Don't imagine the guy who put this together ever imagined it was gonna be taken apart in front of hundreds of thousands of people.

Glad to see a KZfaqr who doesn't clickbait and who actually seems to enjoy making their videos, keep it up cody

I wonder if the Acme company still makes parts for these

My deepest respect for you, because you have the courage to take apart such a valuable item that belonged to your granddad.

I'm a woodworker here in Utah and I would love to restore that generator. My brother is also a leatherworker. 100% pro-bono I love doing that kind of thing.

I've always wondered that, thanks!

We had something similar in the M1 Abrams tank - we called it the "Master Blaster". It was a manual generator to fire the main gun in the event the electronics malfunctioned.

Wow, brushed motors haven't changed a bit. Looks almost exactly like the one in my corded drill.

I would really enjoy seeing a restoration/ rebuild video on this. Maybe make a new wood box, take it apart and replace the wiring, and fittings etc. etc. With a test to see the voltage output before and afterwards. Anyone else interested should thumbs up this so he sees it!

I have never heard of Big Clive, so I wouldn't have found out about the blasting generator if it wasn't for Cody. I feel like this wasn't a horrible mistake, as it basically gave Big Clive a shout out (I am now subscribed), and Cody showed the inside of the dynamo, which was awesome!! Don't listen to the haters Cody!!

Puts down plunger for blasting machine. *blast goes off* Cody:*looking back* did it work Also cody: ok

You know stuff is serious when C O D Y S L A B

Just goes to show how well made things were back in the old days our farm has an old oak barn built back in the late 1800's and it's still solid as a rock

You should create your own blasting generator. Or restore the old one with new screws and paint and such.

About the "boost" theory: If I remember correctly, the collapsing magnetic field induces a voltage spike (that's how igniter coils work) - and this is why you have shunt diodes across large coils to protect other parts of a circuit in other applications. So it's the energy stored in the magnetic field and the number of windings that determine the voltage this thing puts out...

That thing is an awesome piece of historical technology right there. I was actually amazed by how cleverly they did the current recycling and switching system to maximize the jolt it puts out once the plunger goes all the way down.

I believe that old grease is pronounced "shmoo".

Of all your videos, this might me my favorite. Taking something apart, examining it, and putting it back together is a great way to learn, and something I've been doing all my life.

Really beautiful device! Loved those beautiful half blind dovetails!

This is a teardown video. The only ethical way available on the internet. Wow, Duper Awesome! thx Cody!!!

Too cool! I've always wondered what made these old blasting machines work! I can't believe I somehow missed this video before.

Never knew about the end of travel switch. Makes sense, forces the operator to make a deliberate action to make booming noises.

One of those things in the background of my childhood (in old cartoons) that were always around but I never really noticed, much less knew how it worked. Thanks.

"Whenever I can, I try to use this thing; It's just so cool!" It is indeed!!!

Collab with Big Clive is a must now.

I would be surprised if that gear was aluminum. It would have been too expensive back then. I bet it's some alloy of zinc. I can't remember the name of it, but there was an alloy that was commonly used in castings because it was lighter than cast iron.

Cody, I’m rewatching all your videos and I think you’re really cool. I really appreciate your effort in teaching all of us the things you know, or even just want to figure out. Thank you very much.

Hand Tool Rescue might be able to restore this for you. This is his kind of thing

This reminds me so much of AvE's teardowns, a style of video that I personally love. Keep up the good work!

Consider sending it to "my mechanics" for restoration; the man is an artist

Safety was managed by simply not connecting the wires till you were ready. The terminals, as you demonstrated, are resilient and easy to work. There wasn't any need to have everything screwed in place before you were ready. Simple and effective.

This is awesome! A great look at how they made things work without advanced materials. I've always assumed that this is how those detonators worked but to see the actual parts inside with an explanation makes it all the better. Thanks Cody!

To be fair, older technologies may look bulky, but it was far more practical. (just raise and push down the plunger quickly)

Nice vid. I have one of these machines bench mounted and can run it at different speeds. The output is very interesting. It is what was known as a current source device, and as such does not conform to Ohms law for DC current supplies. Resistance is futile.

I love when Cody’s old videos turn up on my recommended list

I just picked up one of these yesterday made by the old Hercules company. I have to take the cover off because somebody had made it into a lamp and the plunger rod has been fixed into the full out position. With your video now I know at least what to expect to see inside. It also got me to thinking that it would be quite easy to take a small starter motor to make one of these.

*flashes for just a second* Me, an intellectual: *o b s e r v e r o n e - t i c k p u l s e*

Big Cody

Nice well explained video. Your dad taught you all of this stuff I wager. Mine did too. We made an electric motor out of bent nails and insulated wire 60 years ago. I have a perfect picture of it my mind still today.

It's facinating how it generates it's own magnetic feild enabling it to generate a current,such a cool old functioning relic, that's pretty awesome Cody and I've always been curious about how that worked,thanks for showing us!

Big Clive sure sounds a lot younger than i remember

What I want to know is how a Coyote could pay for all of that ACME inc stuff.

That thing you've got there is a real beauty. They sure made things to last back in the old days...

I always wondered how those worked. That generator is really neat and the way it is set up is rather ingenious. Also, the way they built the box with the dovetail joints shows some real craftsmanship too.

Thanks for this Cody! I always wondered how many bites- I mean, how those old blasting generators worked. Considering how weak those Iron plates are, I wonder what would happen if you swapped them out for Neodymium plates. Just a thought.

A bonnie, a beauty and a joy forever!

I love how it has the dovetailed joints.

Hi Cody. Long time looker, first time commenter. I have one of these and have done some experiments with with it myself. One required I have it rewound!! So, the long and short of it is this. These are a current source DC dynamo. The brass end caps of the motor frame serve as capacitors. The armature has what is known as a neutral wind and the field windings are series wound. what this amounts to is this. If you spin the machine above the Lens' Law limit you get an unlimited amount of current to the resistance felt by the windings. Assured reactance of the blasting caps. The diagram that came with my unit shows I think a limit of 11 caps, but no mention of wire distance. I could take a picture and send it to you if you are interested. There is a hack you can do which will turn it into an entirely different machine but I am not sure what you want to know about the world.

Another great video. Thank you a lot Cody, I truly love watching your videos.

Cody, You should try building your own blasting machine!

A little tip. When removing old screws, that have been sitting in the wood for a long time, it sometimes helps to start by tightening it just a little bit. This expands the hole just enough so the screw can be easely removed.

When people need something done, they find a way to make it work! Truuly a beautiful masterpiece of engineering design.

What everyone sees: Cody’s lab What I see: *CODY SLAB*

I wish Cody explained about all his apparatuses half as much as he did about that thing... or even 10% as much..

After watching your mining series I meant to google how the blasting box works and glad this popped up on my feed just today! Fantastic explanation, Cody, and really simple mechanism that’s rather ingenious.

A+ video! This is a very interesting piece of engineering. I would love to see videos like this on any antique industrial equipment you may have access to. I don't think it would have been made during wwii. I think steel was in such surplus (and everything else rationed so much) that they started minting pennies out of steel in 1943. Many domestic goods transitioned TOO steel construction during this time such as silverware and cookware. My guess is it's pre-war and it made sense to not surround a powerful dynamo with magnetic metals. Finally bit of guess work: the initials may belong to the tech who affected the (negative?) terminal repair. Thanks again for such a great video!

People back them were crazy by todays standard of safety. *_Good_*

Cody! Please, for the love of god, don't let it stay dry! Lube all the moving parts with molly-grease!

Cody, I was wondering this myself the other day and I am so happy that one of my favorite people made a video about it. Keep up the good work!

Nice Cody great video, I love taking apart things and seeing how they work and now I know how these detonation devices work.

Nice vidjeo, you just need to implement some vocabulary like "angry pixies", "electrocity" or "springamathing"

AvE is gonna have a word with you lol. Love this kinda content. Do more please.

What a cool video. I think that is a DuPont Model 3A. At some point there was a brass plaque on the top under the leather strap. It's super cool that it still works.

I gotta say, I absolutely love opening old stuff and seeing the material as clean and brand new as the day it was put in like what 80 years ago :) like opening an old CB radio and you can smell that old grease smell,. ahhhhh

Wait, this is not Big Clive.

I noticed you removed the old grease. But did you replace the old grease?

I just bought one and it was the first I have ever seen. So I came to Cody to see how it work.

when i saw the description, i just knew it was bigclive. i like both your channels, getting smarter everyday watching video's about electronics and chemistry.

I love how he says "coulk" rather than "calk" in fear of being demonetized.

I suspect the non-magnetic metal parts are either zinc or a zinc/aluminum alloy. These would be stronger for gears and bearing housings than pure aluminum.

It'd be **awesome fun** to use one of these! The satisfying feeling of ramming down that plunger and seeing a **BOOM!** in the distance!

+Cody'sLab , I think that grease is Molly B, or molybdenum grease. We use it on the Apache helicopter for the gun. In case you wanted to restore it to the original state. Just figured I'd throw that in there!

i wanted to know, how this works till I was six :D Now, after twenty four years, finally I know :)

Can you restore that one day so it'll look new?

a very cool rustic apparatus and made so simple and robust with clever solutions im loving the explanation about the inner-workings of this apparatus thanks cody great job

I wish you had been my teacher/ instructor. Haha, you're still my favourite (C³)! Thanks for your continual curiosity and courage!

After reading the comments I guess I gotta find out who this big Clive fella is

Ah yes !!! The memories of playing the Engineer Class in Battlefield 1942 :D

Always wondered how that worked. I always thought it was just a switch and made no sense pushing the handle down just for a contact. Now i know! Thanks

And this video is why you have me hooked Cody! There's no way I'll ever have seen the works of Wylies' Acme plunge detonator. And the simple but beautiful hand crafted box ... haahaa! Yep. ☝"Still works". On ya' Cody.

15:20 "If a Bird lands on this" ... like a Road Runner??

Title: Cody'sLab Me: Cody Slab

I honestly always wondered how that worked... thanks Cody! Hope all is well :)

Very cool. You keep answering questions that I did not know I needed the answer to and I love you for it!

There are 3 things I want to do: Blow a train whistle Pull the horn on a Semi Blow up dynamite with one of these

It would be interesting to watch this thing getting restored by a restoration channel, like 'my mechanics'. (=

Things made in that era were designed to last for ever they didn't have a disposable society mentality back then and most of the time cost was not an issue.. thank you Cody for opening that one up and showing us as most i've seen were terrified to open them or even getting their hands on one was hard enough.

It would be cool to see TysyTube restoring it. Great video

You should do a restoration video where you create your own brass terminal replacement for the steel side, as well as restore the casing and handle.

You should have put a meter on it to read how much voltage and amperage it puts out.

Having the dynamo disconnected from the load until the last second was likely done to reduce the force needed to trigger the blasting caps. Instead of having a constant and high mechanical resistance to push it down the whole way, it effectively gets a running start before slamming into an electrical wall.

Thx youtube for this random content that i never searched for but i dont regret for seeing

Cody's lab - AvE BOLTR edition :D

Omg real dovetails so nice

One of my pet peeves as a cyclist is that bike generators are referred to as "dynamos". They aren't - bike generators are almost exclusively A/C magnetos. SO, when you said this was a "dynamo" producing D/C current, I got ready to object - but then I saw the brushes. Yep, it really is a D/C dynamo - very cool.

There are two reasons for the switch. 1. There is nothing drawing the current away so it maximizes the field current to produce maximum power. 2. The plunger would be a lot harder to push with additional electric load. You gain more speed for a stronger output impulse. Without the switch it is very likely to damage the blasting cap without setting it off. Also when connecting in series, the pulse may be too weak to ignite them all. And about safety: this thing is only safe when the plunger is all the way down. The generator has a very low resistance and is short circuiting the terminals. This prevents currents caused by static electricity or nearby lightening strikes. Never put it onto something elevated. It may topple over, drop out the plunger and land on the handle. It must be placed firmly onto the ground, use a board as support and protection against moisture from the ground. Modern versions use the same inductor system as field telephones. Spinning the crank of a field telephone fast can generate 100 volts easily without load on the terminals! I have managed to get over 320V out of a more modern 1960s German Bundeswehr phone. We had a serious accident with those things during a war game. Me: I wonder if the new guy has finished wiring up by now. Comrade: Let's find out *whirr-whirr-whirr*. Me: STOP! Distance: Yeow *clunk*. Me: That's the guy who keeps stripping the wire ends with his teeth! While those 10-way branch exchange boxes look like you can run them over with a tank without harm, you can bash them in with your skull...

It's alternating current. THAT'S why it hurt.

You should upgrade it with modern wiring and magnets into it and see how powerful it becomes

Looks like a Hercules 50 cap blasting machine; I've got one myself; everything is original on mine but your case is MUCH better condition, especially since you can see some of the worn patina! Anyway, wonderful demonstration and explanation video!

I have always wanted to see the inside. So for years have looked for one unsuccessfully. So thank you very very much. you just saved me a few hundred dollars and a argument with the Wife. Cody thank you.