Popular Mechanics - USA (2020-07)

(Antfer) #1
KICK DRUM PEDAL

The Builders: Aygul and Charlie
Stevens @myn_syn

Aygul Stevens never learned how
to build with instructions. Credit
her inventor dad, who fashioned
makeshift devices out of household
items, like a toe shield built from
toy metal construction pieces.
Now, Stevens has passed on that
DIY ethos to her 5-year-old son,
Charlie.
When Charlie’s teacher tasked
him with building a musical instru-
ment, he decided to make drums.
For the pedal that powers the kick
drum, he and his mom fetched a
few gizmos from Charlie’s Klutz
LEGO kit—his edition was filled
with tools that help kids learn
about physics. With those parts,
they built a system that pulls the
pedal down, and moves the rubber
ball head forward.
Naturally, Charlie enjoys making
plenty of noise with his new gear—
“but he loves the building stage [of
a project] more than the playing
one,” Aygul says.

mable app. Once he designed the
machine, the programming was
easy: Instead of an on/off switch,
he and his son set a distance for the
motion sensor, so when they waved
their hands in front of it, the motor
automatically started.
They’ve since dismantled their
TP device to concoct the next
thing: a contraption that automat-
ically winds spaghetti and feeds it
straight into your mouth.
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