When there is an antique samovar in the house, it would be a shame not to use it at least on special occasions. You can even avoid the hassle of lighting a fire and simply pour ready-made boiling water inside. At first, that is what I did, until I decided to equip this relic with Read more…
No sooner do rivers and lakes clear of ice than thousands upon thousands of water-tourism enthusiasts begin preparing for the new season. They take their “folders” and “inflatables” out of storerooms and garages, and bring yachts and boats out of winter storage. Those who live near the water or have a car at their disposal Read more…
Needless to say, it is pleasant to warm yourself on a damp or cold day by the home hearth (whether a Dutch stove or a European fireplace), and to admire it as well, if it is skillfully made. A Russian stove is also fine — heat-retaining and multifunctional. But it requires a lot of space, Read more…
When making a hallway coat rack cabinet, I proceeded from the layout features of an old-built apartment. In my case, in particular, opposite the entrance door there is a door to a storage room, so the cabinet in plan has angled side cuts that allow the doors to open freely. The dimensions are given for Read more…
“If I fall ill, I will not turn to doctors; I turn to friends…”, wrote the poet Ya. Smelyakov. But life shows that one has to turn both to doctors and to loved ones, because it is often impossible to do without their help, especially for a bedridden patient. If bed rest drags on, it Read more…
For a long time, the designers of mini-cars could not decide in what position the racer should pass the course. There were even cars of the “bed” type: their advantages were a low center of gravity and low resistance to oncoming air flows. A mini-car with a simplified sample of steering control: the racer turned Read more…
A compact electronic regulator that makes it possible to smoothly and over a fairly wide range to change the brightness of incandescent lamp filaments, the power of a household electric heater, or the rotational speed of an AC motor shaft can be built even by a not very experienced radio amateur. After all, the proposed Read more…
As soon as the bright spring sun drives the snow off the icy shell that has locked rivers, reservoirs, and lakes in place, colorful sails appear on natural ice courses. These are ice boats. Any reader can become an ice boater — anyone with metalworking and carpentry skills can build an ice yacht. The ice Read more…
Every motorist knows how difficult it can sometimes be to start a car engine on a winter morning after a long standstill. However, a relatively simple device powered from a 220 V AC mains supply will make this task much easier. The device consists of two parts (Fig. 1): one is a mains power supply Read more…
Before you know it, autumn will arrive — harvest time. Gathering what the earth has grown in the garden is no great problem. It is harder to harvest fruit from trees, especially if they are old and tall. Every gardener has to devise a way to reach fruit and berries high up. Some make all Read more…
