The new and improved Moto Magic 2

The Moto Magic 2 is easier to make and runs better than anything before, however it runs in circles!

If you like to race it over a distance then make the moto magic from a tin can, just look it up under CATEGORIES in the side bar and there you will find the older version.

These materials are all easy to get. The plastic tub and lid are recycled from the grocery store, or you ask in the store for an empty one, they sell for about 25 cents, but if you explain why you need it you will get it free, most likely! Any one or two elastics will do, they need to be long enough to span the length of the tub and a little more. You need also a medicine cup, you can get it at any pharmacy, free if you ask nicely. The wooden tooth pick or match stick at the bottom is needed to stop the elastic from turning, the steel washers are used to lower the friction, or drag, so your Moto Magic 2 will run better. The larger stick is a used shish-kebab scewer, or any larger but light stick or rod about 25-30 cm long.

The bottom part assembled

You have to burn a hole in the bottom of the plastic tub with a small soldering iron, or a hot wire, ask for help from an adult. You can also drill holes in the plastic, but it might crack!

You need holes in the bottom of the tub, in the lid and in the medicine cup, all holes in the centre, please!

The Moto Magic II assembled

You string the elastic through the bottom of the tub as in the previous photo and then through the lid, the medicine cup, washers and then put the stick into the end loop of the elastic. Done! Decorate and you can play with your Moto Magic 2.

Your Moto Magic II is finished!

The Centrifugal Force toy...

Follow the steps below and you end up with an interesting toy that demonstrates how the centrifugal force on the marble pushes it higher in bowl the faster you spin it. Or you can make it go slower and see what happens.

Have fun making it. Don`t hesitate to ask an adult to give you a helping hand, almost anybody with some basic tools will be able to help you!

The materials you need.

You need a plastic bowl, which we bought at a low cost general store, a piece of plastic electrical conduit, a small piece of scrap wood, some screws and washer, and a marble and cork. You need also different colours of electrical tape and stickers to decorate your Centrifugal Force Toy!

The bowl needs a rim ...

The bowl needs a rim which we can make by putting electrical tape around the edge, but… you have to pull it hard and leave half of the width over the edge, this makes the tape curl over the edge and nicely stay there. Just go around with the tape at least one and a half times so it stays in place. This forms an edge that keeps the marble in the bowl when you spin it fast!

Also note the hole we drilled in the bottom of the bowl. If you don`t have a drill, use a small soldering iron and melt a hole through the plastic bottom, that is actually better because it makes the edge of the hole stronger, but both methods are fine. You need a little adult guidance with this, and, as always make sure you work safely with the tools, and use safety glasses!

Handle and wooden base ready to put together.

The handle is a piece of platic electric conduit that we cut out over a length of about 5 centimeter, removing half of the tube wall. The cutout fits with one end of the wood base and you can screw it to the wood as shown in the next photo. The plastic tube cuts easily with a fine saw, any small saw will do. You can always ask a friend or neighbour or electrician to help you with this.

The handle and wooden base are ready.

All you have to do now is to mount the bowl on the wooden base using a small screw and washer to better clamp the bowl down and not crack the plastic. Pressto, you are ready to experiment…

The racing marble toy, see how the centrifugal force lets the marble run uphill!

You are done! Now move the bowl in small circles and the marble will run around faster and faster or slower, it all depends on you. Try to race the marble as fast as you can without losing it. There is alway the secret compartment where you can get another marble, just in case…

The clapper for making rythmic percussion sounds.

With this clapper you can accompany a harmonica, accordion, or any music making instrument that could use some backup rythm.

The materials you need.

You need two pieces of slender wood, about 2.5 cm wide and .5 cm thick, you can cut them from a good piece of soft wood, or go to the paint store and ask for two stirrer sticks, they are ready made for this. Ask for one more as a backup, in case …

The hand-held fulcrum is a block of wood about 3 cm thick and having a width the same as the slender levers or paint stirrer sticks.

The clapper disks are cut from a piece of dowel wood, but they can also be square, about 15 millimeter thick or a littel more. Make them from hardwood the sound will be better!

Two number six woodscrews and four 2.5 cm, or about, long finishing nails, and of course some coloured tape for the decoration. All set!

The disk are screwed to the levers, note the little pilot hole in the middle of the disk, also drill a little hole iin the end of the lever otherwise the wood may split. Use some glue also.

The disks are cut from a thick piece of dowel wood, but they can also be square, just use a good piece of hardwood, such as elm, or oak. Try to scounge two pieces from a carpenter shop if you can not saw them from a piece of wood at home.

Part of the arm or lever and the fulcrum or the block the joints the two levers.

Note that the block has some taper, this is needed so that it is not too thick and yet makes that the two disks are about one centimeter apart when the two arms are glue and nailed together. Experiment a little before you put the pieces together so you can see where you are going.

One arm of the clapper is done.

The clapper is assembled

Note that the two disks are precisely aligned, that is important! It does not matter too much how the ends of the two levers are aligned. So when you assemble the two levers, hold the disks together with one hand and nail the leave down on the block, use a little glue in between the pieces.

The clapper is ready to use in a percussion group

The clapper can be used alone or in a percussion group or just to accompany a harmonica, acordion, or any other instrument that can use some rythm as back up.

Try gently hitting the clapper on your thigh, and when you get the rythm, hold your other hand above it so the clapper hits also your hand, that doubles the beat.

Have fun!

Your own wind speed meter is a specialised wind mill with a twist!

The wind speed meter runs with the wind, faster when the wind blows harder. By counting the number of turns you can tell how the wind speed changes. It does not matter where the wind blows from, because the rotor is horizontal and the cups will cause it to turn when the wind blows from any direction.

The materials you need

All you need is a square piece of plywood any reasonable size, and a post that you can make from a broomstick, a piece of dowel wood, or any square piece of wood, we took a 2×2 centimeter piece of pine, about 5 inches or 12 centimeter long. Drill a hole in both ends to receive the nail, one to nail the post to the base and the other to act as the shaft for the rotor.

The medicine cups you can get at any drugstore, just ask for a few, three is enough, but you may want some spares. We melted a hole in the bottom for the screw instead of drilling a hole. I used a piece of steel wire from a coathanger and heated the end up with a gas flame, but a candle will work also, when the end is hot stick it through the bottom, don’t make the hole too large! You need some supervision by an adult with this!

The coloured sticks are from a craftstore, you can also use medical tongue depressors, they are the same size but not coloured. You should be able to get these parts easily. Drill a small hole in each stick for the screw that holds the cup onto the stick.

The hub is cut from a sun umbrella post, you can use any round or even square piece of wood, in this case cut or sand off the four corners to make it look better. You need to cut a slit in the hub at three locations divided around the circumference of the hub. Just use a small hand saw to make the cuts. You may need some help dividing the circumference by three, but most highschool students can help you, by dividing a circle by its radiius you get six divisions, pick every other division and you have the three you need. They should be 120 degrees apart. Nice geometry lesson …

One of the rotor cup and arm

Note the craft stick has been reinforced by a piece of electric tape, make sure you pull the tape hard around the stick, when you drill the small hole for the screw it does not split because of the plastic tape holds the wood together. The plastic medicine cup has been screwed with a number six self tapping round headed screw that you can buy at any hardware store. The screw is only one quarter inch, or about six millimeters long.

The three cups screwed to the wood sticks put them in the slits on the hub and you have the rotor ready to go.

Note that we pulled some coloured tape around the rim of the medicine cups, that will make them stronger and it looks pretty!

The rotor and the assembled base, the two parts are ready to assemble and then PRESTO you are done!

Note that the post on the base has a hole in the top, put a nail through the rotor hub and put two small steel washers between the post and the hub, this will lessen the friction and makes the rotor turn more easily in the wind.

The wind speed meter assembled, put it outside and measure the winds speed!

The harder the wind blows, the faster the rotor will spin. That way you can tell how the wind changes.

Show it to our teacher and friends and try other projects from this blog.

Oops, add a little light machine oil used for the sewing machine for example, to the centre of the hub and to the nail and washers, it will spin faster. Also leave space between the nail head and the hub, right?

A great little toolbox for all your projects

This toolbox is about a foot long, or 30 centimeters and is great for toting around your tools, or small items and materials for your other projects.

When you are done with this project, go the the sidebar of this blog and click under CATEGORIES the HAMMER project. Only when you are mature enough to handle a hammer safely and responsibly? Your parents or guardians should give you permission.

Have a look at the end of this project what it looks like!

The materials you need for your toolbox.

The materials you need for the toolbox are just scraps of plywood. Use three quarter or about 2 cm thick plywood for the bottom and the sides. only because that makes it easier to screw the sides on. The width of the bottom is 5 inch, or about 12 centimeter, the length is about 12 inch or 35 centimeter, but you can use any size as long as you make the other parts fit the bottom.

The side pieces are the same width as the bottom, and about 7 inches high, or about 15 cm. You can saw the corners at the top off to make the top part slanted inwards, it looks nice. BUT, you can also leave the sides rectangular, that is easier. Drill two small holes in the bottom just half the thickness of the bottom up from the edge. Also drill a larger hole so you can later put a rope through it for the handle.

If you need help with this part go to a carpenter’s shop, or a cabinet maker’s shop they will help you if you ask in a friendly manner and tell them what it will be used for. They might even make one for themselves, this toolbox is really handy not only to hold tools, but all kinds of small items!

The long sides are two rectangular pieces of thinner plywood, to be nailded onto the bottom and the sides. The height is 4 inch or 10 cm and the length should be the length of the bottom PLUS the thickness of each side!

Of course there is the coloured electrical tape that we use so much for decoration, and a piece of rope. We have used braded nylon or polyester, but really any type of rope will do. The length of the rope needs to be longer for the knots! You could also use a piece of wooden dowel as the handle. If you do, you should of course drill the hole the same diameter at the dowel.

This shows the bottom and one side srewed in place, use one and a half inch number six srews that is the easiest for smaller hands.

Note that the side piece has two holes drilled in at the bottom, they are the holes that the screws will go into before you screw them into the side of the bottom. Maybe you need a little help from an adult of older brother or sister, the scews have somewhat greater friction or resistance when they are almost in all the way. Try to turn the screws a little more so that the head sits a little under the surface so that it can not scratch you.

All sides are on, notice the decorations?

The two long sides have been nailed on with one and a quarter finishing nails, any finishing nail that looks suitable is OK. The decorative tape hides the screws and nails and makes it look pretty. Note if you use the coloured electrical tape make sure you pull it all around so that it overlaps at its end, the tape does not stick well to the wood, but it sticks very well to itself! When you apply the tape pull hard on the roll so that it stretches that way it will stick better in place and last longer.

You did it all, finished...

The rope should have a good sized knot in each end. Try a figure eight knot, ask a friend, boy or girls scout, they will know for sure! If you can not find how to make a figure eight knot just make a simple end knot anything will do. But… it is only one step more to make a real figure eight knot, try it.

Your finished toolbox and hammer

Now you have made your toolbox, make also a hammer, your first real tool, see the side bar of this blog under Categories and click “Hammer”, now start working again…