Everyone seems happy to get back to work on their drill-carts, since it means real tools again (no duct tape!). Sawing is a particularly popular activity today.

Although it looks like she’s using a jig-saw, I’m pretty sure Elena is drilling a hole, or possibly spinning a screw, in the fender for their vehicle. Today was a day for fine-tuning.

Sharpies are a staple at Tinkering School, since they are perfect for decorating plywood, marking measurements, and – it turns out – coloring your fingernails.

Sam makes sure that the underside of their cart is properly decorated (since almost every visible surface already is). To be fair, he’s probably marking a measurement, but I didn’t actually turn the cart over to make sure. There really is no other way to know.

Carter is old-school and really prefers the hand-crank clamps. We probably only have 2 in the barn this week (along with a whole pile of quick-clamps), and Carter always manages to find one of them when a clamp is needed. The really good news: Carter regularly clamps his material to hold it in place when drilling and screwing!

Anna has excellent drill technique, as highlighted by the positioning of her brightly colored fingernails relative to the palm pressure she’s applying to the back of the drill.

Today we were officially introduced to the animals, who we’ve been talking to all week: making up names for and trying to figure out what they like best to eat (grapes, banana peels and tangerine peels are usually on offer). They all like to be brushed and the crew is only too happy to oblige.

Gus seems to be quite fond of this mini-donkey. He’s sort of complicated to brush, with all that different length hair and all. And apparently he also likes to lean, which can be a bit of surprise when you weigh only a fraction of what he does.

The multi-camera stacking system he invented yesterday is already old news. Steve now has a combo video/audio recording studio with steady-cam grip and portable clapper. And a great hat.

Carter needs to get this idea down and can’t wait until after the tour of the animal pens. Gever completely approves – he was just jotting down a few notes of his own.

Is it just me, or is there something a bit uncanny about how Piper and Anna have sync’d up here?

Leo found the hay bales in Barn Two just too perfect to pass up. Instead of visiting the sheep, he worked on perfecting his multi-bale jump technique.

We’ve been asked to help get the sheep all out of the barn and into the outer pen. We are happy to oblige, although it turns out to be a little harder than it looks. It turns out the trick is pushing on their butts if needed.

Now this is the weather we’ve come to expect!

Back in the barn, the teams are figuring out how to add brakes to their vehicles. They all encounter the same problem: we have bicycle tire brakes and wheelbarrow wheels. In the end everyone either decides they don’t need a brake or they will be fine without one. And it mostly turns out to be true.

Someone finds some plastic slinkys in one of the misc parts bins. Piper and Julianna find them much more fascinating than the few last niggling details on the cart. Nik is completely torn, and jumps between the two.

The Kablooi team tested their carts early-on, so experienced lockout in time to give it some thought. They’ve hand-crafted some plywood stops, which are being installed with the help of a well-executed quick clamp.

Leo is almost all measured-out from yesterday, but is willing to do another one if it means indicating something to drill or screw. Preferably the screw will need to be pre-drilled, and hopefully there will even be a need for both the corded and cordless drills. And maybe the power driver.

The design is working, the cart has been decorated top to bottom, the llama isn’t around, there’s no good material to make a surfboard, and it’s not yet time for lunch. May as well find a spot for a nap. Or even just some skygazing through one of the upper windows.

The Kabooi need to remove the bicycle brake in order to install it on their cart. They are not yet convinced that it might not fit. Since Robyn has a slightly better understanding of their drive design (and has noticed that they really have gotten stuck on an aspect of the removal), she is encouraging them to go do a test drive. Besides, the sun has finally come out – let’s go outside!

Thanks to their positive-action design (requiring holding the triggers on the drills to get power), the friction of the drill on the wheel prevents it from moving when the drill is not spinning. So the cart doesn’t move. Even on the sloped ramp. The team is a bit surprised, but happy to not have to figure out a brake.

With their straightforward design and simple, compact chassis, the Kablooi drill-cart is often the first out of the pit. The one thing to improve next time: carry handles. There is no good place to grab and they are constantly wishing there was. Gloves help (if they can remember where they keep putting them).

Gus takes the Kablooi cart (aka The Meteor) out for a spin. It works – even off-road and backwards!

Elena tests it out, and appears to approve. She needs to do her lap (down the hill forwards and up the hill in reverse) quickly since the Piki are waiting to do the same.

Somehow the end of the very long (100′) extension cord never seems to be where it’s needed. Gus obliges with a cord delivery.

Fiona seems to hardly believe it’s actually working. Anna definitely approves.

It was noted that the speed of the carts is not quite as impressive with the spectators meandering along next to them. Sam and Elena try to improve Anna’s illusion of speed.
Also of note: the safety ping-pong balls.

Sam is definitely satisfied with the ride. He just wishes he could figure out what he’s supposed to do with this hands – the drills are locked on, you steer with your feet – maybe he should wave?

Obviously Fiona and Anna are expert fake runners. I think Elena might actually be real-running. If we could only get Theo to play, too. But he’s very serious about his job as the cut-out switch.

Sometimes the drills needs a bit of a kick-start to get rolling, especially uphill. Anna helps out, while Fiona tries… rowing? She’s obviously figured out something to do with her hands, but I’m not quite sure what.

The boys jam before lunch is ready. Leo is pretty serious about this jumping thing.

The Nooi cart is a bit behind schedule. The challenge is that it’s too difficult to push the drills against the wheels manually, so they need a system to help apply enough pressure to get the friction-drive to work. Gever has built a box to hold a plate that becomes the seat that gets pushed down by the driver while riding. Piper is at the ready to install the next screw.

Gever needs a piece of rope to wrap the box so it will stay together while they screw it down. He would have used a giant C-clamp, but didn’t bring any. Nik holds the tape (to prevent fraying), Piper holds the end (to take up slack), and Julianna makes the cut.

Carter can’t resist the giant, cleared, unmarked whiteboard that is their work table.

This afternoon is filled with informational tidbits and new skills. Carter learns how to tear duct tape with his fingers. As we all know, this truly is a quite valuable skill. Next Robyn is going to teach him how to hold a bicycle tire with his toes.

Julianna gets some pointers on her screwdriving technique. Gever helps her get into the proper position.

Julianna finished this side of the box with ease. Note the cinch strap Gever has made to hold the box together: his piece of rope (with a very tidy newly cut end) is wrapped around multiple times, with the screwdriver as a stick to twist the rope until it tightens down. See the treehouse from 2007 for more on that technique.

Piper wonders what skills are required to be a Tinkering School camp counselor. I’m not sure netting gloves from an orange bag are on the list, but it’s an interesting place to start.

Leo seems to enjoy the front-axle support the best on the Nooi cart. He can often be found up there, either bouncing on the end or, as here, hanging ten.

The Nooi cart is again ready to be drive-tested. The new seat-drive not only provides better pressure for the drill against the tires, but it also frees up the drivers hands so that they can steer.

The tires almost universally have to be pumped up before testing. Designed for adults, there tend to be two factors which affect pump-air-transfer-efficiency: length of leg (how much of the throw of the pump arm is in your power-stroke) and body weight (how hard can you actually push the arm). Many of the Tinkerers are challenged on both fronts. Leo ensures that every ounce of his weight (and therefore leverage) are utilized. Nik stands by, ready to offer more.

It must be some sort of contest: everyone waiting to see how long before Anna cracks a smile. I can’t imagine it was more than about 1 second.

Steve shows off the latest, greatest addition to his setup: a clapper. Actually, this is his version 2 clapper, thanks to Anna. Next up: assistants to actually hold it and make the clapping noise, since as handy as this one is, it doesn’t quite work one-handed. My guess: tomorrow Steve will be building a harness so that he can wear the gear and have both hands free for the clapper :-)

Just kidding. Not only are all the power tools unplugged when not in use, Gus’ hand is no where near the business end of the machine. He’s collecting all the soft sawdust, which you can see is almost all piled up already. Apparently the drill press makes very coarse debris, but the chop saw has made some very fine debris today.

Julianna looks like she’s working on the design for the cover of her Tinkering School photo album.

Nik proves that not only is the new seat-action power working, but also the steering. He obediently steers “to julie!” per Gever’s suggestion. Gever is so impressed he almost neglects to pull the power, which is the only form of brake now. Fortunately Julie, like everyone in the barn, is wearing sturdy closed-toe shoes.

Julianna has successfully completed the maiden voyage of the Nooi vehicle down the road. Gever pulls the plug, then realizes that with their fabulous rein-steering system, they should be able to just turn right around to go back up. No reverse necessary.

After trying to make the big turn, Julianna discovers that the beautiful front license plate limits the movement of the front axle. Nik is quick on the draw and removes it in situ.

No matter how fast (or slow) you’re going, no matter how deep (or shallow) the obstacles, no matter how rough (or mellow) the terrain, no matter how big (or small) the vehicle…. boys love off-roading.

Piper is just enjoying the ride.

Despite having one of the most steerable vehicles, and the only one with a removable drive system – so it can be wheeled instead of needing to be carried – the Nooi team seem to be continually challenged with getting their vehicle from here to there.

Gus seems to be stuck in low gear (although it might just be his small hands trying to keep full pressure on the drill triggers). So he does his best to be as aerodynamically streamlined as possible. Luckily this is the DownHill Forward Time Trial on a straightaway, and not the Obstacle Course run.

Gus is happy that he is finally approaching the finish line. The drills will be examined, to confirm they are in high speed mode, since despite his best efforts his time is solidly twice as long as every other run.

The no-hands Piki cart really adds to the casual quality of the race. Plus, who would believe that Anna is so calm?! It must be the racer outfit the Piki are all sporting: helmet AND safety goggles.

It’s not clear if Leo’s prim and proper position is just a result of Leo-ness, or perhaps he’s demonstrating perfect technique for the seat-power-design. The best leverage comes from having your weight completely on the back edge of the seat.

Carter seems to spend time driving the cart in reverse every time he’s on it. Sometimes it seems to go into reverse just when he’s near it. His experience in reverse clearly pays off during the Downhill Reverse Time Trial. His technique is impeccable, his steering accuracy is amazing and his time is excellent.

Fiona gets ready for parallel parking with a drivers ed-worthy over-the-shoulder-look technique.

Actually, we did have to say that. We were trying to have a meeting to review the obstacle course and Leo was enthralled. He knew that we didn’t mean permanently, or anything like that.

Robyn leads the drivers through a test-run of the obstacle course. It was only afterward that we realized we might have wanted to select more picturesque obstacles. Rest assured – they really did the job (and were able to withstand the repeated penalty hits).

Sam finally figures out what to do with his hands while riding – you have to hang on if you really want to lean in to those tight curves. The harley-style steering handled well.

Since there are no markings, it turned out to be rather easy to get confused about which way to go on the obstacle course (there were multiple hairpin turns). Especially since his first run suffered from a serious lack of speed, we all want Gus’ obstacle course run to be fun. And it ends up fast – 3rd overall and only his teammates did it faster!

Nik demonstrates the critical problem for the Nooi: steering lockout. After removing the front license plate, they didn’t have time to put anything back on to prevent lockout. It ends up being a significant issue in the obstacle course.

One of the challenges with drill-powered carts is that in order to get sufficient torque you need to use corded drills. Which means a 100 foot long extension cord. Not an issue for the time trials, however for the Obstacle Course we assign the driver’s teammates to keep track of the cord and keep it from tangling anything during a run. Theo narrowly escapes tangling, or worse.

The Piki team (with the help of Elena, who quite enjoyed the task) demonstrates excellent cord-management. Anna is on standby in the event Fiona suddenly veers off-course unexpectedly (oh wait, that’s the Nooi who tend to do that…).

Despite her serious reservations about doing the obstacle course (she only agreed to do it when we said the time didn’t count), Elena turns in a PERFECT run. No penalties AND the fastest time. The next closest time by anyone other than one of her teammatest is almost a full minute longer (so, nearly double). Watch it for yourself on the bonus video.

The obstacles tend to move or at least be drive-overable, but the walls are more of a challenge. Virtually every driver must pick up their cart at some point, due to a wall (except the nimble Kablooi team).

As the only team with hand-controlled drills, the Kablooi team have an interesting advantage: they can throw it into reverse at any time. Carter is an expert at this, and demonstrates it – during his first obstacle course run. Instead of running into the wall when he takes a turn too wide, Carter just casually throws it into reverse, comes around and then goes forward again. This gets him the second fastest time, by a wide margin.

Gever awards the winning Piki team the coveted Theo Award. Combining the agility of the Kablooi and the constant-on power of the Nooi, the Piki team manages both fast times and relatively penalty-free obstacle course runs. The winners were determined by adding the times from all four events: Downhill Forward Time Trial, Uphill Forward Time Trial, Downhill Reverse Time Trial and Obstacle Course.

The Piki Trimobile had the benefits of maneuverability and direct steering. Most critical, however, relative to the 2nd place Kablooi vehicle, was the constant-on power. While unable to reverse, they also never had a loss of power.

The River/Rain God speaks.

Fastest time, no penalties!

Elena made it look so easy, but Fiona demonstrates the true challenge of the Obstacle Course.