We have already described the construction of a sailboat and a vessel powered by a rubber motor, using PET soda bottles (see “M-K” No. 5 and 8 for 2024). We suggest adding to the “bottle fleet” a catamaran model with a rotor wind drive. It has long been observed that if a rotating cylinder is Read more…
While making Eskimo anti-sun glasses (see “M-K” No. 4-2025), I delved into studying the culture and traditions of Arctic peoples. Nomadic conditions and the harsh climate left their mark on every area of their life and activity. Nothing superfluous — only what is needed! Dwellings, clothing, tools, and household items are all very functional and Read more…
Soil cultivation with electric tillers is nothing new. Especially for owners of summer cottages, gardens and vegetable plots (see, for example, “M-K” 3’83, 11’90). And when prices keep rising, when using walk-behind tractors (not to mention scarce mini-tractors) sometimes becomes economically impractical, electric helpers on small land plots are, so to speak, beyond competition. Convenient Read more…
“The saw grew white-hot from the work!” wrote V. Mayakovsky in his poem “Who to Be?” Meanwhile, heating of a cutting tool first of all means that it has gone dull. In this case a carpenter, as in the old days, takes a three-square file (a triangular file, in modern terminology) and sharpens the teeth Read more…
Think how many interesting shots end up spoiled or even never taken because of insufficient lighting. If only there were a tripod… A gadget that weighs just a couple of dozen grams will help — and you can always take it with you: it fits freely in a trouser pocket. The photographer’s own legs act Read more…
Decorating a home interior — whether a country house or a city apartment — always calls for inventiveness! Use your imagination, and even the most ordinary, discarded items can become original decorative elements. Here, for example, is a coffee table that uses an old cart wheel as its base. We will not dwell in detail Read more…
A small plot of land, where “serious” machinery has no room to work, can really only be cultivated properly with a walk-behind tractor. That is why a thrifty rural owner, having decided to get such a machine, will first choose its make and weigh its capabilities. And only then will he think about a cart, Read more…
A torn-out magazine page with a photo of a neat little table was lying on a park bench I sat down to rest on. The table — or rather its design — caught my interest (in the past I used to make furniture both for myself and to order). The photograph, like the table, had Read more…
With the approach of the summer-cottage season, this bed in disassembled form can be taken to your country plot even by suburban train or local bus: its parts are easy to dismantle and reassemble. The bed consists of a headboard and a footboard, two side rails, two support panels that serve as legs, and two Read more…
No one in the small gardening cooperative near Bryansk suspected anything miraculous. The gardeners had only one thing on their minds: extracting water from wells. In hot weather, every able-bodied resident was tied to the heavy handles of cast-iron pumps. They had to pump bucket after bucket to water the thirsty seedlings. One of the Read more…
