Same here. My mom was a seamstress and my father a cabinet maker in his spare time. He made me lots of them when I was in kindergarden, but when I was about four or five he tought me how to make them myself. I ended up with a large fleet of them. I tought my son how to make them as well. Between us we have about fifty of them.
What a lucky childhood without computer games and mobile phones. But with joy to get a toy from your father or grandfather made by himself and having a good time with it. It's not all better in the modern times. Thank you for sharing your memories with us and greetings from Germany.
These were the toys for so many of us in our childhood. This was a thread spool from out of Mothers sewing gear. How many here remember the whirligig that we made from large buttons and a stout piece of cotton string? Or the spin tops you could make with a nail and a slice of a tree branch or a wooden button? Who remembers the baking soda powered submarines that came in some breakfast cereals? Or the rockets that were powered with baking soda and vinegar made from a pop bottle, a cork and so tissue? Remember making a compass from a needle, a piece of cloth, and a leaf? Or stealing fence pickets and making battleships out of them with some nails and a few other stakes cut to shape? (You could make airplanes much the same way) How about kites from some newspaper and dried out twigs or if you had some money tissue wrapping paper? For those of us who lived in the north how many remember making igloos in the winter? Didn't we all make our underground forts from junk to conceal our hole in the ground? Lets not even talk about tree houses. What about building a raft for the local pond so we could go sailing. Remember making a motor for your bicycle from a piece of cardboard and a clothes pin. And there were dozens of more items to make. We were only limited by the extent of our imagination. Although crude, making these things taught us how to use tools to build things and employ various principles to make them work. They also taught you to be inventive and helped to make you self sufficient. We "oldsters" managed to do a hell of a lot with our hard earned skills and managed to make our way in life without the internet and facebook.
I remember making these as a kid, only we used a button with the center out instead of the wax. it is almost a lost art making little things like this We also made whistles from willow and also from metal strapping. we found ways to keep occupied. Thanks for the memory.
Nice. My dad showed me how to make one of those back in the 70s. I used to bevel the wax rub collar to make the stick point towards the center. Many varieties and sizes for sure. Climbing over obstacles. So much fun!
That has bought back memories of my dad making one, it would have been in the late 1940's or early 1950's. Mum or Nan would have an empty cotton reel in her sewing box, dad would use a piece of wax candle along with the rubber band and stick. I'm going to make a couple for my great grand kids, sad my kids and grand kids missed out as I had forgotten. What a great project.
if you rub more wax on the wood face side, the movement will be smoother, and slower, and steadier. age: 6 year: 1965 I made my own toy, we called it the "Tank"
We made these in the 60s we called them tanks .we also made catapults from tree branches, bows and arrows,throwing arrows. My elder brother made a crystal set to listen to the radio. Also we had a long wire through the gardens to our friends house with a headphone on each end to communicate. Dad was an electrician.
Yes indeed, remember making those as a kid. When I came across a few wooden cotton reels in my late mother’s things, I instantly thought of these tanks. Thanks for this.
We called them “spools” in America and rubbed soap on one end for limited friction. Also made rubber band pistols, wooden spinning tops and shot marbles out of a ring drawn in the sand. Couldn’t play for “keeps” though, which was considered gambling.
I made my first truck toy cut from a 2x4 stacked and glued together. Along with some shaping and some paint, wheels made a little different then yours but from logs and branches. Thanks for sharing!
Used to make this in the early 60s, we called it the tank , made out of old cotton reels like you say. Spent hours playing with them in the long winter of 62.
I made those as whenever my mother used up a spool of thread! My father showed me how to make them, and his mother showed him. I'm an old man now, so that history spans a hundred years. Thanks for the memories!
Max I am 70 and I used to use the empty wooden spools from Mama's sewing thread to make those. I had forgotten about them until I saw you making this one. Great times. Thanks for sharing with us.
this brought back memories and a smile from the "shadows if my mind"..... my dad built me these from thread bobbins he got from my mother when I was little back in the early 60's. Thank you!
One of my greatest memories of my grandmother involves these little spool racers. My brother and I were very young and we were at a wedding reception where the bride and groom were running very late. We were extremely bored and my grandmother like a superhero digs 2 wooden thread spools and 2 rubber bands out of her pocketbook. She used them along with toothpicks and cocktail stirrers to make use each our own little racer. We spent the entire time having races in the corner of the room. I don't even think we bothered to stop to eat our dinner. ❤️
We made them in South Africa too . Never thought I'd see one of those again. Those wooden cotton spools made lots of toys. My father made some exellent wooden toys for me. Even a tower crane from dowels and off cut pieces of board, with a hand crank using those same wooden spools as pulleys. The crane also rotated on its base and had its own wheels. Another of his favorite building materials was used tomato boxes. The thin quarter inch wood was used to make aeroplane wings. The bodies were from 2x3 off cut construction pine. Come to think of it there were planes, trains, wagons, ships and even a helicopter. Simple durable toys that lasted my whole childhood. Never had much store bought stuff never needed any. Thanks Dad for teaching me to appreciate things and to take care of them. May you rest in peace.
Thanks for the nostalgia trip. I remember when my father showed me how to make one of these with a cotton reel and a stick - would have been early 1960's. I made one on my own afterwards with a cotton reel and a pencil. When I ran it across the (white) table cloth the pencil faithfully recorded its progress...
Thanks Max, that brought back a lot of memory's. I made many of those when I was a kid by robbing my Moms sewing supplies. :-) As soon as I saw the videos thumbnail picture I knew exactly what it was.
Turning Point. Same here. It was something we could make, and enjoyed it muchly. Used soap as the slip bearing. Sometimes let the retaining stick protrude enough to provide extra traction.
Does anyone remember how we made a pea shooter out of two clothes pins the wood ones with spring ? The spool tank we call them was great toy we made . Thanks
When you started the build I hoped this was the same toy my dad made for me when I was young. Yep, same one. I haven’t seen it since I made one for my daughters, when they were toddlers, 36 years ago. They loved it, as did I making it for them. I had to smile, watching you. Brought back pleasant memories. We used a used up thread spool, just like the one you made on the lath. Texas
I made many of those from Mom's sewing thread spools back in the 1940s and 50s in North Dakota. I always looked for the largest spools. I'll have to make some for my grandkids.
Ah yes. I made lots of these “MOON ROVERS” thanks to Kelloggs. They were made from cut-out cardboard panels on the back of “Corn flakes” boxes, and were surprisingly robust considering what they were made from. Happy memories indeed there. Thanks for this video, it’s made my day.
These "cotton reel tractors" as we called them would have been my first attempt at making something move under it's own power when I was a kid. I've nearly finished what will be my last attempt & I'm looking to go 550mph.
Exactly like the one my dad showed me how to make. He used a thread spool and a piece of hard soap for the bearing. What a wonderful memory, thank you..
From the thumbnail I thought "that looks like a wooden spool. No!?, is he making...?" I sure remember not knowing that we were broke. Old enough now to know that we were never poor. Great memories, thanks for reminding me! We used soap as bearing. Anyone else?
Good stuff Max... I remember having one... I have not seen your woodturning lathe before, will that be going in the new workshop of staying where it currently is. Take care. Paul,,
I made these back in the late 50's, when my family lived out west on the Great Plains of Kansas. My dad showed me how to make one first, then I made my several of my own after that. My mom saved up empty wooden thread spools for me, and I used a pocket knife to make the treads on the spool. Used pencils for the trailing stick, or a wooden skewer, what ever I could find. Took one up to school, and sent it rolling up the aisle toward the teacher's desk while she was busy writing on the blackboard. When she became aware of some excess noise coming from classmates, she turned around and spotted the little tank rolling up the aisle. She told me to put it away, or she would confiscate it for the rest of the day. She didn't even ask who did it, she didn't need to. I need to teach my two grandsons to make these in a couple of years when they can be trusted with a pocketknife. Thanks, Dad!
Max that was enjoyable. If only man was sharing and helping each other and enjoying the journey instead of all the crap that's going on in the world it would be a better place. Thanks for sharing. Cheers!
Thanks Max, It brings back the memory of my first day at school, at morning recess seeing one being used to climb an embankment, think it was 1956. instantly, recognised the thumbnail even though I havn't thought about it since all that time.
Great video mate, yes, I definately remember making these, also made a telephone with cotton reel bobbin and a matchbox , couple of matchsticks, a laggy band and a length of cotton....happy days
Thank you for this video, which reminds me when children were happy with simple things, I don't know how many I did. I have been impressed by the amount of responses from others who did.
That's awesome, I'm glad someone is showing what old school looks like, I never could get my nephew's interested in outside fun or making your own toys, if it didn't contain buttons and a controller they weren't interested
Yes sir , and sad....... I grew up in the Appalachian mountains, if I was not in school dad would tell me and my twin brother he didn't want to see us till the dinner bell rang and we stayed in the woods all day , or I would be in his basement swiping whatever scraps of material to make wooden , guns, swords, and whatever other type of thing that luckily didn't kill me
My dad made these "tractors" from my earliest memories in 1951. He was born in 1913 and said they were well known during his childhood. Improvising entertainment was a flourishing art before the electronic age; lucky kids had crystal sets, Hornby trains and walkie-talkie dolls, but everyone could cobble together from scraps, something to play with!
Boy, your entry brought back 60+ years of memories and great times with my papa. He was a cabnet maker, and still have his old Delta lathe and more tools. Every Christmas we looked forward to unwraping a toy he had made for us. One was similar to this, but was a tractor and the rear larger wheels were powered in the same why. You not only got me to Subscribe, but made my Christmas have meaning,,ThxMax. Oh and thx to My Lil Mule that I now watch, where your comment was a nice shout out on his BP mill tare down. Wishing the best to you & yours over the Holidays,,Bear in TX.
Thank you for your memories, here in the U.K. we had cotton bobbins that was pretty much already made to use for this toy, not sure how the candle helped though, we used a lollipop stick for the anchor, but it worked pretty much the same way
The candle works by releasing the elastic potential energy slowly. Didn't know those words back than but knew that without the candle, it would work rapidly for only a few seconds. And we also used to test how much "load" it will pull up an inclined board. How much physics can a 5-year-old learn back then!!
Played with them about 60 years ago but as someone else mentioned we used a spool from sewing thread, cut the treads with a pocket knife and used a birthday candle for the drive rather than the wax washer. I was thinking about this about a week ago, for my grandson that will be 3 next month.
Yeah my grandma used to make those for us kids back in the 50’s out of empty sewing thread wooden spools. She would use a rubber band, thumbtack and pencil for the rest of it.. note: a couple of thin metal washers worked well where he put his candle washer. Brings back old memories. Thank you you Sir for the video.
Wow that brings back memory when i was a kid over 65 years made those but from a empty cotton thread spool though we were not aloud to use a full candle just a but of a candle a piece of rubber bicycle tube cut thin those days bicycle tube was made of rubber use to make them for my friends if they had a empty cotton thread spool. am now 76 years young lol we did not have rubber bands back then and now they make the cotton thread spool out of plastic
gday max mom use to get stroppy every time i pinched a empty cotton reel from her sewing box she used them for refills as you could buy different coloured cotton on card fingers cheers wayne
I made one from a two foot diameter cable reel a jacking bar and every big O ring there was in the bus garage I worked in. It was released in the pit and people were running for their lives! It was great fun if a little dangerous the early eighties that was. Thanks for the memories.
G'day Max, I was making multiple guesses as the project progressed, but wasn't even close. We made lots of homemade toys as kids, but didn't know of this one... Good One! Thanks Max !!
I made that same toy myself. I guess it is an international toy. I used old spools that my mother had used all the thread off of. Did you make a self propelled coffee can? How about slingshots?
The moment you started making it I knew what it was, back in the 60 we made them, but we use soap, another thing we used to make or Rock shooters from wooden clothespins , lot of childhood memories thanks for sharing that with us 😊
That took me back several decades! I remember when “Kellogg’s Cornflakes” contained a cardboard clip out of parts to build this “Moon Rover” ...and it actually worked.. if memory serves me correctly, it was Blue, White and orange in colour. Trouble is; ir didn’t last as long as the Cornflakes” so you had to build another one out of your mums cotton reel and a stick out of the garden. Happy days indeed. Thanks for this video Max, it brought back some great memories.
We used to make the same wooden tanks as kids but we used wooden cotton bobbins from my mothers sawing machine, took me back to being a kid 40 years ago. Put a smile on my face, thanks for the happy memory's when life was simple & more fun.
Memories, memories... Sitting around the cooker in the kitchen making "tractors", cotton reel looms for french knitting, supping on mugs of pea soup with hot buttered toast, listening to radio plays on the ABC Simple pleasures because Tv was only available for the rich. Eric
Haven't made one of those in over 40 years. We used the wooden sewing thread spools. Great memories
we used spools too, but I think we used bar soap for the washer.
Same here. My mom was a seamstress and my father a cabinet maker in his spare time. He made me lots of them when I was in kindergarden, but when I was about four or five he tought me how to make them myself. I ended up with a large fleet of them. I tought my son how to make them as well. Between us we have about fifty of them.
What a lucky childhood without computer games and mobile phones. But with joy to get a toy from your father or grandfather made by himself and having a good time with it. It's not all better in the modern times. Thank you for sharing your memories with us and greetings from Germany.
These were the toys for so many of us in our childhood. This was a thread spool from out of Mothers sewing gear. How many here remember the whirligig that we made from large buttons and a stout piece of cotton string? Or the spin tops you could make with a nail and a slice of a tree branch or a wooden button? Who remembers the baking soda powered submarines that came in some breakfast cereals? Or the rockets that were powered with baking soda and vinegar made from a pop bottle, a cork and so tissue? Remember making a compass from a needle, a piece of cloth, and a leaf? Or stealing fence pickets and making battleships out of them with some nails and a few other stakes cut to shape? (You could make airplanes much the same way) How about kites from some newspaper and dried out twigs or if you had some money tissue wrapping paper? For those of us who lived in the north how many remember making igloos in the winter? Didn't we all make our underground forts from junk to conceal our hole in the ground? Lets not even talk about tree houses. What about building a raft for the local pond so we could go sailing. Remember making a motor for your bicycle from a piece of cardboard and a clothes pin. And there were dozens of more items to make. We were only limited by the extent of our imagination.
Although crude, making these things taught us how to use tools to build things and employ various principles to make them work. They also taught you to be inventive and helped to make you self sufficient. We "oldsters" managed to do a hell of a lot with our hard earned skills and managed to make our way in life without the internet and facebook.
So true !
Remember my dad making it for me when I was little . Am 71 now . He made it out of a empty thread spool . Thanks for the memories.
We were the scourge of our mothers' sewing boxes, raiding them for cotton reels, until they went plastic!
Good memories. Thanks for sharing, Max.
I remember making these as a kid, only we used a button with the center out instead of the wax. it is almost a lost art making little things like this We also made whistles from willow and also from metal strapping. we found ways to keep occupied. Thanks for the memory.
We wax the side next to the button, it could slow down the rolling.
Nice. My dad showed me how to make one of those back in the 70s. I used to bevel the wax rub collar to make the stick point towards the center. Many varieties and sizes for sure. Climbing over obstacles. So much fun!
That has bought back memories of my dad making one, it would have been in the late 1940's or early 1950's. Mum or Nan would have an empty cotton reel in her sewing box, dad would use a piece of wax candle along with the rubber band and stick. I'm going to make a couple for my great grand kids, sad my kids and grand kids missed out as I had forgotten. What a great project.
My Dad made these for me over 60 yrs ago, he called them tractors!
if you rub more wax on the wood face side, the movement will be smoother, and slower, and steadier.
age: 6
year: 1965
I made my own toy, we called it the "Tank"
We made these in the 60s we called them tanks .we also made catapults from tree branches, bows and arrows,throwing arrows. My elder brother made a crystal set to listen to the radio. Also we had a long wire through the gardens to our friends house with a headphone on each end to communicate. Dad was an electrician.
@@commonsense718 nowaday, kids know only internet. they don't even dare to strike a match to make fire.
@@hdlim8753 I was the youngest of ten children we made our own fun.
Yes indeed, remember making those as a kid. When I came across a few wooden cotton reels in my late mother’s things, I instantly thought of these tanks. Thanks for this.
We called them “spools” in America and rubbed soap on one end for limited friction. Also made rubber band pistols, wooden spinning tops and shot marbles out of a ring drawn in the sand. Couldn’t play for “keeps” though, which was considered gambling.
Havent seen one of these since I was child . Thankyou for the trip down memory lane .
I made my first truck toy cut from a 2x4 stacked and glued together. Along with some shaping and some paint, wheels made a little different then yours but from logs and branches. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks .
Used to make this in the early 60s, we called it the tank , made out of old cotton reels like you say. Spent hours playing with them in the long winter of 62.
I made those as whenever my mother used up a spool of thread! My father showed me how to make them, and his mother showed him. I'm an old man now, so that history spans a hundred years. Thanks for the memories!
Max I am 70 and I used to use the empty wooden spools from Mama's sewing thread to make those. I had forgotten about them until I saw you making this one. Great times. Thanks for sharing with us.
No worries ! 👍
thanks for jogging the memory, I remember making these when a kid and racing them round the garden.
this brought back memories and a smile from the "shadows if my mind"..... my dad built me these from thread bobbins he got from my mother when I was little back in the early 60's. Thank you!
My Uncle Al made me one of those some 50 years ago. Thanks for the fond memories.
One of my greatest memories of my grandmother involves these little spool racers. My brother and I were very young and we were at a wedding reception where the bride and groom were running very late. We were extremely bored and my grandmother like a superhero digs 2 wooden thread spools and 2 rubber bands out of her pocketbook. She used them along with toothpicks and cocktail stirrers to make use each our own little racer. We spent the entire time having races in the corner of the room. I don't even think we bothered to stop to eat our dinner. ❤️
We made them in South Africa too . Never thought I'd see one of those again. Those wooden cotton spools made lots of toys. My father made some exellent wooden toys for me. Even a tower crane from dowels and off cut pieces of board, with a hand crank using those same wooden spools as pulleys. The crane also rotated on its base and had its own wheels. Another of his favorite building materials was used tomato boxes. The thin quarter inch wood was used to make aeroplane wings. The bodies were from 2x3 off cut construction pine. Come to think of it there were planes, trains, wagons, ships and even a helicopter. Simple durable toys that lasted my whole childhood. Never had much store bought stuff never needed any. Thanks Dad for teaching me to appreciate things and to take care of them. May you rest in peace.
todays kids expect dad to make them an i pad
More years ago than I sometimes care to remember.... Kids today would go insane if the internet died...
Thanks for the nostalgia trip. I remember when my father showed me how to make one of these with a cotton reel and a stick - would have been early 1960's. I made one on my own afterwards with a cotton reel and a pencil. When I ran it across the (white) table cloth the pencil faithfully recorded its progress...
Thanks Max, that brought back a lot of memory's. I made many of those when I was a kid by robbing my Moms sewing supplies. :-) As soon as I saw the videos thumbnail picture I knew exactly what it was.
Turning Point. Same here. It was something we could make, and enjoyed it muchly. Used soap as the slip bearing. Sometimes let the retaining stick protrude enough to provide extra traction.
Does anyone remember how we made a pea shooter out of two clothes pins the wood ones with spring ? The spool tank we call them was great toy we made . Thanks
Me too
@@calvinjarrett5099 I shot matches out of my clothes pins. Got caught had to wear a red dress for playing with fire.
Same here :-)
When you started the build I hoped this was the same toy my dad made for me when I was young. Yep, same one. I haven’t seen it since I made one for my daughters, when they were toddlers, 36 years ago. They loved it, as did I making it for them. I had to smile, watching you. Brought back pleasant memories. We used a used up thread spool, just like the one you made on the lath. Texas
Use to make them out of mums old cotton reels, oh so many years ago Max
I made many of those from Mom's sewing thread spools back in the 1940s and 50s in North Dakota. I always looked for the largest spools. I'll have to make some for my grandkids.
Ah yes. I made lots of these “MOON ROVERS” thanks to Kelloggs. They were made from cut-out cardboard panels on the back of “Corn flakes” boxes, and were surprisingly robust considering what they were made from. Happy memories indeed there. Thanks for this video, it’s made my day.
G'day Max, absolutely wonderful mate, thanks so much for sharing
These "cotton reel tractors" as we called them would have been my first attempt at making something move under it's own power when I was a kid. I've nearly finished what will be my last attempt & I'm looking to go 550mph.
We called them tanks.
Exactly like the one my dad showed me how to make. He used a thread spool and a piece of hard soap for the bearing. What a wonderful memory, thank you..
From the thumbnail I thought "that looks like a wooden spool. No!?, is he making...?"
I sure remember not knowing that we were broke. Old enough now to know that we were never poor.
Great memories, thanks for reminding me!
We used soap as bearing. Anyone else?
Great video amigo!!!! I remember my dad making me one with a piece of soap as the bearing. Loved the video!! Cheers 🍻!!
Wow dude that brings back memory's , my mum used to work for English sewing in UK we had loads of them in the 60's as kids 😁🤘
Good stuff Max...
I remember having one... I have not seen your woodturning lathe before, will that be going in the new workshop of staying where it currently is.
Take care.
Paul,,
It's an old 9'' Hercus centre lathe . I will fix it up one day & move it on , just use it for a bit of wood turning at the moment .
At the age of 76 this is the first time I have seen one of these in 70 + years thanks
I made these back in the late 50's, when my family lived out west on the Great Plains of Kansas. My dad showed me how to make one first, then I made my several of my own after that. My mom saved up empty wooden thread spools for me, and I used a pocket knife to make the treads on the spool. Used pencils for the trailing stick, or a wooden skewer, what ever I could find.
Took one up to school, and sent it rolling up the aisle toward the teacher's desk while she was busy writing on the blackboard. When she became aware of some excess noise coming from classmates, she turned around and spotted the little tank rolling up the aisle. She told me to put it away, or she would confiscate it for the rest of the day. She didn't even ask who did it, she didn't need to.
I need to teach my two grandsons to make these in a couple of years when they can be trusted with a pocketknife.
Thanks, Dad!
good old days
They were really fun!!! 😃👍👍🇺🇸
Thank you for sharing and reminding us!
I used to make these as a child. Thank you for reminding me. I am going to make one for my grandson. Cheers.
I am 71 and remember my Dad making one of those when I was quite young.
Max that was enjoyable. If only man was sharing and helping each other and enjoying the journey instead of all the crap that's going on in the world it would be a better place. Thanks for sharing. Cheers!
Couldn't agree more!
Amen to that, Bear.
Thanks Max, It brings back the memory of my first day at school, at morning recess seeing one being used to climb an embankment, think it was 1956. instantly, recognised the thumbnail even though I havn't thought about it since all that time.
Great video mate, yes, I definately remember making these, also made a telephone with cotton reel bobbin and a matchbox , couple of matchsticks, a laggy band and a length of cotton....happy days
Thank you for this video, which reminds me when children were happy with simple things, I don't know how many I did. I have been impressed by the amount of responses from others who did.
G’day Max. That’s a neat toy mate. Very cool indeed. Cheers 🍻. Aaron
Made them as a kid-much simpler. A spool, a rubber band, a match stick, a piece of soap and a pocket knife. Quick and simple.
That's awesome, I'm glad someone is showing what old school looks like, I never could get my nephew's interested in outside fun or making your own toys, if it didn't contain buttons and a controller they weren't interested
How times have changed . 👍
Yes sir , and sad....... I grew up in the Appalachian mountains, if I was not in school dad would tell me and my twin brother he didn't want to see us till the dinner bell rang and we stayed in the woods all day , or I would be in his basement swiping whatever scraps of material to make wooden , guns, swords, and whatever other type of thing that luckily didn't kill me
That is really neat! My Grandfather used to make us kids stuff like that. Now I make stuff like that too.
We used a knitting needle as the arm. The weight made it a lot more stable.
I remember making those and spending a lot of time playing with my tractor, as I called it, when I was a kid over 60 years ago.
These had completely gone from my memory. Can't wait to get to the work shed and get one made.
Made those as well. We used crayons instead of candles though. Great fun!
Hi my late father used to make these for us back in the 70s he used to call them tanks.thanks for the vid i am going to make one.
My dad showed me how to make them when i was a kid in the 70's, one of my most vivid memories about childhood.
My dad made these "tractors" from my earliest memories in 1951. He was born in 1913 and said they were well known during his childhood. Improvising entertainment was a flourishing art before the electronic age; lucky kids had crystal sets, Hornby trains and walkie-talkie dolls, but everyone could cobble together from scraps, something to play with!
That's why I say that some kids have more fun and imagination playing with the boxes the toys come in than the toys themselves.
We used to make lots of toys when we were kids, but never this one.
Thanks for sharing the idea.
Boy, your entry brought back 60+ years of memories and great times with my papa. He was a cabnet maker, and still have his old Delta lathe and more tools. Every Christmas we looked forward to unwraping a toy he had made for us. One was similar to this, but was a tractor and the rear larger wheels were powered in the same why. You not only got me to Subscribe, but made my Christmas have meaning,,ThxMax. Oh and thx to My Lil Mule that I now watch, where your comment was a nice shout out on his BP mill tare down. Wishing the best to you & yours over the Holidays,,Bear in TX.
Thanks . Have a great one as well , Cheers .
And here I am with a whole box full of wooden thread spools and the memories too of making that same toy as a kid.
We have not had any in the house in a long time , that's why i had to make my own !!!
thank's for the memory, last cotton reel tank i made was 60 year's ago, i'll have to make one now,
My grandfather used to make these from a thread spool, 2 match stick, soap and a rubber band. Such great memories.
Magic Max - We used to race them at school but never saw the candle wax trick before - neat!.
Thank you for your memories, here in the U.K. we had cotton bobbins that was pretty much already made to use for this toy, not sure how the candle helped though, we used a lollipop stick for the anchor, but it worked pretty much the same way
The candle works by releasing the elastic potential energy slowly. Didn't know those words back than but knew that without the candle, it would work rapidly for only a few seconds. And we also used to test how much "load" it will pull up an inclined board. How much physics can a 5-year-old learn back then!!
I seem to remember calling then 'tanks'. Thanks for refreshing my memory!
I have not seen that before, Made wood tops and played with jacks and marbles. Thanks for sharing Max
Hi Max, yep remember those, have not seen one for over 50 years. Del.
I made spinning tops from a wooden thread spool and a nail when I was a kid years and years ago.
Played with them about 60 years ago but as someone else mentioned we used a spool from sewing thread, cut the treads with a pocket knife and used a birthday candle for the drive rather than the wax washer. I was thinking about this about a week ago, for my grandson that will be 3 next month.
Yeah my grandma used to make those for us kids back in the 50’s out of empty sewing thread wooden spools. She would use a rubber band, thumbtack and pencil for the rest of it.. note: a couple of thin metal washers worked well where he put his candle washer. Brings back old memories. Thank you you Sir for the video.
Wow that brings back memory when i was a kid over 65 years made those but from a empty cotton thread spool though we were not aloud to use a full candle just a but of a candle a piece of rubber bicycle tube cut thin those days bicycle tube was made of rubber use to make them for my friends if they had a empty cotton thread spool. am now 76 years young lol we did not have rubber bands back then and now they make the cotton thread spool out of plastic
gday max mom use to get stroppy every time i pinched a empty cotton reel from her sewing box she used them for refills as you could buy different coloured cotton on card fingers cheers wayne
Lepi spomini. Tudi jaz sem izdeloval to igračo in se z njimi igral. Thangs for the nostalgia trip.
Geez mate, talk about a trip back to the childhood. Good onya Max. Keep the videos comin mate
I use to make them when I was a boy , I used a spool from my grandmas sewing thread and I’m 82 yrs old fun to watch you make one , old memories
I made one from a two foot diameter cable reel a jacking bar and every big O ring there was in the bus garage I worked in. It was released in the pit and people were running for their lives! It was great fun if a little dangerous the early eighties that was. Thanks for the memories.
That would be Gold to have seen that !!! I am sure there are some large power cable reels on some of our jobs , about 5 or 6 feet .....mmmm!!!
@@swanvalleymachineshop now that would be a video to see.
@@swanvalleymachineshop next olympics ?
@@colintuffs568 Great idea !!!
G'day Max, I was making multiple guesses as the project progressed, but wasn't even close. We made lots of homemade toys as kids, but didn't know of this one... Good One! Thanks Max !!
I made that same toy myself. I guess it is an international toy. I used old spools that my mother had used all the thread off of. Did you make a self propelled coffee can? How about slingshots?
Sling shots for sure !
The moment you started making it I knew what it was, back in the 60 we made them, but we use soap, another thing we used to make or Rock shooters from wooden clothespins , lot of childhood memories thanks for sharing that with us 😊
Saw those when i was a pup but never set as a toy. thx for solving the mystery.
Thanks Max , that’s a trip down memory lane, my dad use to make them for myself and my brother. A simple toy which gave us hours of enjoyment 👍
G'Day Max, I made a lot of toys when I was a kid but never that one. Thanks for sharing.
Cam
Wow, that brings back memories. I used to make these out of my mums wooded cotton reals when I was a kid.
Fun! I was trying not long ago, to remember how to make the spool and rubber band toy.
Thanks Max. I can't say I have seen one of those before. Best!
Born in 55, made lots in the 60s.. pencil, rubber band, tack and a reel..never used the candle except to wax the end
We were taught how to make them in primary school. A forgotten era indeed. Thanks for jogging the old grey matter!
Never saw that homemade toy before. That's a pretty neat. Simple times simple toys. Your hands show a hard work in man. God bless !!!!
I’m 71, my Dad taught my brother and I how to make these back in the 50s!
That took me back several decades! I remember when “Kellogg’s Cornflakes” contained a cardboard clip out of parts to build this “Moon Rover” ...and it actually worked.. if memory serves me correctly, it was Blue, White and orange in colour. Trouble is; ir didn’t last as long as the Cornflakes” so you had to build another one out of your mums cotton reel and a stick out of the garden. Happy days indeed. Thanks for this video Max, it brought back some great memories.
No worries . I remember cardboard cut outs on the Kellogs boxes in the early 70's ! 👍
Thank you. It brought me back to my early childhood.
We used to make the same wooden tanks as kids but we used wooden cotton bobbins from my mothers sawing machine, took me back to being a kid 40 years ago. Put a smile on my face, thanks for the happy memory's when life was simple & more fun.
Wow memory lane Al the brit
Una cagada
Cotton-reel tank! Instant flashback 60+ years :-)
I remember maaking those out of wooden cotton reels Max, brought back memories. Cheers Tony
15 minutes of my life that I won't get back again. Made stacks of these 60 years ago, from old cotton reels.
Very cool Max, that's one I have not seen before. Gary
Thanks Gary , it's an oldie !
Toy's of my youth, great video max, keep'um coming..
Had completely forgotten about these. Vaguely remember my grandfather making them with sewing spools and needles.
I remember them well. We called them steam rollers. About 1946. Made several of them.
Took me back to the early sixties, when me and my brother made tanks from empty cotton reels, happy days
I haven't seen one of them for years, nice one 👍
Memories, memories...
Sitting around the cooker in the kitchen making "tractors", cotton reel looms for french knitting, supping on mugs of pea soup with hot buttered toast, listening to radio plays on the ABC Simple pleasures because Tv was only available for the rich.
Eric
Takes me back, guessed from the thumbnail, yes, we used the same paraffin bearing.
Thanks for sharing