So I was tinkering in the garage last Tuesday night, had some scrap timber lying around, and thought – hell, why not make something that dances? Like, actual wood shimmying around. Sounds bonkers, right? Well, here’s how my whole “removable dancing engineer timber” madness went down.

The “This Might Actually Work” Phase

First off, grabbed some junk:

• Random pine scraps (roughly brick-sized)
• An old RC car motor that smelled vaguely of burnt toast
• A phone power bank I found in a drawer
• Super glue, duct tape, and way too much optimism

Sketched zero diagrams. Just eyeballed where to stick the motor onto the wood chunk. Hot-glued that sucker dead center thinking “perfect balance!” Spoiler: NOPE.

The “Why Is It Lurching Like a Drunk Dinosaur?” Phase

Plugged in the power bank. Motor spins… and the whole thing just flops on its side. Thump. Turns out wood ain’t light, and RC motors ain’t strong. Glue rips right off. Sanded the wood flat, re-glued, added duct tape reinforcements like a desperate surgeon. Fired it up again – now it vibrates violently in place like a possessed washing machine. Throws itself sideways so hard it takes the power bank with it. Wham! My coffee mug nearly died.

The “Frankenstein’s Wobbly Monster” Breakthrough

Okay, needed “removable” in this mess. Ditch permanent glue. Screwed small metal brackets to the timber with teeny screws (nearly took my finger off twice). Motor now clips into the bracket. Added counterweights – random bolts taped to opposite corners. Powered up… it starts doing this jerky spin-hesitate-spin thing kinda like a confused breakdancer. Held my breath. IT STAYED UPRIGHT. Mostly. Hopped like a pissed-off rabbit. But progress!

Where The Magic Happened (Sort Of)

Sweating bullets, I:

• Stuck rubber bands under the corners as ghetto shock absorbers
• Taped the power bank DOWN this time
• Carved little “feet” on the bottom for traction using a butter knife (classy)

Flicked the switch. Motor hums… timber shivers… wobbles… then starts SHAKING ITS GROOVE THING in a tight, vibrating circle! Unhooked the motor clip – timber stops. Reattached – back to twitching. “Removable dancing” achieved! Looked less like engineering and more like a seizure in lumber form. But damn it moved! Engineered timber? Check. Dance? Debatable. Removable? Yep.

Final Verdict: It’s janky as hell and would terrify any actual engineer, but my scrap wood boogies solo. Mission vaguely accomplished. Might scare the cat with it later.