It would seem that a shovel is such a simple tool that changing or improving its design is hardly possible. A handle and a blade—that’s the whole device. Nevertheless, there are many variations of this rather ancient farming (and not only!) implement. And the search for its modernization continues. Including by our readers, as evidenced Read more…
A jigsaw is a common tool. However, when working with it, one often runs into certain difficulties: the blade breaks, slips out of the clamps, and when cutting along a curved contour it often twists, which makes it hard to keep the desired direction. It is much more convenient to use an electrothermal (hot-wire) jigsaw, Read more…
For many years Modelist-Konstruktor has been introducing its readers to various furniture designs intended for do-it-yourself construction. Unfortunately, as reader mail shows, not all home craftsmen who want to get started can take on replicating them. This especially applies to residents of large cities. The main reason is a shortage of “building” materials or, at Read more…
The kerosene primus stove «Rekord» had been lying idle in my garden shed for a long time. At first I wanted to throw it away, since kerosene is hard to find even in the countryside nowadays, but then I changed my mind and decided to convert it to a more readily available fuel—gasoline. However, you Read more…
Most city dwellers living in apartment buildings usually dry their laundry on balconies and loggias. Ropes stretched low get in the way of placing flower boxes, a deck chair or other leisure items on the balcony; ropes stretched high cause inconvenience when hanging laundry and do not always ensure the necessary safety. All these drawbacks Read more…
On a summer cottage plot in bad weather you can take shelter indoors. However, even on a sunny day you sometimes want to hide — from the scorching rays. And if there are no large trees on the plot that would provide welcome shade, you don’t have to build a solid permanent gazebo, as is Read more…
For apple juice lovers I can suggest a homemade juicer that is simple to make and does not require large investments. It is built from an old washing machine. Factory juicers have low output and poor reliability because they contain many plastic parts. My homemade unit processes a bucket of apples in 7–10 minutes. To Read more…
Memories of childhood and adolescence stay with a person for life: of the native log house with a Russian stove; of sun-warmed dusty paths in the garden and vegetable patch, of the sawbucks (often stressed on the second syllable in speech) for sawing firewood, standing to the side in the yard by the woodshed… And Read more…
Quite recently, trailers for passenger cars appeared on the roads of our country. This new vehicle very quickly gained the widest popularity, and during vacation periods on highways one could observe lines of cars with trailers in tow. What designs are there? Trailer-dachas, “folding beds”, motor boats and yachts on trailers, self-propelled trailers — ground Read more…
Wood burning is very often used for finishing wooden items. Even when this operation is done with a special tool—a pyrograph—it is very labor-intensive, especially when applying various complex ornaments. I would like to suggest a successfully tried mechanized method of burning complex patterns and various appliqués. It is much more productive than the traditional Read more…
