From road bike to touring bike

Bicycle bags DIY: frame kangaroo bag and repair kit pouch

I rode the Kharkiv Bicycle Factory’s “Tourist” bicycle for 30 years. It was, perhaps, one of the best Soviet bicycles — not only for active recreation (which it was actually designed for), but also for everyday trips. Now it hangs on the shed wall as a retro exhibit. Instead, I bought a new, modern two-wheel Read more…

Motorboat “Lada-75”

Lada motorboat: MK design with a sea-knife hull

Thousands of motorboats and launches built by amateurs to designs from the MK design bureau ply the waters of rivers, lakes, and even seas across our vast homeland. These include the widely popular Moskichka, Volzhanka, Strelka, Rusalka, Taifun, and Ruslan. An experienced specialist will recognize them at once by their characteristic profile and attitude on Read more…

Cargo mini moped

Cargo side trailer for a mini-moped: design

I have been a long-time reader of the magazine “Modelist-Konstruktor” and subscribed to it for many years in a row. Then, due to financial difficulties, I had to give it up. But since last year I have started subscribing again. I am glad that, as before, I find a lot of useful material in the Read more…

All-season helper

Homemade tractoromobile: 4WD chassis, PTO and hitch

For fifteen years I have subscribed to the magazine “Modelist-Constructor” and in every issue I find many interesting and useful articles for myself. I am a mechanical engineer by training, and I am especially interested in the creative developments of amateur designers. I myself, back in 1989, practically from scrap metal (units and assemblies of Read more…

Autogyro — glider

Autogyro fuselage: construction, assembly and controls

FUSELAGE CONSTRUCTION. In recent issues of our magazine, a series of articles by a group of autogyro designers was published about the features of building these rotary-wing machines, about how to build autogyros, and how to fly them when towed by a boat or an automobile. In this issue we describe the fuselage construction and Read more…

Mini tractor made in the Far East

Mini-tractor Amurchonok: design and components

Our magazine has already written more than once about Krasnodar, Stavropol, and Ural tractors, motor plows, rotary rippers, and electric mowers created in clubs by young designers. These machines are a good help both on the school plot, on the experimental plot, and in the field. The mini-tractor “Amurchonok,” described on these pages, was built Read more…

Homemade sprayer

DIY electric garden sprayer from a sewing machine motor

I made it for treating plants in the fight against garden and vegetable pests. I assembled it from available materials, mainly an electric motor from a sewing machine and a gear oil pump from a Ural motorcycle. I mounted them on a common base and connected them with a long drive shaft. The sprayer is Read more…

“Butterfly” on the waves

Moth dinghy build: hull, mast, rigging and sail

The ultra-light international Moth class dinghy — the “Moth” (fig. 1, 2) is simple in design, easy to build, and possesses all the most important qualities of a racing boat — it is fast, maneuverable, and responsive to the helm. All this makes it worth recommending as a first racing sailboat for those who dream Read more…