Speed Trial on the Bench

Who leaves a grooved wooden paint stick and a heavy brass bolt lying next to a gear? That's practically a ready-to-roll dragster waiting for green lights. I slanted the wooden stick against the rim of my workshop lamp jar, locking the bottom notch right into the teeth of yesterday's metal gear. With one gloved hand steadying the launch gate, I set the brass bolt on the crest and let it rip. It spun down the ramp with a fierce metallic hum, clattered across the sawdusted wood, and slammed straight into an upside-down tin can. First test run: total success!