ACME Rocket Plane Sled Restoration (I tried riding it down a hill)

[@CatalystRestorations]

As much as we all love how satisfying it is to watch sandblasting and making parts from scratch on a lathe, don't forget that the goal of Catalyst Restorations is to break down barriers for others looking to start restoring their own things and make the whole process educational and less daunting to get into! To make this possible, I include infographics with tools and materials I'm using during the project and I use restoration techniques and tools available to almost anyone on a basic budget - I also use my own restored things to restore more things! There are many, many ways to restore things that don't require a $10,000 workshop. 😎 Do you have fond memories of riding a sled like this when you where a kid? Share your stories below!!

[@tammythompson1927]

Okay....I am gonna date myself here. My brother and I used one of those. That job was just awesome.

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thanks! It still works great! (or at least it will if it ever snows here!)

[@michelecrown2426]

Many fond memories of hours and hours of sledding. Including breaking my nose one time and getting a small tree limb that was frozen into the ground puncturing my leg. But that didn't stop me year after year coming down that hill :) As much as I hate pop rivets in restorations, the ones you used are so large they don't look at bad as regular pop rivets. And aided you in achieving your goal. One suggestion if you do future lettering on open grained wood like that. Thin out the varnish and give the wood a coat first. The edges of your lettering or designs will come out much crisper. Thoroughly enjoyed watching this restoration. Looking forward to seeing you fly down a hill. :)

[@CatalystRestorations]

Good memories 😊 I also dislike pop rivets, but sometimes they're just the right tool for the job; one other bit I didn't show with them is I fill them in with some solder and polish them smooth so they look about as seamless as a regular rivet. Thank you for the tip on putting down a varnish layer first, I'll definitely do that next time!

[@tamus41]

😂😂😂 the end creased me up, brilliant 👍👍

[@CatalystRestorations]

Still makes me depressed to think about it 😭

[@MASI_forging]

Thank you for showing absolutely everything. 😊😊

[@CatalystRestorations]

You're welcome! Gotta make sure anyone else restoring their own sled can follow along!

[@MarkMeadows90]

We don't even get snow down here in northern Alabama, so I feel your pain. But hey, I think this was one of your best restorations yet. Lovely job!

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thank you so much Mark!

[@jt9498]

I had the Canadian version of one of those as a kid back in the 50's! :) Great memories!

[@CatalystRestorations]

Awesome!! I grew up in the era of plastic sleds, so I always find it wild that kids lugged around 20 pound sleds made out of solid metal 😂

[@Anrakyr]

Excellent restoration. I have exactly the same one, I also restored them, but in a slightly different way. As a child, riding down a snow slide, I felt like a real Flash Gordon. Oh, the old rocket plane, so many memories. At the end of the video I was already screaming: how so?!

[@CatalystRestorations]

That's so awesome!! Thanks for sharing your memories 😊. I don't think we're going to get any more snow for sledding the rest of this winter at this point so I guess I'll have to be patient until next winter 🥲

[@T_B]

@@CatalystRestorations I'm eager to see it on snow in 8-10 months! I had one of these as a kid, too.

[@CatalystRestorations]

@@T_B I'm like a kid on Christmas who gets a new sled and then has to wait for the snow!

[@robertmanley7556]

Very very nice !! I love theses old sleds a lot of memories made on this and now many more to be made as well !! Yes winter has been odd this year for sure !! Great video as alway's and amazing work !! 👍👍

[@CatalystRestorations]

It's a weird year for sure! Thank you for watching Robert!!

[@andrewgrace4410]

Very nice restoration 😊

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thanks Andrew! One of my favorites easily!

[@cherylbuscema2712]

Well done!

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thank you Cheryl!

[@adf-meclub489]

Clark Griswald's company out of Chicago has a real good silicone spray to put on that sled's runners.

[@CatalystRestorations]

"Later dudes!" 🤙

[@tony1721]

Impressive

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thanks! This is easily one of my favorite restoration projects ever.

[@tony1721]

@@CatalystRestorations I’ve got a sledge to do , not as complex as that one, it’s in my stash of projects 😂😂😂

[@CatalystRestorations]

@@tony1721 awesome!!

[@johnnewton2949]

Rosebud............🥲

[@CatalystRestorations]

Congrats, you're the first person to reference this, John! 👏

[@robkarnosh117]

That's Ohio for ya. At least the sled with have at least another 60 years ahead of it and I'm sure it will see the slopes. Keep up the great work. I do sense there may be a quick ball peen hammer restoration in the future.

[@CatalystRestorations]

As soon we get enough snow (maybe not for another 10-12 months...) I'll be on the slopes with it! You might be right in that ball peen restoration too 😉

[@oneshotme]

It looks great!! Thank global warming for no snow. We had one hard freeze here in N Florida for the first time in 14 years. And did have 4 to 6 day 40 years ago Enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thanks for watching! Going to be seeing a lot more of these winters in the future I'm afraid.

[@oneshotme]

@@CatalystRestorations You're welcome!! Yeah we had 80+ degree days in January That's crazy and just going to get worst I think in a few years Florida may never have winters again

[@tony1721]

I’m happy to see that last of snow 😏

[@rogerpatrongonzalez5800]

👏👍👏👍👏👍👏👍👏👍👏👍👏👍

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thanks Roger!! And thank you for being a Catalyst Restorations subscriber for over a year now!!

[@CogentConsult]

OMG, DON’T use a chisel or a screw driver as a pry bars. Get yourself a “casing” pry bar. Harbor Freight has them for about $3.50

[@CatalystRestorations]

Sometimes you just use what you've got that you're never going to use for anything else ever again. 🤷‍♂️ Thanks for the tip, I'll look into that!

[@fredroe7556]

I have 2 id like to restore for decorations what rivets and rivet gun did you use?

[@CatalystRestorations]

Search for a pop rivet gun on Amazon or a hardware store. They're common and they basically all work the same. Then for the pop rivets themselves you'll want to find ones that have large heads but still fit into your rivet gun- I bought mine off Amazon.

[@fredroe7556]

@CatalystRestorations what size rivets did you use they looked pretty big

[@CatalystRestorations]

@@fredroe7556 the shank is 3/16" diameter, they're 1" long, and the flange is just labeled as "large flange"

[@fredroe7556]

@@CatalystRestorations thank you

[@fredroe7556]

Found Rivets now just need the solid rivets

[@howardklein9834]

Snow totals are just as bad in the NYC region as well, thanks to climate change.

[@CatalystRestorations]

Yup, and it will only continue to get more severe every year.

[@howardklein9834]

@@CatalystRestorations unfortunately.

[@carlmcgee1623]

SLICK and SICK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@CatalystRestorations]

THANKS CARL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@delliardo583]

It's always Ohio!

[@CatalystRestorations]

That's Ohio for ya! 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@357magdad]

Fantastic restoration! Too bad about the weather!

[@CatalystRestorations]

Thanks magdad! It just snowed here last night, but of course for a sled of this weight you need like 3-4" of solid packed snow, otherwise your rails just dig into the ground! 😭