Shop Class #7

[manofthemullet.livejournal.com]

Upon entering the Danger Room Shop, The classroom finds it transformed into a metal scrap yard.

Mac sits on the remains of a car seat tossing a medium size pumpkin in the air.

"Now that we got the emitters back in order, it's time to put some of your fabrication skills to work. Today I want you to start work on an apparatus that will fling a pumpkin. It can be a catapult, trebuchet, cannon, giant slingshot... whatever you want."

Mac motions to the scrap yard around him.

"Only catch is? You can use the parts you found from the junkyard behind me. You have full use of the shop tools to build whatever it is you plan to build. You have class today to plan and build. On Thursday we'll test out your new creations."

I'll be grading your project on:
Originality
Use of materials
Accuracy
Distance

"We have open shop this afternoon, and I'll have open shop tomorrow for those who want to use that time to work on their project. If you guys want to do this in groups or on your own, it's up to you."

"Thursday morning? We make a mess."

((I'll be modding the results of the pumpkin fling on Thursday based on how you build your "flinger". The more detail? The better your results.))

Comments

Classwork

[manofthemullet.livejournal.com]

Design, Scrounge and Build...

Re: Classwork

[carter-i-am.livejournal.com]

Sam looks around her, eager to start scrounging, but decides to work on her design first, so she has an idea of what to look for. "Mac? Are there going to be different categories for pumpkins flung by people using some kind of hand-held apparatus and the pumpkins flung by something like a trebuchet or catapult?"

Re: Classwork

[manofthemullet.livejournal.com]

"Well I was hoping for something a little more mechanical. Each pumpkin is going to weigh anywhere from 1-2 pounds. I'm not sure how well a handheld device is going to work with that kind of weight."

Re: Classwork

[carter-i-am.livejournal.com]

"So me spinning around really fast with a pumpkin in a towel isn't what you're looking for?"

She goes back to sketching in her notebook. She really liked the idea of using centrifugal force...

Re: Classwork

[manofthemullet.livejournal.com]

Mac chuckles. "As much as I'd love to see you get all dizzy, I don't think that's up to your usual caliber of Grade A work."

Re: Classwork

[marieann-d.livejournal.com]

Rogue vaguely remembers building a rocket launcher of sorts in highschool. She wishes they had liquid nitrogen [[because working for the physics department has its advantages (http://www.hep.uiuc.edu/home/mats/WCIA/Mats_mortar.wmv). That would be shrieking in the background.]]

Instead, she starts working on a larger variation of a potato gun. She finds several sections of 12 inch sewer pipe, a 55-gallon drum, and an electric grill starter. She hangs the electric grill starter in the center of the drum with some wire. She uses some scrap metal to make a cone shaped lid for the drum, one that will attach the drum to the smaller diameter of the pipe. Once it's secure, she cuts a small hole in the bottom of the drum, under the starter. She sets a pan inside.

"Mac, once we test it, I'll be putting something combustable in the pan, probably gasoline," she says eyeing the junk cars. "I'll close the hole, shove a pumpkin in as far as it can go, and light the starter. It should send the potato--er, pumpkin flying."

[[Okay, coding is now right, and it's in the right place. I hope.]]

Re: Classwork

[manofthemullet.livejournal.com]

Mac looks over the work and nods.

"Looks good. What do you want as the combustable? It should either be gas which we have on hand to fuel an engine or what can be found in the junkyard."

Re: Classwork

[marieann-d.livejournal.com]

"Well a real potato gun would use hairspray, but that wouldn't be enough, I think. Do you think gasoline vapors would be enough? Or should it be, say kerosene? We don't want a fire, but an explosion."

Re: Classwork

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

Anders signs in and starts going through the junkyard, looking around for Cally and trying very, very hard not to think about the two fresh hickeys on his neck.

He picks up a crankshaft in fairly good condition and starts thinking about some kind of hand-cranked wheel to generate the momentum to fling the pumpkin, so he goes digging around in search of wheels, and something to use as a tripod or stand.

Re: Classwork

[sogothcally.livejournal.com]

*sneaks up after having talked to Mr. Macgyver about TAing*

Boo. *giggle*

Re: Classwork

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

Hey. *turns around and hugs Cally, grinning*

Re: Classwork

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

Bridge spents several minutes scrounging through the scrapheap, before coming up with:

A mostly intact coffeemaker
A medium sized piece of sheet metal
And several unidentifiable objects.

Re: Classwork

[manofthemullet.livejournal.com]

Mac cocks an eyebrow at the coffee-maker. And watches Bridge with interest.

Re: Classwork

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

Anders raises an eyebrow and gets distracted from his own scrounging, because as always it's fascinating to see what Bridge comes up with . . .

Re: Classwork

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

Bridge eyes his pile of parts for a moment before moving in to thinking position to start brainstorming.

Noticing that Anders is watching, Bridge contemplates waving at his friend... but then remembers that he's doing a handstand.

"Hey, dude." he says, instead.

Re: Classwork

[alchemic-bean.livejournal.com]

Before he even starts on the catapult-thing Edward looks for Mac. "Hey teach? I'm back from my... *shudder* "vacation;" how do you want to go about the missed work/classes?"

Re: Classwork

[manofthemullet.livejournal.com]

"Welcome back Ed! We had two essays last week. One on the many uses of Duct Tape and the other one on Swiss Army Knives. If you turn those in by next week we'll call it even."

((Feel Free to do a *Turns in Essays* if you wish.))

Re: Classwork

[alchemic-bean.livejournal.com]

"Works for me," Ed nods.

That bit of mundanity taken care of, he starts to root through the scrap pile for pieces.

<font size="1>[OOC: For some reason, LJ ate my comment. o.O]</font>

Re: Classwork

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"Hey, Elric!" calls an upside-down (http://www.livejournal.com/community/fandomhigh/332159.html?thread=16100223#t16100223) Anders. "Where ya been?"

Re: Classwork

[alchemic-bean.livejournal.com]

Edward taps the bandage on his head (http://www.livejournal.com/users/alchemic_bean/14491.html) and frowns. "...long story. Why are you standing on your hands?"

Re: Classwork

[12parseckessel.livejournal.com]

Han circles the junkpile, tappin the stylus on his readout. He drafts a quick, counter-weighted design, and the readout beeps its approval.

Setting to work, he finds an old hammock which he cuts in half for the sling, a couple of poles, a frame of something and an abandoned weight set.

He rigs a trebuchet, using the duct-tape and some bits of wire and rope.

The pumpkin rests in the former hammock, and the weight is balanced to be pushed off.

He sees some cloth and duct tapes a sign that reads "My pumpkin rode the shop-class trebuchet"

Re: Classwork

[wraithbaitjohn.livejournal.com]

Hey there. Think we can manage this one with out blowing ourselves to kingdom-come?

Nice sign.

Re: Classwork

[12parseckessel.livejournal.com]

"Hi. So far i haven't. Let's see if we can actually get anything off the ground with this."

Han removes the pumpkin and puts a piece of debris about the same mass in the sling.

"You wanna do the honors?"

Re: Classwork

[death-n-binky.livejournal.com]

*DEATH ponders this for a moment, scratching his rubber duck thoughtfully. He then begins looking for a gas can, partially full, a discarded cigarette lighter, some old t-shirts, a trash basket, a discarded 5 gallon water jug, and an old belt.

After some furher consideration, he also looks for some sparklers left over from a recent holiday.*

Re: Classwork

[apocalypsesoon.livejournal.com]

John scrounges around, and finds a pair of empty welding tanks with hoses and a cart, sections of industrial pipes that are just bigger than the pumpkins, and a whole mess of bent square tubing, as well as a collection of pipes, fittings, valves, and parts of an old barbeque. And a stove.

He sets aside the barbeque. John, stop thinking with your stomach.

John takes the air compressor in the shop (for the air tools) and does a pressure test on the tanks, rubbing soapy water over the exterior to check for leaks or bubbles. Finding none, he rigs them up in tandom, connecting the pressure regulator valves of each to a Y fitting, and puts a quick-release butterfly shut off valve from an old gas cookstove, checking each fitting in turn with the soapy water trick while it's under pressure.

John scrounges some more, and finds an old engine hoist/cherry picker that's seen better days, with a bent arm, no wheels, but intact hydraulics. Well, sorta. Good news, though, is that he finds an actuator that works, and he makes the swap, positioning the actuator on a different point further down the arm, and welding it in place with a simple bracket that he quickly makes. Cutting off the arm at the bend point, John makes a cradle that will support the cannon-to-be and welds it all together.

John sighs. He knows that a fixed arm catapult design would probably be easier, but that cat Kawalsky took all the damn freeweights, and he didn't feel like putting an engine block on the end of a stick to throw a gourd.

No, air cannon's much better.

He's in luck! He finds a small old wood-floor flat trailer that's seen better days, and he wrestles the cherry picker cum cradle on to that. It holds for a minute, then falls through the rotting floor. John starts cursing, being very creative and questioning the parentage of whoever built the trailer, made it out of plywood, and let it here to rot.

He sighs again. He'd have to take the stupid thing off, reinforce it with more crosspieces, and try it again.

He tugs at the cradle, but the leg of the cherry picker is caught in some rusty metal and plywood that used to be the floor of the trailer.

"Uh," John says, a little sheepishly, "can I get some help over here?"