The classic on this: "A Boy and a Battery", by Yates. (1959 ed).[1] There's a whole series, "A Boy and a Motor", etc., all the way up to how to build your own

The classic on this: "A Boy and a Battery", by Yates. (1959 ed).[1] There's a whole series, "A Boy and a Motor", etc., all the way up to how to build your own model railroad from scrap, if you have the skills of a master machinist. Plus "Atomic Experiments for Boys". Really. The Internet Archive has many of these.[2] "Shop Practice for Home Mechanics" is still useful, teaching how to do basic metalwork with simple hand tools. They cover lathe work, all the way up to how to make a crankshaft. All this dates from an era before the availability of unlimited entertainment for timepass. [1] https://archive.org/details/boyandbattery00yate/ https://archive.org/details/boyandbattery00yate/ [2] https://archive.org/search?query=creator%3A%22Yates%2C+Raymond+F.+%28Raymond+Francis%29%2C+1895-%22 https://archive.org/search?query=creator%3A%22Yates%2C+Raymo...