How creative can you be and stay realistic?

[ladyhk13]

I got to thinking about the old show "McGyver" (probably spelled wrong) and wondered if you guys and gals have a list of things/projects that you can make in a pinch instead of buying something. I'm looking for things that are creative yet REALISTIC. Don't throw stuff out here that people can't easliy get the materials or it takes a rocket scientist to figure out what you are trying to say. Remember we don't all have mechanical minds and some have kids/teenagers that may have to help so if things can be broken down to explain to a younger generation that may have to help put your "invention" haha together.
Look forward to seeing what ya'll come up with!!

[Echo2]

2 runs of paracord.....between trees..... twisted up taunt for a cloths line.....tuck the edges of clothing into twist....no pins needed.

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http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/13964683/sn/2045008932/name/n_a

[Echo2]

http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/13964683/sn/867859340/name/n_a

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http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/13964683/sn/1853787617/name/n_a

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http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/13964683/sn/117105086/name/n_a

[The Stig]

FANTASTIC THREAD

Looking forward to seeing what great ideas people share.

I'll have to think through this one. Sadly, I'm more of a "buy what I need" kinda guy and then improvise as needed.

[Taz Baby]

http://insected.arizona.edu/graphics/flyrear.gif
How to Make a Fly Trap

Instructions

Materials

2 liter plastic soda bottles (have students bring these to class)
Heavy scissors
24" lengths of string
Hole punch
Bait: Raw meat soaked in a small amount of water (or old beer); old piece of fruit, like ripe banana
Cotton ball

Making the Fly Trap
(For student participation, have all elements prepared for assemblyÐdepending on abilities)

Using 2 liter plastic soda bottles, remove label and rinse out with water.
With heavy scissors separate the top of the bottle from the bottom (see diagram). The cut may need to be started with a razor blade or knife.
Invert the top into the bottom part of the bottle.
On opposite sides of the container, punch holes using a hole punch.
Lace 24" of string through the holes and tie with a secure knot to create a hanger, or use string with paper clips attached to each end if students are not ready to tie the string.

Trapping Flies

To add the bait, slide the top up the string and drop in bait. If your bait is runny, place a piece of paper (or wire screen) under the bait so that insects do not drown.
Set trap in a tree so that rodents (or children) will not be enticed. To protect the flies from heat stress, place the trap in a shaded area. Depending on the weather, season, the bait and the amount of time the trap is left outside, the trap may attract other insects. Be watchful for honey bees.

Handling Flies

After retrieving the trap, place it in a refrigerator or ice chest (with ice) for one hour until the flies fall to the bottom. Prolonged chilling may kill them. All the insects in the trap will be chilled and not fly away. Work quickly as the insects may recover rapidly. At this time, separate the flies and other insects from the bait and dispose of bait appropriately. You can handle the insects with tweezers being careful not to pinch off wings, legs or squeezing them too hard. Release other insects outside and place flies in observation chamber and leave at room temperature to resume normal activity.
After completing the observation and activity, release the flies. If you need to use flies for experiments the next day, place a piece of apple or wet raisins in the container for the adult flies.

[Taz Baby]

I have made these and they are simple and fun for kids to make and they work

http://www.reeftime.com/images/2-liter-bottle-trap.gif


DIY Fish Or Crayfish Trap using a 2-liter bottle




Have you ever tried to catch a particularly feisty fish in an aquarium that is heavily planted or full of delicate live rock? If the answer is yes, then read on! This article will teach you how to make an aquarium safe fish trap. This simple, but clever DIY fish trap will help you catch a delicate fish with no damage to aquarium life or the fish itself.



What you will need:

A 2-liter bottle

A tool to cut the 2-liter bottle

A bit of fish food that is highly favored by the fish you are attemping to capture





Directions

Start by cutting the top 4.5 inches off of the 2-liter bottle. If your fish is too large to fit into the screw top area, cut off the screw top off the bottle to make a large enough openeing for your fish to swim into. The red lines in the diagram to the right show where to cut.



If you needed to cut the screw top off of the bottle you can discard that portion. The top part should now form a funnel. Invert this funnel and insert it into the bottom portion of the bottle. It may be neccesary to make a cut in the bottom portion of the bottle to fit the funnel inside it.



The DIY fish trap construction is now complete.



Setting the fish trap

Place some food in the fish trap, and submerge it in your aquarium. You may have to take the funnel back out to ensure the trap gets full of water. If you need to sink the fish trap to the bottom, you can put a little aquarium gravel from the tank inside the trap. Just leave the fish trap in the aquarium until the hungry little fish you want to catch swins right in!



Here is a diagram of the completed fish trap:

http://www.reeftime.com/images/trap-in-action.gif

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This simple type of trap can be used for fish, any type of flying bug, even crawling bugs in the garden. Just use a different kind of bait.

[ladyhk13]

These are awesome you guys!!!
Echo I love the hand washing rack...that is soooooooooo practical out in the woods especially when it's dry and everything is dust.

[Echo2]

old plastic peanut butter jar .....1/4" hole drilled in top....place paracord in jar....thread inside loop out hole....dispenser.

[izzyscout21]

28 pounds of fertilizer.............7 pounds sugar...........

Oh....wait.......

Nevermind:rolleyes:






You didn't really think I was going to finish the thought did you?

[ladyhk13]

Oh right, that kind deserves a pm huh?

[izzyscout21]

Oh right, that kind deserves a pm huh?

No, I'm good. I have already placed myself on probation and sent myself a scolding PM in order to get myself back on the straight and narrow.
I fully expect people in black suits showing up at my door now.

[ladyhk13]

That's ok, happens to me all the time.

[Gunfixr]

You would not believe what I used to do with some rope and trees back in my 4 wheeling days.

After all, at 2am, in a mudhole up your knees, in the woods, it's either do or do not. There is no "go to the store and get..."

[Sniper-T]

I don't know what you did... but when I find myself in the same predictaments... I most often utilize a 'spanish windlass'

[ladyhk13]

what is a spanish windlass?

[Echo2]

http://www.animatedknots.com/

Great site...

[eagle326]

what is a spanish windlass?


A lass who can tie knots with the wind blowing thru her hair and still look extremely attractive while doing it. ;)

[Gunfixr]

I didn't see it on the site, or see a search function.
However, it wasn't really a knot I was speaking of.
I did use a bastardized form of the bowline often, and apparently no one else in our group knew how to tie one.
Bastardized because while one knot was on an end, I usually had to tie the other one somewhere in the middle of the line.
We got 1 1/4" tugboat line from down at the docks, they'd use it once or twice and replace it. Nice, braided line, that would stretch and give, but at 80,000lb test, didn't snap often. It would be in lengths from about 80-150ft long, and I just kept a whole length in the truck, spooled out what was needed at the time, and threw another knot in at the back of the truck. Since a bowline comes undone no matter how tight you pull it, mine was the only rope that didn't have 5 knots in it all the time.
It was some rigging setup I came up with to pick a truck up straight into the air so that a wheel could be changed.
Said truck was in a deep hole at the time, deep enough so that less than 36" tires need not apply, and you'd best know what you were doing to get 36" tires through it.

[Sniper-T]

what is a spanish windlass?

It is a method to provide a great amount of torque in pulling an object, with nothing more than a rope and a stick.

Or depending on the object in question, a cable and a bar.

Quite simply, tie the rope around both the object, and a stationary object(like a tree) in a tight continuous loop. Then, in the middle, between the two objects, place the bar between the two ropes, and begin rotating it. The ropes will begin twisting around each other, and as they do so, will tighten up. keep twisting, and you will cause the object to move towards the other one. Once you cannot twist it any further, secure the primary object, untwist the ropes, re-tie tighter, and repeat.
._______________
(O______o______O)

like that^ to start, with the large O's as the two objects, and the small o, the bar between the ropes.

(OXXXoXXXO)

^ after twisting, your set up will look like this, much shorter, and the ropes will be twisted up around each other.

*note: keep a firm hand on the bar at all times, if you let go, it can spin backwards like a propeller smacking you in the hands/head indiscriminately.

The longer the bar used, the more leverage you will have. with a couple people, if you put in two bars from opposite sides, it works really well to pull something quickly.

And no... I don't know where the term "Spanish Windlass" comes from, it's just something that's been around forever (around here)

ETA: shoulda googled first! here's a decent site: http://www.finehomebuilding.com/how-to/tips/the-spanish-windlass.aspx

[tompnoid]

water wheel for electricty rip out 3 alternators build wheel and housing using fan belts and 1 piece of 4 foot wood shaved to round use front crank shaft pulley on end of wooden pin and fan belts to alternators wiring out of cars to batteries and you have storage wire up outlets and you have refridgeration

[Gunfixr]

Spanish Windlass.
Oh, ok.

Funny thing is, that truck I had was custom built by me. It was a Ford 3/4 ton with the International 6.9L diesel engine. Anyway, I had swapped out the axles for a set from an old military truck, a 1 1/4 ton ammo carrier. It was kind of an extra large pickup truck.
On that truck, like many from that period, the wheel had back set rims, as the axles were actually longer than the truck was wide. Therefore, the hub stuck entirely out from the wheel. It had this strange attachment bolted to the axle flange on the end, which for a long time I couldn't figure out what it was for.
It was a built in winch.
The attached piece had a good sized hole through it. You slid a bar through, looped a rope end over it and wound it say once around the wheel hub, and tied the other end to something fixed, like a tree. Then, you just put the truck in gear, and the rotating wheel and hub wound the line around the hub, pulling you out. The hub was even cut to a taper contour, to keep the line closer to the wheel.
All four wheels were set up like this.

I left the rear ones on, since they looked cool, but had swapped the front ones for lockable hubs, as originally the truck was full time 4wd. Couldn't use them, I had regular center set wheels. A rope would've been cut, dragging under such pressure around the outer rim edge. A steel cable would've torn up the rim. Either would've ripped out the air valve on the first turn.

Now that I finished I remember. The axles came from a Kaiser Jeep M715