Whirligig of a Medical Student and Skull

Another video of a wind-powered automaton by doctor and automata-maker Ben Thal. Very charming!

From the YouTube Description:
A white coat medical student inserts a tongue depressor into the snapping jaws of a human skull.

For books on whirligig construction, check out The Automata / Automaton Store. Whirligig books page 1 and Whirligig books page 2

Fantastic Wind-Powered Whrligigs Video

Automata maker Tom Haney sent the video you see above to me.

Tom writes:
I have something you might want to put up on your site. The man who inspired me to do mechanical pieces, Ben Thal, has posted a video on YouTube. I met him at a whirligig show in Oregon in 1994. He does great pieces with amazing and simple movements. He is a doctor and does whirligigs as a hobby. All his whirligigs are for indoors and are powered by a fan.

See it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnm_16KUF0M

The motions are pretty sophisticated for whirligigs...impressive!

Thanks Tom!

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

Master of Windmills and Whirligigs

Whirligigs are a form of automata -- to my mind at least. They depict an animated scene with a person or animal. The only distinction between a contemporary automaton and a whirligig is that the latter are outside and are powered by the wind.

The folks over at The Proceedings of the Athanasius Kircher Society have a great post about a man with a passion for windmills and whirligigs. The man's name is Vollis Simpson, an 87-year-old retired mechanic from North Carolina. Simpson's back yard is filled with dozens of his wind-driven creations.

A quote from Simpson:
"The main part of doing anything that turns is to get it centered".

Truer words were never spoken.

Check out the post on Vollis Simpson's Windmill Farm at the Kircher Society blog.

Here's a list of books on how to make whirligigs:

• Making Animated Whirligigs (Woodworking Whirligigs)
• Easy-to-Make Whirligigs (Woodworking Whirligigs)
• Whimsical Whirligigs (Woodworking Whirligigs)
• Action Whirligigs: 25 Easy-to-Do Projects (Woodworking Whirligigs)
• The Art And Craft of Whirligig Construction