The carts are starting to look more vehicle-like, although the Verde Team still doesn’t have any rear wheels. They do, however, have their drills mounted. Later this mounting system proves to be problematic (the risk of being the first to get something done).

In order to try to get all the teams back on track, the welding continued until about 10:30pm last night (past lights out for the Tinkerers). Fortunately much fewer welds were needed today.

Bryan has been enlisted to help the Slacker (nee Bleu) Team. One of his first contributions: a real To Do list.

The final drill mounting hasn’t been determined, and the first draft seat will be replaced with a complete deck, but the Slackers get all three wheels on early and start rolling around the barn.

The Red Team (also known as Jewels and Pearls) gets their wheels on now that the late-night welding delivered wheel mounts. Tywen and Robyn check the true of the right wheel (currently on the left side since the cart is upside down). Hanna installs the left wheel. Soon there is a lengthy discussion to ensure that the wheel gear is on the correct wheel on the correct side.

After the success of the indoor roll, the Slackers take their cart outside to test the brake. It’s not the most effective brake in the world, but it gives your hand something to do. The minimal seat does not invite sitting, but this leaves the rider in a great position to push off to get moving.

Many fewer games are played today, with so much work to do. Still, sometimes you need to race around and get tackled a few times. (Soccer tackle, not football tackle. Or football tackle, not american football tackle, for Jason and Tom.)

It’s been decided that the geared wheel needs to be moved to the other side. The chain is mounted and the system is tested. And the cart is all set to go! Backward. Serious overthinking (and an upside-down cart) have resulted in reversing what was previously correct.

Gever and Jiro have been watching the Robyn and Hanna show, and are completely entertained.

Everyone (meaning Robyn) is again convinced that the geared wheel needs to go on the left side (right side when you’re upside-down), with the gear on the inside (which is still inside when you’re upside down). Hanna is developing some serious chain installation skills. And luckily she already has a seriously developed sense of humor.

The film crew hears the laughter and rushes over to catch it on tape. But the moment has passed, so Robyn and Hanna repeat the test and try to relive the moment. At this stage every test reveals new information, so Gever and Jiro check it out as well.

Samir gets a lesson in using the grinder so that he can prepare the metal Jewels and Pearls logo. All parts of the original bike are being reused wherever possible. It’s part of what gives the Red Team’s cart its charm.

The ranch kitchen doesn’t lend itself to the Tinkering School traditional lunch item (quesadillas), so Robyn has brought her panini press to offer a hot sandwich option. Isaac describes the perfect press.

Today’s solutions for the carts use a lot more wood than yesterday’s (and the gliders had no wood at all). So the old familiar tools are finally brought out: hand saw, chop saw, drill press, and scroll saw.

It’s always been a Tinkering School tradition to name your vehicle, and then to decorate it accordingly (minimally with the name). I believe that this year is the first that the soldering iron has been used to create burned lettering. And no sharpies were anywhere to be found (probably because they’re all on the floor by the tables – pushed aside once the measuring was done).

Team Verde is officially rechristened Platinum.

Now that the front fork has been successfully (and permanently, due to the support struts) mounted to the chassis, the second tube is no longer needed. Theo amputates it with an inverted hacksaw. The piece removed was surprisingly heavy, so everyone was glad to be rid of it.

The Platinum throttle control is just as shiny as the cart itself. And rather ingenious. It remains to be seen if it actually works.

With large, noisy power tools required for the solution, Leo and Toby manage to keep on-task. For now.

Platinum is actually quite sleek, with its single level design. And the initial test of the throttle mechanism looks like it’s a success. We’re still not quite sure how they will be dealing with the whirling blades (gears) of death, though.

It’s official – the Red Team is now (at the very least) “Pearls”. The plan is to add “Jewels”, but let’s not rush into it.

The Pearls design is compact (seriously compact), and sometimes that makes working on things (much less seeing them) a little more challenging.

Gever has been given a heads-up about the whirling blades of death, and is off for a safety review with the team. While he’s there, they consult on the design of the seat mounting. The seat must both cover the drills themselves and also be fixed at an angle so that the rider isn’t so reclined that the just flip off the back. And you don’t want it permanently attached, or you can’t get at the drills to fix something if needed.

The Slackers have a cart that rolls quite nicely, but mounting the drills is proving to be quite troublesome. They try and abandon the u-bracket mount (used by the Pearls). They try a rigid 2×4 mount (seen here), but realize that it’s too hard to adjust (since the 2 drills move together). Now what?

The greatest challenge for the Pearls (other than second-guessing their calculations) has been their chain. Their 2-drills-1-wheel design has some benefits, but any design needs a smooth chain that fits well. And the original plan for tweaking drill position didn’t work. Samir checks to see if this chain has all good links while Hanna works out a derailleur/tension gear to allow easy (or at least easier, or maybe just possible) reinstallation of the chain.

The Platinum team definitely have the most exposed drive system. Which means they need some protection from it. Emma works on sides for the seat, so that the rider is protected from the spokes of the wheels themselves. Soon this will also protect the rider from the fender, which is added to protect them from the spinning wheels of death. Oh, and I think that’s her first time using the scroll saw!

The Pearl is overturned (or really up-righted, but it’s spent most of it’s life so far upside-down…) for a brake test. It looks like the method right now is to use the caliper brake as more of a wheel chock, but I’m sure it won’t stay that way.

The Slackers are still trying to work out a drill mount system that will work for their cart. They finally decide to remove the 2×4 and use the handle mount to bolt the drill to the car (as is done in Platinum). But they’ve heard that bungies don’t work well for securing the drill, so they’ll use wire instead.

Bryan makes sure the To Do list is updated to correspond to the new drill mount design. Jason and Tom are eyeing the action, trying to decide if they’re took late and will have to make Bryan write it again.

Theo has hand-curved metal fenders to cover (at least on top) the whirling blades of death. Currently they are free at the back, to keep the weight down. After the seat is installed an additional safety inspection will need to be done.

Toby and Leo escape the goat pen and make their way up onto the hill above. Maxine takes this opportunity to RoShamBo for who will drive first. Surprise! She wins :-)

If you linger by the gate too long, all the animals think you’ve got food and come running.

As hard as it is to believe, Hanna actually thinks this thing might work. Or at least the drills will spin.

Abandoned by essentially all of the Slackers (one of whom is making the most fabulous salmon dinner for all of us), Maxine soldiers on alone. Gever makes sure she has someone to hold the cart for her.

The Platinum cart is taken outside for a test drive. It rides quite nicely, but driving seems to be another matter entirely. At least it has an appropriate name plate (replete with sharpie coloring!).

It looks like the Platinum team went with the hinged seat design, but had to put the hinge at the back. It meant a little more wood, but they’re probably happy to have the easy access right now.

With the light fading (and the salmon cooling), it’s been decided to have an unpowered, downhill race so that the tv folks can get their footage before catching an early flight out tomorrow morning. Pearls was SO close to running, that rather than remove the drill power, all efforts were applied to getting it road-ready. Including the safety shield and a quick fix for the drill-mount-anti-torsion bolts (marring the perfect deck surface). Because they are functional foot supports, no one has really taken note of the giant fork-lift-like box beams that lead the way.

In their haste to get the brake wired up, some of the cables weren’t properly stowed. Plus only one throttle mechanism is installed, and it’s hard to tell which power cable goes to the finished drill system. Hanna gets things squared away.

As the only team member wearing long pants and long sleeves (two of the safety requirements), Samir is elected the test rider. First, the brake is tested. Check! Then, the throttle is tested. Lots of power, no horses. It appears that either the weld has broken on the gear attachment to the mount bolt, or the mount bolt is spinning since the chuck can’t be sufficiently tightened around the round threaded rod (a Platinum team discovery). Then the brake breaks.

Slackers and Platinum have been deemed road-worthy for the downhill run. The crew films interviews and team-intros before the race.

Pearls wasn’t built for unpowered, careening downhill rolling, so will sit this one out. The team still needs an intro, but then is “disqualified” for safety violation. We’ll see who’s in the finals tomorrow – at the real race!

As was likely not apparent from the other photos, the tv crew wanted a serious-team-staring-at-the-lens shot for the intro. For each team. It “only” took about 30 minutes to get four momentary shots. Tinkering School is just not that serious!

Before they can race, Gever must do an intro. And then pretend to do an intro. Then just waste some time before something happens. Maxine is starting to lose the ability to pretend this is serious.

Bryan appears with a muslin shawl, which turns out to be a curtain. He previously had on a scarf, so initially we imagine he’s making another fashion statement. He _claims_ he’s just protecting the camera. But that doesn’t really explain why he’s got it completely wrapped around himself….

Both carts require interesting body positioning (although Maxine points out their cart doesn’t have the final platform yet). The first start had Maxine well ahead, but she pushed off to start. Theo cried foul (since he can’t push in his seated position), so for the second leg (after cameras had been repositioned), she wasn’t allowed to push off. Then Theo cut her off to get ahead.

Theo crosses the finish line first, although both rides were sufficiently exciting that it really didn’t matter. Of course since this was the TV race, there is plenty of tv interviewing and footage to be done. No one needs to act this time – everyone is psyched about the race and the carts.

Gever is finally off-camera and allowed to do what he lives for: savor the successes and enthusiasm of the Tinkerers.

Apparently it was too much work to map out the spacing of the letters, so the Slackers are now the SLKRS. But they’re also the trash-talkers: Maxine calls Platinum a “wheelchair” on camera. The gloves are off (metaphorically speaking, since they are a safety item) – there will be many more races ahead.

Jason and Tom are thrilled with the amount of content this race is yielding. They hadn’t really seen the kids in action up to this point – it was virtually all work.

Hanna tests out the new brake (it works!) and the rewired throttle. Still doesn’t get the power to the bike chain. It will have to wait until morning, when all the carts will be tuned up and the real racing will begin.

Since we can, we build a campfire to make a scenic, camp-y wrap-up for the day. No need for interviews, the kids are just encouraged to talk about the day and the action and just be themselves. And they probably wouldn’t have noticed the camera, except that they all had to sit clumped together. And too close to the fire for comfort. And they really wanted more food. And are they done yet? They are.

Celebration of the working anti-wheelie-flip-training wheels (and Robyn’s unexpected testing of them with Hanna on the cart).

First successful power-up.

Platinum does some distance by drill power.

Success for Pearls (and gratuitous clip for julie; also explaining the large gap in photo taking late in the day).

The carts see their first action.

The day starts with more band saw cutting (for the box beams) followed by an introduction to the grinder (for ensuring the box beams do their job – in this case, I believe it will hold an axle).

Emma takes a turn at grinding, and even in full daylight we can see some spark action. Note we’re outside the old wood barn, in the soon to be new pig pen.

The Red Team works out where they need pieces welded so that they have some wiggle room for where the motor will mount. Bike chains have limited adjustment, so you need the gears to give you some leeway.

Nicole has agreed to spend the day teaching the Tinkerers the basics of welding, and then help weld up the cart chassis for them. (Luckily she brought a MIG welder, since the one Gever has isn’t working.)

Emma is imagining all the things she can build now that she is learning to weld. And it all starts with this face shield.

Theo can already see the welding setup in the workshop. “I wonder what kind of airplane I’ll be able to build?…”

Will they be relocating this perfect mud pit to the new stall? If not, I don’t think she’s moving.

It turns out the bandsaw blade isn’t holding up, so at this moment it’s actually faster to use the hacksaw to remove the precious front fork from Jewels & Pearls. Samir is mesmerized while Tywen wishes the bandsaw was working better.

Toby asks Tom if the big camera is heavy, so Tom lets him give it a try. He might need to bulk up a bit if he’s going to carry that on a regular basis.

Samir gets a turn using the bandsaw (which is still making its way through the box steel – very slowly). Luckily it’s noticed that blade is actually completely worn, and once the new one is in place things go much more quickly. For a while.

Gever is digging this new outfit that Nicole has loaned him. I think I know what he’ll be getting for Christmas this year.

Gever has brought a cart from last year – the only one saved. It has actual rack and pinion steering – a Tinkering School first. Theo explains to Nicole what didn’t work about it (and likely all the ways he wants to improve it next time).

Nicole also gets a run-down of how the Red Team chassis will need to work, so she can help the team be better prepared for their turn with the welder. (Right now Gever is the welder, since the TV crew wants to film him.)

The Verde Team was first up with the welder, but now that they’ve roughed out the cart they can determine how they’ll mount their front fork. There are endless possibilities of distance and angle, so it takes some trial and error to figure out what works best. Then they’ll have to wait their turn to get more welding done.

Gever works with the Bleu Team while Jason and Tom film them. It results in one of the longer welding sessions, but everyone needs a second (and possibly third, or even fourth) round, so we’re already trying to figure out how to do more welding tomorrow.

Samir learns how to use the chain tool and install a bike chain. Bryan is indicating how to finesse the feel of the links.

As the last in line for the welders, the Red Team does the most sketching and visualization. For their revolutionary 2-drills-on-one-wheel drive design, no one can figure out if it will tear up the wheel when one motor stops. So they mock it up and give it a try.

Hanna can’t believe her team dodged ANOTHER bullet – it looks like the freewheel is exactly what they need for the drive design. And luckily the gears they are using _have_ freewheels! Isaac is not so impressed. Or maybe, as a member of the competing Verde Team, he’s just worried!

Hanna takes her turn doing a test weld to get the feel of it. Looks good!

Twyen is up next, with Samir looking on, so he’s ready for his turn right after. Everyone did some tests, and then tacked part of the frame. In the interest of time. Nicole finished the tacking with an assistant from the team, and then finished all the welds on her own.

Apparently everyone is too busy today to talk to Jason and Tom, so they are interviewing anyone who will hold still. Or is trapped in a pen and can’t escape their attention. (Just kidding, although I do believe that they are really filming the pigs. And the pigs liked it – they wagged their tails and scampered about. I wonder what Tom said to them? Promises of fame, fortune and Green Acres?)

The Bleu Team needs to get their mount piece into the bike frame, which can’t be welded (wrong metal). It’s also the wrong shape for what they can feasibly build, so they’re bending it to their will.

Since they need a nice solid, flat, dense wood surface to do their metal pounding, the Bleu Team decides to use a stump in the goat pen. Lucky for them it was feeding time, and the animals left them alone to the task (which worked).

Leo and Toby can’t resist the cute bunnies who are out and about. I really think they must not have pets at home. Emma wants to pick up a bunny, but has been warned that they might kick and bite. Rule #1.

Yet another new game where the “target” takes all the abuse of misses. But Isaac doesn’t miss (this time). At least in this game the tire goes back and forth, providing equal opportunity target-practice.

Maxine is helping Jiro figure out how far the wheel should come out and at what angle (this is familiar territory – also covered by the Verde Team). But really what she’s doing is imagining just how fast this cart will go. How fast? Very fast.

It’s been suggested that Maxine should do a Vanna White with the Makita drill. But she has a better icon in mind.

The little pink Jewels and Pearls fork seems dwarfed by the sturdy box chassis. But it really is just a fashion statement waiting to happen.

The Bleu team needs to figure out a strategy for finalizing their fork mount support. This particular approach is not working out. Note, however, how great the mount fits in the pounded bike frame – like they were made for each other!

Samir does a test-sit on the Red Team’s chassis, now that the front fork is mounted and the wheels are in place (sort of – they’re actually in the wrong place, but not really mounted so can be fixed). Tywen can’t quite imagine sitting there, especially after Samir points out it’s much more comfortable if you sit cross-legged.

Tom and Jason have given up on the farm animals, and are taping the escapades of Leo and Toby. It’s not quite clear why the wheel game is done this way, but it probably makes for some great footage. Maybe they’re actually shooting for America’s Funniest Home Videos?

Gever is trying to get his new welder to make a decent weld, and failing. He’s done another sample and had Jacob test it. It only took five easy taps with a hammer to break it apart. Gever doesn’t want to believe it, so gets the story again.

Theo does the first test-sit on the Verde Team cart. The seat isn’t installed (and there is no throttle, or drills for that matter), but the front axle fits perfectly on the bent-box-beam support and is the ideal orientation to the chassis. It has a brake (on the front wheel). So it’s now officially a cart!

The Red Team – yet again! – is relieved to discover that the perceived massive issue is… not an issue at all. Their design WAS well-thought-out, the fork just got twisted around while they weren’t looking.

Now that the Verde Team cart is practically rideable, it’s almost too much to have to wade through more measurements and calculations. But the drills have to be installed rather precisely, to get the desired speed. Estimates vary as to what exactly that speed will be.

Now that it’s getting darker outside, the grinding is much more impressive. Also, everyone’s technique is getting better, so more material is taken off more quickly. And there’s always the matter of: Leo LOVE sparks.

The Red Team has a few more pieces that must be welded in order to do any more work. Specifically, the wheel mounts are needed so that the wheels can be mounted. Everything else is installed based on that. Hanna supervises (the deck mounts) while the team recuts a few miscalculated pieces. Once those are done, they should be motoring!

Light is fading, so the camera crew has gone home and the photographer is calling it a night. But when the welding starts, it lights up the pen (and the privacy screen installed to protect the eyes of passersby). Hopefully they aren’t out there welding until dawn.

The excitement of learning to weld.

Today’s newest entertainment.

The slope-sliding-sled-thing entertained the boys until dark. Later they might wish it was a headlamp, not a camera, on the helmet.

Three challenges are created for today’s beach destination. Tywen (and Toby) decide shovels might be useful, so build some.

A small team forms to refine the glider, hoping to improve the flight characteristics for additional tests later in the week.

The first challenge is to build a bridge across the little bay, such that Julie (who wasn’t there to object) can walk across without getting her shoes wet. (Initially it was supposed Robyn, but she WAS there to object.)

To start the bridge, driftwood is enthusiastically gathered. They’re still carrying it. And smiling!

First inclinations are to just lay the pieces of driftwood end-to-end. We’ll be done in no time!, they think. Hence more smiles all around.

Is Hanna testing the first few steps on the bridge, or log rolling? In the guise of the former, much of the latter ensues. Later, there is no guise, just log balancing.

Theo is determined to pursue an alternative design he has thought of. With a splinter team, he eschews the simple log layer bridge and completes the first tower of his suspension “bridge”.

What day at the beach would be complete without some shrieks from Maxine? We never quite understood the source, other than something in the water over there (that no one else quite found).

Their collection of logs growing, it seems the bridge is nearly building itself. Look how much fun they are having! How how nice these logs are for balancing on.

When he hears the plan is to go to the beach, Samir asks if he has to get wet and/or sandy. He is assured that he only has to get as wet as he likes, and then sandiness can be kept to a minimum. However like all Tinkerers at the beach, he succumbs (although never above his knees).

Leo tries a variety of techniques in order to locomote on the log (perhaps in an effort to actually get the log closer to the bridge building project? probably not…). He gives up finally on stand-up paddling and settles on surf-style punting. Twyen is thinking – hey, isn’t that my shovel?!

The chasm is seeming greater, rather than smaller, the longer the work goes on. Perhaps it’s because the logs aren’t actually getting any closer to a bridge-like configuration? Is it possible they’re even drifting away while no one is looking?

Emma has dedicated herself completely to the task of collecting logs. No balancing, no bridge-building, no nonsense. Just logs. And they aren’t all light!

An initial test is done of the far tower, to see if this crazy scheme might actually work. No logs come crashing down, no rope-pullers go toppling over – it’s nearly a success (until it’s noticed that the amount of stretch in the anchor rope is about 100%). The design proves sound (so far).

Logs are needed for the second tower, so Samir braves a bit of sand to get this one ashore.

It’s been determined that moving logs is a lot easier on the water (assuming they float). And if you are serious about moving a lot of logs then you get a bow wave and wake going.

The temptation to balance on a log makes the possibility of getting a little bit wet seem considerably less serious. But make sure your shorts are pulled up out of harm’s way, just in case.

Toby’s shovel gets put to use securing the footings of the tower. A tire found on the beach weighs down the log that seemed most precarious.

This week we have _another_ first-time-in-the-Pacific-er (again from Maryland!). Emma definitely wants to experience the ocean, but only long enough to document it. Then she returns to the warm waters of the mini-bay.

Tom agrees to secure the third log of the tower, since it’s now too high for Theo to reach. He starts to tie a square knot, then changes his mind and tries a trucker’s hitch (yay!). He is THEN caught giving up on the trucker’s hitch and preparing to go back to the square knot (boo!), but Theo steps in to help him redeem himself.

Toby makes a beautiful toss over the top so that the suspension line can be tightened around the tower and to the anchor.

The suspension bridge is actually amazingly stable. Unfortunately it has a real problem with line stretch. It’s about this time (an hour in), when someone points out they should have built the suspension bridge OVER the log bridge, and it could be used as a hand-hold. A little late for that now.

Robyn has been watching the log bridge building project for an hour, and sees that the project as completely stalled. She enlists Leo to get serious about actually making the bridge.

After exploring carrying (only when absolutely necessary), floating (wherever possible), and rolling (as needed), a new method of moving the wood is discovered: tipping. Once up-ended, the log is then tipped over, sort of like a very ungainly inchworm. This method is best-loved (and despised) for the inevitable splashing.

In order to have a really solid anchor, the heaviest wood is sought out. This driftwood is likely somewhat waterlogged, but it is very round so will roll given the right encouragement.

The second challenge identified back in the barn was to build the tallest sand castle within a boundary rope. This potato-castle grows quickly, with 6 hands helping.

Actually, it’s not a shark. It’s a dolphin. A pod of dolphins swam by, and we watched them surf the waves, and jump up out of the water, and generally act like dolphins. But this was the best photo to prove we saw them.

The potato-castle is nearly done. It can’t support any more height (it already has had a significant slide), so it’s time for drip-mode-building.

The log bridge is a combination of stabilized flat logs (like these, with sand to improve your footing), and lashed logs (since there weren’t enough perfect ones).

Why, is that a trucker’s hitch you’re using Leo? Excellent.

All of the movable large logs have been scavenged, but the bridge is still incomplete. So now the super-dry driftwood is being retrieved from the nearby fort. I mean – those logs are SO heavy. How strong those gals are!

Tom explains some techniques for steering while body surfing. Tywen is psyching himself up for the ride of his life.

Clearly Toby and Twyen are excellent students.

Theo continues to stretch and re-tighten the rope, hoping to get to a point where the water can actually be crossed.

As usual, wearing your shorts instead of swim trunks does NOT work. If you’re destined to get wet, you get wet. Theo can’t resist the body-surfing scene.

Isaac makes the most amazing noise at this point in the “swim”. Every time. When he realizes his legs are numb, he sort of squeal-bellows, gesticulates, and then dashes ashore. Anyone with a video camera was too taken aback to ever capture it.

The ocean definitely cures whatever ails you.

Maxine (who is already half-soaked), checks to see if it’s ok if she gets completely soaked. It’s ok by me, as long as she doesn’t get ME completely soaked!

He’s already been nearly completely under, so it’s not quite clear what Toby is avoiding at this point. Maybe that little wave is special?

Jiro and I evaluate the castles and decide they are nearly exactly even. Emma decides to try to add one more inch to hers.

Which one is taller? Is this picture even level?

Maxine and Leo test out the bridge, to see if it’s ready to be evaluated against the challenge. Remember, Julie has to walk across it without getting her feet wet. Blindfolded. Oh, did I forget to mention that part? But a guide will be provided. (julie declines, fyi)

Theo, Toby and Samir try one more time to get the rope taut enough to cross the bay. Samir is willing to get his feet wet, even sandy, for the cause but not his chips.

Emma helps with another coating of sand to provide better traction on the logs. Maxine tries it out.

Tywen is one of the few who actually body-surfs (meaning he gets completely soaked). Now he must lie in the sun and absorb some rejuvenating heat. Not to be confused with napping (his hands are actually busy with mini-sand-angels).

It’s determined that the rope is too narrow to be comfortably held, but the towel helps a lot. Toby attaches himself to it, and Theo moves him across. Unfortunately, the towel doesn’t help enough, and Toby can’t keep his grip. It still results in the longest ride across.

The last log in place, Maxine and Leo race across the bridge. Neither make it completely across without falling, so it doesn’t count as the first traverse. After RoShamBo, Leo gets that priviledge.

Jiro has spent a significant portion of his life fooling around at the beach. He knows a LOT of beach tricks. Like the sand pile volcano.

Getting the damp match to stay lit and then light the paper in the wet sand proves tricky. Jiro demonstrates the technique.

The volcano in action.

Now that it’s done, everyone has to cross the bridge (except Robyn and Julie, who respectfully decline, particularly if it involves being blindfolded). There are some excellent, substantial sections, and a couple of really exciting ones.

Isaac demonstrates where one of the shaky portions of the bridge is. With use, it gets even more precarious.

It’s not quite clear why, but Tywen has decided the place where the sand potato-volcano-castle used to be is very reminiscent of a long jump pit. So he jumps it.

Even more mysteriously, Leo break out into a rendition of the Macarena – complete with singing AND dancing – while Isaac is balancing on the very precarious log.

Bridges built, potato-volcano-castles measured, ocean swum. It’s time to head back home.

After dinner there is more wiring to be done, but this time it’s Gever (getting mic’d).

The film crew here for 2.5 days to make a short program sample about Tinkering School has asked us to enter the barn en masse. This is not quite our typical entrance.

Gever lays out the big two-day-build project ahead. It’s just like every other project introduction, except much better lit. Best of all: cool new power tools!

As Gever describes the metal-frame, drill-power-drive cart project, the kids really do forget about the TV crew and start to imagine the possibilities.

It must be some project, to distract everyone from these guys! Tom and Jason are very nice, but it’s just not yet possible to forget they’re there.

This year’s Tinkering School Racing League rules and challenge.

Jiro is a two-wheel specialist, but the team decides to go with three.

Emma sizes up the full-scale blueprint on the table, while Tom talks through a possible chassis design.

Samir is interviewed by the crew, who try to get him to talk casually, not realizing that the barn is currently brighter than it gets at high noon.

Robyn ponders a proposed design, while the team anxiously awaits to hear her thoughts on it.

Maxine isn’t sure how many different ways she can say “it’s fun!” in response to all the questions about Tinkering School and why she keeps coming back.

Toby has only been at Tinkering School three days, but already has the same answers as Max. Why Tinkering School? Because it’s fun!

Theo tries out the Verde Team design sketch, with some pertinent details filled in. Later he describes it as a low-slung wheel chair.

Hanna is pretty pleased with the pretty bike she’s found for her team. It ends up inspiring all the final details of their design.

Red Team is now “Jewels & Pearls”.

The TV crew is back with another small request. Gever is asked to describe what’s going on with the projects. While holding a bike wheel. Gever can’t just hold a wheel in his lap – why would he? He would look through it!

Emma and Isaac are interviewed about the first use of the new power tool: the portable band saw (aka Porta-Band). The kids can’t quite remember the name of it, but they definitely remember what it does.

Emma is first to demonstrate the band saw, which she uses to cut the scavenged bike. In two. She actually just cuts one bar, and Isaac gets to cut the other. Now all three teams have bikes integral in the design. What will be left for the welders tomorrow?

Cart power.

Maxine discovers something underfoot.

Giving up on tightening, and giving in to rope stretch.

As discussed the previous night, first light brings the Tinkerers to the barn to put together the PVC glider. Note Emma and Theo’s excellent use of safety goggles (the day is young).

It’s difficult to resist just how great these new Makita drills are. Samir is definitely an afficianado.

Lacing together the PVC takes a lot of wire. Everyone takes a turn – this time it’s Toby’s.

The boys review the keel and leading edge poles. It doesn’t quite look like the sketch in Otto’s Notebook.

Emma helps test the security of the line connection (after one of the lines breaks under simple tension). It turns out the line that broke had a weakness where a previous knot had been tied. It’s decided our knots won’t need to last that long, so the more exotic connection method isn’t used.

Jacob and Tom have carefully laid out all the lengths of recovered line, I believe by length. Leo is just window-dressing.

We were wondering how Theo got significant amounts of straw in his hair. Then he showed us. When we pointed it out, he took steps. (By the way, he’s threading line through a hole in the keel).

Toby, as the smallest, will often be the first tester for this project. He’s been told to stand in the cage to see if it works. The glider is upside down with no flying surface – what exactly are we testing again?

Did we mention that all the PVC would be wired together? Yes? Good. Did we also mention that some of it would have to be wired in multiple places? No? Sorry about that. Can you go get the drill again and some more wire?

Hanna has been asked to scrape off any rough bits in the PVC. Of course all the new holes are perfect and smooth, but there are a few old ones that need cleaning up.

The point at which the poles cross is determined to be rather critical. Getting it wrong could make it very difficult (or impossible) to steer. When there is some ambiguity as to whether the measurement is accurate, reinforcements are brought in.

Maxine and Isaac work together to cinch down the all important crossed PVC. Jiro tries to determine if steering is actually in their future.

Emma brings a few more of the previously frozen tangerines to the goats. The kids have decided that balancing fruit on the animals is good fun – and the animals seem to be intrigued by it as well.

Before the guy-wires are tied on, everyone joins in on a knot-tying lesson. Turns out only Theo already knows one of Gever’s favorite knots: the Trucker’s Hitch (and that’s because he got a lesson during Session 1).

For reduced slippage and sliding of the secured end, we go twice around the pole before securing the hitch.

Hanna, Maxine and Leo are unaware of the activity behind them. Emma awaits her turn, and Toby is surprisingly casual, considering the risk he (literally) faces. Note how small and close-in the basket is. (See video for more.)

Maxine, as tallest, tests the cage. She, like Toby, isn’t exactly sure what she is supposed to learn, standing within the upside-down contraption.

Tywen has also been doing some ground-level scrutiny of the project.

Toby and Isaac ponder their future as aviation test pilots.

Finally the cage can be tested in its intended configuration. Result? Way too much give. The flexibility of the PVC has not yet been overcome. Toby looks longingly toward the test site, while Gever and Jiro work out how to stiffen the frame.

Emma can imagine the possibilities now that the frame has been reinforced.

Maxine demonstrates her pole vaulting technique. She might have actually gotten some serious air if she had used some of the larger diameter PVC….

Now that the frame is wired, guy-wired, reinforced, and safety sealed (with duct tape), it’s time to attach the tarp. Theo swept out an area of the flat pavement in preparation.

Robyn indicates where she’d like to see the frame end up. Max and Emma are trying to figure out how to get it there without walking on the tarp (and crushing rocks into the under surface). Theo is waiting patiently for them to arrive (since of course it had to be built pointing into the wind).

The boys discover chickens. Luckily (for the chickens) they never quite discover the technique for picking up a chicken. But they definitely try.

Isaac is trying to wrap his head around the various feedback he’s getting about drilling a simple hole. At one point he wonders if they want him to drill the PVC from the inside-out. It’s clearly not possible, of course, since the bit is too long.

Since a handle has been beautifully attached to the end of the safety line, the rest needs to be unspooled to reveal the other end (to attach to the glider). Toby offers to run out and help the line unspool.

This stage of the build is all about the duct tape. Tywen hates this stage. Not because of the duct tape (clearly he can handle that) – he seems to have an aversion to sitting on the ground. Here I submit proof that he did actually sit on the ground at one point.

When Isaac returns from the test field scouting trip, we remind him there are ticks in the grass. And with shorts, they have easy access. When it’s suggested he check for ticks, Isaac obliges, but is unwilling to put down his PVC. We are entertained.

After a test hold of the cage, it is observed that the PVC is hard. Foam is added to protect delicate arms. Of course the foam is affixed with duct tape, in classic hang-glider-rack fashion. (Why don’t we own stock in duct tape?)

While Hanna was reluctant to get involved in more duct taping, she doesn’t seem to be having such a bad time. Probably because Maxine is “helping”.

Maxine convinces Hanna to team up on the job. The idea is that Max will tear off the pieces, and Hanna will apply them (the part of the task where the tape inevitably gets all stuck to itself – at least for Max). But somehow Hanna is helping with the tearing as well. Again.

Taping the keel to the tarp was considered a risky solution, but all the other solutions were going to take a lot of time and some serious effort (possibly removing the tarp and reinstalling). For the sake of expediency, taping won out. But it was agreed that it needed to be very secure. And well-pressed.

Toby imagines the tarp filling with air, the wind in his face, and his feet far off the ground. It’s going to feel just like this!

Those who were absent from the extensive taping process were obviously keeping busy.

Early on, it was recognized that the glider would be too big to fit through the barn door. So it was built outside. But fitting across the bridge hadn’t been considered an issue before. Luckily Jiro did a bit of pruning before the crossing.

Getting over the fence (through the gate) wasn’t quite as complicated as the bridge, but since it hasn’t yet been tested, the glider is being treated with kid gloves and carefully supported.

Our destination is in sight: a vast expanse of grassy (albeit tick-infested) field with no fences, powerlines, trees, or bushes to impede our flight. Windsocks not included, so we brought our own.

Gever does a quick pre-flight review, to confirm that the glider seems to be holding together and potentially capable of flight. Seeing how glider-like it looks, all eagerly await the answer. (“Good to go!”)

Tywen wins the multi-tier RoShamBo to determine the first pilot (it is decided weight is not likely a significant issue). He’s now wondering what he’s signed up for. Tom gives him a pep talk (“I see folks do this all the time at Tiger Mountain – there are no trees so you’ll be fine!”)

Tywen demonstrates the controlled stop while Gever demonstrates the tether (which will act as drag on the wing), should things get out of hand.

Tywen can not resist the universal new pilot urge to jump into the air. The glider gladly supports his weight, allowing his body to swing through the frame and force him to lose his footing. This is the classic “not quite flying” posture today.

Without Tywen’s assistance (via running), the glider loses airspeed immediately and sets down on the ground. On top of Tywen, who has also set down on the ground since he lost his footing.

Two red-tailed hawks thermal up overhead, taunting us with their easy flight.

Emma gets good airspeed and resists the urge to jump, but the cage offers very little leverage for keeping the nose down. Emma notices she can see a lot better now, though, without all those tubes in the way.

Emma tries a new grip (worked out with Robyn) that provides better leverage. She manages to keep the nose down, but then doesn’t get as much lift. And so it goes all afternoon long.

Isaac is determined to leave the ground, by any means necessary. Aka – jumping.

As is pretty much always the case after jumping, Isaac’s body swings through and he loses his footing.

Isaac does not try to deny he jumped – he revels in the “flight” he’s had. He’s planning to go back and jump again.

Toby takes his turn and sees that there really is a glider over his head, not just a bunch of duct-taped PVC.

There is some discussion about whether this was actual flight, or more jumping. It certainly does appear that the glider is pulling up on Toby’s arms and his feet do not reach the ground. But there is also $2 at stake, so that might be coloring things.

Now that the glider has withstood a little manhandling, the pilots are willing to push things a little further. Toby has the first spectacular wipe-out. Emma is definitely entertained. Toby is wondering how he did it so he can do it again.

Leo really thought that Isaac would get some serious air. It’s all up to him now. It’s a hard run, but it appears there isn’t really any wind right now.

Leo leaps into the air, to ensure he leaves the ground. It’s not easy when you have to jump all that PVC as well.

Maxine can hardly believe it’s actually working. The cage starts to pull up on her arms.

The slightest sense that the wing is lifting is more than Maxine can stand. She must leap into the air.

And of course after the leap, comes the sliding of the feet out from under her.

The glider is undamaged (as is this, and every, pilot), feet left the ground – what a perfect flight.

Everyone got three runs down the hill. Maxine really made a lasting impression with her final one.

As was typical once the wind picked up a bit, Maxine lost control to the left when the wing got squirrely (but kept her footing, or so it seems). Unfortunately, Bryan was a little too close.

Note how the ground crew (who are supposed to come help secure the wing after the flight) are enjoying the show. Bryan does his best to get the wing off his face.

Maxine sees the camera, and puts a hand out to help make sure it doesn’t get tipped over. (Bryan never let go, even when his head was at stake.)

The camera and Bryan both now safe, Maxine still can’t quite regain her footing (or overcome the drag force of the glider). Luckily Jacob has come to give her a hand (since no one else has moved a muscle).

Finally, Maxine gets both her arms free of the cage and narrowly escapes landing on top of the wing (maybe she felt more comfortable on top of the glider since it’s how they’d spent the whole build?).

While Gever and Theo imagine a flight out over the trees, down the valley, with a landing on the beach, the rest of the gang just enjoy a sunny afternoon out on the hill.

Theo gets the wing to airspeed, and it’s that familiar sight of the wing teetering between stall and lift. Theo resists the urge to just give in to the pressure and let his feet slip out from under him.

As the angle of attack increases, the pressure of the wing increases: Theo uses all his might to fight it and bring the nose back down in order to fly.

The wing starts to come back down, but it still doesn’t lift him. So he brings it down some more.

Unable to bring the wing back down with all the drag force, Theo stops running and just flies the glider. The ground crew is at the ready this time, but there is no urgent need – the wing is completely under control.

In order to get even better leverage over the glider, Theo tries a new grip technique. One hand stabilizes, while the other can extert more downward force.

Having tried through the full range of attitudes, Theo tries to increase his airspeed at what seems the most controlled angle of attack.

Once again, when the glider really lifts, it’s impossible to actually stay in the cage sufficiently to go along for the ride.

Leo shares with Theo his idea for what to try next: wing suits. There is still plenty of blue tarp back in the barn.

Samir has the glider nicely balanced, and walks it down the hill. He’s seen what happens when you run headlong or jump willy-nilly and has no intention of joining those clubs.

Hanna was content to go last, knowing that she’d be able to leverage all the info of all those earlier tests. She waits for a good cycle and quickly gets the glider up to speed.

Well, knowing all those lessons learned and actually acting on them are two different things. Hanna also can not resist giving in to the glider when it pulls her off her feet.

Despite the momentary lapse, Hanna regains her footing sufficiently to control the glider all the way to the ground crew. The wind is picking up, but fortunately the ground crew is getting better at handling the wing as well.

It’s decided that Gever should also try to fly the glider, to help determine what can be done to improve it (and the Tinkerers chances to actually take flight).

Now that Gever is in the pilot “seat”, Jiro assists with the pre-flight check. Gever is wondering if this can actually be done.

Gever confirms what most of the Tinkerers already knew: the difference between lift and stall is nearly imperceptible. He resists the urge to jump, but clearly is struggling to maintain his footing.

After his three runs, Gever agrees that it’s just not possible to fly the glider in the current configuration. It’s getting cold, dinner is waiting (well, not really since we forgot to turn on the oven at the right time, but we’re thinking about dinner), and we need to do some redesign to get this thing off the ground.

Despite working the Tinkering School booth at Maker Faire, Theo never got to try the Lightning Bulb puzzle. He finally gets his chance. The Tough As Nails puzzle at the other end of the table also helps distract everyone from how late dinner is (but it does all finally get done and no one died of starvation).

After dinner tonight is Free Build and Deconstruction. Emma chooses deconstruction (thanks to Adobe).

After Gever mentions he has some little motors, Tywen decides to try one out. Shortly afterward, he is distracted by the slope-sliding-sled-thing that some of the other boys create, and heads back out to the field with the gang. Everyone should sleep well tonight!

Tinkering School version of basketball.

Maybe none of these boys has pets at home? At least the goats enjoy the attention (unlike the chickens).

Maxine relives last year’s cart project while dreaming of just how fast she might go this year.

While getting ready for the first project to start, a biplane does some aerobatics demonstrations overhead. We never once saw this plane during Session One – coincidence, or premonition?

Gever has the first unofficial injury of Session Two: a small mishap with the shaver while cutting his hair this morning. The scrape was wide – but not deep.

Emma immediately proves herself extremely capable with the hot glue gun. She crafts a beautiful (but perhaps a bit heavy) identification for her mesh mess kit bag.

Samir prefers some wide open spaces when doing free-form foamcore cutting. Later it’s suggested that he cut his piece from an edge, rather than the middle, in order to leave one larger piece for next time.

I don’t think Leo intended his fuselage as a musical instrument, but it looks like he’s trying it out none-the-less. Or maybe he’s just trying to remove a small piece of foam he’s just cut?

Toby is going with the classic glider design. He’s also quite experienced with the hot glue – note the bolts used to keep the frame off the table, so the underside can be glued as needed.

After some scissor usage tips from Gever, Leo puts his all into cutting a piece of fabric for his glider.

Is it a type of prayer wheel, or is Maxine just looking for the end of the roll?

Since Theo can practically make a model airplane in his sleep, we had to come up with special constraints for him so it would be a challenge. The result: he must use all natural materials. It does, indeed, appear that we successfully stumped him! Or at least gave him pause for thought.

Tywen decides to use the copper wire to hold the wing in a dihedral. But he’s only found some short pieces, so must wire them together to create a longer strand.

The parents were kicked out about an hour ago, and already the barn is fully back in action.

I believe this was the first test flight of the day (at least outdoors). Toby’s glider would often glide perfectly, with a sudden change of attitude or direction to end the flight. Nevertheless, he enjoyed launching it and did so repeatedly throughout the afternoon.

Jacob supports the structure while Theo tries to lash the reeds together with string. After a gallant effort, we soften and let him use some tape.

Tywen gives up on the wire, since it’s too hard to keep it taut and changes to string. Tom holds the wing, Bryan holds the knot, and Tywen ties.

Emma tries out her biplane. The wind outside produces varying conditions, so further tests are done in the barn, to minimize the variables.

Bryan in video-documentarian mode. Now just ignore the guy with the very large camera looming over your shoulder. (It will be good practice for later in the week, when the 2-person camera crew shows up.)

Maxine’s test flight already shows a portent of things to come, and it hasn’t even left her hand (you can tell, since it’s still above her head).

Isaac ponders his raft design (extremely daring for a structure intended for flight), while Tywen hot glues more ballast (was it on the nose or tail this time?) and Leo considers whether perhaps it’s not the glider, but his launch technique.

Having thought through the optimal launch technique, Leo is ready for another test flight. Upwind, downwind – this launch technique doesn’t care.

Tywen’s test reveals that perhaps that weight added to the nose was a bit too much? Or maybe it just needs some weight at the tail as well?

Robyn demonstrates the favored centering technique to Toby, so he can affix his payload (a hex nut passenger). When the wind picks up, his glider has a kite-like tendency.

With a clean launch technique and the payload affixed, Toby’s glider has a nice line.

Isaac has abandoned the flying raft and gone back to his original glider, with a slightly more traditional wing shape. However, he quickly remembers why he abandoned it – it has a tendency to launch nearly vertically and then flip over and dive to the ground.

Samir has created a glider intended to be launched from an aircraft carrier. Since we are on a ranch, he builds a bungee launcher and enlists Tom and Toby to assist. During the first launch, the glider hangs up on the launcher. Much fine tuning commences.

Maxine’s large craft requires some significant energy to get airborne (and also ended up needed significant weight in the nose – multiple large hex nuts, when the requirement was only to carry one). She definitely gets style bonus points for the follow-through, though.

Toby decides to go meet Spice, the llama. He’s been warned that we have found the llama to be completely mysterious: we have no idea when it’s happy, irritated, wants to be petted or plans to spit. We think this is Spice’s i’m-curious-maybe-you-can-pet-me look.

Emma’s hex nut creation demonstrates Theo’s favorite feature of hot glue: parts can later be separated given sufficient force in the right orientation. After a long drop in the kitchen, several of the nuts break off. Luckily there was wire handy for a new incarnation of the design.

I’m not sure if the rules specified that gliders must be hand-launched, but this launcher is a lot easier to control than the ground-based one. Samir seems satisfied.

Maxine is happy with her flight. Hopefully Bryan got the whole thing on tape (literally – he’s shooting tape so it will be a little while before we post any footage).

Theo normally knows exactly what to expect from his model planes. He seems to have amazed himself with this reed and fabric glider (we let him use ripstop nylon instead of pine needles for the surface).

No sign of Emma’s beautiful biplane (which might have suffered from a lack of surface area – hard to increase in that design without starting over). For version two, she explores the most minimal design.

Theo’s glider carries its payload/passenger well below, mimicking classic hang glider design.

After dinner and flight testing the model gliders, Gever brings out the notebook he’s created. It’s full of images of early foot-launched glider designs (Otto Lillenthal’s, Francis Rogallo’s, the Bamboo Butterfly).

Toby’s little glider is compared and contrasted to Theo’s much larger glider. Toby’s glider tended to be squirrely, particularly if there was any wind at all. The biggest difference between them? Size.

Jacob is put to the task of salvaging as much of the paragliding line as possible from this old wing. It’s spectra (or maybe this version is dyneema), so very thin, light and strong.

It turns out a whole case of tangerines were put in a freezer by accident, so they now become goat food. Since they’re cold and hard, the goats just sort of mouth them for a while, before they’re soft enough to eat. Or maybe they just like playing with their food?

With all that talk about Otto’s Notebook and how gliders fly and how they’re going to build 3 hang gliders and actually fly them, it’s time for the serious math. Even once the square roots and pythagoreun theorums are worked out, there are still too many variables. Like how much weight will it actually need to carry (hard to know, since we don’t know the weight of the craft itself).

Gever demonstrates Otto’s original design with a paper towel and a chopstick. It helps everyone visualize that particular design, but still doesn’t answer the math questions.

Once some initial numbers are tossed around, we realize we don’t even know how much a 20′ segment of large PVC weighs – and can it be sufficiently hoisted? Isaac demonstrates that 2-20′ sections plus a crossbar are not only cumbersome, but have a lot of flex.

The more the numbers are revisited, the less clear which is the right path – as Tywen demonstrates.

It’s decided that with so many unknowns, it would be best to make one glider as quickly as possible and test it. If it’s sufficient to carry the heaviest Tinkerer, then there’s no more math. If it’s not, then at least we’ll have more data (how heavy is the craft, does it carry a lighter passenger, how can it be improved, etc). With an initial sketch of the plan, it’s time to call it a night.

Yes, the camera was hit by the plane. No, the plane was not destroyed by Robyn’s “relaunch”.