Armchair + armchair = sofa

Convert Two Armchair-Beds Into a Fold-Out Sofa — DIY Guide

Furniture for sitting is usually bought in matching pairs. For example, two folding armchair-beds. Over time they become morally outdated, an anachronism. Throwing them away seems a waste, but converting them… Such armchairs, made by the same factory, have matching overall and mounting dimensions. Because of this, after removing the side panels (legs) on each Read more…

What is water karting?

DIY Hydrokart "Pioneer": Build Your Own Water Kart Guide

Four wheels, an engine, and a driver’s seat. Such are karts—tiny sports cars that surprisingly quickly gained widespread popularity in all countries of the world. Thanks to their simplicity and accessibility, karts opened the way to motorsports for broad segments of youth. Karting—racing in miniature cars—became a favorite sport of schoolchildren. Recently, the kart-car got Read more…

Mushroom growing by Grachev

Champignon growing: history, Grachev greenhouses, agronomy

Champignon cultivation began at least two hundred years ago. In the early 19th century these mushrooms were successfully grown by Petersburg market gardeners, with the peasant Osinin from Yaroslavl Province considered a pioneer. Whole dynasties of mushroom growers from Moscow, Novgorod, Tver and other major cities are known, who used specialised greenhouses for their production Read more…

Cellar on balcony

DIY Balcony Potato Storage: Thermostat Build Guide

“Not long ago, the chief engineer of one of the factories producing refrigerators, V. V. Ulyanovsky, called me. As it turned out, he was interested in the thermostat I built for storing potatoes on the balcony in winter.” This is how engineer-builder A. A. Rozhdestvensky somewhat unexpectedly began presenting his mini-vegetable storage. Then he showed Read more…

Hitch-mounted… to a bicycle

DIY Bicycle Trailer for Kids: Build a Light Collapsible Bike Carriage

It all started when we—a young childless couple—bought two “Kama” bikes and got into cycling. When our daughter was born, we faced the question: how could we all ride together? I made a small seat and mounted it on the rear rack. It served us faithfully for several years. But as our daughter grew, the Read more…

Improved version

Veloplow: DIY Bicycle-Frame Plow with D-6 Engine

Is it not tempting to build a motorized plow whose construction has almost no welded joints! That is why the article “At the wheel of a veloplow” published in “M-K” No. 3, 1985—on how to build such a mechanism using the frame of a worn-out bicycle—drew a wide response. However, many letters received by the Read more…

Multi-purpose two-stroke

AG-2R Engine: Rotary Valve DIY Build Guide

The journal has already reported on the advantages of rotary valve gas distribution in two-stroke internal combustion engines («M-K» No. 11 for 1974 and No. 10 for 1977). Here are their advantages in brief: achieving the highest specific power and fuel economy of the engine, improving starting and simplifying the cylinder design (no intake ports Read more…

Into the sky — by parachute

Paramotor Carlson-4: Parawing, Power Cart, Twin IZH Engines

This powered paraglider (such craft are now more often called paramotors), developed at the design bureau of the “Eureka” amateur technical creativity club in the village of Torga, Yakutia, was named “Carlson-4”. The number in its name clearly indicates that this is the fourth variant of such an aircraft. Since 1985 we have accumulated considerable Read more…

Wheels under control

Camber and toe-in adjustment at home: DIY angle gauge

Camber and toe-in of a passenger car’s wheels can be adjusted very accurately without going to a service station. You only need some basic metalworking skills and simple tools to make your own set of devices for this adjustment—simple and convenient to use. Consider as an example the VAZ 21063. The distance between the centres Read more…