Home foundry

Injection machine for plastic model parts

I have subscribed to the “Modelist-Konstruktor” magazine since 1985 and have never regretted it. I read everything: from the first page to the last. It is a very useful and interesting publication. And although times are hard now and the magazine is not exactly cheap, I will continue to subscribe, because I believe the value Read more…

With a trailer on a Niva

DIY cargo trailer for the Niva: drawings and build

The favorite car in the countryside is, without doubt, the full-wheel-drive, high-clearance VAZ 2121 “Niva”. Unfortunately, our industry does not produce trailers specifically for this model that have a high load capacity and can be operated off-road. And that’s a pity! Rural residents have an enormous need for them: they have to haul building materials Read more…

Cold frame greenhouse

Arched greenhouse from flexible twigs — Simakov design

In “M-K” No. 8, 1984, we wrote about an arched cold frame built by schoolchildren. Its main load-bearing elements — the half-arches — were made from gymnastic hoops. That circumstance strictly determined the size of the cold frame. Yet it is very tempting to build, on the same principle, a more spacious and easier-to-maintain structure Read more…

Wheels under sail

Sail land yacht on low-pressure tires: frame and sail

Over the past decade, motor all-terrain vehicles on light wheels with pneumatic inner tubes have become especially popular among amateur designers. The remarkable cross-country ability of such machines prompted sailing sports enthusiasts to use the unique properties of the pneumatic wheel when creating all-season sail craft. This publication introduces readers to such a vehicle. So, Read more…

“Little One” cuts the furrow

Walk-behind tractor Malysh: engine and transmission

Of the family of micro-tractors developed by students at the Kharkiv Institute of Mechanization and Electrification of Agriculture, the simplest and most accessible for DIY construction is the walk-behind tractor “Malysh” (KHIMESKh-2): it makes maximum use of units and parts from industrially produced machinery. This is a compact two-wheeled machine controlled by an operator walking Read more…

Broom on wheels

MPM-1 mechanical sweeper by young technicians club

In “M-K” No. 4 for 1982, an article was published about the young technicians club at housing management office No. 8 in the city of Vitebsk, and about the amusing and useful machines created by its members. Among the most original devices mentioned was the mechanical sweeper MPM-1. It was conceived as a means of Read more…