Two-wheeled recovery vehicle

Homemade tow dolly for passenger cars

Motorists know that cars sometimes suffer breakdowns that make towing them on a rope either prohibited (steering or braking system failures) or impossible (certain transmission or running gear damages). For such cases I made a tow dolly. The broken car is loaded onto it partially — only the front or rear axle is rolled up. Read more…

Gliding over the waves

DIY Aquaplane: Complete Build Guide & Riding Techniques

An aquaplane is a board on which one rides on water, tied with a long rope to a motorboat or boat. Just like water skis, an aquaplane keeps a person on the surface of the water due to the lift force generated during its movement. Mastering the technique of riding an aquaplane is much easier Read more…

Automatic incubator

Fig. 1. General view of the incubator

A compact incubator in which you can hatch turkeys and chickens, ducks and geese, operates from an AC power supply. The design automatically maintains the required temperature: chicken and turkey eggs are cooled twice a day, and waterfowl eggs — four times. In addition, the machine turns the eggs 180° every hour. If something fails Read more…

Folding utility block

Folding Utility Block Extension: Design and Construction

You can find all kinds of utility buildings on garden and dacha plots. Most often it is a tiny shed at the far end of the site or a large utility block combined with a summer kitchen. The disadvantage of such structures is the significant consumption of sawn timber. And most importantly, they take away Read more…

IZh becomes a tractor

DIY Izh mini tractor from motorcycle for homestead work

In recent years, with the growth of personal household farms, demand has increased for the Muravey cargo scooter; it is especially needed by rural residents. In 1983 alone, 12,000 of these machines will be sold. For the huge number of our villages, this is, of course, not much. By contrast, almost half a million motorcycles Read more…

Mounted and suspended water jets

Fig. 1. General view of the mounted water jet installed on a boat

The advantages of an outboard waterjet were already discussed in the article «Water instead of a propeller». Now we will tell you about its design. The waterjet installation we developed is intended for a wide range of enthusiasts. The waterjet is designed for a two-cylinder SM-557L engine, but can work with any other engine that Read more…

An all-season luggage rack

Universal roof rack for sailboards and skis | DIY build

When designing this car roof rack, the aim was to create a device that, in addition to everyday use, would suit the active outdoor enthusiast—allowing two sets of sailboards to be carried in summer and (with minor changes) 5–6 pairs of skis in winter. Given the considerable weight of two sets of sailboards (about 54 Read more…

“Agidel” — a tourist’s companion

Agidel Micromotorcycle: DIY Build Guide & Plans

In Bashkortostan, we call the Belaya River “Agidel” — a favorite recreation spot for Ufa residents. I named my micromotorcycle “Agidel” as well, because it was conceived primarily as a standard design for fishermen, mushroom pickers, and lovers of long journeys. The purpose determined the main qualities of the machine — high reliability, ease of Read more…

How to change the voltage?

Step-Down Transformer 4-12V: Complete DIY Guide

The simplest electrical devices that our magazine offered to beginners work from a 3336L battery for a pocket flashlight. But it cannot provide much energy: after several hours of continuous operation, the battery “runs down”, and then it needs to be replaced. It is much more convenient to power homemade devices from a constant source Read more…