Pop-Pop?

Whilst it may be a nice, but small, piece of social history to learn that in 1891, Thomas Piot applied for a British patent on a toy boat he constructed, sadly the man himself faded into obscurity.
What is interesting for us however, is that the principle for propulsion is returning pressure wave action. Perhaps with this simple little tin boat the first stirrings of expansion chamber function was kindled?

Google.......Desire Thomas Piot; The whole story is there, and its interesting stuff, anything that may involve pressure waves is worth looking at, see what you think, have a go at making one!

Trevor

Hi Trevor,

I may be the only person on this forum who has made one of these little Ships (Ships go on top of the water Boats go underneath the water). While in the first year at secondary school, under of the tuition of my metalwork teacher Ken Shrubshore (I mention his name because it was he who gave me the interest in engineering and mechanics that has ultimately led me to be who I am know) my class and I made these little pop-pop ships out of tin plate and solder.

This is has nothing to do with Bantam racing but you have reawakened a memory from years gone by that I hope will make others think of who or what led them into eventually becoming a Bantam racer.

Mick.

There you go Mick, something else we share in common!

Actually I can`t claim to have made a pop-pop but as a small boy I watched my father poring over a drawing from a borrowed library book, cutting up bean cans, twisting copper tubing and making a tiny methylated spirit burner with a string wick. The kitchen cooker heated up a huge copper soldering iron, mum wasn`t best pleased with the fumes from flux burning off, filling the house with an acrid pong. Dad got the thing popping away in the bath. I was entranced but mum tut-tutted away that she couldn`t get me to the bath for hygienic reasons but playing with toys was something she couldn`t compete with!

Great fun and as you found, a multi layered educational experience, boys and their toys!

Cheers, Trevor

PS. Good to have you contributing to the forum again. Email awaits you?















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Hi Trevor & MicK!
I go all peculiar (some say I am and was already) when people mention their learning years because I never told my Dad how proud of him -- I was --  after he had said that of me....

Fact is we made a model steam engine at my age of eight and He was 38. Then I made a similar model at age ten where I díd all the soldering and assembly. It was Sunday Dinner treat (we called it LUNCH after the war!) to have a model steam engine  chuffing away on the draining board whilst we ate -- two of them actually, 2 years apart -- until their methelated spirits ran out....

At ten I  could solder nipples onto brake & clutch cables long before I knew what a real nipple was...

Dad made a Crystal Set and I have ever since been trying ti find out how it worked but the trouble, just lately, I keep forgetting what it was I was doing a few moments ago.

Better I shut up  -- and curl up in a corner somewhere...


Have a good time at Cadwell....

Schnarsch! I cannot get there...


Cheers!

JayBee -- ever closer to ex....