LEGO builders these days need to chill. Back in the day, I was under the impression that completing a 4,000-piece set was the pinnacle of brick block engineering. Whether building a Star Wars ship or the Lion Knights’ Castle, I fully believed my finished products rivaled only that of architects and spacecraft designers. Apparently, that’s chump change to today’s LEGO builders.
YouTube creator Amos Mashiah proved as much when he showed his audience how to make a working LEGO revolution tachometer. Stumbling upon the video, I ignorantly asked myself, “what purpose would such a contraption serve?” Unbeknownst to me, today’s youths aren’t just turning to the block-building toy for playtime. Instead, youngsters are creating complex machines, particularly, engines.
Mashiah alone has recreated iconic powerplants such as an opposed-twin (boxer) made popular by BMW and a Volkswagon’s VR2. The little LEGO engineer isn’t just happy with turning over the motor, though. He also fashioned several gearboxes, including a compact four-speed and a money-shifting transmission. In order to measure the powertrain’s performance, Mashiah built an operable tachometer with just a handful of parts.
With a lot of dexterity, and a little help from playback speed, the YouTuber quickly rigs up the centrifugal tachometer in a matter of minutes. He’s humble enough to state that design isn’t his own, but it’s an impressive feat nonetheless. In working order, the tachometer easily pairs with Mashiah’s parallel-twin LEGO engine.
Hearing the mini mill roar to life is so unbelievable that it borders on humorous. That soundtrack isn’t alone either. Watching the tachometer’s inner workings is just as transfixing as viewing cogs mesh in a Swizz watch. Unfortunately, the apparatus doesn’t yield the most accurate data without a tachometer face, but if today’s LEGO fanatics can manage to build fully-functional powerplants, we’re sure they’ll find a solution in no time.
