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Al's Automata Blog

Getting "A Head" in Automata.

3/20/2013

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I 've started the finishing work on the head of the main character in my current automata. The head will turn to look in either direction and the eyes will look up and down. I learned how to construct the head by following tips from Philip Lowndes' blog. HIs current site is lowbot.co.uk.  In this case, since it is in character with the subject, I added a hat which allows me to easily access the interior of the head to build the eye movement mechanism. Here is the head and hat as prepared before the onset of shaping. A little robotic looking I must admit.
Picture
While surfaces are still square is the time to create the hollow in the top of the head. In this case I used a 1/2" forsner bit to eat out the first cavity.
Picture
It is time to rough in the face before enlarging the internal cavity. Here is the first pass of the face. Notice the neck has not been shaped yet.
Picture
A second round of drilling has deepened the head cavity and some material has been removed behind the eyes in preparation for the coming installation of the eyeballs. Some material has also been removed from inside the hat (left) to allow more range to the eye movement. The arrow is a mark to show the front of the hat dome for alignment with the brim later.
Picture
Here is the head inverted showing the neck boss roughed in.
Picture
For this piece I cut the ears rather than carve them. After they are glued in place some careful sanding can help them to appear as part of the block that is the head. These ears are about 18mm or a little over 5/8" long.
Picture
Here is the rough look of the character. The hat is just sitting on his head for the photo. I stuck a couple of dowels in the eyes temporarily because a photo with two empty eye holes looks looks a little spooky. I may rotate the hat, as some as kids wear them today, so the eye movement is more visible. The ears are yet to be shaped.
Picture
Next job is to build the eyeballs and build internal the mechanism that allows them to move in the head. That's tomorrows job!

Al
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    Why Automata?

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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