Acrobatic Monkey is Finished

I built a cover out of illustration board and painted it with water color and ink. I sealed it with acrylic gel in hopes of protecting it a little. Here is the final Project:

Fourth Project

This is not really the fourth project, i have not included a non moving paper mache figure "Dimples" maybe when i'm in the mood I will put it up here.
Anyway, I have been inspired to create a sand powered "automata." Mine is really more like a simple toy, but its a start.
I did not start this post when i started the project so I tend to do a lot of editing of the boring and wasted time spent on my errors in all my trial and errors so I will just say that I have tried many configurations and materials with this and this is what I have come up with:

This is a picture with the back off. sand goes in the acetate cone, hits the wheel which turns the shaft which turns the monkey. The sand then falls to the bottom of the box. By tipping the box over, you can fill the cone and start again.

HELP FROM READERS WELCOME! The current problem I am having is that sand is still leaking out of the holes where the rod sticks out. Im afraid to put anything near the rod since it was so hard to get the thing to turn freely in the first place. So this is a place where any suggestions would be welcome.

Final Result#2

Its been awhile since I posted on here so I will give the the abbreviated version of what's been going on. After srtuggling with the crankshaft configuration for a long time. I finally got her to move ok but I'd really like to add something to make the crank handle more steady so it isn't just like a stick moving the strings. Like a ratchet to keep it from slipping backwards. Unfortunately I think that will have to wait for Fiona's  progeny.

Second Project continued

I made a wire armature and covered it with the paper clay. After it dried i was able to refine it through sanding and adding more material. Putting it together was another problem because i wanted it to move realistically, the joints to go the right way and all. Next time I am going to use thinner wire for the smaller parts, but over all I like the combination. So, after many days of experiments, I videoed the motion of my project. pretty pathetic. For now, since I don't have the tools or knowledge, I will have to settle for more puppet-like movement since it is easier to work with strings than metal and wood. I really want to get a bunch of power tools!

Second Project

So after I finally "finished" the Old Man and Birds project I was ready to move on. I decided to do something more 3d, like an actual moving sculpture.

I wanted to do a dancer because that lends itself to the movement idea. It would be great if I could make her do actual steps but soon after i got started I realized I did not have the mechanical skill to pull that off.

I wanted to be able to turn a crank and have the dancer move. I studied some more and tried to make cams for the up and down movement. One of my biggest problems is converting rotational movement into reciprocal movement or up and down or something else. I wish I was better at math so that I could figure this stuff out on paper so I didnt have to do everything with actual materials. I need to look for a computer program that would simulate various machine configurations.

Anyway, I am kind of condensing here, which is not what i wanted to do with this blog, but its been awhile since I posted so (believe it or not) I am leaving out most of the boring details. I tried controlling the movement s with rods or wires coming out under the stage but in that limited space I couldnt make the rods move smoothly. I eventually switched to strings for the foot and body motion ( and from the looks of my first try video I think I will switch to all strings) In the meantime I was figuring out what I wanted to make the doll/puppet/model out of. I love this paper clay stuff. Its non toxic, air dries, relatively light weight. You can sand it, add more material after it dries, and paint it. I'll continue in the next section cause I don't think I can put more than one picture in each blog.

The Final Project

So here is the final project, probably not worth all the trouble, but I learned a lot. The next one will be quicker. Hopefully I can spend more time on the artistic side and less on the mechanics.

I did find a doll with a music box inside at the thrift store. I think that will be the basis for my next project.

The Final Result

Its been awhile since I've been on here with the holidays and all, but I have been doing some work on this. I have actually finished. I went through many experiments before I got it, however.

Basically, I had to give up on the popsicle stick gears. It was just to0 wonky. If you're off by a fraction then your gears won't mesh and the whole thing locks up. I searched and searched but could not find any way of getting proper gears at a reasonable price short of cutting them out of wood myself. That is impossible under the circumstances so that wasn't gonna do me any good.

Finally, God smiled on me. When I went to the thrift store I saw a giant bucket of beautiful plastic gears for $5! It was a 150 piece building toy called Gears, Gears, Gears, and that's exactly what is was. All kinds of interlocking gears and connectors, even a crank handle. Hallelujah!

I rushed home and decided I better start over with the back part. I got some MDF board for 50 cents at Home depot and I was ready to go. I attached the gears with screws and used teeny tiny bolts to connect the sticks. Here is the result: