Shop Class #8: Pumpkin Madness

[manofthemullet.livejournal.com]

As the students enter into the Danger Room Shop, they find that it has been transformed into a large field. On one side of a field is a barn with a large bullseye painted on it. On the other side of the field a series of markers, much like you would see at a golf driving range.

Everyone's flinger is setup where they left it and a large pile of pumpkins sits next to each one.

Mac tosses a pumpkin in the air with a grin.

"Okay kids... Let's have some fun."

((OOC: Read the following posts for what to do.))

Comments

Describe your Machine

[manofthemullet.livejournal.com]

(OOC: Please describe your machine to Mac IC)

Re: Describe your Machine

[sogothcally.livejournal.com]

Alright sir, this is the Callynanders Chucker 4000, It flings, it stings, it even makes julienne fries. Well, not the last bit. Though Bridge's machine might...

Basically, we've set up a ballista. The winch powers back the cable, attached to set of tension bars, to build up the required tension and energy for the fling. Attaches to the string is out little half-bucket that we put the pumpkin in. After the winch pulls the cable back into full tension, we have a quick release pin so that it can fling with sudden and direct force. *nod*

Re: Describe your Machine

[carter-i-am.livejournal.com]

Sam pulled her machine out and placed it in the appropriate spot. Having no illusions about who would be cleaning up the pumpkin guts after class, she'd worn her oldest jeans and one of Jack's shirts. "What I've got here is kind of like a combination of a motorized tetherball pole and old-fashioned sling."

She placed the lotion in the basket pumpkin in the duct tape sling and positioned it carefully as she demonstrated. "The lawnmower engine spins the pole, which in turns spins the pumpkin in its duct tape sling, which is attached to the pole using aircraft cable. When the centrifugal force gets to be too much and too strong, the cotter pin," she pointed to it, "from the old exercise bike will fail from the stress and release the pumpkin."

Sam studied her device carefully. "Inertia should take care of the rest."

Re: Describe your Machine

[death-n-binky.livejournal.com]

*DEATH gestures to his machine, to which a pumpkin is already strapped.*

Re: Describe your Machine

[marieann-d.livejournal.com]

"This is pretty much a giant potato gun. The base is a 55-gallon drum, with an electric girll lighter inside. It narrows into this PVC pipe, which is where the pumpkin will go. Once the pumpkin is in place, I'll fill a pie plate with kerosene, plug the fill hole, and light it." Rogue smiles, nervously. She really wants this to work.

Re: Describe your Machine

[alchemic-bean.livejournal.com]

Edward clambers up onto one side of his flinger, it looks rather plain in comparision to everyone's motorized works. "I took four sawhorses," he said, standing on one of them, "and stacked two to a side a shored up everything with various metal odds-and-ends I found around the place. I took an axel from some old mining car, cut off the wheels and set it into the top two sawhorses. For the arm, I used a laundry pole and welded a basketball hoop to one end with the net tied up to hold the pumpkin. The counterweight," he points to a dark bag on the other end of the laundry pole, "is a bowling ball on a ceiling hook."

Re: Describe your Machine

[krycek-rat.livejournal.com]

"Trebuchet," Krycek says, looking his machine over one last time. "Its frame is built of steel and welded to an engine block at the bottom to keep it down. The throwing arm - made of a medium-weight metal bar - is attached a chain which is in turn secured to a small rubber tire, cut to hold the pumpkin, and is counterbalanced at the other side by a 25lb weight, which is really a bag of bits and pieces of lead.

"Winching down the throwing arm, it's secured to this hook at the base of the frame by a rope... which when cut, should fling the pumpkin a sizable distance." He hopes.

Re: Describe your Machine

[12parseckessel.livejournal.com]

"A Solo-Sheppard Pumpkin Chunker. Standard Trebuchet design, frame ductaped out of an old hammock frame, sling made from the hammock itself, counterweighted with someone's discarded weight set. Sent a medicine ball about 40 meters yesterday."

He turns to his partner. "Shep, you got anything to say?

Re: Describe your Machine

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

It's... well, it's basically a coffee-powered cannon of sorts. There's a piston inside the barrel, which is powered by the brewing coffee. Once the coffee is finished brewing, the piston converts that energy to mechanical energy and moves upwards, sending the pumpkin up and out.

Plus? Then you get to drink the coffee.

Re: Describe your Machine

[apocalypsesoon.livejournal.com]

Realizing that his plan had a flaw, John spends the first few minutes of class fixing his problem. the problem? No way to load it. He cuts out another hole in steel plate the inside diameter of the barrel and replaces the current air fitting flange plate with this one, RTVs it, and then drills some holes to bolt the air flange to this new mounting flange.

John then uses a can of half-empty fix a flat to get the stupid flat wheel working, and tugs it over to where Mac's standing.

It's a large pipe on a engine cherry picker welded and bolted to a small car trailer. The thing looks like it was built in Russia in the 50's by overly safety concious engineers ungainly, with a metal cage surrounding the pipe and two mounting flanges, one in the middle and one at the end.

"Air pressure cannon. Pressurized air leaves the tanks, through the Y fitting, to the dump valve trigger, into the cannon, say bye bye to the pumpkin. I haven't tested it with live ammo, but the valve works. It's a muzzle loader, but I have a removable flange at the bottom."

Go the distance...

[manofthemullet.livejournal.com]

Mac tosses you a pumpkin. "All right. Let's see how far this baby can toss this thing."

((OOC: Describe the action your flinger takes. Mac will respond with the results of the fling))

Re: Go the distance...

[carter-i-am.livejournal.com]

Sam double-checked the position of the pumpkin, pulled the ripcord on the lawnmower, and stood back.

Everything on the machine worked the way it was supposed to.

Re: Go the distance...

[death-n-binky.livejournal.com]

*DEATH lights the sparklers on either side of the pumpkin and, once they are going well, lights the t-shirt.

The machine works as expected.*

Re: Go the distance...

[marieann-d.livejournal.com]

Rogue shoves the pumpkin into the barrel of the gun, making sure it fits snugly. She pours a bit of kerosene inside, and plugs the hole. Waiting a few minutes for the fumes to fill the drum, she then lights the electric starter.

Re: Go the distance...

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

Anders puts the pumpkin into the launching bucket and heads over to start cranking up the winch, since this is of course his greatest contribution to the project besides tightening all the lugnuts. The physical exertion is clearly making him happy, since his smile gets wider as the winch pulls back the cable. Once it's cranked back as far as he thinks it can safely go, he stands with his hand over the release pin, looking at Cally for a cue.

Re: Go the distance...

[alchemic-bean.livejournal.com]

Edward frowns at the size of the pumpkin. He gets another bowling ball to add to the other end, then loads up the pumpkin into the net.

He releases the trigger.

Re: Go the distance...

[wraithbaitjohn.livejournal.com]

Shep sets a good-sized pumpkin on the device and let's 'er fly.

Re: Go the distance...

[krycek-rat.livejournal.com]

Krycek catches the pumpkin and weighs it in one hand. Nodding, he sets it into the sling and winches back the arm, tying it in place. Once he gets the go ahead, he cuts it, making sure he's out of the way when it flings the pumpkin.


((I made the weight of the counterbalance considering the pumpkin to still be pretty light as you said on Tuesday... if you upped the weight of them, it won't work as well))

Re: Go the distance...

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

Bridge loads the pumpkin and presses "brew". After about thirty seconds, there's a cheerful "ding" noise, and the pumpkin flies out. Bridge then takes the cup of coffee practically inhales it.

Re: Go the distance...

[apocalypsesoon.livejournal.com]

John checks the pressure gagues and makes sure they're set to what he thinks is about right. He searched a bit on the Internet for the proper pressure ranges, but everything depends on the seals, the stoutness of the pumpkin, and luck.

He removes the bottom flange, puts a nice fitting pumpkin (just barely touches the walls, will spin even) in the hatch, and bolts it back down.

He tied a length of rope to the trigger valve, stood about 10 feet away, and yanked it.

"Banzaiiiii!"

((OOC: do we get one shot at this? Cuz if we get multiple shots, I'd have the first one dissolve the pumpkin into mist and the second be the good shot))

Aim for the bullseye...

[manofthemullet.livejournal.com]

Mac tosses you another pumpkin. "All right. Aim for the bullseye on the barn."

((OOC: Describe the action your flinger takes. Mac will respond with the results of the fling))

Re: Aim for the bullseye...

[marieann-d.livejournal.com]

Rogue carefully adjusts her gun, tipping it and aiming toward the barn. She follows the same procedure as before.

Hmmm... What to do with all these Extra pumpkins...

[manofthemullet.livejournal.com]

"All right... Now for the fun part. PUMPKIN WAR!!!"

(OOC: Go nuts. Feel free to use your teacher as target practice.)

Re: Hmmm... What to do with all these Extra pumpkins...

[death-n-binky.livejournal.com]

*DEATH, noting his lack of machine at this point, picks up a pumpkin, tossing it lighting in one hand. He takes aim and hits a random student in the back of the head.*

OOC:

[manofthemullet.livejournal.com]

Questions? Comments? Suggestions?

Re: OOC:

[death-n-binky.livejournal.com]

Um... DEATH's machine can only be used once. However, he can always bore a hole into the pumpkins for later trials, fill them with gasoline, stuff them with more t-shirt and just make pumpkin bombs... he'll rationalize it, of course, in usual DEATH-y manners.

OPEN SHOP/Clean Up

[manofthemullet.livejournal.com]

Please help clean up the pumpkin bits and then we can have open shop.

Re: OPEN SHOP/Clean Up

[death-n-binky.livejournal.com]

*DEATH ties his sleeves above his head, careful not to misplace his pumkin-mush cap, and starts helping clean up. He seperates the seeds out while cleaning, forming a neat pile, thinking, perhaps, someone would like them.*