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

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

[manofthemullet.livejournal.com]

Mac nods. "Yep. We've got a kerosene pump as well. Or we can provide one. You'll have a gas can of it for Thursday."