For Old Guys Only

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Allen_Wrench

Resident Mad Scientist
Feb 6, 2010
2,784
26
36
Indianapolis
I remember M80s. I also remember Napalm Knox Blox.

Knox unflavored gelatin is a protein chain and, as such, can bond with liquids. Doesn't have to be water. Could be gasoline. You have to chill it longer for some things than for others. I tried alcohol. It didn't impress me. Gasoline, though - that was impressive. But I learned right away to choose safe targets. You could burn down the neighborhood with these things, and they don't like to stop burning until they're done. AND YOU DON"T THROW WATER ON THEM! Bad juju.
 

2door

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 15, 2008
16,302
175
63
Littleton, Colorado
Speaking of fireworks who remembers what a m80 was?
Pretty sure it was what we called 'ash cans'. They were cylindrical, about two inches long, a half inch in diameter and the fuse came out the side. They used to say they were equivalent to a 1/4 stick of dynamite, though I doubt that.

Tom
 

fasteddy

Well-Known Member
Feb 13, 2009
7,476
4,965
113
British Columbia Canada
I've heard wonderful things about potassium permanganate. I used it to age paint when I needed to blend in a repair on furniture. Just make sure you don't try to get the result you want all at once. Multiply layers works best and yields a better result.

Steve.
 

fasteddy

Well-Known Member
Feb 13, 2009
7,476
4,965
113
British Columbia Canada
Hair spray was my favorite. Paid to have someone with a sister who had a can around that she didn't like and wanted to get rid of it.

Best one we ever pulled off with that trick was when it was decided by a show of hands to fill up the town cops empty garbage can with a shot and a 4" fire cracker. Quietly lift the lid and tape the fire cracker to the inside lip and pull out one side of the looped over fuse and tie a second fuse to it from a sacrificial fire cracker to ensure sufficient foot time before it went off and then a good blast of hair spray while the can is held close to the bottom, replace the lid so it doesn't pinch the wick, touch it off and run like H*ll.

Now the fly in this tin of ointment is the lad picked to spray and light the fuse. Unknown to the rest us he had taped a marble to the top of the can. He had a second piece of tape hanging off one side. You see where this is going don't you.

He tells us that he wants to do it all since his sister Olive donated the hair spray. It's all set up and we are ready to get going. The two of us hear the can drop into the garbage pail and there is too much hissing going on and after about 30 seconds he lights the fuse and catches up to us because we are onto what was happening.
He had taped the nozzle down with the second piece of tape and the marble acted like a finger tip.

Fellas when that thing went of it was a rolling ball of flame about 30 feet in the air and 10 feet across and the lid was found about 50' away as the story around town went. The town bought him a new garbage can and we lay low for the rest of the summer. That man was some upset and made a point of informing every young man in town that when he found out who it was there was going to be a pay back the likes of which none of us could possibly have lived long enough to imagine.

As I said in the quotes as we were picking them up and laying them down the other friend said to the culprit, "I've seen stupid smarter than you".
 

Moto pope

New Member
Mar 26, 2013
255
4
0
St. James, mo
My friend and I took an old car drive shaft, cut one end off, add a little water, dropped lit m80 in (we bought em by the case) then a steel Pepsi can in last. Man, those things would go out of sight.
 

Saddletramp1200

Custom MB Buiilder
May 7, 2008
1,451
83
48
Houston, Texas
I waited so long, when I was not needed anymore. I'm so proud of all of you. I like it. Made one mistake, I bad mouthed a Mod. Never do that. I am sorry, but that don't change anything. Bikes are very difficult at times, easy in others. Look & Think. Look at it, You will see what's wrong. I asked for forgiveness, never happened. I live with it.
 

happycheapskate

New Member
Nov 26, 2009
1,989
3
0
Rockwall TX
High School shop classes could have a ball with the china kits as bench test engines.
But beating on a keyboard will never teach them to actually do something with their hands. That's the really sad part. Reading about it and actually DOING it are two different things.

It's why I admire the youngsters who join this forum. They're learning and getting their hands dirty which will provide them with valuable lessons. Sadly, they're in the minority. Or at least that's the way it appears.

Tom
 

D.J.

Member
Jan 20, 2008
266
2
18
Canada
We used to make our own slow burning gunpowder. Some used the same recipe for smoke bombs. It was made from Saltpetre and sugar. When powdered and mixed in equal parts it creates a slow burning gunpowder. We would fill a baby food jar 1/3 full and then light the mixture with a match, screw on the cap and throw it. It would make a great explosion. We would also make flares. I found a kilo of Saltpetre at an odd-lot shop and recreated a flare from the past in a toilet paper roll. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-H29NFA-flc



I have an easy way for the typical old guy to modernize and use the modern airsoft ammo that is available.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?annota...&feature=iv&src_vid=aazP6zvJmiQ&v=r_8wRpgvhyg
 

2door

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 15, 2008
16,302
175
63
Littleton, Colorado
Here's a nice little piece sent to me by a friend.
Just wanted to share with all my old friends. Enjoy.

Long ago and far away, in a land that time forgot,
Before the days of Dylan, or the dawn of Camelot.
There lived a race of innocents, and they were you and me,

For Ike was in the White House in that land where we were born,
Where navels were for oranges, and Peyton Place was porn.

We learned to gut a muffler, we washed our hair at dawn,
We spread our crinolines to dry in circles on the lawn..

We longed for love and romance, and waited for our Prince,
And Eddie Fisher married Liz , and no one's seen him since.

We danced to 'Little Darlin,' and sang to 'Stagger Lee'
And cried for Buddy Holly in the Land That Made Me, Me.

Only girls wore earrings then, and 3 was one too many,
And only boys wore flat-top cuts, except for Jean McKinney.

And only in our wildest dreams did we expect to see
A boy named George with Lipstick, in the Land That Made Me, Me.

We fell for Frankie Avalon, Annette was oh, so nice,
And when they made a movie, they never made it twice..

We didn't have a Star Trek Five, or Psycho Two and Three,
Or Rocky-Rambo Twenty in the Land That Made Me, Me.

Miss Kitty had a heart of gold, and Chester had a limp,
And Reagan was a Democrat whose co-star was a chimp.

We had a Mr. Wizard, but not a Mr. T,
And Oprah couldn't talk yet, in the Land That Made Me, Me.
We had our share of heroes, we never thought they'd go,
At least not Bobby Darin, or Marilyn Monroe.

For youth was still eternal, and life was yet to be,
And Elvis was forever in the Land That Made Me, Me.

We'd never seen the rock band that was Grateful to be Dead,
And Airplanes weren't named Jefferson , and Zeppelins were not Led.

And Beatles lived in gardens then, and Monkees lived in trees,
Madonna was Mary in the Land That Made Me, Me.



We'd never heard of microwaves, or telephones in cars,
And babies might be bottle-fed, but they were never grown in jars.

And pumping iron got wrinkles out, and 'gay' meant fancy-free,
And dorms were never co-ed in the Land That Made Me, Me.

We hadn't seen enough of jets to talk about the lag,
And microchips were what was left at the bottom of the bag.

And hardware was a box of nails, and bytes came from a flea,
And rocket ships were fiction in the Land That Made Me, Me.

Buicks came with portholes, and side shows came with freaks,
And bathing suits came big enough to cover both your cheeks.

And Coke came just in bottles, and skirts below the knee,
And Castro came to power near the Land That Made Me, Me.

We had no Crest with fluoride, we had no Hill Street Blues,
We had no patterned pantyhose or Lipton herbal tea
Or prime-time ads for those dysfunctions in the Land That Made Me, Me.

There were no golden arches, no Perrier to chill,
And fish were not called Wanda, and cats were not called Bill..

And middle-aged was 35 and old was fifty-three,
And ancient were our parents in the Land That Made Me, Me.

But all things have a season, or so we've heard them say,
And now instead of Maybelline we swear by Retin-A.
They send us invitations to join AARP,
We've come a long way, baby, from the Land That Made Me, Me.

So now we face a brave new world in slightly larger jeans,
And wonder why they're using smaller print in magazines..
And we tell our children's children of the way it used to be,
Long ago and far away in the Land That Made Me, Me.

If you didn't grow up in the fifties,
you missed the greatest time in history.
Hope you enjoyed this read as much as I did.
 

2door

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 15, 2008
16,302
175
63
Littleton, Colorado
New technology!

Okay, lets look at the 'improvements'.
I can remember when the nightly news showed film of current events. I don't remember seeing pixilated images or ones that stalled and were jerky and hard to see what was going on. They were always crystal clear as well as the audio. And the audio was always perfectly in sync with the video. What is the advantage of digital programming if you can't make out what they're programming?

I remember making phone calls that I could hear exactly what the other person was saying. The batteries never went dead in the middle of a conversation and it was never VOX, or voice activated so you never missed half the first word of what was said. I didn't have to worry about how many 'bars' were showing if I wanted to call someone or if I was within a network. I picked up the handset and dialed the number and I talked to whoever I'd called; local or long distance. If I needed help there was a real live human being there ready to help me. They were called, 'operators' and they knew their $hit. I didn't need to keep the phone precisely centered on my ear to hear it either. The handset was big enough to squeeze against my shoulder so I could use both hands while talking. It's really hard to butter your toast with one hand, or take notes while using the new, improved, miniature phones.

If my car battery died all I had to do was 'get a jump' from a friend or neighbor. I didn't have to have the thing towed to the dealership so they could 'reboot or reprogram the computer' to get the thing to run again. (at a cost of a new 1960 Ford Fairlane). If the engine started running rough I changed the points and plugs and went on my merry way. If the transmission shifted weird, I'd adjust the clutch and...go on my merry way.

If I wanted to watch television I'd select my choice from the three or four channles available and if the show was a half hour long, twenty seven minutes of it would be the show, not 15 minutes of commercials for perscription drugs. And I could see the whole screen withouit banners advertising what was coming up next covering the lower 1/4 of it.

I just read that a major Chicago newspaper has laid off all of their staff photographers. Instead the paper will rely on photos submitted by 'cell phone users' for their photo coverage of news events. Oh.. I can't wait to see their front page photographs. Poor composition, grainy and out of focus pictures taken by people with not a clue as to what is required to take a pucture.
If what I've seen as examples of cell phone photos are any example I'll be sure to be impressed with that paper's decision. Not only did they lay off the photogs but also the editors who were responsible for selecting the best photos for printing and will now let a computer analyze the photos and make the decision as to what appears in the paper. That should be interesting too. Like foxes guarding the hen house.

What's next, a National Geographic cover photo taken from a cheap $10.00 hand held phone? That should set me back on my heels, big time. If what I see today from such 'technology' is any example maybe I'll dig out my old Kodak Brownie and start sending in photos. Heck, you might see my work on the cover of Life magazine soon.

The sad part is that many of the younger generations will never know what we knew as technology and believe that what they have today is better, faster and more reliable than the old stuff. So far, I'm not impressed with what's available today. You?

Tom
 

Greg58

Well-Known Member
May 1, 2011
5,363
2,590
113
66
Newnan,Georgia
I'm with you on this Tom, I remember we would leave the front door of our house open with only the screen door with the big spring holding it shut. This was done in case one of our neighbors wanted to use the phone, the phone sat on a small table in the corner just inside. We came home many times to find a dime or two where someone had used the phone. They call these new phones "smart phones ", if they are that smart why don't my phone know when I'm trying to slide the unlock thing with gloves on!
 

Greg58

Well-Known Member
May 1, 2011
5,363
2,590
113
66
Newnan,Georgia
Tom, as for the cameras I have yet to find one that take better pictures than my old Minolta 35mm. I got into photograph in the early 80 's, I started with a minolta sr mc2. Its totally manual, I had to do all the adjustment or judgement myself. Sometimes I even got it right. I still have several camera bodies and many lenses, I took a lot of wildlife pictures that could have been use in magazines.
 

fredric3144

Member
Oct 22, 2012
110
1
18
77
lufkin tx
I can't recall exactly how this worked but it had to do with a bicycle spoke, nipple attached, small BBs from a shotgun shell and ground up match heads.

If my memory serves me you packed the nipple with the match head powder, jammed the BB in and held a lit match under the nipple........


Tom
I do I got in trouble at school with mine .
 

gphil

Member
Jan 9, 2011
274
4
18
USA Georgia
I agree with all the above and guess what, can get better reception with old time antenna versus cable they have to modify the signal etc. Yup. Flew aerial photography for the state I reside, did it for thirty years and the old belly camera got excellent sharp resolution versus the newer ones. Beside that could sell off the silver that came off the film, talking 9x9 negatives. The 01 truck I own is throwing codes now and several hundreds dollars later still got fingers crossed. On my old flathead Ford worse was changing the points on the dual front mounted distributors. So right in there with you Tom.
 

massdrive

New Member
Oct 3, 2013
454
3
0
Las Vegas
I don't want to get any of you crusty older flabergeezer's mad or anything, but I'd remove those things on a motorized bicycle. If one got into the spokes, eeek!
Show some respect there lil' pup. Us falbergeerer's rule the world!
We know a lot of things you haven't thought of yet, maybe never will...

Here is an example of some thing you haven't thought of yet;
The leather strap spins on the hub that spins with the wheel, "and the spokes".
If it gets caught in the spokes the worst thing that will happen is only half the hub will be clean... Think about it for just a moment...
Old age and treachery will beat youth and exuberance every time...
brnot .shft. .wee.. .flg.
 

Mike B

New Member
Mar 23, 2011
2,256
7
0
Central CA
I am quite happy with the state of modern technology and have no desire to return to the "dark ages"

New tech can make old tech better. I submit the following as evidence;



2013 Triumph Bonneville. A new old classic. Same classic look, same classic feel. Add double overhead cams and double counter rotating balancers for way less vibration. And fuel injection/oxygen sensors for easy starting & clean running. I hate it when I'm stuck behind some old car/truck on the freeway with a carberator. Just chokin' on the unburned hydrocarbon fumes.



2013 Bottlehead Stereomour. Directly heated triode zero feedback class A audio amplifier. 2A3 tubes from back in the 50's. The sound is incredible. It's a kit that you have to build yourself like motorbikes. But wait, what's this?



Yup, there are a dozen solid states devices here. Field effect transistors and leds make active loads for the tubes allowing even more linear performance that was not available back in the "good old days". The speakers are full range single drivers with neodymium-iron-boron magnets that have a flux density that was not possible back then either.

I don't miss the gigantic heavy CRT TV's either with all the scan lines. I'm much happier with my high def plasma thank you - :)
 

Tinsmith

Well-Known Member
May 15, 2009
1,056
259
83
Maryland
Man, you guys are throwing it out! I just realized I have still have the front screen door with the spring that's open all summer, a rotary phone that we still use, my first Brownie camera and a 69 c10 that I can make go all by myself if it needs fixin'. And of course my motorized bicycles. Guess I'm living in the past huh?
Dan