Interactive figures

Each guide's central idea, built as a working object you can operate. Change the input and watch what the guide's numbers say should happen. 6 of 56 figures are built.

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Fundamentals

The prerequisites almost everything depends on.

Fig 4Twin Bellows Blast Two hinged-board bellows rocked by one beam feed a charcoal shaft furnace: the stroke rate sets how much air goes in, and working two bags in turn keeps it steady. Guide: fire and heat

Materials

Substances, foods and goods you make.

Fig 3Jar Test Stand A jar test stand: shake soil in water and watch sand, silt and clay settle in layers, then read the clay share that points to cob or rammed earth. Guide: clay and earth building
Fig 5Kiln and damper A cutaway brick kiln with a fuel lever, an air damper and a draw rod: how hot you fire and how much air you allow decide what the clay becomes. Guide: pottery and ceramics

Technology

Machines, instruments and infrastructure.

Fig 6Floating Panel Two frame-and-panel doors on a joiner's bench: as moisture changes, the panel left free in its grooves slides and survives, while its glued twin cracks as it dries. Guide: woodworking and joinery
Fig 8Slow Sand Filter A slow sand filter cut open to show its layers: it only filters when water seeps through very slowly and the living film on the sand has ripened. Guide: water supply and sanitation

Knowledge

Practices whose advantage is transferable understanding.

Fig 9Slide Rule Multiply A slide rule on a bench stand, showing how sliding one logarithmic scale along another adds two lengths, and adding those lengths multiplies the two numbers. Guide: mathematics and records