im impressed that the prop stayed together thet was fashioned from a 2X6.....a most impressive feat! necesity IS the mother of invention!

-- tim (milehiharley@hotmail.com), January 21, 2001

Answers

It was a little scary to see people getting in line with the ends of the prop. I have seen airboat props come apart and knock big holes in the boats. I was happy to see that it worked as well as it did. I wonder if there was any calculation as to the length,pitch and HP ratio on that, or was it just "put all you can get from a 2x6 in it". Anyway, that was great work with a chain saw and belt sander. Waddy, "Wreckspert" for the "Rusty J's"

-- Waddy Thompson (cthomp3851@aol.com), January 21, 2001.

I was ripping a 1x6 on a tablesaw a few years ago and the board kicked back. (Kickback is when a board binds between the blade and the fence.) The cut-off piece, which was now about a 1x2, shot off the saw with such force that it was driven into the drywall behind me. (As I was taught, I was NOT standing in the line of the blade. Listen to your safety instructions, boys and girls. This would not have happened on my new saw, which has a blade guard and anti-kickback pawls.)

The power contained in something like the spinning handmade propellor is pretty amazing, and only my faith that the producers would not show an actual fatality on the show kept me from closing my eyes whenever anyone went near that hovercraft. I'm pretty sure that the blade would separate with even more force than the stick shooting off my saw.

[Wear your safety glasses and hearing protection, and make loud noises safely. Remember, real men have 10 fingers, 2 eyes, and 2 working ears.]

-- Rick Tyler (rick@raf.com), January 22, 2001.