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Perform These STARTLING STUNTS with DRY ICE

by DALE R. VAN HORN

Dry ice, which might be called frozen carbon dioxide, lends itself to the performance of some mysterious and startling stunts. As told in this article, it will fire off a toy cannon, propel a model boat, make a spoon squeal like an assassinated pig, and cause a rubber band to writhe as in a terrible spasm of pain.

DRY ICE, or carbon dioxide in solid form, is an exceedingly interesting substance. We know it best as the gas that adds sparkle to our drug fountain drinks. But as a solid, it’s something else again, unique in several ways. For instance, carbon dioxide cannot exist as a liquid at normal atmospheric temperatures. It must be either a gas or solid. Only at temperatures below 31 degrees Centigrade can it exist as a liquid. Read the rest of this entry »

NEON TUBE EXPERIMENTS

Weird Stunts Performed with Simple Apparatus

By WALTER BACH

THE hand is said to be quicker than the eye, but a neon tube holds the real prize for speed. It can flicker on and off a hundred times while the eye blinks once! Because of this peculiar ability, many amazing experiments can be performed with it at practically no cost. A few of them will be described together with a home-built circuit breaker with which to do them. A storage battery or any other source of A. C. or D. C. current of from 6 to 12 volts may be used. Read the rest of this entry »

Washing Machine Motor Drives Midget Auto 12 M.P.H.

IT MIGHT be small and funny looking but it goes places, does the little midget car built by Stanley McCrary, of Seattle, Washington.

In building his somewhat diminutive auto, Stanley waylaid an old washing machine and made away with its motor. When he came to the problem of providing a clutch and steering gear, he simply made them in his own workshop. As to the gas tank, well you can see for yourself in the photo at the left. Read the rest of this entry »

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Build a 75 Foot TARGET RANGE in Your Basement

A lot of wide open space isn’t necessary for the construction of a target range. By following plans given here you can build a 75-ft. range in your own basement for practice shooting.

RIFLE enthusiasts who keep regular business hours may find it inconvenient to enjoy anything approaching regular shooting practice. Some may belong to various clubs which hold night sessions at indoor ranges, while a few possessing extensive grounds may have their own private target ranges, but the average sportsman with small bore rifle equipment and a strong desire to shoot is not likely to have such facilities available to him.
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Kitchen Chair Mounted on Runners Makes Sled for Ice Racing Thrills

YOU haven’t exhausted all the possibilities of sled construction till you’ve made this little gadget. It’s nothing more than a chair mounted on a pair of runners, but the fun it provides is endless. First lay hands on a pair of old sled runners and secure to them, in the position shown, the strap iron braces. To these are bolted the chair, which may be of the kitchen variety. On the stern of the runners nail a pair of blocks. Read the rest of this entry »

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Build a Comedy Ford

Good money can be made at carnivals and in advertising stunts for local merchants with a sawed off bug made from Model T Ford parts. This article describes the changes that are necessary for making the entire conversion, ready for use.

AN ATTRACTION that is sure fire always makes a good advertising medium. This converted Model T Ford, or Comedy Ford, can be very easily built, and is a profit maker for any man who has a little ingenuity in selling its uses.

It can be used to carry labels, or to give thrilling joy rides about town, or to provide a freak set of thrills on any country fair race track.
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SLED STOVE for SKATING PARTIES

YOU skating fans who suffer from cold hands and feet in bitter cold weather, when your sport is best, will perceive instantly the service this sled-stove can do you. It can be transported anywhere, and will be well worth whatever effort you may put into it.

In the sled shown, an ordinary air-tight stove was used, the legs of which were removed. On the inside a three-inch layer of sand is put down for insulation purposes. The stove was then mounted on a bob-sled which measured seven feet long and fifty-eight inches wide. This arrangement permits the stove to be hooked on the back of a car and hauled to any desired point.
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Cutting wood with a beam of light

A new technique in woodworking may be on the way. The University of Michigan has developed a tool that cuts through maple and other hardwoods with bursts of light that act like the science-fiction writers’ disintegrating-ray gun. The experimental drill operates with a laser (light amplification by stimulated electron radiation) head that contains a coiled xenon flash tube and a ruby rod. It builds up intensely hot light pulses, focuses them through a lens to vaporize a hole in a block of wood instantly without leaving char. It’s not ready yet for the home workshop.

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Rubber Bands Drive This Baby Auto Three Miles

by DICK COLE

Here’s something distinctly new in the way of midget autos. Powered by a battery of rubber bands from old inner tubes, it will cover a distance of three miles at a surprising clip—and on one winding. Seated at the wheel you’ll be the envy of all the youngsters in town.

Be there the boy with soul so dead, Who to himself has never said: “Gee, I wish I had a baby auto.”

THIS article will make those wishes come true. Here is a nifty looking baby with clutch, two forward speeds and reverse, and Free Wheeling. The design is simple; the materials are cheap; which brings the building of this miniature car within the scope or the average mechanically minded boy’s pocket book.
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Grindstone Attached to Bicycle

A man who makes a living grinding scissors, knives, etc., in the vicinity of Moreton, Cheshire, England has fitted his bicycle with a small grinding wheel, in accordance with the illustrations and description here given. For those who would like to go into this business, we outline the details. Two ordinary strips of iron, about 1″ wide and 1/8″ thick, are drilled to accommodate three bolts and a bicycle hub axle. By means of a bolt, the iron strips are fastened together at one end, and the strips spread by hand; a small piece of iron pipe is then dropped down close to the bend, and the strips are again squeezed together, first by hand and later with the vise. This forms a clamp for the bottom of the bicycle frame. The top cross-bar is properly located, and the iron bent around it in a similar way.
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Perfect Bed Built of Tin Cans

A BED built of old tin cans, perfect in every detail and capable of supporting 1,000 pounds, has been built by J. G. Smith, an unemployed mechanic of Atlanta, Georgia.

Three hundred and thirty-six tin cans of various sizes were used in constructing the bed. Except for the iron locks by which the head, footboard, and siderails are fitted together, and the iron cross pieces which support the springs, no other material was used. Even the bed lamp hanging from the head of the bed uses a tin can for a shade.

Tiny Electric Car Runs 12 m.p.h. on Track

THIS tiny electric car constructed by Woodrow McCrate of Black, Texas, spins merrily around on its 65 foot concrete race track at speeds of up to twelve miles per hour. It has made a decided hit with the little tots of this Texas town.

Power from the regular house lighting circuit is used to run the car. An ordinary 1/4- h.p., 110 volt a.c. motor is mounted in the rear of the toy automobile, and connected to the rear axle through speed-reducing gears.
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