Video of the Mysterious Chess-playing Automaton

I wrote recently about the Clockwork Game, the amazing graphic novel about The Turk.

Here is video footage of the mysterious chess-playing automaton created in 1770 by Hungarian nobleman Wolfgang von Kempelen.

For more details about The Turk you might check out:

• The Wikipedia entry for The Turk
• The Turk: The Life and Times of the Famous Eighteenth-Century Chess-Playing Machine
• Edison's Eve: A Magical History of the Quest for Mechanical Life
• Chess Man VS Machine
• The Illustrated History of Magic

Bibliography from Clockwork Game web site.

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Graphic Novel about The Turk Chess Automaton

Clockwork Game is a graphic dramatization of the historical events surrounding one of the famous automata known as The Turk. Constructed by Hungarian nobleman Wolfgang von Kempelen, The Turk amazed audiences for decades on several continents by playing (and besting) many human competitors at the game of chess. Or, did it...?

Written and illustrated by Jane Irwin, a new installment of Clockwork Game is available every Thursday. Not only is this true story captivating, it is well-illustrated in a crosshatched pen-and-ink style. The graphic novel will ultimately be available in many formats including print.

The Clockwork Game web site has a wealth of great information about The Turk.

Here's were you can start to read Clockwork Game from the beginning.

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Mechanical Toys: How Toys & Automata Work

Here's a good book for you: Mechanical Toys: How Old Toys Work, by Athelstan and Kathleen Spilhaus (New York: Crown Publishers Inc., 1989).

The line between automata and toys has never been clear, but the principles of engineering that animate them have always been the same. This book explores how mechanical toys work.

The chapters survey the history of toys, material types, methods of construction, sound producing devices, and energy delivery systems. While not overly detailed in its technical descriptions, the reader gets a chance to see many black-and-white and color photographs of exposed toy and automata mechanisms.

Keep an eye out for this one. You may be able to get Mechanical Toys: How Old Toys Work second-hand at a book sale or at Amazon.

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Recriprocating Motion from Rotary Motion Device

This is a somewhat unexpected way to get reciprocating (back-and-forth) motion from rotary motion (circular). What's so interesting about this design in how compact it is and that it requires no return springs or counter-weights (positive drive).

Check out this post for 5 great books mechanical reference books.

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Vintage Speaking Book Uses Integrated Bellows

Here is a antique children's story book with integrated animal sounds. Presumably, the sounds accompany the story.

The nine unique noises are produced by small mechanisms attached to small air bellows and paper cones.The book also attempts the to make the sounds "Mama" and "Papa". Tricky, and very clever, indeed.

This is another gem from the folks at www.automatomania.com

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Geneva Mechanism, Maltese Cross or Geneva Stop

The Geneva Drive is also called the Maltese Cross or the Geneva Stop.
The Geneva mechanism was originally invented by a watch maker from Geneva to prevent the spring of a watch from being over-wound.

The most common use of the mechanism is to convert a continuous rotary motion into an intermittent rotary motion. In operation, a drive wheel with a pin enters into one of several slots on the driven wheel and thus advances it by one step (or "station"). The drive wheel also has a raised circular disc that serves to lock the driven wheel in a fixed position between steps.
Historically, this mechanism is was often used in movie film cameras and projectors to increment the film one frame at a time. Many automata use the Geneva mechanism for various purposes. In my own piece, The Birthing Engine, I used a 4-station Geneva wheel to control the appearance of the four babies that emerge from the mother.

Here is an 3-D animation of a shifter system that uses a Geneva mechanism:The mechanism in the animation above is patented by Barloworld CVT Technologies and is used in their positive drive CVT as a ratio shifting mechanism.

Here are some books that show various forms of Geneva mechanisms:

• Five Hundred and Seven Mechanical Movements
• Mechanisms and Mechanical Devices Sourcebook
• 1800 Mechanical Movements, Devices and Appliances
• Pictorial Handbook of Technical Devices
• Machine Devices and Components Illustrated Sourcebook
• Cam Design and Manufacturing Handbook

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A History of the Quest to Make Mechanical Life

Originally published in the United Kingdom as Living Dolls, this book will be fascinating to those interested in the history of automata. As suggested in the subtitle –– "A Magical History of the Quest for Mechanical Life" –– the author explores the motives of people who have made automata, androids, and robots through the ages.

This is a very well-researched account of humankind's ongoing efforts to simulate, emulate, and duplicate living things in mechanical form. A rich intellectual and cultural history, this book provides a context for understanding why automata have been created in the first place.

This book was included in my Kircher Society Essential Library of Automata list.

You can search inside many pages of Edison's Eve: A Magical History of the Quest for Mechanical Lifeon Amazon.com.

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Falk Keuten - Expert in Mechancial Objects & Art

There are a few people that have really helped The Automata / Automaton Blog grow since it started in the summer of 2006. I would like to introduce you to one of those people now -- Falk Keuten of Bonn, Germany.

Herr Keuten has devoted years to collecting information, books, videos, and examples of things directly related to what is presented on this blog.

Among his many interests are:
• Mechanical toys
• Wooden automata
• Coin-operated automata, gambling and vending machines
• Amusement machines for fairs and festivals
• Odd machines, strange mechanics, mechanical chain reactions
• Paper mechanics including books, figures, and greeting cards
• Machine Art / Kinetic art
• Rolling ball sculptures as toys, construction kits, and art

Not content to simply collect items and information, he has invented some of his own things that can be described as a being a mix of toys, art, and mechanics. Herr Keuten has many connections to artists within his diverse areas of interest.

He is the author of a wonderful book: Mechanische Spielobjekte und Automaten, Munich 1987, now out of print. The title translates in English as something like "Mechanical Toy Objects and Automata". I am informed, though, that in the German "automaten" includes more things than the English word "automata".

Herr Keuten has written many articles for professional journals. He writes a regular column "Virtuelle Wunderkammer" for a German journal aimed at Design and Technology teachers called tu.

He is also a key contributor to the fantastic site www.kugelbahn.ch, providing many of the links found on their kinetic arts page and the author of a comprehensive media list.

Herr Keuten has been involved in many school-based exhibitions. His last general exhibition entitled "Rollende Kugeln" (Rolling Balls) was at the gallery Studio Dumont, in Cologne, in December of 2007.

My admiration and my gratitude are sent to Falk Keuten, an expert with a generous heart.

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Making Mechanical Marvels In Wood - DIY Book

Here's a book that should interest you makers out there. Making Mechanical Marvels In Wood

This book is not unlike Making Wooden Mechanical Models which I reviewed here. There are, however, some important differences between the two books.

Like Making Wooden Mechanical Models, this book isn't specifically written for automaton makers. Both books feature basic wooden machines as finished projects in themselves.

Making Mechanical Marvels differs in that many of the projects in this book are key building blocks to making contemporary wooden automata. For example, projects such as the cam and follower, the Scotch yoke, the fast-return actuator, and the Geneva wheel are all elements often found in an automaton.

The projects in this book are very handsome and would make nice gifts. There's something inexpressibly classy about machines made of wood.

I bought Making Mechanical Marvels bundled with Making Wooden Models from Amazon.com and I'm glad I did. The two books really compliment each other. I consider this book to be Volume 1. This book has very clear instructions and drawings to get you up to speed making wooden mechanisms. Making Wooden Models is equivalent to Volume 2 in which you tackle some more complicated projects.

The book has well-drawn line diagrams and a series of color pages in the center. The instructions are very well written; I would feel good about giving this book to a new woodworker or youngster looking for a science fair project.

The book concludes with some handy shop tips and jigs -- a nice bonus. I have learned a great deal from this book. Don't overlook it as a resource for building wooden mechanism.

Here is where you can order Making Mechanical Marvels In Wood.

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Automata as Metaphors for Understanding

Ready for some wildly imaginative and yet scholarly reading about automata in history? Head over to The Old is New Blog written by Professor Robert MacDougall. In his post Turk 182, he explores many interested ideas that center around automata.

Prof. MacDougall Writes:
By the late eighteenth century automata had moved from courtly settings to more public markets, theaters, and squares–not unlike Enlightenment ideas. Automata served, Schaffer says, as "both arguments and entertainments," and they could hardly be avoided as metaphors or models in debates on "the puzzles of good government--of the world by the deity, of the state by the prince, of the workshop by the master, and of the body by spirit." For obvious reasons, automata made handy illustrations of materialist philosophies. Clockwork imitations of nature made it possible to imagine nature as a machine.

Much of this article is refers to historian Simon Schaffer's article on "Enlightenment Automata" in the book The Sciences in Enlightened Europe

Here's the link to MacDougall's post on automata.

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Clark Collection at Boston's Museum of Science

Clark Collection of Mechanical Movement Models is a set of working models designed by American engineer William M. Clark in the early 1900s.

Originally numbering over 200, these models were displayed as the Mechanical Wonderland in New York in 1928 and at the Century of Progress Exhibition in Chicago in 1933. Today, 120 of these mechanical models remain in working order and on display at the Museum in Boston.

Based in large measure on designs laid out in Henry T. Brown's 507 Mechanical Movements (1871), the Clark models include gear mechanisms, pulley systems, cutaways, and cross sections of a variety of machines. They illustrate methods of converting rotary to rectilinear motion and rectilinear to oscillating motion, as well as solutions to a variety of mechanical tasks. The models continue to be of interest to a range of Museum visitors, from young children to mechanical designers and tinkerers

Cornell University Library and Boston's Museum of Science are collaborating to integrate the entire Clark Collection into the Kinetic Models for Design Digital Library (KMODDL). For now a good sampling is available here.

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Automaton of Lion Tamer by Maker Frank Nelson

Take a look at this beautiful Frank Nelson prototype that just sold on eBay. This piece is featured in Automata and Mechanical Toys

From the eBay Listing:
A hand-operated circus Lion-Tamer automata by Frank Nelson. Born in 1930 in Blackpool, Frank Nelson has been a well-regarded automata-maker for over 35 years and retired in 2000. This automata is a prototype from his private collection. Nelson originally first produced Tiger Tamers and Lion Tamers in the 1970's. This was a prototype for a new improved model. "I always felt the need to make these changes but it meant a great deal more work".

The Tamer stands facing the Lion who is sitting on a plinth while behind them is an illustrated backboard of a circus tent. In this version the lion moves independently of the plinth on which he stands. Turn the handle and see the Tamer crack his whip once, only for the Lion to refuse by shaking his head. The refusal is repeated again on the second crack of the whip. Finally The Tamer cracks his whip a third time and then the Lion nods his head twice and does his trick by swiveling around and putting his head into the tamer's mouth.

Frank Nelson's automata tell a story with a twist in the end. "The Tamer is the best idea I have ever had - two decorative figures interacting with each other". Made in mixed media and in excellent condition and full working order. Signed by the maker with his distinctive logo on the back.

Size 36cm high; 27cm wide; 17cm deep.

See more photos of The Lion Tamer and check out the impressive sale price at eBay.

Also learn more about the artist and automata-making from Automata and Mechanical Toys

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Reciprocating Motion from Rotating on Same Axis

One reader of The Automata / Automaton Blog wrote to me with an interesting question. He wrote:

"I'm looking for a simple mechanism to convert rotational motion to reciprocal motion along the SAME axis as the rotation, not perpendicular."

I decided to investigate potential solutions in one of my favorite books on mechanisms, Five Hundred and Seven Mechanical Movements. Below are some of the solutions I found listed by the numbers that appear in my copy of the book (Astragal Press, 1995).

• 95. Oblique disc imparting rectilinear motion to rod resting upon its surface
• 106. & 107. Uniform reciprocating rectilinear motion produced by rotary motion of grooved cams
• 136. Crown tooth gear with rod pressed against rim
• 143. Sliding worm screw and toothed wheel
• 165. Circular to rectilinear motion via waved-wheel (or cam)
• 167. Drum or cylinder with endless groove and follower
• 237. Crown-ratchet (driven by crown, not pawl)
• 272. Beveled disc with follower on its circumference.
• 351. Partially toothed pinion and rack with return mechanism

I have probably missed a few in the book, and there are certainly many more possible solutions.

Order your own copy of Five Hundred and Seven Mechanical Movements: Embracing All Those Which Are Most Important in Dynamics, Hydraulics, Hydrostatics, Pneumatics, Steam Engines...

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Making Wooden Mechanical Models

Not for automata makers specifically -- the mechanisms found in Making Wooden Mechanical Models could well be used for automata, provided the reader has a bit of ingenuity.

The models themselves are nicely proportioned and well designed. Any of these models would be a welcome addition to the desktop of a mechanically inclined person.

I have read this book from cover to cover and browsed the drawings for inspiration. Beautiful color photos in the center of the book demonstrate the skill the authors have great in fabricating with wood. I have found this book to be very useful in this regard. Note: some of the projects in this book are best accomplished with a lathe.

Should you choose to buy this book and make the some of the models, you will find that it contains good project lists and plan drawings from which to work.

Amazon has a nice "Search Inside" this book feature for this book to let you preview the book's contents.

Take a look at Making Wooden Mechanical Models: 15 Designs With Visible Wheels, Cranks, Pistons, Cogs, and Cams.

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Soldering: A Basic How-To for Automata Makers

The photograph shown here features some of the essential tools used to solder metals together: a fan for blowing away fumes, protection for the work surface, water for cooling, a torch, solder, and flux. The photo should also show emery cloth, steel wool, or Scotch-Bright pads for cleaning the metal surfaces -- a very important step.

Charles Mak writes:
"I was looking for soldering info, since soldering, I believe, is a technique an automata-maker should be familiar with. In fact, some works by Neil Hardy require soldering for their mechanical parts. I came across this site which offers more than just soldering technique but also a wealth of (free) information on materials, preparations, sources, etc. It's all free to view and print, but for those who prefer a 16-page color book, they can order it or download it for a fee."

Most online tutorials assume you want to solder electronics. While the principles are the same, the process is a bit different. Here is the site with free soldering and metal-working tips. (You'll need to scroll down a bit to find the start of the article.)

For a comprehensive reference to metal-joining techniques, you might take a look at Soldering, Brazing and Welding, which looks to be a great book on the subject.

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Ingenious Mechanisms for Designers & Inventors

The title alone basically ensured that I would buy these books one day. I mean, just by owning them, it's like I am a bona fide inventor. The title says so!

There are lots of multi-component mechanisms described in great detail in this four-volume set. For automata makers, it may be a lot to digest, but there are hundreds of mechanical elements that could be used.

These books offer multiple solutions for each category of machine. The organization of the material is a little funny; you will need to browse all four books to cover all the possible solutions.

The drawings are very good -- clear and well labeled line art reminiscent of patent drawings.

Be prepared to do some reading...these books require some careful reading of several pages to understand how a given device works. It's not exactly a quick reference.

I have not used much from these books directly in any of my projects, but I feel that they have greatly improved my understanding of complex machines.

The machines depicted are of an historical nature. This is not a shortcoming, however. Mechanisms of the sort found in these volumes were state-of-the-art at one time. They are a testament to a certain real-world ingenuity that most of us can't comprehend.

These book make an impression on one's bookshelf. Seriously: a numbered set of four hardcover books in bright orange. It's impressive and sure to attract attention.

Learn more about Ingenious Mechanisms for Designers and Inventors (4-Volume Set)

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Encyclopedia of Automatic Musical Instruments

Encyclopedia of Automatic Musical Instruments by Q. David Bowers must be the definitive reference on this subject.

Published in 1972 by The Vestal Press of New York. Printed in hardcover, this book weighs in at over 1,008 pages with hundreds of black-and-white photographs, advertisements, and reproduction company brochures.

I don't own this book, but it is highly-rated by buyers and reviewers on Amazon.

Here's a link to the text of Vestal Press original advertising text.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
 • Preface
 • Introduction
 • Cylinder Music Boxes
 • Disc Music Boxes
 • Player Pianos
 • Reproducing Pianos
 • Coin-Operated Pianos and Orchestrions
 • Organettes and Player Organs
 • Fairground Organs
 • Dictionary of Automatic Musical Instrument Terms
 • Bibliography
 • Index

Take look at the book Encyclopedia of Automatic Musical Instruments

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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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Manual Lever-Controlled Head Automaton

Another innovative piece from automaton maker Pablo Lavezzari. Somewhere between robot, puppet, and automaton, the piece is entitled Urban Face II. The piece allows the view/user to control the head's various motions using an array of levers and knobs.

See this and other pieces by Pablo Lavezzari on his web site at: http://www.kineticart.com.ar/.

Learn more about Making and Manipulating Marionettes. The book includes: the principles of marionette design; advice on carving, modeling, and casting puppet parts; explanations for marionette control, stringing, and manipulation; instructions for the construction and jointing of human and animal marionettes; and secrets for achieving a range of special effects.

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Penny-in-the-Slot Automata & the Working Model

Focused on coin-operated automata from the 1860s to the 1970s, this is comprehensive reference to the type of automata one might have found in amusement parks, fairgrounds, and seaside resorts. These machines depict themes such as haunted houses, drunkards, executions, churchyards, fire-fighters, clowns, locomotives, fortune-tellers. Other coin-operated machines used various mechanisms to played music. The book is targeted towards collectors and would-be collectors so it includes a price guide. It also features about 200 color illustrations. Though somewhat expensive, the book is a thorough treatment of this particular genre of automata.

Learn more about Penny-in-the-Slot Automata and the Working Model

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Automata: The Golden Age 1848-1914

Here is an excerpt from the List of Essential Automata Books I compiled and reviewed as part of my role as Kircher Society Resident Automatist.

Bailly, Christian. Automata: The Golden Age, 1848-1914. 2nd ed. London: Robert Hale, 2003.
Do not mistake this large volume for a coffee table book with little substance. Christian Bailly recounts the history of seven influential French automata makers of the Victorian era, including Vichy, Roullet & Decamp, Phalibois, and Lambert. Within the hardbound 360 pages, the reader will delight in 150 color photographs and numerous black-and-white drawings and photographs. There are chapters dedicated to automata mechanisms and to the restoration of vintage automata.

Check back here or to Amazon.com often: you maybe able to find this book at a more reasonable price. Here's a link to Automata: The Golden Age 1848-1914

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Vaucanson's Defecating Duck Automaton

One of the earliest well known automata was The Duck by Jacques de Vaucanson, first exhibited in 1739. Vaucanson (1709 - 1782) was a French engineer credited with creating fine automata that some regard as world's first robots. He is also credited with creating the first completely automated loom.

Here is a link to a video featuring a reproduction of Vaucanson's duck automaton on YouTube. If I am not mistaken, this reproduction was made by Frédéric Vidoni for the Museum of the Automata in Grenoble, in order to pay tribute to Vaucanson.

Here is a link to an earlier post with a photo of Vaucanson's duck, showing some of the workings of the original mechanism.

More on Vaucanson and his creations can be found in these books:
* Edison's Eve: A Magical History of the Quest for Mechanical Life
* Crescendo of the Virtuoso: Spectacle, Skill, and Self-Promotion in Paris during the Age of Revolution

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Creative Kinetics: Mechanical Marvels in Wood

I don't know about you, but I have pre-ordered this, the latest book from Rodney Frost entitled Creative Kinetics: Making Mechanical Marvels in Wood. Amazon informs me that it is due to ship in the first week in April of 2008.

From Amazon.com:
Artist, inventor, and longtime author Rodney Frost is known for wacky, whimsical woodworking books that encourage readers to experiment. With his newest, most creative volume yet, he provides an introduction to the wild and whimsical world of kinetic art -- art that moves. Using plenty of informative sidebars and dynamic illustrations, Frost teaches the basic techniques in his own inimitable style, beginning with easy, fun projects like weather vanes and mobiles powered by air currents alone. Then it's on to simple toys you manipulate with strings, and art mechanized by levers, cranks, cams, and cogs. Far from a routine woodworking book, Creative Kinetics will inspire even the least craft-minded reader to pick up some scissors and turn a tuna can into a propeller or cardboard into a jumping-jack.

Pre-order (at a discount!) Creative Kinetics: Making Mechanical Marvels in Wood.

Check out Frost's other book on automata sold first as:
Whacky Toys, Whirligigs & Whatchamacallits and now sold under the title Making Mad Toys & Mechanical Marvels in Wood

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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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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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Dug North, Kircher Society Resident Automatist

I consider it an honor and privilege to have recently been bestowed with a title.

I have been named Kircher Society Resident Automatist by the esteemed members of The Proceedings of the Athanasius Kircher Society.

For the unfamiliar, here is some information about the fascinating Athanasius Kircher and the mission of The Society chartered to perpetuate his inquisitive spirit.

My first official duty has been to compile a list of books essential to those interested in automata. The Society has just published the list of essential automata books here.

Each book is listed in the standard format for MLA citations and includes my short description of the work. While not exhaustive, I believe it embodies a well-rounded education in the art, science, and history of automata.

Visit the Kircher Society Essential Library of Automata.

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Reader Contribution: Dogs Washing a Cat