A look inside Dug North's clock repair workshop

As some of you know, I made a career change last summer. I decided to switch from a computer-based job to one that was more in line with my passion for mechanical things. When I was given the opportunity to learn and do clock repair as a full time job, I had to take it. It's been an exciting and busy six months for me. I'm glad I took the leap.

Another milestone was passed back in December of 2013 when I decide to lease a space that is accessible to the public. To that point, I had been working out of my work/live condo space. That was fine for doing the work itself, but less than ideal in dealing with repair customers. I had also been buying clocks at yard sales, online, and at auctions. I have been fixing these clocks up in order to sell them. Needless to say, the foot-traffic through my condo was not all that high, nor did I want it to be. So, the new studio space in The Gates Block building in historic downtown Lowell seemed like a good fit. Here's a photo of the new space:

Recently, a reporter and photographer from The Lowell Sun newspaper paid a visit to my new clock repair shop. They produced the video you see above during the course of our time together. In it, you'll see some of my automata, some of my clocks, and some of my beloved tools.

If you've got any questions or comments, please let me know. It's been difficult for me to stay as on top of this blog as I have in years past, and I'm sorry about that. As my proficiency at clock repair grows and as I get used to running my own business, things will even out again. In the meantime, I can't thank you enough for continuing to visit The Automata / Automaton Blog and for supporting my various enterprises.

-Dug North

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How to work with brass: part 1, tools for cutting brass

The latest installment of my articles on automaton making is now available on the Cabaret Mechanical Theatre web site. In this one, we look at some different ways to cut brass rod, wire, tubing, and sheet. We use various tools including cutting pliers, hacksaws, tubing cutters, hobby saws, and the jeweler's saw.

Here is where you can find Dug's Tips No. 13 on How to Cut brass.

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Squirrel! -- a mechanical dog head sculpture by Dave Johnson

Dave Johnson has done it again with this fascinating mechanical dog head. Check out the action of the on-demand attention button. It's like hand-cranked animatronics!

The dog's head is capable of movement in four directions including side-to-side, up and down, the jaw, and the ears. Each movement is conveyed via pushrod. The pushrods sit on contoured cams, which are driven by a set of gears.

From the video description:

This machine is yet another attempt to get random(ish) movement from a decidedly non-random hand crank. The 4 gear pairs that drive the cams have slightly different gear ratios, so it takes something like 100 turns of the crank before the whole sequence repeats. The ear and jaw movements are also dependent on the current yaw and pitch position, so the result is a semi-random mishmash of movement. When the Big Red Button (BRB) is pushed, it lowers the cams out of the way, and the head falls into Squirrel! position.

Johnson has very cleverly integrated a bellows on the front of the machine. The moving air serves to soften the motion of the head after the red button is released. That's a very nice subtlety that most people wouldn't notice. But watch again and imagine if that wasn't there.

Here is where you can see still photos of Dave Johnson's Squirrel!

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Think big, sand small -- The Proxxon 12-Volt Pen Sander

If you sand really small wood, metal, or plastic surfaces, this pen sander may be a HUGE time-saver.

From the product description

Proxxon 12-Volt Pen Sander sands linearly where space is at a premium. This superfine sander with linear sanding motion operates at 8,000 strokes per minute with a 3/32" stroke. Superfine finishing of wooden, plastic or metal surfaces can be done in less time hands can do without big efforts. It is ideal for surfaces, slots and tight corners. Included are four sanding attachments with straight shanks and four with angled shanks -four different shapes per shank style- as well as three sheets of pre-profiled self-adhesive sanding pads. The sheets are 180, 240 and 400 grit with 5 of each shape per sheet.

NOTE: To operate, this unit requires a 12-volt transformer such as the Proxxon 38704 Heavy Duty Transformer

Here's a link to more info on the Proxxon Pen Sander.

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Wood automaton depicts the waves from a droplet of water

Check out his wood automaton that depicts the splash after a water droplet hits a body of water.

From the video description:

The object of this project was to produce an Automata [sic] that was inspired by the work of Reuben Margolin. All components were hand made the aim was to recreate the reaction of droplet as it impacts a body of water.

The machine was made by Dean O'Callaghan. Here is where you can see more by work by Dean O'Callaghan.

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Book: Hardening, Tempering and Heat Treatment

I love this entire little Workshop Practice series of books. If you work with metal or want to, here's one worth getting: Hardening, Tempering and Heat Treatment

From the book description:

A comprehensive exposition of the structure of steels and the effects of different heat treatments, particularly in respect of tools. It includes solid fuel, gas and electric furnaces, case hardening, tempering and other practical information. Features accurate colour temperature charts.

It gets great reviews from quite a few people on Amazon. Here is where you can order Hardening, Tempering and Heat Treatment (Workshop Practice). Be sure to check out the entire line of in the Workshop Practice Series. There are books on every possible aspect of metal and shopw work, tools, and techniques. I wish they sold them as a complete set!

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Zaher The Magician - a modern take on a classic magic-themed automaton

The automaton shown here was created by Haydn Davies over a period of 18 months. The piece is made of plaster of Paris, wood, brass, aluminum, steel, ball bearings, and stainless steel. It relies on servo motors, a microprocessor servo controller, a computer power supply, a miniature passive infrared sensor, and other electrical parts to perform its magic.

Zaher is on display at the Mechanical Art and Design Museum (MAD Museum), Stratford Upon Avon, England. This fantastic automaton is currently for sale.

Here is where you can learn more about Zaher The Magician.

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H.G.Wells-themed Sanderson Orrery

Check out this beautiful ornery, complete with scale sized steam engine and Jules Verne figure with his time machine and pet dinosaur! Very nicely done.

[ Thanks Christoph! ]

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A collection of automata by a artist Steve Armstrong

Check out this beautiful selection of automata by artist Steve Armstrong represented by the Heike Pickett Gallery.

From the artist's statement:

I create kinetic constructions, often referred to as Automata. My themes are poetic and evocative, sometimes narrative, and almost always charged with personal symbolic content. My work is based in the human figure and realism. I simplify my forms. My inner voice dictates that the figures not be in too nonchalant or too candid a pose, and that the figures be posed in a formal manner, maybe contraposto, sometimes with formal hand gestures.

Here is a link to see more automata by Steve Armstrong.

Here is a link to a video profile of Steve Armstrong I posted back in 2009. It's really good.

[ Thanks Christoph! ]

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