Simplicity plus reliability

Arfa snowmobile: design and main components

The simplicity of the “Arfa” design is probably unique. The vehicle has only six main parts: a frame with an engine, a rear axle, wheels, a ski with a steering rod, and a steering wheel. The snowmobile’s reliability and low maintenance match the very highest requirements imposed on a vehicle intended for autonomous runs across Read more…

With water in the… wheels

Ostapenko's three-wheel tractor-tug: all-terrain

Original and practical designs by the Vinnytsia resident Oleg Andreyevich Ostapenko clearly appealed to the readers of our magazine. After a Central TV broadcast “This You Can”, in which the editorial office plays an active role, and a publication in “Fotopanorama” (see “M-K” No. 1 for 1986) of some developments by a self-taught designer, many Read more…

Compact and mobile

Balancing Circular Garden Saw: Design, Assembly and Safety

After pruning trees in the garden, a considerable amount of branches of various thicknesses ends up as waste. They are usually used as stove fuel. Thin branches are easy to chop with an axe, while thicker ones are sawn. Manual sawing is quite labor-intensive. To make my gardening chores easier, I built a portable circular Read more…

Series “P”

PM Aerosled Story: M. Psaryov’s Path to the PM-4 Design

“My childhood fell on the hard postwar years,” begins M. I. Psaryov in his letter to the editorial office. “Back then, we made our own toys. Apparently, that is what planted in my soul a love for designing – all my life I have never parted with tools, metal, wood, and, of course, pencil and Read more…

Life-saving microclimate

Home Microclimate: How to Cool and Purify Air DIY

The scorching and suffocating summer has long remained in the memory of those who found themselves in conditions of smoke and extreme heat caused by large-scale wildfires. During this period, the number of medical consultations increased sharply. After the exhausting heat came a sudden cold snap, which became an additional challenge for the body. It Read more…

A pool by the porch

DIY Kids Frog Pond: Felt, Gravel, PE Liner & Grates

A swimming pool, mind you, is too grand a name. In everyday speech, such tiny ponds for toddlers are usually called “frog ponds.” Building one will not take much time or strain your family budget, and on a hot summer day both your children and you will get plenty of joy from a dip like Read more…

Two on one board

Windsurfer “Double”

The city of Arsenyev in Primorsky Krai is not that close to the sea. However, the now widely spread passion for sailing on sailboards — windsurfers — led to the appearance of a section here in 1976. There are now about thirty people in it. They started, as they say, from scratch. They read specialized Read more…

Drill press made from… boards

DIY Bench Drill Press from Hand Drill: Plans & Wood Assembly

It is generally accepted that the drill is the main tool of home handymen, hobbyists who like to build things with their own hands for the home and family, and also the primary means of mechanizing labor-intensive processes when building homemade machinery. This is no coincidence: thanks to a variety of auxiliary or additional attachments, Read more…

Motor hoe

DIY Motorized Weeder: Ambrosia Control Device Build Guide

Ambrosia… This noxious weed, widespread in the southern regions of our country, causes a lot of trouble for farmers. Rapidly spreading in the open, it severely depletes and dries out the soil, and in fields it chokes out cultivated plants. Ambrosia is a frequent cause of poisoning in domestic animals, and in humans its caustic Read more…