Problems with Improvising

One Hundred Sixty Second Post: Problems with Improvising

One problem with lacking materials, or time to come up with a suitable rig, is that constructing a workable machine or device is made much more difficult than it would be with the proper tools. It is difficult to construct working machines when the tools and labor are available. Think about the design when the tools and time are available. The product is drawn, prototyped, and then tested. Hiking through the woods or being in an area far from any town, the best tool the tinkerer has is a Swiss Army knife or a multi tool pliers.

This is the problem you face when trying to answer a MakeShift solution or watching an episode of Macgyver. It is also popular on “Junk Yard Wars,” a show that puts teams against each other using the equipment they find in the junk yard. Once you try it for yourself, you find that although you might indeed have a valid solution, it is not possible to manufacture the machine due to the fact that the materials aren’t available. So the only thing to do is try to find some other solution with the materials on hand. It forces you to think harder for the solution. But it just might happen that the less obvious answer was better and you would have missed it without the challenge.

Also when you improvise there is no easy way to figure the forces and test how the pieces of the machine are going to work. Making specialized parts would take time. So it is an art form tinkering with the machine until it works. As in the book “Caveman Chemistry” you now have technical knowledge in a primitive world. (Which is a discussion itself.)

I write this as I am brainstorming ideas for MakeShift 04. On this one I’m not seeing the use for the available items, but I do have one plan that may work. I want to explain it, but I can’t reveal my answer at this time. So in the meantime.... May the Creative Force be with You