This kid is off the hook!

That guy had way too much time on his hands.

Did an excellent job though!

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

A great engineering challenge and he stepped up to the task. That’s a great job.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

Yeah, but could he build it out of a 2×4? This kid cranked out a very impressive project!!!

-- Maplewood, MN

Holy Smoke. That’s one detailed project. And Gary, the guy who made a bird cage out of a 2×4 and cut hundreds of little tiny pieces, thinks the kid had too much time on his hands! ;-)

-- When you give someone a chance it may well be their last.

I agree with Gary. What “normal” 16 year old would be spending that much time in the shop as opposed to doing other things that 16 year olds do? At 16 would I have rather been spending my time with girls or wood- let me try to remember.

Seriously it is a great project- not only from the woodworking angle, which is difficult enough, but also from the design and engineering aspect as well.

Kudos to the kid. I hope he got an A for the project.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

Great feat of engineering, design and execution.
Kid had better of gotten an A for it. Hell, the chain
alone deserved an A.

-- Still learning everything

OK. I give up. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to top that one ;)

Seriously, I wouldn’t try something like that, but it’s pretty darn impressive at ANY age!

-- "Give me your poor tools, your tired steel, your huddled masses of rust." Yep, I ripped off the Statue of Liberty. That's how I roll!

Very cool article, thanks. He really learned some problem solving skills through the process.

-- Hope Never fails

This kid is a genius to sit down and carry out such a project, and testing the strength of different types of wood for each component, amazing.

-- Oscar in Missouri

WOW, I’d say he’s got a pretty good shot a getting a scholarship somewhere.

-- I've cut that board three times and it's still too short!

got my vote for LJ of the year! The craftsmanship, the engineering, and facing all those seemingly self-imposed limitations!

-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Vincent Van Gogh