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Al's Automata Blog

I’m All Ears!

4/27/2019

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Well now, about 12 hours of work later I have the required seven cobs of corn I need for my new project. Still a bit of a maybe, but l’m trudging on! I still don’t have clear vision yet but what the heck, it isn’t always about the destination, sometime it’s about the voyage.
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A New Automata Project?

4/24/2019

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I am currently working on prototype bits for a new conceptual automata. It will be made of several separate mechanisms integrated together. This first piece is a miniature cob of corn.​ It is made from a piece of 3/16" dowel, about 130 2mm yellow glass beads, a bunch of CA glue, a few drops of yellow paint to fill any gaps, and a bout 1-1/2 hours of time! Normally I would make this from wood alone but the significance of using the glass beads will be revealed in the future. For now it is my little mystery.
​
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Recent Quinte Carving Show

4/16/2019

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Engaging young automata enthusiasts at the recent Quinte show. We had a great time as usual!
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April 16th, 2019

4/16/2019

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The latest automata project, "A Sewer Rat Symphony" is now posted on the Conquergood Creative YouTube channel and also has web pages on the website. On the website there is a video, a story about the piece, individual  profile of the musical characters. I hope you enjoy. Thanks to all of you who suggested names for the piece.

Here is a direct link to the webpage   "Sewer Rat Symphony"
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Ten Tiny Music Stands

4/8/2019

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I think that this is the last building bits for the Rat Philharmonic - ten music stands. I felt that these extra components would give the orchestra the crowded look that they seem to have in real life. Here they are with a quarter thrown in for scale.
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Coming Together!

4/7/2019

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The lower mechanism is now completed and has been run in. The rats have had their tails added, a step I put off to last to prevent damage to these small parts. all the chairs have been fabricated. The only structural left is to complete and mount the music stands for the musicians.

The last job is to connect the mechanism to the rats with brass links and glue the rats into final position. This should be done in the next few days. I expect the rats will make their first public appearance this coming weekend at the Quinte Carving show in Belleville Ontario.

An interesting wrinkle is that the arm of one of the violinists ended up being left behind, some 2 hours away from the location of the current assembly. So this adds a little stress to working to a completion deadline a sizeable logistics issue has arisen!
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A Philharmonic Automata Blob!

4/2/2019

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This CAD screen capture, which looks like a big black blob, is in fact he CAD drawing of the mechanical bits of the current Rat Philharmonic piece with out the handle shown. A lot of hours are spent fussing to get things lined up correctly with a project with as much component density as this. The rats are not shown in this view as I do not tend to draw them with CAD but rather use hand drawings and carve from there. The chair bases on top are just placeholders for where to drill the holes in the top plate for the chair legs.

There are always a few "fit in field" elements to work out once building starts. In this case the hole locations for the foot linkages in the top late will be checked before drilling even though they are shown in the drawing.

I expect to be back in the shop tomorrow afternoon making sawdust and hopefully useable components to start the final assembly. I am trying to complete this piece for the upcoming Belleville show.

Oh yes if you are wondering  it is done in TurboCad for Mac!
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    Why Automata?

    Automata is a creative blend of my life interests , engineering, art  and woodworking. 

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  • Home
  • Automata Blog
  • Automata Gallery
    • The Balsam Lake Elevator Co. >
      • A Tour of the Hoist Room
      • The Key BLEC Employees
    • DJ's Bee Bop Palooza >
      • Roles of Bees in a Hive
      • The Bee Bop Characters
    • Swimming With The Dolphins
    • Tubing The River Styx
    • A Boat, A Boy, And A Dog
    • Parking Lot Wars
    • The Invisible Audiophile
    • Black Bear Bliss
    • The Chase
    • Baa Baa Bad Sheep! >
      • Baa Baa Bad Sheep Photo Gallery
    • The Penguins' Revenge
    • Cirque de Poulet
    • I'm Thinking & Laura
    • The Bipolar Brain
    • Tempest in a Teacup
    • Inner Demon
    • Sewer Rat Symphony >
      • Musican Profiles
    • The Captive
    • Bored Out of My Skin
    • Waiting at the Clinic
    • The Diagnosis
    • Snowbirds
    • The Not So Early Bird - The Common Sleptin
    • 1 HP Heart Pump
    • The Trojan Cat
    • 7-1/2 Horsepower
    • Howdy!
    • The Bus Stop
    • Rhinoceros Racing
    • It's an Uphill Battle
    • When an MRI Goes Badly
    • A Moment of Silence
    • Who Slew the Chicken?
    • The Dentist's Office
    • Owl Hijinx
    • Horse of a Different Colour >
      • Horse of a Different Colour Features & Specs
      • Horse of a Different Colour Photo Gallery
    • March of the Penguins
    • The Extraction >
      • The Extraction Media Gallery
    • Poultry in Motion
    • School's Out!
    • Pond Life >
      • Pond Life Photo Gallery
    • Rat Co. >
      • Rat Co. Employee Profiles
      • Rat Co. Photo Gallery
    • Happy Birthday Daddy! >
      • Happy Features & Specs
      • Happy Birthday Photo Gallery
    • The Raving Fans
    • The Waiting Room >
      • Waiting Room Photo Gallery
    • Cottage Cabernet
    • Neighbourhood Watch
    • Check Please!
    • Fishing >
      • Fishing Photo Gallery
      • The Mechanism
      • Brutus the Catfish
      • Crawford the Crayfish
      • Bigmouth the Largemouth Bass
      • Buddy the Chocolate Lab
      • Gertrude and Heathcliff
    • Ian's African Lion Safari
    • Call Before You Dig >
      • Features & Specs
    • Crossing The Mara >
      • Features & Specs
    • Migrating Caribou >
      • Features & Specs
    • Rocket Pack Raccoon
    • Urban Terrorists >
      • Exploring the Urban Terrorists
      • Features & Specs
    • Top Gun
    • Miss Communication
    • Hula Hoop Girl
    • Java Jane
    • The Cranky Caterpillar
    • A Case in Point...
    • The Leafs Score!
    • Enough With The Fish!
  • Learning Centre
  • Automata Store
  • Workshop Tour!
    • Sanding
    • Drilling
    • Cutting
    • Measurement
    • Carving Tools
    • Hand Tools
    • Working With Brass
    • Work & Assembly Areas
  • Mechanisms, Tip & Tricks
    • The Why and How Of It!
  • Who Am I?
    • Making Automata
  • Contact Me
  • In The News
  • Links
  • The South Bay Railway
    • Murray's Mill
    • Rivers, Creeks & Ponds
    • Early Days Photo Gallery
    • Layout Photo Gallery
    • Layout
  • Totems
  • Some Other Small Projects
    • Misc Projects
  • Driving Home for Christmas
    • Designing the Float
    • A Penguin Prototype
    • The Human Flock
    • The Float Penguins
    • The Float Video
  • Members Page