Artizani, Bell and Bullock, Dr Southall's Medicine Show).
If you have to ask why? then you will never understand...........
Q. You have too much free time!
A. not really I always seem to be very busy in the shed as it goes....
Q. Will you make me a "insert name of object/device/vehicle here" ?
A. Probably would! but I don't work for free!
Q. The snow bike looks interesting!
A. Yes! should be a blast to ride!