Took a break for a few days from automata work this week. I was working on a kitchen renovation at my daughter's house. That done it was back to the computer to finish up the design and drawing of the current project.
People often ask how I come up with the design and all the little pieces. Some think when they see a finished piece it must of come in a kit! I consider this a sad reflection on todays consumerism standards. Even worse it might suggest that I look to dense to have figured it out myself! So here is a view of the CAD design of the current automata - yet to be finished! On the upper right you might be able to make out the chocolate Labrador featured previously on my blog. Over on the left you may also see one of two seagulls also featured in the blog and somewhere hidden in the mechanism is a wireframe of the bass that was posted. While tedious at times 3D CAD drawing it is a good way to avoid interferences and create patterns for complex shapes. Well back to the drawing board, or at least LCD screen for a bit and then some time in the shop to make changes to the working prototype. Al
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Well I found my red paint and the dog got his collar painted. Of coarse the thing with the dog tags is that as soon as I put the suggestion in my mind you gotta give it a go! So with a little brass strip shaped into two tags and a piece of brass rod Fido got some tags. Maybe this way if the automata piece ever gets lost I can phone the dog pound to find it again.
Well the little dog ended up as a Chocolate Lab. The first photo is after the pyrography was completed. The next two shots are after a paint job and surface urethane.
The collar still remains to be painted while I decide whether it will be green or red - likely red, the more I think about it. He might yet get a dog tag if I believe it will be visible enough in the final piece. Over the last couple of days I have been wood burning fur on the dog that is to be part of the current automata. He has been posted previously in the blog. It's the kind of thing that can be a little tedious at times, as well as loud if you are using a vacuum to suck smoke fumes away as I am, since I am not working in my sj. Anyway I thought I would throw a photo of a partially burnt pooch into the blogsphere. A couple of hind quarters and a head to go.
Well the little leviathan got a some colour this morning. He now looks more like a fish should. His eyes were left "bug eyed" show that their movement would be more evident. His jaw pin was installed and plugs put in and sanded prior to painting. They were still visible in the last photo.
My intention with a component like this is to look somewhat real, perhaps a whimsical, and portioned to facilitate the planned movement. Tail fin to nose he is 4-3/4" long. I added the four additional pectoral fins to the fish and added a little ribbing detail on all the fins and defined the gill plates with a wood burning tool. A little finish sanding and touch up and onto painting.
The current automata project has a large Bass lurking under the dock where a boy is fishing. He will periodically poke out his head and as he does his mouth will close and eyes will roll. Large is relative of course, he is just over 4" long. The little block on his chin is to limit how far his mouth falls open and has been cut down substantially so it is not noticeable. There are two cables that operate the eyes and mouth. One of them (for the eyes) can be seen in the photo near the bottom rear.
The actuator for the eyes had to be assembled in the fish as it was made. As shown below the blank was sliced in half horizontally and a brass lever, weighted with solder was installed. The eyes are drilled out dowels slipped onto brass pins and were shaped into eyes after reassembly of the body and final carving. There are small brass tubes through the rear of the fish so the cables operate smoothly. Three fins are made from 1/16" ply and added later. The two dorsal fins can be easily seen above. There are still two pectoral fins to be added when the above photo was taken. I'll repost after he is painted. Been busy in the shop this week, doing lots of little bits on a new piece. At lot of redesign as I go on this piece to fit all the components I want in without interference. I just finished roughing in a dog that is part of the piece; maybe mongrel, maybe Golden Labrador. His role is to enthusiastically peer over the side of a dock looking into the water. His head scans back and forth while his tail vigorously wags back and forth. Here are a couple of views. View from below showing the internal lever arms. A view showing him as he will sit on the finished piece. The next task is to use a wood burning tool to depict his fur. Lastly here is a view from below showing his face. Its a bit of a shame that he continuously looks down, so viewers with have to crane their necks to she the details on his face. The pencil lines are to assist in the alignment of the fur. What's a dock without a seagull? The answer. Not so realistic. So having designed a gull this week I am off to see if I can make it all come together in the shop this weekend. The challenge is that the seagulls, yes multiples, will only be 2" tall and seeing that it is an automata they must move. (Al's rule... if it's gonna be a part, impart some motion!).
I have settled for a fairly simple turn of the head, but I want to hide the mechanism from sight. Therefore the design has the activation rod coming up inside one of the legs. I will use a 1/16" rod through a hollow brass tube acting as a leg, at least that is the plan. His legs might be a bit chunky, but things are allowed to be whimsical. I will cut and hollow out the body for the linkages and glue it together before final finishing. Who knows if I can make my fat fingers do this, I might try a moving beak! (That was typed with unbridled optimism. I may have to eat crow, or maybe even gull on that one.) If it doesn't work... well, at least I will know my limit. I'll take some photos along the way for posting! As allegedly the worst snow storm since 2009 in Toronto passes by outside the window I sit in the comfort of my office and design automata! I expect we are in for 25 to 30 cm. It's not he snow that's bad but rather the behaviour of some motoring folks out there. The photo is a wire frame sketch of a dog that is part of my next piece as it comes off my CAD system. I will use the drawing as a template to cut the block from which I will carve Rover - or whatever his name will be! He will be laying down peering over the side of a structure and his his will turn back and forth scanning for something while his tail also wags enthusiastically. The internal mechanism is not shown in the drawing however the shaft passages and the shape of the internal cavity are visible. A similar sketch for another component of the automata is not quite finished yet. "Rover" will be about 6-1/2" long and 2-1/2" tall. I suspect that after a few slips with the carving knife he will end up a mongrel rather than a pure bread.
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Why Automata?Automata is a creative blend of my life interests , engineering, art and woodworking. Archives
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