by Paul V. Arnold

Mechanics, electricians, welders, engineers, admit it. There’s a bit of mad scientist in each of you. You’re like doctors trying to save a patient. You say:

"It looks bad now, but don’t worry. I can rig something up."

Or, "Why are you throwing this toaster out? I can fix it. You’ll be able to cook a turkey in it when I’m done."

How do I know? My dad is a mad scientist. Always has been. Give him copper wire, graphite and scrap, and he’ll fix anything.

I can appreciate that kind of warped ingenuity. It doesn’t mean I understand it. Dr. Frankenstein’s neighbors probably knew nothing about reanimating the dead, but I’m sure they agreed he made one hell of a monster.

Mad scientists, and the women and men who love them. If it sounds like a TV show, you’re right. But you won’t find it on "Oprah" or "Jerry Springer."

"Junkyard Wars," a weekly, hour-long program on cable network TLC, salutes the mechanically inclined, and, in many respects, the manufacturing world.

Two teams of three contestants receive the task of designing and building a specified mechanical contraption — a hydroplane, mini-submarine, wheelless automobile, rocket, etc. Team members comb a junkyard for parts to make their machine. Each team has 12 hours to complete the project before pitting it against the opponent’s creation in a skills competition.

Can I hear a collective Tim Allen "tool guy" grunt from the audience?

MRO Pros are indeed becoming "Junkyard Wars" junkies. It’s a discussion topic on coffee breaks and Web site chat rooms. Factory guys and gals dissect project designs, battle plans and assembly techniques. And, they try to build a team that might qualify for a future show. A TLC Web bulletin board posts the resumes of more than 50 people looking to build or join a team. About half of them are factory workers.

"It’s the mechanical tinkering thing that hooks you," says Ray Berlin, a machinist for Universal Precision Products in Akron, Ohio. "I get a kick out of making something out of nothing."

Last year, the 58-year-old factory veteran and two buddies competed on the show and built an air cannon capable of shooting pumpkins at a structure 60 yards away. The contraption combined pipes, pulleys, valves and two bicycles (minus the tires). It worked, but the trio lost in an accuracy competition.

Though beaten, fans sent Berlin and friends hundreds of e-mails. The consensus: They made one hell of a pumpkin-flinging monster.

Want more information?
Click here for a full Q&A with Junkyard warrior Ray Berlin.
Click here for an article on Loctite's involvement with the 'BattleBots' cable television show.
Click here to read a desperate man's plea to start a Junkyard Wars team.

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