Rabbit Yarn

THE angora rabbits owned by Mrs. Paul Venne of Penacook, New Hampshire work for their keep. They provide soft fur which she plucks instead of shears to prevent it from matting. This she spins into yarn and knits into such serviceable items as bonnets, berets, gloves and sweaters. And the bunnies don’t seem to mind a bit.

Deer Hunts Elephants

LITTLE-game hunter on a big scale is I Jack Deer, 55-year-old New York businessman. He has a collection of over 1,400 miniature elephants, all with upturned trunks. They are made of ivory, china and glass gathered from all countries of the world. His most prized is one owned by the late Flo Ziegfeld, also a collector.

There now some slightly bigger telescopes in the Pacific area.

view additional pages

The Amateur Telescope Maker’s Page

AT a cash outlay of $300, boys at a Hawaiian school built a 20-inch reflecting telescope which has been valued at $20,000. It is said to be one of the largest telescopes in the Pacific area. With the exception of the grinding of the mirror, all the work was done by the students of the Kamehameha school, a private grammar school named after Hawaii’s greatest king. The f-6 mirror was donated by a government employee who ground it himself, taking six months for the job.
Read the rest of this entry »

ELECTRIC PENCIL SHARPENER

Get a point on your pencils the easy way—-by motorizing your sharpener.

WHY not add an electric motor to your hand driven pencil sharpener in your home or office and make the chore of putting a point on your pencils a real pleasure? The arrangement outlined in this article does not call for mutilating or altering your present sharpener; merely remove the handle and proceed to mount the unit in the manner shown below. Read the rest of this entry »

view additional pages

SCAMPER

Using an air propeller, this model zips along at 40 mph as a car and does 20 as a ski-equipped boat.

By Paul Del Gatto

BUILT as a car, this model is a supercharged bundle of energy. Free-running, it surges forward as if shot from a cannon and tops 40 mph. Most people won’t have the space to let it go and will have to use a tether. Even at that, it will do better than 35.

Personally, our favorite version is the one featuring the hydro-ski arrangement. Though not as fast as the car, 20 mph is still very high for a boat of this size. Yet it isn’t the speed that impresses us so much as the sight of this unusual water bug rising up on the skis. The air prop lends to the fascination by creating the illusion of some weird form of aircraft skimming across the water. Of course you may experience a somewhat different type of reaction, but one thing is certain: no matter which version you try, you will enjoy it every bit as much as we did. Read the rest of this entry »

view additional pages

Intergalactic Space Control Panel

A fascinating, safe, electrical toy for junior space travelers.

By Robert Brightman

“GEE, Bob, when are you ever going to finish that control panel for me?” When your youngster starts off on a tack like this and keeps it up for a few weeks there is only one way to keep peace in the family. And that is to finish the job. The control panel as it is called by my son and all his friends is one of the most fascinating toys a father can make for his boy. Essentially it consists of a six-volt transformer, a series of toggle switches and miscellaneous lights, bells, buzzers and meters.
Read the rest of this entry »

view additional pages

Lightning in Your Hand

EXPERIMENTAL MODEL OF A VAN DE GRAAFF ELECTROSTATIC GENERATOR CAN DELIVER OVER 100,000 HARMLESS VOLTS

By Loren W. Gay

NUCLEAR physics, the unpredictable baby of the sciences, is about 50 years old. For the first two thirds of its short life it crawled patiently along on all fours. Then, without bothering to walk, it started to run. Just where it’s running to, no one knows, but it has already revolutionized man’s conception of his universe without even stopping for breath.
Read the rest of this entry »

view additional pages

How to Put a Ship in a Bottle

Making a full-rigged model that folds so as to enter the neck

By E. ARMITAGE McCANN

“HOW did it get there?” is the question always asked when a ship model in a bottle such as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 is placed on exhibition. You will observe the curious minded examining the bottom of the bottle to see where it was cut to admit the ship, or they will even inquire if the bottle was blown around the ship. But there is no fake about it; everything goes through the neck. With patience and determination, anyone can make this curious and always mystifying type of model.
Read the rest of this entry »

view additional pages

Workbench Award Winners…

THE winner—all of ‘em! The six projects shown on these pages were the best Workbench Award entries received during the month. A five dollar check and a Workbench Award Certificate is being mailed to each winner for his prize project.

If you are a workshop fan then why not let us know what you’re doing? Send us a picture plus a letter describing your project and if your entry is one of the monthly winners you’ll receive our check and Workbench Award Certificate, which incidentally, is suitable for framing. If your entry is not one of the published winners you still may win our handsome Certificate of Merit. Read the rest of this entry »

view additional pages

Universal Cable Adapter

By Art Trauffer

Built into a typewriter ribbon case, this adapter permits over 50 combinations of cable connections.

WHEN the writer finished making this adapter he started to count the different combinations of connections that can be made with it, but when he reached 50 he gave up. Certainly, 50 is not the limit for this versatile and easily-made adapter. If you build one of these you will save much time and trouble when joining together various types of connectors in radio and electronics experimental and test work.
Read the rest of this entry »

Car Touch-Up Sprayer for 25c

BEFORE you buy an expensive spray gun and compressor, try an artist’s fixative atomizer, available for 10c to 25c at art and drafting supply stores, model shops, and at many hobby and craft shops. Used by artists and architects to spray their pencil and chalk drawings with fixative to prevent rubbing, this gadget can perform many small painting jobs, using only lung power.
Read the rest of this entry »

view additional pages

DOORBELL HARP

By R. J. DE CRISTOFORO

THIS doorway harp will produce a merry melody at the front entrance to your home every time someone enters or leaves. One friend remarked that it should serve as an excellent deterrent to salesmen, since its sounds would distract them long enough for you to shut the door!- Be that as it may, the harp never fails to prompt a “Who’s playing the guitar?” from visitors, and is a good ice-breaker when welcoming guests.
Read the rest of this entry »

This Novel Martin House Is Built to Resemble Zeppelin

Edited by A. NEELY HALL

BIRDS ought to appreciate this latest design in apartment houses, built to resemble a Zeppelin. To make it, secure nine pieces of one-inch white pine and saw them into 10-sided partitions as shown in the drawing below, the middle partition being 12-1/2 inches in diameter and the others tapering down to 6 inches. Read the rest of this entry »