Mozart from Scrap-Made Mechanical Glockenspiel

Perhaps you recall the programmable Gloggomobil music machine I wrote about. Here is a related and remarkable DIY project...a weight-driven automatic glockenspiel made from assorted recovered materials. Well done!

From the YouTube Description:
"Andante Grazioso" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart / KV331) played by a "Mechanical Music Box in a Drawer" made from recycling materials found in electronic-waste, bulky trash and at home.

To learn more about mechanical music, check out this post about The Encyclopedia of Automatic Musical Instruments.

[Thanks bhaaluu!]

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Antique DIY Folk Art Automaton Project circa 1900

Here is an incomplete automaton for sale on eBay. While this would be a rather pricey, do-it-yourself project, much of the work is done and the materials provided. The seller even shares a vision for the completed piece. I find this to be an interesting concept: vintage one-of-a-kind DIY.

From the Seller's Description:
"The main figure of a man is articulated on his right side, at the shoulder, elbow and wrist. He is articulated on the left side at only the shoulder and elbow. He is whittling a piece of wood with a real metal knife. I believe he originally paused and lifted the object to examine it, then continued. He may have first had a clockwork movement but when I received it, someone had attempted to operate him with an old clock motor and an old porcelain electrical on off switch appearing to be from the very early 1900's."

The seller is offering the piece with many parts, a curved glass front, and a gear motor to power the automaton.

Here's the eBay listing with many photographs of the vintage woodcarver automaton project

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Make a Kicking Mule Articulated Wooden Toy

Here's a short article on how to carve and assemble this kicking mule toy.

From the article:
"The mule consists of four components: head, ears, front legs joined to the main body, and hindquarters. Pieces of brass rod hold the various parts together, and lengths of string keep them articulated."

Here is the link to the article on how to make a kicking mule toy.

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Build an Ornithopter - Flapping Wing Flying Toy

Build an Ornithopter - video powered by Metacafe

I posted a while back about the Tim Bird Toy -- a rubber band powered bird that flies by flapping its wings.

Here's a great weekend project brought to us by the good folks at MAKE magazine. This video shows how to build an ornithopter -- also powered by a rubber band.

Other Resources:
Ornithoper.org has kits, plans, and advice.
The Wind-up Flying Toys page at The Automata Store.

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Wooden Gear Clock Plans: Clayton Boyer Designs

My recent post on a video about making a wooden gear clock drew some attention from the MAKE magazine blog. I received a several emails and comments asking where to get the plans for the clocks shown in the video.

I found out that the two clocks shown are both from Clayton Boyer Clock Designs. The two clock models in the video are the Swoopy and the Solaris. Shown here is the Vortex.

What exactly do you you get when you order these plans?
All of these clock plans are drawn in CAD and sent as paper patterns (no electronic files or transfers are included).

Included in the clock plans are full size drawings for most of the parts. All of the major components, like the wheels, pinions, and spacers are given as full size patterns. The drawings can be cut from the plans, glued to the appropriately sized stock, and cut to the line.

All of the clock plans come with a full set of instructions and a materials list. Each page also has instructions for each of the parts, and there are a couple of pages that show the completed clockworks.

Visit the Clayton Boyer Clock Designs for over a dozen different wooden clock plans.

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Wood Catapult Toy Kit Can Hurl Small Objects

This is the first in a two part series reviewing the working wood catapult kit made by Pathfinders. In this first part, I will tell you about the kit and give you some assembly tips. In part two, I'll tell you how I went about making the catapult look like it truly belongs a medieval battlefield.

ThinkGeek.com offers more than one model; this review refers to the one advertised as "Catapult Kit". It sells for $19.99.

Where did kit come from?
The product is sold by ThinkGeek.com in their Geek Toys section under the Cube Warfare subsection by the name of Wooden War Engine Kits.


What do you get in the kit?
The kit comes with nearly everything you need to assemble the catapult. The only material you need to provide is white Elmer's-type glue. The kit comes with a small swatch of sandpaper and suggests that you have a ruler and scissors available. The kit arrived in a slender cardboard box with instructions and parts separated into two plastic bags. No excessive packaging, no impossible-to-open-plastic-clamshell. I like that.

The kit contains just over a dozen wooden parts, two washers, some string, a small bit of wire, and some soft Play-Doh type clay -- otherwise known as "ammunition".

The wood is a clear-grained pine. Just one of the pieces of my kit had a medium sized knot in it. It had been filled with a little plastic-wood type filler to keep things solid and smooth.

How were the instructions?
The instructions are printed in black and white on 8 pages. There are instructions in English, French, and German which is nice, though they are intermingled in a way that requires a bit of scanning and rescanning. I found the directions to be very good, though there were a few vague spots. I'll address these very minor pitfalls in the next section. The line drawings in the instructions are simple and clear and serve as the primary means of instruction.

What helpful hints do you have?
Overall, the kit itself took me a little over half an hour to make, though they suggest that you set aside 1 to 2 hours. The kit is suggested for ages 9 and up. That sounds about right to me.

Here are a few helpful hints for the assembling the catapult kit:

1. Read the entire instruction manual all the way through, paying attention to the drawings. This won't take long and this will prevent any possible confusion.
   
2. At first, I wasn't sure how to tell the crosspiece that the holds the trigger from the upright braces. It's quite simple really: just read the directions (I hadn't yet). Note that they have thoughtfully placed red marks on the crosspiece and the base with which it mates.
3. The kit is held together with pegs that are glued in place. There are 18 total. Be sure to sift through the lot to find the two that a just a bit longer than the others. These are used to add tension to the string.
4. I found that the pegs fit rather tightly. The glue helps to lubricate them a bit. I gently used a nonmarring hammerto tap the pieces together. Alternatively, you could use the included sandpaper to slightly taper the ends of the dowels and ease their entry.
5. Add a safety/trigger - The trigger arm didn't always want to hold the throwing arm in place when under tension (OK, yeah...so maybe I have it wound too tightly). I rigged up a small diagonal piece of wood that fits in a notch to keep the trigger arm from swinging. By pulling this diagonal piece out, the trigger arm is free to swing and the catapult will fire. (See image below for my safety/trigger addition.)
   
6. A small hobby or razor Sawis handy if you want to trim some of the dowels that are left a bit over the surface of a few parts.
7. Consider staining and/or sealing your model to increase its beauty and lifetime. More on this in part 2 of this series.

So...does it work?
The packaging claims that the catapult can throw a soft clay ball over 15 feet. This is absolutely true. I easily achieved distances over 20 feet and don't think I have put undue strain on the model. Should you choose to add extra horsepower to your model (and this is just my speculation), I believe some added string and a reinforced crossbar would allow you to throw a grape twice as far as advertised.

The Verdict?
This is a well proportioned and historically accurate catapult. More specifically this is a mangonel variety of catapult that uses twisted fibers for its power source. I gather that many had a sling on the end rather than the spoon shape we typically see. (You can learn more about catapults from The Art of the Catapult: Build Greek Ballistae, Roman Onagers, English Trebuchets, and More Ancient Artillery)

Everything that was promised was delivered and the model outperformed the advertising copy. When was the last time you purchased a product that did that?

I give the Authentic Working Wood Catapult from ThinkGeek.com high marks.

What's next?
In the next installment of this article, I'll show you how I made the catapult model look ancient and ready for a siege.

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Bioloid Humanoid (or non-humanoid) Robotics Kit

Bioloid features 18 servo motors, an amazing range of movement, and versatile modular construction. The Bioloid Humanoid Robotics Kit is truly a KIT. This means you will can assemble the Bioloid's modules together to form any one of dozens of different robotic creatures (see image below). This really sets it apart from other humanoid robot kits and lesser toys.

The sensor array is impressive: an IrDA receiver, three proximity sensors that can measure distance and luminosity, and a microphone for sound detection and a piezo-electric speaker that can be used to play musical or beeps. This is a robot aware of its surroundings -- another big plus.

Using the included motion editor software and visual programming environment, you can make the Bioloid interact with its surroundings and perform complex movements. Motions are built up frame-by-frame like a story board in an animation sequence. This allows quite complicated movements to be programmed. Once a motion has been defined it can then be downloaded into the Bioloid's memory and called from the Behaviour Control Program. The Bioloid comes with several example programs to make it walk, avoid obstacles and interact with sound.

This is an impressive platform for roboitics allowing for many configurations, many ways to sense the environment, and a well-developed system for programming actions.

Take a look at the extensive documentation (including the manual and screen shots of the programming interface) on the Bioloid Humanoid Robotics Kit.

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Programmable DIY Mechanical Music Box

Most small music boxes use a cylinder with metal studs mounted to a metal cylinder. As the cylinder rotates, each stud "plucks" a little finger that sounds a corresponding musical note.

Player pianos used a similar principle, but the notes were recorded on large sheets of paper, where a hole were punched in the paper to indicate which note strikes and when. By carefully coordinating the arrangement of holes, entire songs can be composed. Some consider this technique -- especially when it was applied to automated looms -- to be the world's first software.

This music box kit works like a miniature player piano. There are no pins, but a strip of paper, into which you punch holes yourself. That's right... you punch your own songs! You can replicate your favorite tunes or compose new ones.

In this kit, you get the music box mechanism (2 octaves in the key of C), the specialized hole punch, "Happy Birthday" pre-punched strip, 3 blank strips, and instructions. You can order additional paper strips. A very novel, but at the same time historical, mechanical toy.

Learn more or buy the DIY Programmable Music Box

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Steps to Fix Your Broken Portable Power Tools

When a power tool stops working, a broken electrical part is the likely culprit. Don't throw that tool away! Fix it! Better yet, pull one out of someone else's trash and bring it back to life.

Though there is a huge variety of electric power tools, the basic electrical components -- cords, switches and brushes -- are similar regardless of the tool's purpose or manufacturer.

From the article:
"(The) procedure for tracing problems begins with testing and examining wires, then switches and finally brushes. The only special tool you will need is a multi-tester, available from an electronics shop for about $25. With it, a host of problems can be traced right to the source. Many electrical components on power tools can be replaced for $20 or less if you do the repair work yourself."

Here's a link to the article, Basic Repairs for Portable Power Tools

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Cubical Warfare Goes Medieval/Mechanical

ThinkGeek is selling these working scale replica kits of Medieval siege engines. Seen here (clockwise from the right) are a Trebuchet, Catapult, and Bastilla.

From ThinkGeek.com:
"These kits let you bring back all the fun of flinging. Each one can assemble in just a few hours, and provides a fantastic scale model of an actual war weapon of yore. The catapult is perfect for chucking balls of paper and other small objects over cubicle walls. The trebuchet is better for long range targets (like the water cooler or networked printer). And, all you need to put them together are some strong fingers (or pliers), a cutting tool, and glue (not included). All three kits are perfect for showing your love of retro weaponry."

Sounds like fun to me!

Visit ThinkGeek cube warfare toys section to see all of these awesome wooden kits.

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Automaton of Leonardo's Mechanical Hammer

Here's a nice looking model from the folks at PaperPino. This is a paper model made up of 44 parts that can be assembled without glue. A system of removable interlocking pins holds the model together.

From the PaperPino Site:
This is one of the simplest machines designed by Leonardo in order to improve the human performance. A lever connected to the hammer is moved by means of an eccentric cam. At each turn of the handle, the hammer gives a stroke. As a matter of fact, the real hammer is supposed to be powered by a water paddle-wheel. An implementation with a paddle-wheel powered by sand is planned for the next future.

Check out Leonardo's Mechanical Hammer paper model.

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Dunninger's Encyclopedia of Magic in MAKE

I'm thrilled to have played a small part in MAKE Magazine's latest issue, Volume 13. The theme of the issue is magic. I review a classic book on the subject: Dunningers Complete Encyclopedia Of Magic.

Magicians have a long history of being exceptional makers. Just to assure you that this post is on-topic, the book contains details of one of Hero of Alexandria's automata and instructions on marionette construction.

The book is out-of-print, but available used online.

Pick up a copy of MAKE, Volume 13 to read my concise book review. The issue also has a TON of articles on magic, makers, and cool things to make for yourself.

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Automaton Building Video: How to Make Automata

Here is an instructional video on how to make wood automata by one of the UK's top automata artists, Keith Newstead. It is a very helpful video. My only regret is that it is not longer!

From the site:
Making automata is hard. It requires a wide range of construction skills and an understanding of certain mechanical and engineering principles...The first half of the tape is divided into the following sections: Levers, Cranks, Linkages, Cams, Shafts & Bearings, Ratchets, Gearing and Drives...The second part concentrates on some of the ways the mechanisms can be put together to make automata.

Here is the link to the video on How to Make Automata
Note: Those in the USA will want the NTSC version.

Here is a book that is also very good: Automata and Mechanical Toys.

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Book: Make Your Own Working Paper Clock

I remember seeing this book at a friend's house when I was a teenager. Neither he nor I had the patience to undertake the project. Years later, this books seems like an amazing way to learn about clocks, clock-making, mechanics, paper engineering...and patience.

The reviews on Amazon about the book/kit/project are illuminating. Among some of the tips I read were the following:

• Consider getting two copies in anticipation of needing to make/remake certain pieces
• Use glue sparingly
• Try a tacky type of glue
  
• Use an X-acto knife and many X-acto blades
  
• Work in many short sessions over time
• Work when you are up to it and can be careful
  
• Have small clips, weights, clamps, and cross-lock tweezers
  
• Be especially careful when constructing the main gears
• Certain parts might benefit from a hardening coat of white glue or Mod Podge
  

The comments reveal that the people who were happy with this project were the ones that really savored the process of building. It is clear that this not an afternoon project. If it is approached as a challenging, educational exercise -- you cannot really fail.

Order the book Make Your Own Working Paper Clock

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Make Your Own Robot...With a Soda Can!

This little kit includes a plastic body, wire wings, wire legs, motor with wires, screws, and detailed instructions...almost everything you need to turn an empty soda can into simple robot bug that skitters across the floor. You supply the batteries, soda can, and the time it takes to put it together.

Check out the Make Your Own Soda Can Robug Kit.

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How to Build Rubber Band Powered Cars & Toys

I don't own this book, but it looks like it has good step-by-step plans for making rubber band powered cars and toys.

The book's table of contents lists at least eight different projects. The excerpt pages I saw on Amazon.com suggest that the book uses lots of clear photographs to show how to make each project. The projects use easy-to-find materials and tools such as rubber bands, cardboard, pencils, push-pins, white glue, and scissors.

Sounds like some cheap, easy, DIY, mechanical toy fun to me.

Check out the book Amazing Rubber Band Cars: Easy-to-Build Wind-Up Racers, Models, and Toys

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Automaton Kits - Make Your Own Wood Automata

Automaton Kits have been added to a page on DugNorth.com. Several wood automata kits from Timberkits are available online. The lower portion of the page also has links to some paper animation kits from Flying Pig Paper Animation Kits.

Kits are a great way to begin building automata. With all of these kits, the tricky design details have already been worked out. You can concentrate on the task of building something you know will work. From there, you may choose to design your own. If you do, these automata related books can help.

Check out the automata kits page on DugNorth.com.

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Counting Sheep - New Paper Automata Kit

The new paper animation kit from Flying Pig Animated paper kits is officially available.

The piece is called Counting Sheep. When the handle on the box is turned, the sheep jump, and a counter is incremented.

A classic ratchet-and-pawl mechanism to drives the counter. Not an easy mechanism to engineer in paper!

Flying Pig offers printed kits and downloads. Order the kits you like, download the file (PDF), print them on card stock, cut them out, and glue them together with white glue. Each kit comes with complete instructions.

Check out Counting Sheep and the other paper animation kits.

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Wood Works with David Marks on Amazon

Amazon.com has recently added Unboxed Videosto its product lineup. What is an Unboxed Video? Simply put, it is a video download of a show or movie that can be purchased or rented and then viewed on PCs, Portable Media Players, or TiVo DVRs.

I did a search and found that season 7 of David Marks' TV series Wood Works is available at $1.99 per episode. For less than two dollars, you can watch an episode on more than one PC or TiVo DVR, keep it in your library, and make a backup disc.

This seem like a pretty good idea: No VCR to program, no tapes to buy or store, and the ability to quickly scan through the video to watch and re-watch particular sections. Each one has a description of the episode, running time, and a short video preview.

If you find other video related to automata, please let me know!

Check out this new online resource to learn about woodworking: Wood Works shows from Amazon Unboxed Videos

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Wind-powered Whirligig Head with Moving Jaw

This week's Reader Contribution comes from Tim who has used a common whirligig mechanism to animate an uncommon theme.

Tim has fashioned a head with articulated jaw. The wind-powered whirligig mechanism drives a crankshaft which makes the mouth open and close.

Very clever, indeed.

For more on whirligig construction check out these titles:
Whacky Toys, Whirligigs & Whatchamacallits
Making Animated Whirligigs
Easy-to-Make Whirligigs
Whimsical Whirligigs
Action Whirligigs: 25 Easy-to-Do Projects
The Art And Craft of Whirligig Construction

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Automaton Top Hat with a Mechanized Surprise!

I've added a new page to my site featuring various stages of my trick Halloween top hat automaton.

On this page you will find links to:

• My concept sketch of the hat
• The mechanism inside the hat
• The finished hat
• Details of the article about the hat
• Video for Windows & MAC

Here's the link to the Halloween Hat Automaton page.

Of course you can also order MAKE magazine Halloween special edition, 2007 for all the details of construction.

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Dug North's Trick Halloween Top Hat

Here's a little video of the hat of my design that is in the new Halloween edition of MAKE magazine.

This is the prototype shown in this movie. The model in the magazine is a bit shorter and so sits on the head better. I also used a black ribbon in place of the maroon one.

The project requires two costume "coachman's" hats, plywood, some small pieces of wood, two L-brackets, two springs, a brake cable and lever, a cable crimp, some washers and screws, and...brace yourself...a rubber finger puppet. Terrifying!

Here's a link to the MAKE store where you can get the Halloween issue, which is full of nothing but DIY Halloween projects.

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Make Magazine Halloween Project Archives

I am really excited to have an article in the fist-ever Halloween Special Issue of MAKE Magazine. They have set up a dedicated Halloween section of their site. It's full of DIY Halloween projects.

They are also holding Halloween contests in a bunch of cool categories including:

• Pumpkin decorating
• Costumes
• Decorations, haunted houses, and gadgets
• Halloween Food

To enter just upload your photos to the DIY HALLOWEEN Flickr photo pool and tag them "DIYHALLOWEEN." You can also email your photos to make.magazine@gmail.com, or put them on Instructables in the MAKE group with a tag "DIYHALLOWEEN". Maybe your project will be in the second Halloween edition next year!

Check out the Make Magazine Halloween project archives.

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Make Magazine Halloween Issue on Sale 9/4

MAKE magazine has its fist-ever special Halloween issue for sale on newsstands starting today, September 4th!

I have written a short article for this issue showing the reader how to make a trick top hat for the spooky holiday. The hat can be seen on this version of the cover at the bottom, in the center.

The hat holds a mechanism connected to a cable and bicycle brake lever. When the lever is squeezed, a little monster bursts out of the top of the hat. Pretty cool, if I do say so myself.

The project is fun to make, but even more fun to wear!

If you local newsstand or bookseller does not carry MAKE, you can order the Halloween issue at the MAKE online store.

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Quick Clamp Wrap - Clamps Odd Shapes

Developed for aerospace applications, this tape is made from an elastic silicone compound. It sticks to itself on contact and fuses permanently in a day. It grips almost anything and should not damage surfaces because it is inert.

Long used for automotive and home repairs, now woodworkers have discovered X-Treme Tape can function as an impromptu clamp for holding wood pieces during the gluing process. Even odd shaped pieces can be held because of the tacky nature of the tape.

This stuff is just plain good to have around in case of emergencies. It forms an air and water-tight seal, is heat-resistant up to 500 degrees F, and insulates up to 400 volts per mil. Wow.

Here's an article on X-Treme Tape from the Woodworker's Journal site.

Rockler Woodworking Supply sells X-Treme Tape Quick Clamp Wrap in 10 foot rolls for about $6.50. Keep this in mind as a stocking stuffer for the holidays.

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Automaton How-To Article, MAKE Halloween Issue

I am very pleased to announce that I have contributed an article to MAKE Magazine's first-ever special Halloween issue. The article shows the secret behind the trick top hat I designed, so that you can build one for yourself!

You can pre-order MAKE Magazines Special Halloween Issue now. I have a feeling it is going to be a really great issue of MAKE.

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Make Magazine Now Selling DIY Automta Kits

The ever-cool Make Magazine is now offering Designing Automata Kits.

I've never tried one of these kits, but it sure looks like a great way to try your hand it it -- even if you don't own tools. I bet this kit it would be a great gift for kids too. If any of you have tried these kits, drop me a line and tell me what you think.

Head on over to the Make Store to get your Designing Automata Kit.

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New Paper Automata Download Shop

Flying-Pig Paper Animation Kits has created a whole new storefront for their downloadable automata. He is offering many of his designs as downloads!

Make your own paper automaton:

STEP 1 - Purchase and download the design of your choice to your computer. Each kit comes as an acrobat file (PDF).