Modern MechanixArchive: Modern Mechanix

June 7, 2008

HOW TO - Movies in 3 dimensions

Xlg 3D Movies 0
How to adapt any 8 or 16mm movie camera and projector to take and show stereo movies -Mechanix Illustrated 1953.

IF you own an 8 or 16mm movie camera and projector, you can make your own amazingly lifelike three dimensional movies in full color or black and white at a cost of less than $6 for equipment.

The principle of stereoscopic vision is simple. Each eye sees a slightly different aspect of any view. The right eye sees slightly more of the right side of solid objects in the foreground, and the left eye sees slightly more of the left side. In addition, when the eyes are gazing at an object in the foreground, the objects seen by the right eye in the background are displaced to the right, and the objects seen by the left eye in the background are displaced to the left. These two slightly different images that fall on the retinas of the right and left eye are transmitted to the brain and are fused into a scene which enables us to perceive depth.


Posted by Phillip Torrone | Jun 7, 2008 12:00 AM
DIY Projects, Modern Mechanix, Retro | Permalink | Comments (13) | Email Entry

March 24, 2008

TRANSISTORS - first family of electronics

Xlg Bell Transistors Family
Scientific American, August, 1956 - TRANSISTORS-first family of electronics.

Related:
 Img413 815
How transistors work

 Transistor 20070726
Microcontroller basics.

 Img413 485
How transistors of an integrated circuit are made.

Posted by Phillip Torrone | Mar 24, 2008 08:00 AM
Electronics, Modern Mechanix, Retro | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email Entry

February 27, 2008

Amuse Friends with chemical stunts

Make Pt0457
Modern Mechanix 1934

DO YOU like to dabble with chemicals? It was a hobby with Thomas A. Edison during his youth and formed the basis of an education that later brought thousands of new inventions into the world. Far from being a "dry" science, chemistry can be very amusing and entertaining. How many people would believe that you could pour a little drinking water into a china bowl and cause it to burst forth with flames several feet high--without the use of matches?
Amuse Friends with chemical stunts - Link.

Related:
Make 536
Thrilling stunts with a glass-eating chemical - Link.

Posted by Phillip Torrone | Feb 27, 2008 08:00 AM
DIY Projects, Modern Mechanix, Retro, Science | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email Entry

February 24, 2008

Jumpin cars, sled stoves, battery powered cars and steampunk RC trains...

Make Pt0444
"Build a comedy ford", old timey version of bouncing suspension once found in rap music videos. Modern Mechanix 1933 - Link.

Lrg Sled Stove
Sled stove for skating parties, Modern Mechanix 1933 - Link.

Xlg Outdated Engines
Back in world war II people would conserve gas and use battery powered/pedal powered ways to get around, Popular Mechanics, 1941.

Lrg Steampunk Robot
Steampunk remote controlled train, retro Crab-Fu! Popular Mechanics 1936 - Link.


All of this and more @ Modern Mechanix - Link.

Posted by Phillip Torrone | Feb 24, 2008 02:00 AM
Modern Mechanix, Retro | Permalink | Comments (3) | Email Entry

February 17, 2008

Grindstone attached to bicycle

Make Pt0423
Clever way to sharpen knives, Science And Mechanics 1936 - Link.

Related:

Knife sharpening tricks (video) - Link.

Posted by Phillip Torrone | Feb 17, 2008 12:00 AM
Bicycles, Modern Mechanix, Retro | Permalink | Comments (4) | Email Entry

February 12, 2008

Clocks in odd figures show Makers' skill

Lrg Odd Clocks
Case modd'er from Popular Mechanics 1924!-

Showing skill possessed by watch-makers long before members of this ancient craft had advantages of modern tools, a collection of old timepieces owned by an eastern jeweler, provides a n interesting contrast with similar creations of a machine age....

One was cleverly made in a suit of armor that moved the hands around the chest and opened and closed the eyes and mouth, at every hour. After five and a half years of labor, one man completed an odd mechanical clock containing 298 moving figures, carved from oak with a penknife. They depict various historical scenes. Experts say that the watches in this display of mechanics of a past day are marvels of art and workmanship.

Clocks in odd figures show Makers' skill - Link.

Posted by Phillip Torrone | Feb 12, 2008 05:30 AM
Modern Mechanix, Retro | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email Entry

February 6, 2008

Kitchen utensils make professional photo enlarger

Xlg Home Made Enlarger
Photo enlarger made from kitchen gear, Modern Mechanix 1936 Link.

Posted by Phillip Torrone | Feb 6, 2008 08:00 AM
DIY Projects, Imaging, Modern Mechanix, Retro | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email Entry

February 5, 2008

Merry go round airplane launcher

Lrg Merry Go Round Plane
Here's a neat idea from Popular Science 1933, best tested on MythBusters now (they just tested if a plane could take off from a treadmill)... a merry go round airplane launcher, what do you think would happen? At least it would be more fun than most airport experiences - Link.

Posted by Phillip Torrone | Feb 5, 2008 06:00 AM
Modern Mechanix, Transportation | Permalink | Comments (9) | Email Entry

January 27, 2008

Electric gloves - SHOCKING!

Lrg Electric Glove
Electric glove from Modern Mechanix 1935 - Link.

Fdg2Sdq418Epuchskz.Medium
The old timey one reminds me of this modern hacky "Tazer Glove" - Link.

Posted by Phillip Torrone | Jan 27, 2008 05:00 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Instructables, Modern Mechanix | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email Entry

January 21, 2008

Anti-hitcher device and roller (tank) skates

Lrg Anti Hitch Shocker
Shocking anti-hitcher device, Link.

Lrg Tread Skates
Roller (tank) skates - Link.

Posted by Phillip Torrone | Jan 21, 2008 12:00 PM
Modern Mechanix, Retro, Transportation | Permalink | Comments (7) | Email Entry

Landlubbers hoist their sails and go yachting on bikes

Lrg Sail Bike
Sail biking! Popular Mechanics 1938 - Link.

More:
Strangevehicle4
Bicycles @ MAKE - Link.

Posted by Phillip Torrone | Jan 21, 2008 05:00 AM
Bicycles, Modern Mechanix, Retro | Permalink | Comments (4) | Email Entry

January 16, 2008

HOW TO - Build a beer keg radio

Make Pt0241-1
Here's how to build a beer keg radio from Popular Science 1938 -

NOVEL as well as serviceable, the beer-keg radio described on these pages will make a useful addition to the furnishings in your game room. It can be used either as an end table or as a refreshment stand, and, since it is an entirely self-contained unit, operated by dry batteries, it can be carried onto a porch or even into the yard when warm summer days and evenings make this desirable. If you build this five-tube set carefully, it will give excellent reception from stations 1,000 miles or more away.

The unusual cabinet that houses the chassis, speaker, and batteries of the powerful superheterodyne circuit, is nothing more than an inexpensive ten to fifteen-gallon wine barrel, which can be purchased from any mail-order house. Making the barrel resemble a beer keg requires simple, inexpensive treatment which will be described later...

HOW TO - Build a beer keg radio - Link.

Posted by Phillip Torrone | Jan 16, 2008 09:00 AM
DIY Projects, Modern Mechanix, Retro, Wireless | Permalink | Comments (4) | Email Entry

January 7, 2008

A different kind of "third hand"

handsfree1948.jpg
A pic from a 1948 issue of Popular Mechanics of a "spring-arm" hands-free calling device.

Flexible steel arm for hands-free calling, 1948 - [via] Link

Posted by Gareth Branwyn | Jan 7, 2008 02:00 PM
Modern Mechanix, Retro | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email Entry

Portable neon sign

Lrg Neon Sign
Protesters! This is what you need to get your message across! A portable neon sign - Might need a 6V lantern cell or 2 (or just EL wire) - Link.

Posted by Phillip Torrone | Jan 7, 2008 04:00 AM
Modern Mechanix, Retro | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email Entry

December 12, 2007

Sun-melted sand for roads

Xlg Sand
Fun idea from Modern Mechanix 1933 - Link.

Posted by Phillip Torrone | Dec 12, 2007 09:00 AM
Modern Mechanix, Retro | Permalink | Comments (5) | Email Entry

December 11, 2007

Periscope house

Xlg Periscope House 0
Maybe a good (re)make? -

YOU walk across the green-lawned, palm-hemmed park overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica, California, and climb the stairs to the little house in the picture above. Your party gathers around a circular rail in the center, the door is closed and at first all is darkness.

Then, slowly and as if by magic, the scene you left outdoors a few minutes before appears on the revolvable table in front of you. Colors are perfectly natural. Strollers in the park move about, quite oblivious to their observers.

Periscope house - Link.

Posted by Phillip Torrone | Dec 11, 2007 02:00 AM
Imaging, Made On Earth, Modern Mechanix, Retro | Permalink | Comments (7) | Email Entry

October 31, 2007

Crime-Detection tests for the home chemist

Make Pt0001
DIY CSI - Link.

Posted by Phillip Torrone | Oct 31, 2007 12:00 AM
DIY Projects, Modern Mechanix, Retro | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email Entry

October 30, 2007

Three wheel skates

Lrg Three Wheel Skates
This look like a lot of fun and could be a good (re)make - Link.

Posted by Phillip Torrone | Oct 30, 2007 10:00 AM
Modern Mechanix, Retro, Transportation | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email Entry

October 29, 2007

The Amateur Electrician: Build a telephone

Xlg Amateur Electrician
The Amateur Electrician: Build a telephone using a "Ford Spark coil" Modern Mechanix 1930 - Link.

Posted by Phillip Torrone | Oct 29, 2007 09:00 AM
DIY Projects, Modern Mechanix, Retro | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email Entry

October 19, 2007

Raise your own silk

Make 1235
It's never too late -- "Here's an easy, profitable, spare time job for several million Americans that can make the U. S. world's largest silk producer." - Link.

Posted by Phillip Torrone | Oct 19, 2007 12:00 AM
Modern Mechanix, Retro | Permalink | Comments (2) | Email Entry

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