You know you're old when...

[hubbahubba]

Originally Posted by MKSixer

Make sure you have a blast shield available...

HA! No doubt!

[corn18]

Do kids these days still make their own black powder and/or flash powder? Had a lot of fun with that although M80's were awesome and readily available without restrictions. We used to blow up everything. We got dangerous when we discovered fertilizer and diesel fuel.

[MKSixer]

Originally Posted by pennsiveguy

Yes!!!

My buddy Chuck and I would beg one of our moms to haul us to the hobby store and we'd grab 2 or 3 of the big D-series engines. We were consummate tinkerers and preferred to build our own rockets rather than use one of the many kits Estes offered.

We had a spectacular failure with one of them when we were about 11 or 12. We'd built the fuselage out of a cardboard paper towel roll, slathered with lacquer for stiffening. Made some cardboard fins for it. All that was missing was a nose cone, so we set out to find one. Our search ended with the discovery of an old hickory wheelbarrow handle, the final 2" or so of which were perfectly sized and contoured to suit our needs. We hacksawed it off and tacked it into the end of the rocket. The fact that this component, at the top of the rocket, outweighed the entire rest of the craft by a factor of probably 6 or 8 was lost in our enthusiasm, though it would soon be evident how it affected the rocket's trajectory. There's a good chance that the home-made hard cider we illicitly fermented in the attic of Chuck's house had clouded our calculations.

We got it finished and waited for my mom to come pick me up, so both our moms could see the launch. We stuck a length of cannon fuse up the bung of the engine (no fancy-schmancy electric ignitions for us, no-siree) and awaited takeoff. When the spark hit the engine the rocket immediately tipped over and flew horizontal and hit Chuck right in the gut at a pretty high speed, and then spun around on the ground for a couple of seconds. Our moms panicked hysterically, and Chuck and I were pissing ourselves laughing. Chuck was fine, and we both became better engineers thanks to the tennis ball-sized welt he got on his belly.

We ended up converting the rocket into a rocket sled by drilling a hole through the nose cone and threading a coat hanger through the whole and bending it into a skid on either side. We sent it down the frozen river that winter, to our great amusement.

And such was a typical weekend in the life of 2 smart, curious, and mischievous lads back in the '70s. I don't think kids nowadays have such experiences, and they're the poorer for it.

Talk about parallel upbringings! I was with you in spirit doing this! Did you ever fire anything with an E motor before they were pulled?

If any of this was done now, the kids would be arrested, placed on a terror watch list, etc. So sad.

[pennsiveguy]

Okay, who else had a home-made tennis ball cannon?

We used 4 or 5 tennis ball cans, with the bottoms cut out of the top 3 or 4 and duct-taped together end-to-end. Had a small vent hole in the bottom one. Drop a tennis ball down into it, shoot some Aqua-Net hairspray into the vent hole, and set it off with a lighter. Probably only went 100 yards or so, but it was big fun for us.

[MKSixer]

Originally Posted by corn18

Do kids these days still make their own black powder and/or flash powder? Had a lot of fun with that although M80's were awesome and readily available without restrictions. We used to blow up everything. We got dangerous when we discovered fertilizer and diesel fuel.

OMG. You're taking me back to 1975 when we lived in Manhattan, KS. Ft. Riley was a few miles outside of town and we'd always go exploring around there and one day found some unspent shells. We gathered about 8 or 10 oz of black powder and started building a megashell. Just as we were about to detonate, my parents made me go back inside because they had some event or another to attend. About 15 mins later I hear the huge detonation and sirens about 5 mins later. The megashell blew up, burned my 2 friends with 2nd and 3rd degree burns sending them to the hospital. I literally dodged a bullet.

Life is made up of a bunch of close calls.

[MKSixer]

Originally Posted by pennsiveguy

Okay, who else had a home-made tennis ball cannon?

We used 4 or 5 tennis ball cans, with the bottoms cut out of the top 3 or 4 and duct-taped together end-to-end. Had a small vent hole in the bottom one. Drop a tennis ball down into it, shoot some Aqua-Net hairspray into the vent hole, and set it off with a lighter. Probably only went 100 yards or so, but it was big fun for us.

Hell yes!!
This is bringing back long-buried childhood memories.

Did anyone do bottle-rocket and roman candle wars?

[hubbahubba]

Originally Posted by MKSixer

Talk about parallel upbringings! I was with you in spirit doing this! Did you ever fire anything with an E motor before they were pulled?

If any of this was done now, the kids would be arrested, placed on a terror watch list, etc. So sad.

It's your lucky day, MK. Get your E engines here
Send pics of the launch!

[quick6]

You played guns with your friends.

[corn18]

For some reason, my younger brother and I found it hilarious to throw rocks at each other from across the garden (maybe 40 yards). Also had BB gun fights.

Those were the days when you left in the morning and the only rule was to be home before the street lights came on. In the summer, that would be 10 pm. Parents had no idea where we were and what we were doing. No find my phone crap back then. And we weren't playing video games. Boating, hiking, fishing, hunting, riding our bikes for miles and miles. Damn that was fun and educational, if not a bit Darwinian.

[pennsiveguy]

Originally Posted by MKSixer

Talk about parallel upbringings! I was with you in spirit doing this! Did you ever fire anything with an E motor before they were pulled?

If any of this was done now, the kids would be arrested, placed on a terror watch list, etc. So sad.

I remember the D's being the biggest thing we could get, so no experience with the E's. We tried multiple times to get the rocket to explode when it reached altitude, but with no success. We loaded 12-gauge shells with powder and ran a fuse into the primer pocket from the top of the engine, but when the parachute charge of the engine went off, it all just came apart.

Forgot to mention that in the story of the hickory nose cone, Chuck was standing about 10 feet directly in front of the picture window of the living room of their house. If the rocket hadn't hit Chuck, it would have surely gone through that window and raised hell in the house. A lucky break, that would have ended our rocketry careers for sure.

We used to set up vast battleground layouts of Army men and blow everything up by burying firecrackers and M-80s amongst them and shooting into the battlefield with our BB guns. We had one Army man we called "Cyclops" because he had a BB embedded in his face. Good times. And yeah, a kid doing that nowadays would end up in a juvenile correction facility, a foster home, a straightjacket...who knows.

[pennsiveguy]

Originally Posted by corn18

For some reason, my younger brother and I found it hilarious to throw rocks at each other from across the garden (maybe 40 yards). Also had BB gun fights.

Those were the days when you left in the morning and the only rule was to be home before the street lights came on. In the summer, that would be 10 pm. Parents had no idea where we were and what we were doing. No find my phone crap back then. And we weren't playing video games. Boating, hiking, fishing, hunting, riding our bikes for miles and miles. Damn that was fun and educational, if not a bit Darwinian.

Same here. We'd come home at supper time, filty and starving and out of BBs and firecrackers. We built tree forts, snow forts, rafts, go-karts, all sorts of stuff. I figured out how to fix a Crossman 760 pump-up pellet gun that wouldn't hold pressure, and became the neighborhood armorer. We thought we could solve any problem or build anything with enough effort and enough pilfered parts...and we were usually right.

[pennsiveguy]

Originally Posted by MKSixer

Hell yes!!
This is bringing back long-buried childhood memories.

Did anyone do bottle-rocket and roman candle wars?

Shit yeah. I got my ass smacked for hand-launching a bottle rocket - "with report" - at a family 4th of July party and having it fly up into my aunt Lola's armpit and lodge there and blow up. Lola wasn't particularly pissed, but my old man sure was. Ouch!

[MKSixer]

Originally Posted by hubbahubba

It's your lucky day, MK. Get your E engines here
Send pics of the launch!

Thanks!! I've retired!!

Originally Posted by quick6

You played guns with your friends.

BB guns, yes!!

Originally Posted by corn18

For some reason, my younger brother and I found it hilarious to throw rocks at each other from across the garden (maybe 40 yards). Also had BB gun fights.

Those were the days when you left in the morning and the only rule was to be home before the street lights came on. In the summer, that would be 10 pm. Parents had no idea where we were and what we were doing. No find my phone crap back then. And we weren't playing video games. Boating, hiking, fishing, hunting, riding our bikes for miles and miles. Damn that was fun and educational, if not a bit Darwinian.

So true...especially the Darwinian part. We had friends who lost fingers to fireworks. No big deal for the rest of us. We figured they held on too long and should refine their techniques. Dumb bastards.

Originally Posted by pennsiveguy

I remember the D's being the biggest thing we could get, so no experience with the E's. We tried multiple times to get the rocket to explode when it reached altitude, but with no success. We loaded 12-gauge shells with powder and ran a fuse into the primer pocket from the top of the engine, but when the parachute charge of the engine went off, it all just came apart.

Forgot to mention that in the story of the hickory nose cone, Chuck was standing about 10 feet directly in front of the picture window of the living room of their house. If the rocket hadn't hit Chuck, it would have surely gone through that window and raised hell in the house. A lucky break, that would have ended our rocketry careers for sure.

We used to set up vast battleground layouts of Army men and blow everything up by burying firecrackers and M-80s amongst them and shooting into the battlefield with our BB guns. We had one Army man we called "Cyclops" because he had a BB embedded in his face. Good times. And yeah, a kid doing that nowadays would end up in a juvenile correction facility, a foster home, a straightjacket...who knows.

The way to get them to explode in the air was to use a first stage motor for a multi-stage rocket and put the m-80, fuse down, so that when the firing charge which would normally ignite the second stage, ignited the M-80. Using an engine that was timed gave a little coasting interval and would allow a little altitude to be gained...only a second or two at max. Mind you, this is what a good friend told me.

Originally Posted by pennsiveguy

Same here. We'd come home at supper time, filty and starving and out of BBs and firecrackers. We built tree forts, snow forts, rafts, go-karts, all sorts of stuff. I figured out how to fix a Crossman 760 pump-up pellet gun that wouldn't hold pressure, and became the neighborhood armorer. We thought we could solve any problem or build anything with enough effort and enough pilfered parts...and we were usually right.

The Crossmans were the equivalent of the Barrett Sniper rifles back in the day. The Daisy machine BB gun powered by 3 CO2 cartridges was the spray and pray golden standard. So much pain.

How the hell did we survive it all?

[MKSixer]

Originally Posted by pennsiveguy

Shit yeah. I got my ass smacked for hand-launching a bottle rocket - "with report" - at a family 4th of July party and having it fly up into my aunt Lola's armpit and lodge there and blow up. Lola wasn't particularly pissed, but my old man sure was. Ouch!

One 4th, we terrorized my best friends' neighborhood with a multi-front battle plan. Dozens of kids broken up into squads and skirmishing for hours. Once it was over, all of the non-neighbors were banned from the next years gathering. Good times.

[pennsiveguy]

And then there were the go-kart wars.

We had a big (well, it seemed big at the time) hill to race down, before we started putting motors on our karts. My buddy Mike Cleveland and I were in a bitter go-kart rivalry with a couple other neighborhood lads. So rancorous that it would make today's F1 squabbles look like a bridge club where one of the blue-hairs had 1 too many Manhattans.

Mike and I built a really crude sled-like kart out of Lawn Boy wheels, heavy plywood and 2x4s, with rope steering. The other guys built a much fancier kart using the steering and back axle out of a pedal car, but the fuselage was just flimsy panelling. I was our driver, since Mike was a couple years older and was a big strong kid and thus a better pusher. Our sole strategy was to wreck their car, and it worked. They complained and trash-talked, so we'd let them fix their car and promise to adopt a more "gentlemanly" approach for a while but their kart was faster than ours so we'd revert to the "demolition derby" strategy and put them back on the trailer...so to speak.

[MKSixer]

Originally Posted by pennsiveguy

And then there were the go-kart wars.

We had a big (well, it seemed big at the time) hill to race down, before we started putting motors on our karts. My buddy Mike Cleveland and I were in a bitter go-kart rivalry with a couple other neighborhood lads. So rancorous that it would make today's F1 squabbles look like a bridge club where one of the blue-hairs had 1 too many Manhattans.

Mike and I built a really crude sled-like kart out of Lawn Boy wheels, heavy plywood and 2x4s, with rope steering. The other guys built a much fancier kart using the steering and back axle out of a pedal car, but the fuselage was just flimsy panelling. I was our driver, since Mike was a couple years older and was a big strong kid and thus a better pusher. Our sole strategy was to wreck their car, and it worked. They complained and trash-talked, so we'd let them fix their car and promise to adopt a more "gentlemanly" approach for a while but their kart was faster than ours so we'd revert to the "demolition derby" strategy and put them back on the trailer...so to speak.

We had one of these in Kansas. Rope steering is one of the most hazardous things EVER created. What a freaking disaster. And don't even talk about a wheel seizing up. Stitches at minimum.

Our bicycles were also a disaster. Ramps. On one occasion, we kept increasing the angle until on my last run, I couldn't build the necessary velocity for a smooth launch. As I approached the end of the ramp, gravity took over, the ramp flipped forward into the air and smacked me over the head dropping me like a bad habit. I was out for about 2 or 3 mins. In less than 5 minutes we were adjusting the ramp angle downward to an optimal launch angle. Yeah, we didn't care. Not one bit.

[pennsiveguy]

Originally Posted by corn18

For some reason, my younger brother and I found it hilarious to throw rocks at each other from across the garden (maybe 40 yards). Also had BB gun fights.

Those were the days when you left in the morning and the only rule was to be home before the street lights came on. In the summer, that would be 10 pm. Parents had no idea where we were and what we were doing. No find my phone crap back then. And we weren't playing video games. Boating, hiking, fishing, hunting, riding our bikes for miles and miles. Damn that was fun and educational, if not a bit Darwinian.

There was a regulatory mechanism in place that was mostly fair. If you took the tomfoolery too far and/or someone got hurt, one of the neighbors would haul you home by the ear and tell your parents what you'd done. And as you point out, firearms and explosives are effective skimmers on the gene pool. We never had any tragedies, but there were a few broken bones and cuts and burned hands.

[pennsiveguy]

Originally Posted by MKSixer

Thanks!! I've retired!!



BB guns, yes!!



So true...especially the Darwinian part. We had friends who lost fingers to fireworks. No big deal for the rest of us. We figured they held on too long and should refine their techniques. Dumb bastards.



The way to get them to explode in the air was to use a first stage motor for a multi-stage rocket and put the m-80, fuse down, so that when the firing charge which would normally ignite the second stage, ignited the M-80. Using an engine that was timed gave a little coasting interval and would allow a little altitude to be gained...only a second or two at max. Mind you, this is what a good friend told me.



The Crossmans were the equivalent of the Barrett Sniper rifles back in the day. The Daisy machine BB gun powered by 3 CO2 cartridges was the spray and pray golden standard. So much pain.

How the hell did we survive it all?

On Christmas Eve when we were about 7 or 8, my stepbrother and I got Daisy 1894 BB guns. We were so excited. We dressed up and loaded up the guns and went out onto the front porch of my Grandma's house and started shooting icicles off the edge of the roof. We didn't find out until the next day that we'd put out 3 windows in the house across the street.

Oops!

[dinonz]

Originally Posted by MKSixer

You were extremely lucky that no one was injured. I'm surprised they still sell them. Potential for danger in the extreme whether intended on not!

Cheers-mk

Indeed - they look pretty unstable to me after launch - hardly flying nice and straight.

[tcphoto]

MKSixer, what boy growing up in the ‘70s didn’t love going into a hobby shop?

[Captain Blood]

Originally Posted by MKSixer

Hell yes!!
This is bringing back long-buried childhood memories.

Did anyone do bottle-rocket and roman candle wars?

In moving cars........

[corn18]

Originally Posted by tcphoto

MKSixer, what boy growing up in the ‘70s didn’t love going into a hobby shop?

I remember the smell very clearly. It was magical. I was a dungeon master.