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Guide to building doodads w/junk

Toys from Trash

The recycling, reuse and reappropriation of common household goods, trash and miscellany into functional and/or amusing items is something Cool Tools readers know well. No matter where you fall on the spectrum of tinkerers, whether you have children or not, it’s near impossible to visit Arvind Gupta’s Toys From Trash without wanting to attempt at least one of his many projects.

His web site boasts a fantastic range of educational experiments like how to fashion a potato battery and a bottle barometer, as well as a section called “Pumps from the Dump” which includes a stellar-looking Syringe Pump. Granted there’s an array of light experiments akin to the ones you’ll find in the previously-reviewed Science Toys You Can Make With Your Kids. But in addition to the nerdy, educational stuff, Gupta’s site features quick and easy one-offs that aren’t the least bit science-y, like how to fold six types of newspaper hat.

I first perused Toys From Trash a couple years ago, but found myself diving back in recently after a friend reminded me just how much cool stuff Gupta’s published. Many of us already tinker, create, deconstruct and build stuff back up for fun, work, education, etc. — or at the very least we’re partial to blogs and publications which show us what’s possible. I’m guessing one of the biproducts of the economic downturn in the U.S. will be an increase in DIY and, therefore, even more kids raised on transforming what could be discarded into treasures. — Steven Leckart

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Best amateur science source

Science Toys You Can Make With Your Kids

Probably the coolest source of educational science demonstrations I’ve encountered is this very book-like website written and run by Simon Field. Field has 30 nifty toys and gadgets that can be made quickly, cheaply and will amaze adults as well as kids. This is the only place I’ve seen that tells you how to make a magnetic linear accelerator, also known as a Gauss Rifle – it uses magnetism to shoot tiny steel balls. The secret to Field’s method is that his demos are very small, requiring small amounts of material, energy, or money. Most of his experiments can be assembled – even if you buy the stuff – for a few dollars, and can fit in your palm. His instructions and visuals are simply the best I’ve seen in any how-to-book. Most wonderful of all, it’s entirely up on the web for free. Hats off to you, Mr. Field. (He does sell kits, and parts, which may help pay for his server, I guess.) — KK

Building the Film Can Cannon

This toy was an instant favorite from the moment its first loud Bang! and flash of orange flame launched the little black film can up to bounce off our 26 foot ceiling. It has several names: the Piezo-Popper, the Binaca Bomb, the Photo-Flash — you will probably come up with more.

The toy is very easy to make, going together in about 15 minutes, at a cost of two or three dollars if all the parts are purchased new, or free if you don’t throw away certain common household items.

The fuel for the cannon can be found around the house. We have run ours on perfume, hair spray, and (our favorite) Wintergreen Binaca mouth freshener.

The cannon is very simple. A pair of wires are pushed through a slit made in the top of a plastic 25 millimeter film can. The other end of the wires are soldered to the igniter element from an electronic cigarette or fireplace lighter. I chose to mount these elements on a block of wood, but this is optional if you’re in a hurry.

To fire the cannon, you spray the fuel (one squirt of perfume or Binaca, or a very short squirt of hair spray) into the plastic film can, push the can down on the lid, and press the igniter.

With a loud Bang! and a flash of orange flame, the little can goes sailing into the air. With some practice in getting just the right amount of fuel in the can, it will go as high as 30 feet straight up. If too much or too little fuel is used, it will either not ignite at all, or it will not go very high.

The Film Can Cannon can only hold a small amount of air and fuel mixture, so it is safe to fire off in the house. The plastic can is soft and light, and can land on people without disturbing their hairdo. But it takes off rather quickly, and it is not recommended to have your head in the way during a launch.

Here is a closeup of the spark gap formed by the stripped ends of the two wires. There is nothing critical about this arrangement — as long as the wire ends are bare and close enough, a spark can jump across the gap when the igniter is pushed.

• The world’s simplest steam powered boat
  This next toy is an example of the simplest steam engine you will ever see. It has no valves, no moving parts (in the traditional sense of the phrase), and yet it can propel it’s little boat easily across the largest swimming pool or quiet duck pond.

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Low-rent science hacks

Gonzo Gizmos

My favorite amateur science experimenter has gathered the coolest hacks from his website into a browseable book. Here Simon Field tells you how to use disposable trash to make very small versions of hi-tech machines — like a Van de Graaff generator, or magnetic train gun, or what he calls a plastic hydrogen bomb. The secret to the fun and enlightenment is to keep everything very small — which makes it cheap, fast, and safe.

There’s lots more amateur exploration at his wonderful website, but this plain book (black and white printing) contains a fine selection of his best stuff, and is great for an introductory gift. — KK

In the previous two projects, we stole high voltage from a television set to power our high voltage motors. In this project we will build a device that can generate 12,000 volts from an empty soda can and a rubber band.

The device is called a Van de Graaff generator. Science museums and research facilities have large versions that generate potentials in the hundreds of thousands of volts. Ours is more modest, but is still capable of drawing 1/2 inch sparks from the soda can to my finger. The spark is harmless, and similar to the jolt you get from a doorknob after scuffing your feet on the carpet.

This very simple toy uses a magnetic chain reaction to launch a steel marble at a target at high speed. The toy is very simple to build, going together in minutes, and is very simple to understand and explain, and yet fascinating to watch and to use.

12/2/24