I realized I forgot to post a photo of my booth at the OWCA Magic in Wood show held in mid October! Here's my display.

Here's only a small peak at some of the pieces in the competition including my "The Waiting Room". 

Here's a quick look at the tooth fairy flapping her new wings for the first time. They are actuated by a wire run up from underneath her gown. 

Well with a bit of finagling I managed to tuck the fairies wings into her back. I was so anxious to see how this was going to work out I didn't even finish carving her dress and body, or even put a head on her! 

I am pleased with the final effect. I hope she can see where she is going without a head!

When my web editor gets the bugs out I'll post a video of the movement.

Spent some time on the tooth fairy today. She's coming along. I am fairly comfortable that I will be able to fit the wings into this version of the fairy and make room for all the mechanism requirements.

This is a project where the time spent in carving the characters could well out weigh the time spent making the drive mechanism. Of course you always have the choice to make more two-dimensional simple characters but I like to have them look more realistic.  As you can see, I've still got a lot of carving skills to build though.

It doesn't look like much but hopefully this chunk of wood will turn into a tooth fairy.  It may only end up as a prototype as I figure out how to attach wings and carve the folds in her dress. 

My current project has a tooth fairy as one of the characters.  Of course she would be much more visually appealing if her wings would move. So I set out to find a compact method to make a right angle actuator that would fit into a tight space. Over coffee with my brother I learned about swingee hinges a small device used by model airplane hobbyists to activate ailerons from inside a wing. Its a nifty little device and very compact. I decided to try and make one from wood rather than use a normal one made from plastic. 

Here's a quick video of my prototype. By moving the brass rod up and down, the piece of wood on the left side wiggles back and forth like a dog's tail. the pieces here are 1/4" thick. 

And that is how I hope to make my fairy tooth fairy fly!

This past weekend I attended the Ontario Wood Carvers Association, Magic in Wood show in Pickering Ontario. I displayed several of my automata pieces again and enjoyed talking to many of the woodworking enthusiasts who stopped by.  I was particularly encouraged by the number of people who had returned to the show to see what automata pieces I had created in the past year.  attendance. I was flattered that a master carver who had seen my work at last years show was inspired to create some automata of his own and displayed them at the show.

I spoke to many who seem to be taking an interest in the art form and I hope many of them will also tackle a project of their own and bring it to next years show. Thanks to all. It is always nice to meet old and new friends.

Al

Sorry for the blog gap, but I've been out with a nasty cold for a few days. Before being laid up I managed to take a road trip to Farmington Hills, Michigan (just north of Detroit) to visit Marvin's Marvellous Mechanical Museum. Marvin Yagoda, the colourful curator of the museum had called me about possibly procuring one of my pieces. I decided to make the 4 hour drive to visit him.

What I discovered was a fascinating collection of vintage arcade mechanisms, fascinating gizmos and gadgets and a sizeable collection of automata by Keith Newstead, Matt Smith, Paul Spooner and the like. Marvins enthusiasm for automata is infectious. Get a cup of quarters and explore the place! It is an experience for the senses, full of amusement and history at the same time. I recommend a visit to anyone who is travelling by.

Marvin's is located at 31005 Orchard Lake Road, Farmington Hills, Michigan, US.

I hope to have a Conquergood Creative creation on display there soon!