School projects

I have a substantially well stocked work room downstairs. Stocked with tools, hardware, boards and stuff. In fact, there is a load of stuff! However.....

Early last week a friend came round with her daughter. Seems that the kid had a school project to do, and dad was away, working at the coast, and would not be back in time to help her. Could I, with LuckyL helping? Sure, why not - we love this shit!

So I had a look at the project. Select on of three options :- Get water from point a to point b. (The options gave various uses for the water). No generators or other forms of power allowed (the setting was - We live on a farm, dad does  not want any noise).

Anyway, I picked on that said something about a dam, a 2 meter dam wall, a vegetable garden requiring regular controlled watering...... and set about sketching something.
Downstairs, and LuckyL and I start to take apart a couple of boxed, formulate some ideas, and then we start to build. Randon stuff, a bit here, a bit there, and the project takes shape.
Get a whole lot of parts glued together, and clamped, and we done for the ay. Will continue the next evening.

next day - LuckyL is at Italian classes, so I get to carry on alone.. No problem, a bit more glue here, some cutting / drilling / bolts and a nut, need a reel, and a runner... some rope (read string).... Done for tonight.

Day 3 - I stop on the way home to get some water colours for the final product. Get home, and LuckyL is not around - going to dinner with his slag or something. No matter, I can do this ..... and I do.

Below is a couple of pics.

Overview

 OK, so it's not a work of art - but it's also supposed to have been done by a 13 year old girl, with her dad's help. No use sending in something that could be showcased at the next World Technology expo! Basically, the front white bucket represents the dam (bucket is there for a live test of the functionality). Then a 2 meter raise to the farm land (remember the 2 m dam wall?).
Then a shallow white cap representing the storage dam at the top. The "mechanism" is basically an arm, with a geared winder mechanism, which would be used to lower and raise the bucket. The contraption then swings to towards the storage dam, and the bucket is emptied into  it.

A different angle

Detail of a control valve, and piping to fed water to the vegetable garden (depicted in green)

Draw strings, ropes stuff..... all working of course.

The "Bucket" with contraption to allow it to swing, and be swung for tipping into the holding dam.

The write up that went with this project was probably more important than the actual physical build. You had to give reasons for your choice of design, materials, how it would blend into the environment, impact on the environment, etc. I helped with that too, and we did what I thought was a passable project. I knew she would get a reasonable mark for the effort anyway.

She came around two nights ago, with her mom. Gave LuckyL a bottle of after shave, and me a thank you card.
In it she wrote words to the following:-
Dear Uncle XXX, Thank you so much for taking the time to help me with the project, and the write up.
WE got 96%!!!!!

Nuff sed - was worth every minute!

Salagatle!