Homemade Ink

Homemade Inck

Writing is an essential part of our everyday lives.  We write to pay our bills, list our grocery items, and leave notes for our loved ones.  Much of the communication that goes on between people are done through writing.   Because of this, the pen and ink are indispensible tools to man.

Pen and ink are available commercially.  But the ink can also be done at home.  Here’s how to do it.

Materials:

Iron nails, carbon tetrachloride, white vinegar, tea leaves, glue, container

Procedure:

1.   Iron acetate and tannic acid can easily be prepared at home.  To make an iron compound, soak some iron nails in carbon tetrachloride.  This will remove the grease coating from the nails.

2.   Let the nails soak in white vinegar for two days.  You have now made a solution of iron acetate.

3.   To make tannic acid, boil three tablespoons of tea leaves in half a cup of water.

4.   Combine equal amounts of iron acetate and tannic acid.  Mix small amount of glue to make the solution thicker.

5.   Test your ink.  You might only see what you wrote after a day.  add a soluble dye to add color to your solution. – Bato Balani

Make Vinyl the Easy Way

You may find the chemistry behind vinyl complicated, but it’s actually simple (see “Ode to Old Vinyl,”).  Yes, you can make your vinyl records with this easy step-by-step guide.

Step 1

You will need a source of PVC.  Many materials contain PVC, including credit cards and pipes.  If in doubt, find your parents’ old records and simply melt these down (make sure to remove the labels first; if not, it will result in an inferior quality record).

Step 2

Melt down you PVC.  This can be done over a kitchen stove.  Avoid breathing in the fumes as they are highly carcionogenic.

Step 3

Add pigment.  Black records may be obtained by added pencil lead (graphite) to the mixture; other colors can be obtained using food colorings.

Step 4

Pour your melted vinyl onto a flat plate and compress with any weights you happen to have lying around.

Step 5

Remove your disk and carve groves into it in a spinal pattern.

Step 6

Play your new record!

 

Rat Control

Rats are one of the most difficult problems framers have to face the whole year round.

For traps, you can dig holes in different locations around the farm.  The holes should be 30 to 40 cms (14 to 18 inches) wide and 50 to 60 cms deep (23 to 28 inches).

Fill the bottom of each hole with water.

Rub the sides of the holes with a mixture of dry ground fish and coconut oil that provides an attractive odor around the hole.

The smell of the oil mixed with the fist attracts rats.

When rats try to eat the food, they will fall into the water at the bottom of the hole. They will be trapped in the hole until you get rid of them.  (PCARRD FARMNEWS, 1992)

 

Making Hollow Blocks

Hollow Block

Materials:

Cement, sand, wooden molds, measuring can, trowel and water

Procedure:

1.  Measure the materials using the measuring can.

2.  Mix 4 parts sand with 4 parts cement thoroughly.

3.  Form a mound and make a circular hole in the middle of the mixture.

4.  Pour about ½ of a measure of water into the hole.  Allow the water to seep into the mixture.  Mix well.  Add more water if needed.  The mixture must not be too dry or too wet.

5.  Place the mold in an upright position on a level surface.  Put the mixture in the mold until half-full.  Pack the mold.  Scrape the surface.

6.  Invert the mold carefully and pull the mold upward.

7.  Sprinkle daily with water for a curing period of 28 days.

8.  Test for compression strength by successively loading heavy objects.  Record the total mass [kilograms] of the objects when the block cracks.  The will tell you how much your hollow blocks can hold. – Bato Balani

Visual source:  cmsb

Charcoal from Corncobs

Charcoal is being explored as one fuel source because it is relatively less expensive, cleaner, safer and more efficient than most current fuel sources.  Charcoal burns hotter and cleaner than wood.  Unlike coal, it does not release sulfur into the atmosphere.  It can also potentially reduce the number of deaths due to fumes from indoor cooking fires.

Charcoal can be produced from inexpensive and widely available refuse materials such as sugarcane, corncobs, or waste paper.  Corncob is an ideal material to use in the Philippines since it is widely available in farms and other agricultural areas.

 

Corncobs

What you need:

Corncobs

200-liter-capacity drum

Water sprinkler

 

Procedure:

1.  Fill the drum one-third of the way with corncobs.  Burn the corncobs until the smoke goes away.  Be careful not to put too much corncobs as they will not burn properly.

2.  Add more corncobs so that the drum is not two-thirds full.  Burn these corncobs until the smoke goes away.

3.  When the smoke has completely dissipated, empty the drum and spread the burnt corncobs.

4.  Sprinkle water on the burnt corncobs.

5.  Leave the corncobs under the sun until completely dried.

6.  Separate the ashes from the charcoal.

7.  Store the charcoal in a clean and dry place.

Use the charcoal for your daily needs or produce them in mass amounts as a source of livelihood.  In either case, you will help yourself and the environment.

Sources

www.mixph.com/2008/04/making-charcoal-from-corn-cobs.html#/more.702

Local materials, low cost and good science add up to technology-for developing nations.  https://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2007/smith-talk.html

Visual source:  howstuffworks

Bottle Cap Magnet

Magnets have a lot of applications.  They are used in electric generators and motors.  They are found on maglev trains and even on a compass.

And there is yet another good use for magnets: decorative papers such as maps, fliers, stamps.  You can sell these to your friends and classmates in school.

 

What you need:

Bottle Cap Magnet

Bottle caps

Soap and water

Towel

Button magnets

General-purpose glue

Clear sealant or decoupage glue

Paintbrush

Paper for decoration, such as map, old letter, flier, stamp

Cardboard to make template the size of bottle cap top

Ink pen or marker

Scissors

 

What you will do:

1. Rinse bottle caps in a mild soap solution.
2. Dry well with a towel.
3. Make a template the size of the bottle cap out of thick card-board.
4. Draw around the template to create circles on decorative paper.
5. Cut out the circles using scissors.
6. Attach the paper circles to the tops of the bottle caps with decoupage glue.
7. Paint decoupage glue over the top of the paper and bottle cap to seal it.  let it dry.
8. Glue button magnets to the underside of the bottle cap with general-purpose glue.  Let it dry.

 

Source: 

www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_home_accessories/article/0,1789,HGTV_3265_4939547,00.html

Puto Bumbong All Year Round

Who says that we can enjoy puto bumbong only during Christmas season?  If you have the right materials and ingredients and you follow the simple steps below, you can enjoy puto bumbong any time of the year.

 

Puto Bumbong (Filipino Delicacy)

What you need:

1 kilogram malagkit or glutinous rice mixed with 125 grams ordinary rice

1 piece mature coconut, shredded

Butter or margarine

Violet food coloring

Banana leaves

2 liters water

2 tablespoons salt

1/3 cup sugar

 

What you will do:

1.   Add salt and food coloring water.

2.   Soak the rice mixture in salted water for 1 hour.  Place the mixture in a flour sack.  Put something heavy on top to squeeze out water.  Let it dry overnight.

3.   Mixture is ready for cooking the following morning.  Heat steamer (lansungan) with enough water.

4.   Put a small amount of rice mixture inside bamboo tubes (bumbong).

5.   Attached bamboo tubes to lansungan or steamer.

6.   When steam comes out of bamboo tubes, remove and immediately push out puto bumbong.

7.   Top with shred coconut and sugar before serving

 

Sources

►  Britt, Robert  Roy.  Mystery Ocean Glow confirmed in Satellite Photo.  www.livescience.com/strangenews/051004_sea_glow.htm

►  Milky Seas from Space.  www.lifesci.ucsb.edu/~biolum/organism/milysea.html

Make Your Own Adhesive

Have you ever wondered what king of adhesive is used in envelopes and stamps?  The glue can be laid down on one surface and dried, and ready to stick to another surface when moistened.

This glue is made from the hides and bones of animals.  But now, you have a chance of making similar glue using different materials.

What you need:

■  1 packet unflavored gelatin

■  1 tablespoon cold water

■  3 tablespoons boiling water

■  ½ teaspoon corn syrup

■  small bowl

■  spoon

■  clean paint brush

■  pieces of paper, clippings, etc.

What you will do:

1.   Sprinkle the package of gelatin over one tablespoon of cold water.  It will swell and soften in about 10 minutes.

2.   When it is soft, add the 3 tablespoons of boiling water and the corn syrup.  Stir until it is dissolved.

3.   Paint the mixture on the pieces of paper.  Let dry.

4.   To use as an adhesive, moisten the dried surface and stick them on other pieces of paper.

 

Sources

►  Britt, Robert Roy.  No Joke:  Animal Laugh Too.  www.livescience.com/animals/050331_laughter_ancient.html

►  Do Animals Laugh?  www.wisegeek.com/do-animals-laugh.htm

 

Potato Croquettes

Did you know that you could make potato coquettes out of potatoes?  A Croquette is actually a small cake of minced food, often coated with bread crumbs and fried in deep fat.  Try making one for yourself.

Ingredients:

One cup mashed potato, one beaten egg, ¼ cup grated carrots, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, ¼ cup ground bread crumbs, ¼ cup milk, ¼ cup shortening

Procedure

1. Blend potato and egg.
2. Add carrot and seasonings.
3. Shape as desired.
4. Dredge with breadcrumbs.  Then dip in milk and again in crumbs.
5. Fry for five minutes or until brown.
6. Allow extra oil to drip.

Reference:  Del Mundo, et.al.  Better Meals with Root Crops. UPLB.

Making the Soil Richer

Fertilizers are used because soil nutrients get depleted over time.  Here’s how to turn your garden or farm soil nutrient-rich.

What You Need

■  plant waste such as leaves, straw, rice hull, grass

■  fresh animal manure from carabao, cow, horse, chicken, etc.

■  kerosene can or basket

■  eight pieces of ipil-ipil post, about 2 inches to 3 inches in diameter, 5 feet in height

■  bamboo

■  shovel, garden fork, bolo 

What You Will Do

1. Choose an elevated, dry, and shady place in your yard to work in.
2. Using ipil-ipil posts or similar material, enclose the area.  Allow space for air at the bottom.
3. Cut the farm waste into 3-inche shreds.  Soak these in water for 5 minutes.  Mix an equal amount of animal manure.
4. On the second day, check if the pile is getting warmer.  Add dissolved fresh manure if the pile is not heating up.  The heat will neutralize microbes and the seeds of weeds and grasses.  It is important that the pile heats up within two days.
5. On the third day, reverse the pile and check if the bottom layer is heating up.  It not, add more dissolved manure.  Keep the pile moist but not wet.
6. On the seventh day, reverse the pile and maintain heat and moisture.
7. On the 10^th day, check if the pile is cooling.  If so, then the compost is done.
8. On the 14^th day or so, the resulting compost should look like dark, coarse, and powdered soil.  As necessary, the compost can be stored up to 18 days.

The resulting compost is an effective fertilizer that will help rejuvenate the soil.

Tips:  Pure plant matter will take longer to decompose.  Adding manure will speed up decomposition.

Source:

► Making Compost in 14 Days.  www.tirc.gov.ph