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Interesting Experiments with Air Currents

by C. FRANCIS JENKINS – Famous Inventor

You’ve seen flags flutter in the breeze, watched airplanes fly, read of buildings which collapsed from the inside out in tornadoes—but do you understand the cause of these phenomena? Mr. Jenkins, famous for his inventions in the field of television and inventor of the movie projector, has devised a number of fascinating experiments to test the behavior of air currents. Try them for yourself, as explained below, and you’ll have a better knowledge of why airplanes fly and why gliders glide.
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“ICE LIZARD”

by L. B. Robbins

AIR minded, ice-boat and mechanically-inclined fans: here is something to arouse your imagination and ingenuity—an air propelled ice-boat using a washing-machine engine for power and capable of good speed and breath-taking thrills. Let’s build a fleet of these “Ice Lizards” for the height of the skating season and give the populace something to talk about.
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Wow, this is actually the second guy I’ve seen with homemade stainless steel dentures. Here is another from 1937. I wonder how common this was.

STAINLESS CHOPPERS
STEELY SMILE of John Gilpin, village blacksmith of Livingston, Mont., is really friendly although strangers are sometimes awed by it. Gilpin broke a set of store teeth 16 years ago, replaced them with rugged stainless steel.

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Build A Glider-Copter

AN 86-lb. helicopter glider, believed to be the smallest aircraft in the world today, has been developed and flown by Bensen Aircraft Corporation of Raleigh, N. C, for use in engineering tests of lighter-than-man helicopters.

Like soaring gliders and sailplanes, the helicopter glider has no engine; it is towed by a car until it becomes airborne and will stay in the air as long as it is towed or as long as there is sufficient wind to keep its rotor blades turning.
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Simple Electromagnet Does Mystifying Stunt

THE well-known barrel of monkeys could produce no more entertainment than an electromagnetic “circus,” consisting of a powerful solenoid magnet and a number of accessories, that you can construct in an evening.

And besides being a source of fun. such a device is highly instructive, and will serve to clear up many of the mysteries of everyday electricity for you.

The electromagnet or solenoid consists of nothing more than a quantity of insulated wire wound on a spool, and provided with a suitable base, connecting wire and plug. Read the rest of this entry »

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HOW TO TAP A PHONE

By Tony Karp

THERE are many ways to tap a phone; most of them against the law. Our little gadget, however, is quite legal and can be used to great advantage at home or in the office.

Basically, the unit consists of a pickup coil, an amplifier and a speaker. The pickup coil is placed under, or near, any transformer-type telephone without being in physical contact with it. As the electrical currents pass through the phone, part of the energy is induced into the pickup coil. Read the rest of this entry »

Inflating Toy Balloons With Gas From the City Mains

GAS from the city mains can be used to inflate toy balloons with the simple inflating device shown in the drawing above. Gas as it comes out of the ordinary jet has only a pressure of a couple of pounds behind it, which is quite insufficient for inflating purposes.
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Traveling Woodworking Shop Tours Schools

Making the rounds of schools and playgrounds in Pasadena, Calif., is a complete woodworking shop on wheels. Built on a truck chassis, it includes a circular saw and band saw, lathe, electric drill and small planer. Its power is taken by a long cord from the regular 110-volt circuit of whatever school ground the truck visits. It is equipped for model building and for teaching handicraft work in schools lacking workshops of their own.

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America’s Five Favorite Hobbies

By EDWIN TEALE

AMERICA is the hobby center of the world. More money is spent annually on hobbies in the United States than in any other country on earth. From old-fashioned whittling to polarized-light microscopy, a thousand and one spare-time interests provide Americans with relaxation and amusement. Seeking relief from the strain of an uncertain future, millions of persons, in recent months, have joined the ranks of the hobby-riders.

Supplying the needs of America’s vast army of hobbyists has become big business. Factories with incomes of millions of dollars annually cater to the wants of men and women who are following specialized hobbies. Each week sees an increasing number of hobby columns in newspapers and hobby volumes on the shelves of libraries and bookstores.
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ROCKERLESS ROCKER is rigged with two metal strips, wheels for passing time.

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Build this Basketball Scoreboard for your Gym

Spectators at your school or club basketball games will get a bigger kick out of the battle if they can keep an eye on this electric scoreboard, which tells at a glance how the game stands and how much time is left to play. Take the idea to your coach— he’ll welcome it.

by E. A. RERUCHA

THERE is a distinct advantage, from the spectators’ interest standpoint, In having a scoreboard controlled directly from the officials’ table, so that the official score and time left to play can instantly be flashed before the spectators as the game progresses.

The electric scoreboard described in this article is operated by means of a control box from the officials’ table and the score, and other information, is flashed on the board by means of sections of lamps, certain sections of lights in various combinations making up the required number to indicate the score, whatever it may be. Read the rest of this entry »

Remarkably Lifelike Little Dogs made from Pipe Cleaners

You have probably seen amusing little animal novelties made by twisting pipe cleaners together, hi most cases they are comical enough, but stiff and grotesque— almost childish. It is therefore a revelation to see, from the illustrations accompanying this article, what lifelike results can be obtained by one who is skillful at this pastime.—The Editor.
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