| Blog series by mpounders | updated 476 days ago | 9 parts | 16188 reads | 58 comments total |
Part 1: starting out
I made something similar to this several years back and wanted to do an improved version since my carving skills have improved a bit. I am also a big fan of Wanda Sowery and others who make these wonderful machines. I drew up some sketches of the figures I wanted for this and I have started carving them out. This is the face I came up with. The hat is a separate piece of wood that is glued on. More to come!
Part 2: body work
I’m trying to catch up on my posting and keep these in the sequence that I made them. I cut the body out of some thicker wood and then added the legs. Check out those boots! They’ll look snazzy when I get them painted. The arms will be fixed in place, but I still have some more carving to do on them. The right hand will be a separate piece that is movable also. Thanks for looking. There may be some resemblance to me, at least in the last pose!
Part 3: Arms and hands
A little more progress on this. The left hand is just a fist that is part of the arm, while the right hand is a separate piece carved to look like he is snapping his fingers. The arms will be doweled and glued to the body before shaping them further. I glue them on one at a time and use a bit of rubber as a clamp. I’m using wire brads as the hinge pins for all the joints. I use CA glue to strengthen the areas around the holes that these pins go through. The head and the right hand a...
Part 4: Staging & Mechanics
I’ve been working on the mechanical parts of the toy this week. I built a 10” x 10” box with mitered corners out of oak. The back drop and other pieces are out of poplar and the stage is 1/4” birch. I used 3/4” birch plywood for the gears and collars and cams with dowels for the different rods and pistons. The back drop will be doweled and glued in place, and I am trying to decide if I want to put the title up there or down on the oak. All the other pi...
Part 5: Big Dog
I’m still working on the fit of the head to the body, but he is mostly finished. I’ve never carved a dog before, but he doesn’t look too bad. I’m still working on the mechanisms to move his head and tail. This is how he will be positioned with the old fellow. I will probably have the tail on the side of the man, to avoid accidently breaking it while turning the crank. I need to pick up some supplies for an idea I have for the legs/feet on the whole contrapti...
Part 6: It's .........Aliveeeee!!!!!!!
It works! That doesn’t always happen, for me! I still have a little tweaking to do on one cam, but this is pretty much how it will operate. I’ll be able to start on the painting and finishing next, which shouldn’t be too bad. Of course, one of the things that slows me down, is all the “testing” I just have to do! So, as a thank you to those that have followed my blog, I decided to post a little preview of it in action. Thanks for eeveryone’s encourag...
Part 7: What's inside
You not only get to play with the toy when assembled, it’s also a puzzle! After testing, I have it completely dismantled to do some finish sanding and painting. I stopped counting parts and pieces after one hundred, but it is important to be able to be able to make adjustments and repairs if needed. So I though I would post a few pictures of the inner workings, that might help if someone might like to do something similar. The important part of the man, as far as how he dances, a...
Part 8: cowboy boots
I’m continuing the painting portion of this toy. I’ve stained and finished all the mechanical pieces and almost have the man painted and ready for assembly. One of the elements important to me was the boots. I have several other carvings planned with boots, so I wanted to try something detailed, as far as the appearance of the boots. I did some research and thought this guy would look good in some Lucchese lizard-skin boots! I spent about 3 hours drawing and burning the designs on...
Part 9: Finished!
I got the toy finished last night and took some pictures this morning. You can see the completed project here. It was fun. Here is a link to the video also. Thanks for following along!
