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Planetarium Projector - Solar System Mobile - Giant Sun Glasses - Soma Puzzle - Projection Television and screen - and more...
If you want to build any of these projects,
send me pictures and i will post them
Build this working model sailing ship from
stuff you can find around the house
The pictures below provide all the instructions you need
Click on each picture to read the instructions
SOME OTHER PROJECTS
Here is how you can make a home made
planetarium
projector
Here is a project I did years ago. I took an old terrarium stand and a white lamp globe that had blown off of a street lamp and made a planetarium projector. I took the globe and plotted the longitude and latitude lines and then the stars backwards (east to west) and drilled them with a hand held dermal with slightly larger holes for the brighter stars. Then I spray painted it inside and out with flat black paint so the light would be pure. I took the tiniest light bulb I could find and built a tripod that would hold the bulb in the very center of the globe. I connected it to a transformer that could plug into the wall and installed an on/off switch on the side of the stand. It worked really well. (I never did get around to making the dome)
SOLAR SYSTEM
HERE IS A MODEL OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM THAT I MADE FROM WODDEN BALLS AND STICKS. I PAINTED THE PLANETS WITH ACRYLIC PAINT AND USED CLEAR PLASTIC FOR THE RINGS AROUND SATURN, JUPITER AND URANUS. I PAINTED THE RINGS BY PLACING THE PLASTIC ON A RECORD PLAYER AND APPLYING THE BRUSH WHILE IT WAS TURNING. I USED FISHING LINE TO HANG EACH PLANET ON ITS OWN STICK. BEGINING WITH THE SUN AND MURCURY, I FOUND THE BALENCING POINT BEFORE I ATTACHED THE NEXT STRING TO THE STICK FOR VENUS. THEN, I BALENCED EACH NEW GROUP WITH THE NEXT PLANET TILL I GOT ALL THE WAY TO PLUTO
GIANT SUN GLASSES
HERE IS A PAIR OF GIANT SUN GLASSES I MADE FOR A SIGN TO SELL SUNGLASSES AT THE FLEA MARKET. THEY ARE MADE OF WOOD, POSTER PAPER, MILAR (TO GIVE THE LENSES AN OPAL GLAZE) AND SOME SPRAY PAINT. THERE ARE ALSO HINGES SO THEY CAN BE FOLDED AND ONE EXTRA STRUT OF WOOD TO BOW THE FRONT AND GIVE THE STURCTURE STRENGTH. WE SURE SOLD A LOT OF GLASSES THAT DAY
Make your own
SOMA PUZZLE
This is the first, and the smallest Soma puzzle I have ever built. I used sticks of balsa wood that were only half the diameter if a square unit. I built each of the seven pieces with very careful measurement and the intertwining of the sticks to make each piece as strong as possible. The pieces fit amazingly well for the size of the puzzle. The smaller the pieces, the more critical the measurements.
I have made a few of these puzzles, recently. The black and white picture is the first one i ever made. You can see this one in my short film "Unusual Junk from Around the House" It was made with balsa wood sticks that were only 1/16th of an inch thick so I had to do some fancy gluing to get the cube unit size twice as big.
The more recent puzzles were much easier. I went to the store and got some pre-made cubes and glued them together. They come in a variety of sizes and I have made large and small puzzles. The one in the picture is the only one where I painted each piece a different color so the cube can be more easily studied. The puzzle has many solutions that go together into a 3 x 3 cube, and there are many other shapes you can build with the pieces as well.
Whatever size you decide to build, you will need 27 cubes. It is critical that the pieces are glued together very accurately and so the smaller the cubes you use, the harder it will be for them to come out with a tight fit. This is because the cubes you buy are not likely to be perfect cubes, but the inaccuracy will be less of a problem with bigger cubes.
I built the seven shapes from memory. I had a plastic Soma puzzle when I was a kid. You can see the seven shapes you will need to build from the photo. To get started, you can glue 11 pairs of two together. This will give these pieces time to dry before completing the parts. To make sure they go together accurately, press the parts down to the table and at the same time, against another straight surface on the side of the cubes. (a ruler will do nicely) After you have finished making the pairs, you can finish the parts with the cubes that are left. Only add one cube at a time and make sure it has dried before adding another to finish the parts.
You can go online (including YouTube) for solutions to the cube puzzle, and also find charts for other shapes to build.
PROJECTION TV AND SCREEN
OK, I know that no one will ever do this, but I did this once and it was pretty cool.
I had a store display with a picture of a woman in a dress that I used for the screen. It was lightweight foam sandwiched between two sheets of papers, so it was pretty sturdy. It measured out at 60 inch diagonal. I rolled white paint on it and let it dry. Then I applied a second coat and this time while it was still wet, I sprinkled tiny reflective glass beads into the paint. This is the same stuff they sprinkle on the stripes on the road to reflect the light from your headlights. It’s almost like sand.
Next, I took a lens assembly from the top of an overhead projector, and an old color TV. I got a box that was big enough to cover the screen and cut a hole in the top. The bottom of the box had to be completely open so I folded the sides up against the inside walls. I lined the box with black cloth and covered the box with black vinyl to make sure no light would leak out the corners. I also put some black cloth along the bottom edge to seal the light that might escape from the bottom edge of the box next to the TV screen. The box had to be within a cretin height so the lens would focus, but the distance to the screen would also effect this, so there is room for error and correction. I cut a round hole in the top of the box to accommodate the lens. I mounted the screen on the wall with clips for the bottom edge and some rods at the top to tilt the screen so that all points would be at the same focal distance. After I got that all set up, I also hooked up sound to my stereo and my bass amp for some real theater sound. I invited some people over to watch Jurassic Park on my new big screen. The room had to be dark because, after all, it really was not as bright as a factory projection set, but it was still pretty neat.
SILVER DUFLATCH
This is a magnetic sculpture that I called The Silver Duflatch. It's not even silver, but who cares. It is made of balsa wood and simply holds two magnets apart with some thred. You can see the real one demonstrated in my short films section. Look for the film called "Unusual Junk from Around the House"
Ghost Projector
Consider the following, a jest to befuddle and startle the unsuspecting poor unfortunate observer. A most convincing projection of a specter may be achieved by the assembly of these few most cleverly placed items. A layered configuration of very delicate cheesecloth hanging from the ceiling shall provide the focal point of this most disturbing illusion, but it must be placed in the darkest of areas, possibly in a room at the end of a deep hall. The two lanterns, with identical cut shapes, resembling a floating spirit, must be placed on both sides of the doorway within the room so that they will not be seen, but only the light emitting from them, which will be focused upon the cheesecloth. In combination, the two shall create a most ethereal image, with depth, and, no well-defined edges. Yet one more element is necessary to complete the illusion. The specter must have the quality of motion. A slight breeze within the room will cause the flames in the lanterns to move, thus shifting the projections to dance against each other, filling the observer with a desire to leave the premises post haste. Present amazement to your companions!
