What did you make?

[WTL]

Odd idea for a thread, but I was going through some stuff the other day and I came across something I made as a kid. You know I was one of those kids who always was messing with building stuff.

Anyways my grandfather had these old popular mechanics books from 1945 that had some DIY projects. One of them was a crossbow using a leaf spring for the bow.

Now I wonder if things have changed over the years, I mean - I wonder if leaf springs back in the 40s were significantly lighter than they are now. Anyways, I was about 9 or so and I begged my Dad to take me down to the junkyard so I could pick out a leaf spring - which he did. I can still remember the day I got the spring, I tried everything in my arsenal to cut that metal - too bad my arsenal was basically a dril, a glue gun and a hammer. So then I begged him to take the spring down to the welding shop where they finally were able to cut it according to the plans specified with a plasma cutter. I bet they got a kick out of the idea, no father would let their kid have such a powerful bow at that age unless he was positive it would never be used.

Anyways, at the end of all of this I ended up with a yellow pine stock with a leafspring for a bow and a cable for a string. Never was able to figue out how to cock the thing. I think had it actually ever shot an arrow it could have penetrated one of Sadaams bunkers.

Anyways, did you guys ever make anything crazy as a kid?

[Jim80]

My dad built us a go cart with some lawn mower wheele a peice of ply wood and a car battery , . and I tried and failed to fix an old mini bike .


jim

[aikenyounggun]

ummm we dug a hole that was 10ft + deep (no joke) we tied a bucket to a tree with a rope when it got deep .... then two of us would haul it up and dump it.... we would kind of bounce of the walls to get up..... the knot that held the rope to the bucket broke 2..... but both times the people were uut of the hole for a water break (thank god... bucket was 40+ lbs)............. then after we hit impenatrable clay we dug a tunnel about 3 feet long and 8 feet down..... then our parents found out (after like a month) and made us fill it in...... the worst thing was it was right next to the power box that gave the entire neighborhood power and it said "DANGER electricity call 888-888-4545 before digging" .... we didnt even notice the danger sign and its amazing one of us aint dead.....

Then: we dug a hole that was and still is 8 feet long 4 feet deep and 6 feet wide and convinced my friends dad to buy us plywood to put around it and we made a fort..... we never used the fort we just liked digging holes, having fun, getting dirty, and doing stupid stuff...... i guess i still like doing stupid stuff.... but hey what are teenagers for?

[flbassman]

I did basically the same thing as Aiken. Also, I built a boat out of a 75 gallon tub, and floated it in different retention ponds. There was other stuff too, I was/am always screwin around with somethin or other....

[Bassboss]

I've dug my share of hole in my younger days too.......... never that deep though! I do remember get stuck in one though!

I made race cars out of wood wire and wheels.

[brushhog]

We mostly built things that would cause as grievous injury. Perhaps our best was a car designed to come to a screaming halt and launch you down the hill. Basically we took 4 Big wheel plastic bikes and Mounted a wood crate on the bikes. We hooked 20 or so feet off clothesline to the crate and tied the other end to a street sign at the top of the hill, You got a bobsled kind of start down the hill, hopped into the crate and waited for the rope to go taut. Wham, box stopped you kept going! We were poor and didn't have a lot of toys... This could entertain us for an entire summer day!

[Culln5]

Originally Posted by aikenyounggun

ummm we dug a hole that was 10ft + deep (no joke) we tied a bucket to a tree with a rope when it got deep .... then two of us would haul it up and dump it.... we would kind of bounce of the walls to get up..... the knot that held the rope to the bucket broke 2..... but both times the people were uut of the hole for a water break (thank god... bucket was 40+ lbs)............. then after we hit impenatrable clay we dug a tunnel about 3 feet long and 8 feet down..... then our parents found out (after like a month) and made us fill it in...... the worst thing was it was right next to the power box that gave the entire neighborhood power and it said "DANGER electricity call 888-888-4545 before digging" .... we didnt even notice the danger sign and its amazing one of us aint dead.....

Then: we dug a hole that was and still is 8 feet long 4 feet deep and 6 feet wide and convinced my friends dad to buy us plywood to put around it and we made a fort..... we never used the fort we just liked digging holes, having fun, getting dirty, and doing stupid stuff...... i guess i still like doing stupid stuff.... but hey what are teenagers for?

LOL... OSHA would've had a field day.

[Buzz Wing]

Originally Posted by brushhog

We mostly built things that would cause as grievous injury. Perhaps our best was a car designed to come to a screaming halt and launch you down the hill. Basically we took 4 Big wheel plastic bikes and Mounted a wood crate on the bikes. We hooked 20 or so feet off clothesline to the crate and tied the other end to a street sign at the top of the hill, You got a bobsled kind of start down the hill, hopped into the crate and waited for the rope to go taut. Wham, box stopped you kept going! We were poor and didn't have a lot of toys... This could entertain us for an entire summer day!

And to think, he's a teacher!

That sounds kinda fun, but didn't it hurt?

-Buzz

[aikenyounggun]

ohhh how could i forget our good old dirt ramp for our bikes.... it started out as a pile of left over mulch and over the years we added tons of dirt and rebuilt it at least a thousand times..... my driveway is perfect that you peddal up the driveway take a left onto the path to the front door and then it hit the yard about a another 20 yds on that path and the ramp was right after that... then if you didnt crash you went into my neighbors driveway (friend who was our age and we did all this stuff together) turn onto the road and then back onto our driveway..... just a big circle..... we did that everyday for a couple hours for a couple years.... one of my other neighbors now makes fun of us..... estimation is we jumped it over a million times 4 people nonstop... who knows

we also jumped on the trampoline a lot ( all we ever got was 7 staples where my friend put his teeth into my head and one concussion... KO.... maybe more concussions..... then just a lot of scrapes and bruised) .... we made up a lot of games.... most dangerous and most played was called smoothie.... 1 soccer ball 4kids.... whoever had the soccer ball was attacked and the ball was taken away... you could strip it while standing.... tackle them and then everyone would hold an arm .... that was the game......

we also tool a skateboard and took all the wheels and trucks off and then would strap it to our feet with bungie cords and so trick with it on the trampoline..... or we would take it to a hill that had pinestraw and slide down it (pineboarding)..... we also have a huge claypit down in the woods that we would ride our bikes down to and clayboard... it has huge hill where it used to be mined... lie 100 ft + ....

so many other stupid things it would take forever to mention....


ps..... its really gay typing on a keyboard on a laptop after being used to a normal sized`one

[crankybait]

you guys really do like digging holes, doncha...

Anyhow, my friends and I have tried making countless forts in random forests. Pathways, forts, hideouts, stuff like that. We also try building something new every time people have their stuff out in the spring cleaning times. We had a Sofa on Wheels last year, rode that thing down hills. Did an 8 person skateboard which failed miserably. Made many bows of wood and rope. Tried making my own custom knife with a hedgecutter, dremel, drill, and balsa wood. Came out better than I thought it would, but the handle was a tad bulky

[bamabassman]

we use dot try and dam up the creek we had in our holler as a kid. worked for a while too. was gonna build our own pond, but a huge storm came and washed it away every time. blew up alot of things with the ol m80's too. remember them? don't make em anymore i don't think.

[barkelypup]

Hey when I was a kid I made real bad grades in school. Football and girls where more important. Does that count? I don't know how I made it through college. My dad old me at the start of my 5th semester senior year of college that there were names for folks who go to shcool as long as I have. He said Dr. and Lawyer and wanted to know when I was going for my bar exam or residency. I finished up shortly after that.


bP

[bamabassman]

hahahahahahaha, now that is funny barkelypup.

[cassidyta]

Some of you may remember the story of Bruce Leroy "The Shogun of Harlem" He was the main character in a 1985 movie called the last dragon. Well, Bruce's training was pretty much complete when he was able to catch an arrow that was shot in his direction. It looked so cool that I wanted to do it.
I duct taped a 7 foot recurve bow to a fence post. I then used what I considered a fairly smart rope and pulley system to draw the bow back and tie it down to another fence post.
I test fired 5 shots and was confident that I had a consistent trajectory (+/- 12 inches).
I have not made many smart choices in my life, but luckily this classifies as one of those times. For some reason I decided that catching an arrow was an accompishment even if I removed the arrow head. In my 13 year old mind this made the kevorkean suicide machine that I had created much safer. Besides, once I mastered catching it without the broad head on it, then I would simply add it later to impress my friends.
These are the lessons I learned that day.
When you remove the arrow head from an arrow it is now lighter and does not fly the same pattern as it would with a head. Making all of my test shots useless.
A fast moving aluminum shaft will penetrate a shoulder.
I am not Bruce Leroy.

[bamabassman]

gotta SEE THE SCAR ON DIS ONE. YOU DUMB @#$%!!! hahahahahahaha, yea when we are 13 and all we think we are death proof huh? yea, never done that, but done some STUPID things in my childhood.

[jig fisherman]

You are right bamabassman(I'm 13). So far i learned to leave the bridge making to profesionals, small sticks don't work to well and theres probably a lot more stupid things i don't remember

[flbassman]

Originally Posted by bamabassman

gotta SEE THE SCAR ON DIS ONE. YOU DUMB @#$%!!! hahahahahahaha, yea when we are 13 and all we think we are death proof huh? yea, never done that, but done some STUPID things in my childhood.

Haha 13 to 23.... When I was 13 I thought it would be sweet to soak my shoes in WD 40, set them on fire, and jump of my roof through a cloud of aerosol. Like a cloud of flame. I learned that pants are flammable, and the importance of stopping, dropping and rolling

[cassidyta]

I never claimed to be a smart 13 year old, but somehow I survived.
Bama, To tell the truth, this old body has more scars than I could count. You would be hard pressed to tell which one was caused by which dumb move.