How to become practical

Seatrout said:
Did the OP or any other contributor subscribe to the 'Look and Learn' magazine? I learned a lot about stuff from that publication which presented facts in a way which a youngster understood.
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Strange. I hadn't thought of Look and Learn for about 50 years until reading your post. The memory's a bit dim (aren't they all these days?) but I'm sure it was what set me on the road to becoming a mine of useless information. Sorry...aroused my curiosity in the world around me and led me on to greater things. I wish.
 
Seatrout said:
Did the OP or any other contributor subscribe to the 'Look and Learn' magazine? I learned a lot about stuff from that publication which presented facts in a way which a youngster understood.
Click to expand...

My goodness! Yes, I took it, probably from its start in 1962! Remember the "Trigan Empire"? I'd almost forgotten it. Probably didn't affect my course; I was already a bookworm, who was steadily working my way through the science/engineering shelves of the junior section of the local library. I still remember some of the books I read then; Patrick Moore on Astronomy, of course, and others that I recall the content of but not the author or title! Oddly, one I particularly recall was an excellent text on the history and development of locks, which has been of no practical use whatsoever! And Arthur Ransome's "Winter Holiday" probably disposed me to Polar Areas :)
 
davidjackson said:
This thread just keeps getting better and better.

As I posted earlier, my excursion with go-karts was a Cutlass Class 4. The engine was Villiers 9E. I built the whole things from a set of plans during my apprenticeship. I even fabricated the exhaust from sheet metal. I recall quite vividly the first time the engine started. I put the rear of the frame on a pair of axle stands and rotated the rear wheel. I was scared half to death when it started because, to be honest, I didn't expect it to!
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David

I know exactly the feeling, spent about 60 hours re-porting exhaust port and opening up boost port with various files...Built engine with all new gear.

Luggage strap on rear wheel to start it...

Son holding on to front of kart or so I thought.

Tell tale on rev counter showed 21K! Conrod and piston came right through the reed block on the barrel....

He was actually holding on the throttle pedal!

He also learnt how to file and grind out exhaust and boost ports...
 
HAHA. Fantastic at the above comments.

I really miss messing around with bits of engines. If you screwed it up somehow it was just a few quid where as now i'm playing in the big league and if I screw up with my bit of engine its a few hundred grand down the nick, and everything is computer controlled too ! so gone are the files and the port polishers i'm afraid :(

I really cant wait till my little Lad (curently 2 months old) is old enough to start messing around with bits of engines, i'm sure i will enjoy it more than him ! Mmmm maybe time to start designing that go kart i had in mind all those years ago !;)
 
Had Meccano, Lego, bits of wood, nails & screws etc. Served an apprenticeship turning and boring. I machined some of the components of the Dinorwic pumped storage power station. Happy memories :-)

Anyone remember the Phillips Engineering sets? Had to press roll pins into holes in the wheels to make your own gear wheels!
 
Anybody remember the "inventor" series of kits, Hero steam jet engine, Morse Telegraph, Bell telephone and so on, all styled on the originals, had great fun with those along with Mecano, model powerboats etc.
 
geoffatstanpit said:
I've still got my Meccano (or quite a lot of it anyway - can't find the nuts and bolts tin!). I inherited it from my Mother who was the mechanic of the family! Most of it is the pre-war unpainted version (I wouldn't have ever called it "silver")
Meccano.jpg

I also had Bako (wasn't it "Bayko"?). .
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Aye, probably.
Interesting, I didn't realise the "silver" stuff was just unpainted Meccano. Thanks
 
Seatrout said:
Did the OP or any other contributor subscribe to the 'Look and Learn' magazine? I learned a lot about stuff from that publication which presented facts in a way which a youngster understood.
Click to expand...

Family business was Wholesale Newsagents - I used to read Look and Learn in my tea-breaks, then put the copy back on the shelf! Did that with lots of comics and magazines.
And YES, some of those "naughty girl" ones too!
 
davidjackson said:
How about Jetex model Jet thrust engines? My recollection isn't too good. Some form of pellet for fuel, Light the fuse, Probably about no more than 1 to 2 inches long, less than 1/2 inch diameter?
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Brilliant! on little rocket cars, either a tether wire or a long wire with two eyes on the bottom of the car. I seem to recall glider launch ones too.

http://www.jetex.org/history/history.html
 
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Robby said:
Had Meccano, Lego, bits of wood, nails & screws etc. Served an apprenticeship turning and boring. I machined some of the components of the Dinorwic pumped storage power station. Happy memories :-)

Anyone remember the Phillips Engineering sets? Had to press roll pins into holes in the wheels to make your own gear wheels!
Click to expand...

Had one of those too - I'd aalmost forgotten it! As I recall, I never quite got the clock you could build with it running properly; I think that it was slightly too dependant on low friction - which was difficult to acheive.
 
Today I finished my mods to induce Ackerman Angle into my trial car steering. It's worked so well I may have slightly overdone it. Moved the steering rack backwards to achieve it.

N_Sbracket.jpg



O_Sbracket.jpg



O_Sbracketbeneath.jpg



Spacer brackets I made to move the rack backwards. (see the Meccano influence)

brackets.jpg


So I had to shorten the steering shaft by 40mm (Spot the weld)

steeringshaft.jpg
 
That's an odd way of doing it Lakey? Won't it bump-steer like a %^*%? I take it altering the steering arms wasn't an option? Also, I know there's probably not that much load on the front of a trial car, but is there a chance those steering rack mountings might start to "fatigue" their way out of the axle tube now?
 
No bump steer at all. The rack is mounted on the axle, not the chassis. If you look at my other thread you'll see the moving of the rack has been to introduce Ackerman angle, which it has.

There is only 130Kgs on the front axle (until Ian gets in ;)) and a lot of the time the wheels are hovering above the ground.
 
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Ah! Of course! Yes, I'd not twigged that! But now I'm stuck to picture how the steering shaft moves? Is there a sliding joint further up to accommodate the plunge as the axle swivels? Re. the understeer, does it have a limited slip diff? Could putting some negative camber on the front wheels help?
 
In a way this thread is a bit sad. I remember all the things mentioned from my own youth - Meccano, Mamod, Jetex plus all the little engines taken to bits and the knackered Minis that got souped up in the garage. But my own son, 30 years later, did none of these. They had all gone. Along with the cowboy and indians games and the air rifles. And even decent sized bangers you could throw at female relatives. And mischief night terrorising the neighbours. Or making back yard explosives with weedkiller.

I'd like to think that it had all gone thanks to H&S and left leaning officials, but in honesty it had simply died out. Son wasted his youth on sport and tormenting his sister. But then I suppose thats a sort of sport. And he usually lost at that, too.
 
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