Created and written by Vern Craig McGuire
Began back in 1994, A friend gave me an 8 foot Satellite Dish that was all metal tubing with metal screening. I got it with the idea of making an Umbrella Top for a big wooden spool table. But as luck would have it, another friend upgraded their Satellite Dish Television Reception, and asked me if I wanted another one. Well, at that point the creation of The Flying Saucer was born.
There I was with 2 identical Satellite Dishes. I had a big backyard facing Highway 66 (The Mother Road). Just east of town there was a Roadside attraction called “The Shoe Tree”. A giant tree loaded down with dozens of pairs of shoes that people have tossed into its branches. Very Clever, and attracted a lot of People. Well, I thought I could create something else on Highway 66 that could attract the hundreds of travelers that drive Highway 66 from Chicago to California.
This saucer consist of the following:
Base consists of being a Commercial Dryer Vat filled with 15 (90 Lb.) Bags of cement that was hand mixed in a 5-gallon bucket at a time, and poured in. The Vat was secured into the ground with a 6-foot pry bar in the center that was pounded into the ground 41/2 feet with wire and re-bar around it in the center. After the cement was poured, the bottom satellite dish was centered, and bent rods were placed over the bottom tubing of the dish into the wet cement to make it all a solid unified structure. The it was left to harden and set up.
Next the upper Satellite Dish was placed on top and lined up for bolting.
Holes were drilled between the 2 Dishes and bolted together with Bolts, nuts, and lock washers in case of any loosening over a period of time.
The Top Hat to the Saucer consists of the following:
Base Plate is the Front door off of a Commercial Dryer, almost 4 feet across at its center. On top of that is the Top off a Commercial Swimming Pool Filter that I recovered from Stroud Tornado Debris Dumping Site. I also used some of the RODS inside for support of some of the other items on top. In addition there is a Dish Network (non-operable) satellite Dish, and a vintage UHF Grid Antenna. There is a large Stainless steel Globe made from two Large Salad Bowls (had holes). Off the Sides of the domed top, the are 4 Porch supports equilaterally spaced.
The Domed Top and the Dish Satellite Dish are covered in over 100 Platinum Coated aluminum Hard Drive Disks that were salvaged.
Underneath the Top Hat décor, is the upper part of the Saucer:
It consists of 12 Mesh panels. These Panels have all painted Silver, and the Tubing through out the Dish and Top Hat has all been coated with Bright Shiny Aluminum Tape!
The upper part of each section is centered with a large Karaoke or Laser Disk (all Salvaged) On Top of the Large DIsc is a Platinum DIsc, underneath is 5-8 Regular CDs.
The lower part is layered with 16-20 regular plastic Discs.
Each lower section has a disc of Contrasting color for light effects.
Please Note :all discs were screwed in individually, BY Hand!
All discs are pre-drilled by hand so during installation, less breakage.
On the Upper section is a Glass Door off a Vintage Laundromat Washer.
Various Sections of the Lower Part of the Upper Dish have Electric Stove Trim Rings mounted, and inside is painted black to look like the Illusion of portholes. The same treatment lies under the Glass Door Entry into the Sauce.
The Front of the saucer consists of a Ladder section off of a Van, mounted to the dish for security. Upon the ladder are Cow Skulls, encircled by Auto Trim Rings. The Skulls were donated to me by various individuals (They are NOT SYMBOLIC of the Cow Mutilations)
At the bottom of the Ladder is a Space Troopers helmet, 2 Bowling Balls, And 2 Flamingos…
On the Bottom Dish underneath the sections are trimmed with Circular Ceiling Vents and 12″ Speaker Vents, which came from a Friends house remodel.
The Alien on Board: stands about 4 Feet tall, greenly Luminescent. It stands up at night LIT UP for all the people to see. It is firmly anchored, and attached to the ship for safety in storms.
Underneath the Bottom Section is an Opening with a Boat Ladder where is situated a Pair of Legs, in white Jeans.
Around the Silver Painted Base, is 32 Feet of Aluminum Vent Piping.
In addition there are 12 Silver-painted Cement Pipeline Cement Castings.
Then around the Base is an assortment of Boulders gather from various parts of Oklahoma.
As a Finale, there are 24 Solar lights positioned throughout the Saucer for luminosity at night.
How to hack flashlight batteries and a fire brick, into a desktop arc reaction chamber. …For hobby metal melting, and for science!
Some quick links to a few of the materials I used:
[✓] Lantern battery: https://amzn.to/2cgnKxN
[✓] Forstner Bit: https://amzn.to/2c1Ja3V
[✓] 3/8 Drill bit: https://amzn.to/2cgl6rL
Endcard Links:
Micro Welder: https://goo.gl/ZmccT9
Laser Blowgun: https://goo.gl/lu3o0M
Magic Mud: https://goo.gl/5dtyXP
Matchbox Rockets: https://goo.gl/jguunj
See What Else I’m Up To:
Instagram: https://goo.gl/C0Q1YU
Facebook: https://bit.ly/FBTheKingOfRandom
Business Inquiries: For sponsorship requests or business opportunities please contact me directly: https://www.youtube.com/thekingofrandom/about
WARNING:
Risk of electric shock, fire hazards, and toxic fumes depending on what material you’re working with. Dust from refractory brick should never be inhaled, as it can damage lungs and cause long term respiratory challenges. This project can reach temperatures in excess of 3,000ºF (1,648ºC) which is well beyond the melting point of hobbyists. Caution, care and expert planning are required to mitigate risks. Have fun, but always think ahead, and remember that every project you try is at your own risk.
Music By: Scott & Brendo (“Photographs” – Instrumental) https://bit.ly/ScottBrendoiTunes
Project Inspired By:
This project was originally inspired by Theo Grey and his book, “Mad Science”. After seeing the concept, I couldn’t find any information anywhere on the internet or in libraries about arc furnace experiments, so I set out on my own to achieve these results.
Project History & More Info:
If you’re wondering where you can get fire brick locally, try a quick Google search for “refractory materials” in your city. I called a couple of companies near me and asked if they’d sell to the general public. All of them said yes.
If you can’t find anything locally, try searching major hardwares stores online. They usually have inventory online that they don’t carry in the stores.
The insulating fire bricks I got were the 3” x 4.5” x 9” Alumina-Silicate Brick variety. I got a box of 10 for $33, effectively making them around $3.30 each. I went one step further and designed the furnace so that 2 of them could be made from one brick, cutting the cost in half, making each furnace a pro-rated $1.65 each!
They’re extremely lightweight, and capable of withstanding the temperatures used in steel working, but soft enough you can cut and carve them with kitchen utensils if you need to.
In reading and studying history a bit, I learned that some of the earliest forms of light were made using carbon arc lighting. Large amounts of electricity were pumped through carbon rods, making a bright arc and providing light.
To scavenge carbon electrodes, I took a lesson from NurdRage (youtube.com/NurdRage) a couple of years ago I saw his video on what could be scavenged from a carbon-zinc lantern battery (https://bit.ly/IBNurdRageBattery). It’s useful to know what common everyday materials are made of, and these heavy duty batteries are containers packed with carbon rods, zinc metal, and manganese dioxide. I tucked the information in the back of my mind until now.
In this project I tried melting the zinc casings from the lantern batteries, and casting them into a small ingot, formed with a mini muffin tray. Be cautious of the zinc oxide fumes produced. I haven’t personally suffered any ill effects from working with it, but some people claim it can give flu like symptoms, or a fever if inhaled in large quantities.
Zinc has a relatively low melting point 787.2°F (419.5°C), so the Arc Furnace is able to melt each casing into liquid zinc in around 5-10 seconds. That’s amazing!
I don’t have an exact purpose for the zinc yet, but it’s an easy metal to work with, easy to cast, and great to have on hand for a future projects. It’s also one of the main metals used for making a simple carbon-zinc battery.
The black stuff pulled out of the battery casings is manganese dioxide. It’s a useful chemical for experiments with hydrogen peroxide, so it’s worth hanging onto.
Although I haven’t verified it, I believe any stick welder can be used to power the mini arc furnace, and for most hobbyists, that would definitely be the easier and safer way to go. I just don’t own a welder, so I used the one I made instead. You can see how to make it here: https://goo.gl/H0FWxE
The longest I’ve run the unit continuously is around 3-4 minutes, and the electrodes get so hot at that point they can seriously burn your hands, or melt your gloves. I wouldn’t recommend running it any longer than that.