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Years ago in a fit of tree-hugging self congratulations, I junked my outboard engine and converted my little boat to electric. It runs on 36v from three 12v Lead/acid deep cycle marine batteries. Since that time I have been charging the batteries with individual Schumacher 12v chargers. Which...

Has anyone here worked on gold? I have a 20k gold ring that I wish to repair and I have some softer 10k gold to solder/braze it with. I could use sta-silv white flux and a 000 torch, or TIG with argon. Perhaps the only difference is my skill at either one of those. I might be better trying...

This winter I have been building some experimental hobo stoves. I didn’t follow any particular pattern, but built about 8 different versions or modifications. My efforts culminated in a stove you would hardly want to take backpacking, but it works ok in the boat yard. So far I am only using...

Do not get them wet!

I dropped a tiny screw while working on my mom’s engine. I Never found it . . . but I was working over a very rough floor and it would’ve been difficult to spot (though I did look for it, Unsuccessfully.) Anyhow, I had spares And I was in a hurry. BIG mistake! I was very fortunate that...

Vendo used to make vending machines in Pinedale CA, about 10 miles from me. I worked there right after they bought California Detention Products, which was years after Japan’s Sanden corp had bought Vendo. We had young Japanese people working in the engineering offices, supervising the...

My father bought this grinder from Harbor freight back in 1976. I sharpened his lawnmower blades on it 100 times. It’s had good use over the past 47 years, but finally the bearings died. This is probably my fault because I never bothered to vacuum the dirt out of the housing as I didn’t know it...

And you thought freakbikes were invented in Chicago? Reputedly from Laramie Wyoming, circa 1890s. Looks like a lot of brazing on that frame. This is the best photograph I could get of it so far.

Those folks in the United Kingdom have certainly heard the story already. I did not see any reports that people were injured but someone said there was an explosion. I think the collapse was later, as a result of prolonged fire. Again I don’t wanna make any assumptions here. I haven’t seen any...

Or is it just a nasty rumor? The excitement of the little children is adorable.

There are lots of videos on YouTube about cutting Styrofoam with a hot wire. I’m not going to get too technical here, but the key is you need a piece of thin nichrome wire. I could not find this at the local hardware store. We used to buy it when I was a kid, to make the coils for setting off...

The Brian Wind Trainer. Roadside junk. I don’t know what I’m going to do with this. Maybe turn it into a bike stand. This is for somebody that maybe wants to cycle in the house because it’s 110 F or -40 F outdoors. Edit: I mistakenly called this the “air” trainer but it is the wind trainer.

In case anyone here is still thinking that modern electric cars are a really good idea for preventing pollution and increasing public safety, you should check out the new videos on YouTube regarding the cargo ship Fremantle highway. This cargo ship had hundreds of electric vehicles on board...

Seen at an auction house: About 30" diameter. I think this might have been some kind of an auto shop or tire store display rack ornament from 1950's~60's.

I decided that it was time to break this out of my updates and give it its own place. I was going to put this in “built from scratch”, But I am planning to use 3 pre-welded assemblies in the construction. Here is the latest sketch for my electric and possibly hybrid gasoline-electric trike...

In my younger days I did some technical rock climbing. I thought the Wasatch were some hairy peaks, but I never did this freeboot nightmare stuff! First person video from the Tatra crags and scree…

Has anyone ever done an aluminum frame here with boiled linseed oil? I was going to tear down my aluminum bike and clearcoat the frame but so far it is still just raw. I’m looking at a half a gallon of boiled linseed oil, sitting on my shelf for years, and I’m thinking this might be a chance...

https://ratrodbikes.com/threads/flyaway.116658/post-1230464 Flyaway Is a 1960s Western Auto Western Flyer Wayfarer Flyer, which used to belong to the old lady across the street. Before: This was basically a mechanical overhaul of a bike which has not been operated in 30 years. I got rid of...

https://ratrodbikes.com/threads/leftover-bits-build.116866/post-1234272 The leftover bits bike was literally made out of whatever I found laying around in my shed. The frame is from a brand new 20 inch girls huffy mountain bike which I originally purchased at half price, just for the front...