<![CDATA[CONQUERGOOD CREATIVE

<![CDATA[CONQUERGOOD CREATIVE - Automata Blog]]>Sun, 28 Jun 2026 05:04:04 -0500Weebly<![CDATA[The Balsam Lake Elevator Gang is Here]]>Sat, 12 Apr 2025 19:31:13 GMThttps://www.conquergoodcreative.com/automata-blog/the-balsam-lake-elevator-gang-is-hereIf you haven't noticed the Balsam Lake Elevator webpages have been added to the website. Enjoy!

]]><![CDATA[The Balsam Lake Elevator Company]]>Tue, 08 Apr 2025 14:41:27 GMThttps://www.conquergoodcreative.com/automata-blog/the-balsam-lake-elevator-companyWell this seems like a long time and an adventure of a lifetime has passed since I stated I was about to reveal my latest project. While I pushed to to add all the last little bits of the project, including a frame, a monumental ice storm hit Central Ontario we we found ourselves in an ice covered wonderland which brought with it a 6 day power outage. This was accompanied by trees down all around us, road closures, a loss of internet services, loss of land based telephones, and periodic loss of cell phone services as the community spiralled into a State of Emergency Declaration. At this point many are still without services 8 days later, and it is snowing again today. I call this photo below "Backpacking in the Kawarthas", but this is a whole other story, an adventure of a lifetime.....

I am posting this quick photo of my recently completed "Balsam Lake Elevator Company" automata built into the wall of our new house. It operates in concert with the elevator we installed. The employees of the elevator company turn cranks to raise and lower the elevator cab between the first and second floor and to open the doors at each landing. Another employee peers from the enclosure monitoring the flow of people in and out of the elevator, while another quietly sleeps in the corner, snoring blissfully. These employees are rats; who else would be comfortable in this working environment!

So here is a still photo for now, but I will get busy, temporarily remove the glass to get rid of the glare, complete some video, add some more photos and compose the back story of all the characters and post a webpage for "The Balsam Lake Elevator Company"

The Balsam Lake Elevator Company

]]><![CDATA[Timely Bling!]]>Thu, 06 Mar 2025 22:00:00 GMThttps://www.conquergoodcreative.com/automata-blog/timely-blingWhile I have been running around doing a million other things I am still trying to put a little time every week to finish up my last automata project. The wasps and spider web depicted in my recent posts are part of the same project. They are all little bits of things to add a little more detail, and hopefully a little more curiosity and a touch of awe. None of these additions have any moving components, and they are mostly just for "eye candy" for observers. I call it adding a little "Bling" to the project.

Building this week's bit of bling seemed a lot more like building doll house furniture than building automata. What I have added is the punch card station for the Balsam Lake Elevator Company. For those youngsters who may be unfamiliar with this device, it where employees record their hours of work by removing their personal punchcard from the rack on the left side, and sticking their into the clock to be stamped with their arrival time and then placing into the RACK on the right . At the end of the day they stamp it again as the leave and place it back in the rack on the left. The cards on the right show who is at work and the cards on the left who is not at work. These might be people who are sick, or work the night shift for example. So what is the big deal you ask? Most importantly, at the end of the week the paymaster would come out, collect the cards, tally the time for each employee, and determines how much everyone should be paid for the week.

My very first job had just such a system! Oh, the fond memories of the antics, conversations and ribbing that went on while we stood lined up, waiting for the clock to register quitting time. Then the mad dash as everyone raced to punch out and be the first into the parking lot and out the gate!

This latest piece of "bling" should be a pretty good clue as to what the main theme of the automata is if you have figured it out already from previous clues! A few more bits to go and I'll get to the big reveal!

]]><![CDATA[A Proud Moment: A Clever Followers Creation!]]>Wed, 26 Feb 2025 00:58:32 GMThttps://www.conquergoodcreative.com/automata-blog/a-proud-moment-a-clever-followers-creationI often get inquiries to my website from people asking if a specific project they see on my site has a kit available for sale or is there a plan they could buy to make it. I don't engage in the task of making and selling kits because I like the process of design and building more than the repetitive jobs of cutting out parts and stuffing them into boxes to sell. I can't usually provide carving details as they often just evolve from my mind as work. In reality I am not in the automata world to make money. I do try to cover my material and website costs for what I make though, but ultimately I make automata it because it is challenging and creative and often makes people smile.

I had one such enquiry recently about plans for my "Bored Out of My Skin" automata from a follower in Romania. Not satisfied with the unavailability of plans or parts, they set out to build their own version by studying the video and pictures that existed on my website. A received a few specific questions from them and we exchanged several emails and ultimately I sent them, some more construction photos I had, and some supporting description on how things worked and the order of assembly I used.

On learning of the impending completion of their effort I asked them to send me a photo to show me how things turned out. I was to delighted to receive the video below. They have allowed me to share their video on my blog site. I am really impressed how they managed to create a wonderful version of the automata even incorporating a perfect little twist to my original design, with only a little guidance from me. They cleverly assembled this lovely little piece with only limited guidance from me. The workmanship is delightful for someone who I believe is only recently venturing into the world of automata.

I congratulate Codrut Bila of Romania for his execution of this piece. You should be very proud of your accomplishment. I thank you for allowing me to share this story with others. Hopefully together we may inspire some others to jump into the world of automata.

So here with further ado, and no editing by me, is Codrut Bila's adaptation of my "Bored Out of My Skin"

]]><![CDATA[A Webinar - Of Sorts!]]>Tue, 25 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMThttps://www.conquergoodcreative.com/automata-blog/a-webinar-of-sortsToday's blog is a twisted version of a webinar since it relates to my current project work. Simply put I am going to show you a web, (a spider web that is), that I made for my yet to be revealed automata . It seems like another thing you might find inside a wall which is where this project will reside. To start, I surfed the web seeing what other folks in the world might be doing to build spider webs. Of course I found quite a diversity. Some were big enough to cover an entire house at Halloween, right down to some other very fragile ones you might see in a small dream catcher. Many are simply woven using rope, yarn, string, fishing line,, or fine wire. My requirements were for a web of about five inches in diameter, so I needed something fairly fine, but yet I wanted something fairly robust and rigid, keeping in character with the construction style of my project.

After some serious pontification I opted to build my web using small diameter rigid brass rods soldered together in the traditional spider web look.

I picked a few strategic spots where I could attach the main arms of the web that would not interfere with any moving mechanism parts and would not obscure any other key components. The photo on the right shows a paper copy of my web design taped to a piece of plywood to provide a flat rigid working surface. You can see the principal arms of the web have 1 mm diameter lengths of brass taped in place ready for the application of flux and solder to maintain shape while the circular pattern pieces are added later. The lines crossing the ends of the arms are where the web will be fastened to places in the automata structure.

Here is the web after soldering in all the smaller circular pieces which are .5mm bras rod pieces. I have removed it from removed from the plan to get a better picture. I started from the outside soldering each piece between the main strings individually. It's tedious work, and certainly not my best soldering job, I'm a little rusty! Near the centre I actually used longer pieces of rod and shaped them with pliers to match the pattern and then slipped them under the main strings and soldered them in place. I wish I had thought of this sooner! Doing this again I would have started from the outside doing this all the way to the middle.

I gave it a quick spray of grey primer and them brushed on some metallic acrylic paint so it would have a bit of a sparkle and help differentiate it from the darker background.

I took this photo during the fitting process showing that I installed a small strip of wood, unpainted at this point, (left side) to hold three of the main spokes of the web. (unpainted in the photo) Those on the right side will be attached to bolt heads in the grey column on the right.

Having test fitted everything I decided the spider was just a little too dark and I undertook to give him a repaint in more of a hairy motif and change his eyes to look downward more. He moves up and down as the automata is operating. Hmmmm? That could be another clue as to what the project is about. The finishing touch will be a small fly caught in the web. Oh the cruelty of nature!

]]><![CDATA[Keeping the Old Country Charm... Well sort of!]]>Sat, 22 Feb 2025 20:30:00 GMThttps://www.conquergoodcreative.com/automata-blog/keeping-the-old-country-charm-well-sort-ofIf you have followed my blogs or examined my site , you should have picked up that my favourite medium to use in making automata is wood. This includes shafts and bearings. It's tricky, but fun, to configure the right clearances the correct wood, and which natural lubricants can make things work nicely. As long as you are making automata for personal use or sale to collectors, where limited hours of operation are normally expected this is okay, and it adds uniqueness to the finished project.

It goes without saying if you are doing museum or gallery work, public donation boxes, science centre displays. or the like you need to think differently. These will all tend to be operated frequently compared to art owned by collectors. I have been to displays where automata are initiated by the action of the public pushing a button. This is not uncommon. On a busy day the automata operated more than it stood idle. If it is your taks to build a machine for this service, you better be building with stronger more rugged materials, metal bearings and try to minimize load on sliding surfaces. I do have to say though that a nicely finished metal only component automata looks really fantastic to me, its not for me to build, I am more a carpenter a machinist!

I'm relating this you you as I find myself in that transitional space again. The automata I've been working on is not hand operated but is motor driven and with its function within the house it will likely be operated fairly frequently. So metal bearings and shafts it is. Of course I will make as many of the visual components out of wood wherever practical since I love the look but where is metal I will try to disguise it in this piece. It helps that in this case a lot of the mechanism will be hidden from view, so it is not too difficult,

Here is an example of keeping the "Old Country Charm" by hiding metal components in an observers field as it relates to this project . There are several large gears plainly visible in the piece. They have semi-precision metal bearings pressed into their hubs. In the photo below on the left you can see three shafts and bearings staring you right in the face! I made three wooden boots that are a press fit onto the hexagonal nuts and can be removed if necessary for repair. They do not push on enough to interfere with the spinning gear. The photo on the right shows the same gears an the visual result of hiding these metal bits which, to me at least is much more pleasant to look at.

This is what I call keeping the "Old Country Charm" by hiding not so pretty metal components needed for dependable operation. As far as the expression goes, you will likely never hear anyone use it again in reference to automata, even me!

Caps off!

Caps On!

]]><![CDATA[Nestled In...]]>Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:00:00 GMThttps://www.conquergoodcreative.com/automata-blog/nestled-inThe bees are now inhabiting the hole in the wall where the automata is. A few are in the nest while others have found other locations to hide in. I still have not revealed the entire story of the automata so I won't show you where they all are as it might give things away. I am hoping you will get a real lift out of the automata when you see it, or at least it pushes your buttons! Oops I guess that was a bit more of a clue! Hmmm!

Hanging around the comb.

Round and round he goes!

Somethings afoot!

Gearing up, or around maybe.

]]><![CDATA[It's Time to Wing It!]]>Tue, 18 Feb 2025 14:30:00 GMThttps://www.conquergoodcreative.com/automata-blog/its-time-to-wing-itI make the wings from a thin sheet of Lexan cut to shape on the scroll saw, using a fine blade and cutting slowly. If you move to fast the Lexan will heat and melt but re-fuse itself behind your blade. Slow and steady is the name of the game when doing this. If you are shy of scroll sawing, these little Lexan can be cut at least partial cut out with scissors. You can see the shape of the wing in the photo below.

The key part in the fitting here is to sand a small flat surface on the back half of the top of the thorax, sanding it down to expose wood under the paint. This is to provide a good bonding surface for the glue. Try to have the front edge of the flat as straight as possible so the wing can butt up directly to it.

You will need some patience for the next bit, especially if making a bunch of bees at one time, so be prepared to take your time and take a few mental breaks.
Use some medium CA glue to glue the under side of the wing to the exposed wood. Hold the wing firmly in place until the CA glue is set. You can use a bit of accelerator but is not likely to get under the wing to where the bulk of the glue should be. You just have to be patient and hold it until it sets.

When the wing is stuck in place mix a little epoxy to place on the top side of the wing spreading it around the edges of the wing. to contact the thorax, building a small bump which will cover the area of wooden exposed when sanding the flat for the wing. When the epoxy is set rough it up a little with fine sandpaper and paint it the colour of the bee's body. Hopefully the series of photos will help you to see the steps.

Wings cut out. The blue tint is from the protective film coating in place removed after cutting.

Epoxy added to cement the wings down. Use enough to hide the slot cut for the wings.

Wings on. Paint touch up done. Add a little varnish on the new paint spots to finish. Ta- Da!

]]><![CDATA[Paint It, Billy Boy....]]>Mon, 17 Feb 2025 13:00:00 GMThttps://www.conquergoodcreative.com/automata-blog/paint-it-billy-boyNow it is time to relax. Sit in front of the TV or have some of your favourite tunes playing on your favourite streaming service, get your acrylic paints out and brush away! Paint your abdomens yellow and everything else black, or dark brown, your choice, and then go back and paint the black stripes on the abdomens. The next step is to paint is the eyes. The eyes on these bees are positioned high on the edge of the head on little flats created when finishing. Let's talk about the eyes for a moment.

I always try to paint deliberately human looking eyes on whatever creature I make for an automata. I feel it is a chance to add personality to a character. The location of eyeballs and the position of the pupils can convey an emotion or action to the benefit of the story being told. In this case the eyes are small and only a pupil made of a little black dot can be used to communicate with the viewer. But I go back to the belief that a human eye often endears a character to an observer . Think how hard it would be to convey any emotion through the compound eye that is actually found in bees!

At this point I apply a coat of matte acrylic varnish to every surface I've painted but..... it's not over yet. The matte varnish will make it easier to clean your project should it later get covered in dust and also make all surfaces the same level of reflectiveness. But hold on there; to complete our swarm the next step for these bees will be to add wings, and of course with cutting them in there will be a touch up with the dark paint and matte varnish again!

Paint the abdomens yellow...

Paint the bodies black, add the stripes, and add the eyes.

]]><![CDATA[Bits of Brass to Embellish the Bling!]]>Sat, 15 Feb 2025 13:30:00 GMThttps://www.conquergoodcreative.com/automata-blog/bits-of-brass-to-embellish-the-blingI like to use brass rod to make the legs for the bees. It is strong, yet easy to bend to shape, and can stand numerous adjustments before failing. It is easy to attach by simply drilling a hole in the body the same diameter as the brass rod to be used, and firmly pushing it in. I use a drop of CA glue in the hole prior to insertion to help secure it in place, and another small drop at the surface after it's installed. With the glue all set I can now bend the legs to shape, cut off any extra length, and dull the free ends. The finish paint and following matte varnish sealer also serves to help secure the legs in place.

Drilling 1/16" holes for the legs.

Drilling 1/16" holes for the antennas.

The same process is used to attach the antennae on the head. Both the antennae and legs are made with 1/32" diameter rods/wire. As before these holes are made with a drill bit in my Dremel tool because it gives more control, holding the bee in one hand, and the Dremel in the other.

The last bit of detail is a small stinger in the end of the abdomen. You need to sand a little flat on the pointed end tilted slightly downward. I use an awl to make a little hole to start the drill ion the flat so that it doesn't jump all over the place when starting. Same deal as before, drill the hole, push in the wire wetted by a little CA glue, cut the excess off, and dull the exposed end. I find while the bee itself is less than spectacular, observes are taken by a little detail like the stinger and overlook the overall simplicity of the bee!

A bunch of bees with brass bits installed, ready for paint. Notice the evidence of CA glue around the antennas and legs.

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