| How to Reuse Empty Water Bottles Posted: Wondering what to do with your empty water bottles? Here are some suggestions! Steps - Make funnels. These funnels can be used for cooking, crafts, and whatever else you can think of!
- Make plastic wire. This wire can be used to make stems for fake flowers, as well as bracelets and other jewelry.
- Make vases. While this creation looks like a delicate glass or crystal vase, it is unbreakable and can still be recycled later if desired! Use these vases for flowers, pens/pencils, and give them away as gifts.
- Use the caps to make pincushions. You can even wear this pincushion like a ring. How convenient!
- Turn the caps into pill or jewelry cases. It's possible to make a pretty pill case with 2 plastic bottle caps. It can also make a good gift box or storage case for earrings.
- Make candy dishes!
- Do some science experiments:
- Make wasp traps. This is a simple, inexpensive and environmentally-friendly way to discourage wasps from hanging around your neck of the woods.
- Make a trash can. You can build one with only 54 bottles. For a great community project, collect 6,000 and build a school room!
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| How to Build a Trebuchet (1 Meter Scale) Posted: This article outlines how to build a 1 meter scale siege engine at home in your spare time. For less than fifteen dollars, you can build a one by one-half meter trebuchet that will throw a croquet ball thirty meters. Steps - Like any project, first do your research. There are many other interesting trebuchet sites on the Internet.[1]
- Make a plan and draw it up. Keep it simple; something buildable and within the guidelines. A low braced triangular design was chosen for this project. It is important to have a plan. You may not follow it exactly and you will find out that you have left out some important detail from the plan. That may become quite obvious when you start building. Here's an overview of what you will need to do:
- Make a rectangular base.
- Install the up-right supports and angled support braces.
- Build and install the throwing arm (a lever).
- Build the shot trough.
- Add the ballast bucket (a counterweight).
- Add the trigger and trigger adjustment chain.
- Add the sling/shot-pocket assembly.
- Build a base and side supports. If it starts out square, it is more likely to stay square, so pay attention. Measure, cut, and lay out 2x2 base parts. Apply wood glue and screw together.
- Attach a chain to the throwing arm. The ballast bucket (kitty litter container with rocks in it) will be attached to the chain (so it can swing freely). The chain is anchored by a screw through a washer into both 2x2's. Route or chisel out a small channel to accommodate the chain and washer before screwing the three 2x2's together.
- Note the original wooden dowel "cross bar" which was later replaced with a metal tube (conduit). The cross bar is the pivot point or fulcrum between the counterweight and the far tip of the throwing arm. Reduce the friction where the crossbar goes through the supports by using graphite lubricant or better yet, roller bearings.
- Also note the original drawn plan the arm is laying on.
- The wooden towel rack dowel first used for the pivot was too weak to handle the load of a half a bucket of swing rocks. A length of metal conduit was substituted. It has greater strength.
- There is a screw going through the 2x2 and into a hole drilled in the metal conduit so the arm must move when the pivot rod moves.
- The throwing arm should be light but sturdy. If the arm is heavy you will use energy moving the arm that could be used in throwing the ball.
- Install the shot trough and attach the ballast bucket to the throwing arm chain. When the bucket of rocks drops, the throwing arm rotates and the sling throws the croquet ball.
- Note the wooden end-caps on the metal conduit outside of the support arms, they add lateral stability.
- Note in the background the custom "double handled" kitty litter bucket. The handle of the attached bucket is bending, so it was replaced with a bucket that had an extra handle added to it.
- Note the croquet balls this trebuchet was designed to toss. Several rocks were added to the bucket as ballast.
- As they did in medieval times, you can use a carefully bent coat hanger for the trigger.
- The bend in the base of the hook (where it goes into the trigger adjustment chain) is important. That slight offset allows the trigger to catch and stay on the release eye bolt. When the string is pulled, the trigger rotates around the hook and disengages from the eye bolt.
- This is a safe, reliable, and easy to fire trigger. It uses a fulcrum and an offset "center of tension" for mechanical advantage. The small trigger string can be pulled from a safe distance away from the trebuchet.
- There is a length of chain attached to the back of base unit. It was marked in 10 centimeter increments. The trigger hook location on the chain is adjustable. Moving the trigger closer to the catapult causes the arm to cover a greater distance; which in turn throws the ball farther. Moving the trigger further away from the base uses less arm swing, and therefore throws the ball a shorter distance. The calibration chart below shows where the trigger hook should be placed on the trigger adjustment chain in order to throw the ball a known distance.
- Add the sling/shot-pocket assembly. At first, the top cut out of a "Gimme" cap was used for the shot pocket. This did not work well. The design was altered to use a square piece of leather for the shot pocket. Note the four attachment points of the string (like a Y). With just two strings to one cloth or leather patch, it is like balancing a ball on a knife blade... difficult. If you bifurcate (split like a "Y") the line to have two attachment points on each side, it makes a natural pocket in the middle.
- The shot trough keeps things from getting tangled up and assures a straighter throw. There are raised wooden strips on each side of the flat shot board to keep the ball centered and in-the-groove.
- Test.
- Find out how too few ballast rock affects the throw. Sling would not let go of the ball which caused it to hit the dirt right just in front of the catapult. Add more rocks.
- Find out how too many rocks can damage the ballast bucket handle. Make double handled kitty litter buckets to deal better with the stresses.
- More rocks for ballast make for further throws, but you can also destroy the machine quicker. Find a sustainable balance; too many rocks in the ballast bucket does not throw well, too few rocks does not throw well, it must be "tuned" for what you are throwing.
- The same thought applies for the sling ropes, they can't be too long or too short but must be "just right" for it to work. You will need to experiment.
- Make sure the rope lengths are even and knots are secure. Line length is critical, when the arm is vertical, the shot pocket should be just above the cross bar.
- Having the release string and the "static" string affixed to the same location (throwing rod in tip of throwing arm) is critical for accurate repeatable throws.
Guidelines of Catapult Contest - This is a high school physics class assignment with a simple set of guidelines...
- The base can not exceed one meter in length and 0.5 meter in width.
- The throwing arm can not exceed 1.5 meters in length.
- Wood, metal, and/or plastic can be as construction material.
- No electrical devices (AC or DC) are allowed.
- The catapult must have a locking device. You are not allowed to hold the throwing arm in the cocked position.
- Construction of a catapult that meets the above guidelines: 55 points.
- Distance contest: Each student will get three launches. Each student will be ranked based on their longest launch.
- 1st place = 30 pts
- 2nd place = 26 pts
- 3rd place = 22 pts
- 4th place = 15 pts
- minimum distance 6 meters = 10 pts
- Accuracy Contest: There will be three targets placed at three different distances. Each student will be required to hit each target with a beanbag launched by their catapult. Their catapult can not be moved more than 3 decimeters in any direction. Each student will be ranked based on the number of launches that is takes to hit all three targets.
- 1st place = 30 pts
- 2nd place = 26 pts
- 3rd place = 22 pts
- 4th place = 18 pts
- 5th place = 14 pts
- Hit all three targets using less than 50 shots = 10 points
Things You'll Need - Estimate and obtain an adequate amount of materials. The design called for four eight foot long two-by-twos, so purchase five. All 5 were used, with about two feet left over.
- Amazingly if you cut two one meter long parts off an 8 foot 2x2, the left over stick fits between them so the outer edge of rectangle for the base is 1 meter by 1/2 meter.
- One foot of welded chain ($.046), a box of coarse threaded dry wall screws ($4.11), and two metal "T" plates for tying the upright to the base, plus the wood was purchased.
- Total price $14.76. Cost of annihilating a small fortress? Priceless.
Tips - Clamp both up-right sticks together and drill one hole through them both at the same time for the pivot arm. This way you know they were aligned and square.
- Apply carpenter's wood glue on the joints before drilling and screwing the sticks together.
- Tweak, test, and tweak some more.
- Make the shot trough thinner with add-in side rails. Shot should travel more predictably straighter.
- Add graphite on the pivot joints to reduce friction.
- Trim and even out all ropes on the sling, improve the shot pocket.
- Mark the "trigger chain"; red marks every decimeter for adjustability during the accuracy contest.
Calibration test results.
- Hooking the trigger closest to the base (1 decimeter) produced the farthest throw; 30 meters.
- Hooking the trigger one meter up the chain tossed the croquet ball a mere 6 meters.
- The closer the arm is to the base (short chain), the farther the object is thrown.
Warnings - Power tools are dangerous; always use caution and use adult supervision when necessary.
- In early tests, the throwing may be unpredictable; stay clear of all moving parts.
- This throwing arm has a metal rod sticking out the far tip. This is where the sling string ring slips off to make the throw. The tip of the arm moves quickly, so avoid this area whilst operating the trebuchet. It is a danger zone.
- Croquet balls are hard, have a clear target zone. Heavy beanbags are recommended as they may cause less damage.
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| How to Cope With Having a Ganglion Posted: Ganglion cysts rarely cause pain or other medical problems. If they do, follow your medical provider's advice on how to deal with this health condition. Medical treatment is usually not required for a ganglion cyst unless there is pain involved or the cyst becomes infected. Below are steps your medical provider may suggest as treatments for a ganglion cyst. Steps - Make sure it's a ganglion cyst. A doctor usually just has to take one look to recognize it as one, but if you can't visit the doctor just to confirm, consider the following:
- If the ganglion is painful (35% of them aren't) the pain is usually nonstop, aching, and made worse by joint motion.[1] If the pain is sharp or sudden, it might not be a ganglion. Consult a medical professional.
Cyst at the scapho-lunate joint - The base of the fingers on the palm, where they appear as small pea-sized bumps
- The fingertip, just below the cuticle, where they are called mucous cysts
- The outside of the knee and ankle
- The top of the foot
- If the suspected cyst is located elsewhere on the body, there's a very good chance it's not a ganglion, and you should have it checked by a doctor in case it's something worse.
- The cyst may feel firm or spongy.[1]
- These cysts are more common in women, and 70% occur in people between the ages of 20-40.[1]
- Consider leaving it alone. If the cyst isn't painful, the only problem with a ganglion is cosmetic. 38-58% of ganglion cysts go away on their own.[1]
- Pursue one or more of the treatments discussed below.
Non-Surgical Treatment - Wear a splint to limit motion. It's thought that cysts are caused by trauma, where fluid goes into that part of the joint but cannot come back out the same way it came in. Limiting motion might reduce the amount of fluid that goes into the cyst.
- Massage the ganglion cyst to encourage the fluid to leave the cyst. You may also find that adding gentle pressure for several minutes will reduce the swelling temporarily.
Surgical Treatment - Aspirating or draining the cyst. Your doctor may choose to drain the cyst.
- The ganglion cyst can be pierced in several places to promote drainage and the collapse of the cyst. This is done by your medical provider.
- Your doctor may elect to remove the entire ganglion sac and connecting tissues.
Warnings - Do not try the old-fashioned "Bible" method to remove the cyst. In the old days a heavy book, usually the family Bible, was used to smash the ganglion cyst. This type of cyst was often called the Bible cyst (or "Bible Bumps") for this reason. The cyst will probably come right back, and you might damage surrounding tissue in the process.
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