What's the most impressive thing you've every built?

16 Aug 2005

I've spent most of the afternoon contemplating building enough radiator covers to equip a reasonably large house, and a few breaks looking up info for my preferred dream project - turning 20-something sheets of plywood, a stack of 2x4s, and a decent sized pile of other bits and pieces into a 20-foot yacht complete with two masts, a cabin, and pilot house .
This got me wondering how many of you guys/girls have built something you consider impressive, whether due to it's size, complexity, or other reason?
N.B. To avoid the obvious comments from all the mums and dads on here I'm not prepared to consider the production of new humans unless you can put them together from component parts, Dr. Frankenstein style.

16 Aug 2005

im a gardener and have been known to turn wasteland into something im proud of. done a couple of big flower shows as part of a team to. everyones gotta take pride in something.

16 Aug 2005

Me and a mate built a two seater plane a few years ago....
Yes a real one lol

And it does really fly. Took us about three years to do and NO I'll never do it again mad

16 Aug 2005

I once built a small tropical country, complete with working infrastructure, economic structure, various cultures and sub cultures, political, social and economic hierarchies, and an GDP that would shame most â€œDevelopedâ€ nations.
Does that beat the boat ??
PS, I have actually lied, it was quite a big Country wink

16 Aug 2005

When others around me had taken away, given up hope on me and treated me badly ... I picked myself up and rebuilt my life ... taken from having absolutely nothing including no hope to the person I am today ...and you know what
Fecking fine job I've done if I do say so myself
:thumbup:
C x

16 Aug 2005

a couple of things....a hyabusa turbo powered caterham 7
a 3m long radio controlled powerboat
oh, and i once made a medievil torture rack...special order when i was once a welder.

16 Aug 2005

Quote by bhd1976
I've spent most of the afternoon contemplating building enough radiator covers to equip a reasonably large house, and a few breaks looking up info for my preferred dream project - turning 20-something sheets of plywood, a stack of 2x4s, and a decent sized pile of other bits and pieces into a 20-foot yacht complete with two masts, a cabin, and pilot house

I bet you end up with a raft!

:laughabove: :rotflmao: :laughabove:
I've never built anything ever in my life but my parents will testify ... with vehemence ... that I, Wishmaster, did wilfully and with malicious aforethought, completely dismantle our new telly when I was 9. It was my dad's fault for trying to replace the valve and letting me watch and NOT putting his tools away after him - I thought I was helping him, no need for the thick ear he gave me later, I was expecting sweets!

16 Aug 2005

I once watched one of those make-over TV programmes !!! So thought I would have a go and do a bit of DIY while my hubby was at work !!
I went out and spend about Â£300 on 8 bits of wood loads of 6 inch nails and yards and yards of silk !!
I spent all afternoon building my surprise ..... finally I finished ......... tidied up ........... shut the bedroom door and went downstairs..
My hubby came in from work, we went out for dinner ............. had a great meal .......and it was soon time for bed and for him to see my Masterpiece !!!
I told him I had a surprise for him in the bedroom !!! He practically ran up the stairs !!!
He opened the bedroom door and laughed :shock: not what I had expected :shock:
I had spent all afternoon making our normal bed into a four poster ........... with broom handles and six inch nails................. it worked on the TV !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is a true blonde story
Sam xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

16 Aug 2005

Quote by blonde
I once watched one of those make-over TV programmes !!! So thought I would have a go and do a bit of DIY while my hubby was at work !!
I went out and spend about Â£300 on 8 bits of wood loads of 6 inch nails and yards and yards of silk !!
I spent all afternoon building my surprise ..... finally I finished ......... tidied up ........... shut the bedroom door and went downstairs..
My hubby came in from work, we went out for dinner ............. had a great meal .......and it was soon time for bed and for him to see my Masterpiece !!!
I told him I had a surprise for him in the bedroom !!! He practically ran up the stairs !!!
He opened the bedroom door and laughed :shock: not what I had expected :shock:
I had spent all afternoon making our normal bed into a four poster ........... with broom handles and six inch nails................. it worked on the TV !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is a true blonde story
Sam xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Coz I know blonde personally......... I actually believe her!!!!

16 Aug 2005

1 tarmac plant, complete with hot storage, batching plant, drier, mixer and control cabin.
boring but truthful.

16 Aug 2005

Quote by Wishmaster
I bet you end up with a raft!
I've never built anything ever in my life but my parents will testify ... with vehemence ... that I, Wishmaster, did wilfully and with malicious aforethought, completely dismantle our new telly when I was 9. It was my dad's fault for trying to replace the valve and letting me watch and NOT putting his tools away after him - I thought I was helping him, no need for the thick ear he gave me later, I was expecting sweets!

Bet you I don't.
Having said that, I'm planning to build a much smaller boat first to practice my skills.
I also have a record of dismantling stuff as a child - in my case it was my great aunt's new gas fire when I was about 18 months old, and it ended up in a state not even the bloke from British Gas could fix. redface

16 Aug 2005

a 1980 ironhead sportster !!!
cost loads !!
S

16 Aug 2005

I had built this ^
I have now turned it into this ......
banghead

16 Aug 2005

Quote by teppic
a 3m long radio controlled powerboat

Bloody hell, that's bigger than some of the dinghies I've been looking at plans for.

Quote by teppic
oh, and i once made a medievil torture rack...special order when i was once a welder.

That sounds interesting (from a technical POV), was it for a museum/tourist attraction or something more kinky? I've often wondered if there was much of a market for that kind of thing.

16 Aug 2005

Built a beer can stack over 13' tall with alittle help from friends. Had over 92 cans in it. lol

:lol: :lol: All empty

16 Aug 2005

Quote by Bikerguy82
Me and a mate built a two seater plane a few years ago....
Yes a real one And it does really fly. Took us about three years to do and NO I'll never do it again

Fair play, that's a good bit more impressive than my boat will be. Having said that, there's a bloke in Canada who's website I've seen who wants to build a single seat STOL aircraft (I forget which one) and a 110 foot long powerboat to use as an aircraft carrier. I think he's a bit mad, but I'd love to see them if they ever get built.

16 Aug 2005

Pololady - is that hole going to be a pond/sandpit/very small outdoor pool, or are fallout shelters coming back into fashion 'round your way?

16 Aug 2005

Quote by bhd1976
Pololady - is that hole going to be a pond/sandpit/very small outdoor pool, or are fallout shelters coming back into fashion 'round your way?

No I just wanted to uncover the concrete remains of the Anderson Shelter hidden under the grass! I thought it would make a good talking point at parties lol

16 Aug 2005

Re built a 1952 Triumph 500cc speed twin, and a small English fruit orchard (more planted than built) biggrin

:D

16 Aug 2005

Quote by PoloLady
No I just wanted to uncover the concrete remains of the Anderson Shelter hidden under the grass! I thought it would make a good talking point at parties

Fair enough, I was trying to work out what all the corrugations were, now it all become clear.

16 Aug 2005

Quote by bhd1976
Fair play, that's a good bit more impressive than my boat will be..

I doubt it...There's a good deal of work in a boat and remember a boat can sink just as easily as a plane can crash. cool

Lots of luck with your project.....Measure twice, measure again. Have a think about it, measure twice again and then cut once :!:

16 Aug 2005

Quote by Bikerguy82
I doubt it...There's a good deal of work in a boat and remember a boat can sink just as easily as a plane can crash.
Lots of luck with your project.....Measure twice, measure again. Have a think about it, measure twice again and then cut once :!:

Well yes, the difference is that I have a good chance of surviving even the catastrophic failure of part of my boat, whereas a failure in an aircraft generally has more serious consequences.
Thanks, as long as I get something that sails straight and keeps the water on the outside I'll be a happy man.

16 Aug 2005

Most impressive thing I have ever built is my Home Cinema Room out of the downstairs granny flat.

16 Aug 2005

A big wheel with my mechano set when i was in my early teens!!
It worked too lol

and a lego castle took me hours :bounce: but i done it.

16 Aug 2005

Quote by friendly
A big wheel with my mechano set when i was in my early teens!!
It worked too
and a lego castle took me hours :bounce: but i done it.

A 1/24th scale model of a De Havilland Mosquito Mk 12( I think ) - when I was recovering from a dislocated patella, age 13! I even got the undercarriage to hold it up!!! ( Bit of a total numpty when it comes to anything practical )

16 Aug 2005

Quote by bhd1976
Me and a mate built a two seater plane a few years ago....
Having said that, there's a bloke in Canada who's website I've seen who wants to build a single seat STOL aircraft (I forget which one) and a 110 foot long powerboat to use as an aircraft carrier. I think he's a bit mad, but I'd love to see them if they ever get built.

having worked on the real things that guy is going to need all the help he can get.... they are a pain in the butt

16 Aug 2005

Quote by just2and1more
Me and a mate built a two seater plane a few years ago....
Having said that, there's a bloke in Canada who's website I've seen who wants to build a single seat STOL aircraft (I forget which one) and a 110 foot long powerboat to use as an aircraft carrier. I think he's a bit mad, but I'd love to see them if they ever get built.

having worked on the real things that guy is going to need all the help he can get.... they are a pain in the butt
To be fair he's a former carrier pilot (HMCS Bonaventure IIRC), so he's got a fair idea of the difficulties involved. If it comes off it should look pretty cool when he lands the plane - the boat will go significantly faster than the stall speed of the plane, so he should be able to do near-vertical landings with a bit of practice.
still, rather him than me.

16 Aug 2005

Quote by smokerjim
A 1/24th scale model of a De Havilland Mosquito Mk 12( I think ) - when I was recovering from a dislocated patella, age 13! I even got the undercarriage to hold it up!!! ( Bit of a total numpty when it comes to anything practical )

That must have been a pretty impressive model (a quick search on Wikipedia followed by some maths says it'd have had a wingspan of about 27 inches). I'm about 20% of the way through converting an Airfix 1/72 Catalina into a model of a post-war water bomber, the first time I've picked up a scalpel and milliput in about 15 years.*
Actually I've got one you might appreciate Smokerjim - when I was a student I built a 'water pipe' out of one of these:
*Yes, I do need to get laid more often.

16 Aug 2005

I've built two computers and they actually worked first time when I switched them on lol

and still working now 1 year later ... damn site cheaper than buying a ready built one from the shops too but a lot more stressful evil

16 Aug 2005

Quote by PoloLady
No I just wanted to uncover the concrete remains of the Anderson Shelter hidden under the grass! I thought it would make a good talking point at parties

:rotflmao: :rotflmao:
Good plan PL worship

......... or it is in theory - now where are you gonna put the people at parties??? :undecided: