Spring-driven Steampunk Impulse Engine designed by Clayton Boyer

Adrian Iredale has made another of Clayton Boyers amazing wood machines and was kind enough to document some of the process on video. He regards this as a nice easy project with impressive results. I like this one a lot!

Here is where you can buy this plans for Clayton Boyer's Steampunk Impulse Engine.

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Diana and Stag Automaton at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts is actually a princely drinking game

Falk Keuten of the Spiel und Kunst mit Mechanik blog wrote to let us know about an automaton in my own backyard. Given that he's in Germany, it's fair to say that he is a very well-informed man!

A new exhibit at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts features an automaton of Diana, goddess of the hunt, riding a stag. The piece is in the museum's new Kunstkammer gallery, which now displays the type of thing that wealthy individuals in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries might have collected.

The piece itself is made from cast and chased silver -- some parts gilded, some painted with lacquer. The automaton was designed as a form drinking game at courtly banquets. It moves about the table and stops arbitrarily. If it stops near you, it's your turn to drink.

Here's the full article in The Boston Globe on the ‘Diana and Stag Automaton’ at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts.

Here's the MFA's page about the new Kunstkammer Gallery.

Many pieces such as this are document in the wonderful book titled Clockwork Universe: German Clocks and Automata, 1550-1650

From the book description:

This book depicts the golden age of German clockmaking. The volume offers the most comprehensive examination of the German Renaissance clock ever undertaken. From the founding of the clockmaker's guilds to the eventual shifting of the craft's supremacy from German-speaking central Europe to Holland and England after the Thirty Year's War. Includes contributions from 14 scholars, over 200 illustrations and technical drawings.

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Video of incredible Huntsman Smoker automaton

Check out this clockwork automaton smoker by Gustave Vichy of Paris! The piece is from around 1870 and has recently been restored by The House of Automata.

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Butterfly Effect -- a kinetic sculpture by Brett Dickins,

Here's the latest sculture from Brett Dickins, this one titled Butterfly Effect.

From the video description:

One off wooden/polished aluminum gear sculpture featuring a mechanical butterfly which takes a different flight path on each revolution of the main gear. Other features include small gears on the body of the butterfly which rotate, and the introduction of polished metals as a new material in my work.

Here is where you can see unedited footage of the Butterfly Effect sculpture

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How to bend brass wire, rod, tubing, bar, and sheet

The latest installment of my quarterly Tips column on automton-making is now live on the Cabaret Mechancial Theatre website. This is the second in a series on working with brass. The first part of the series showed how to cut brass rod, tubing, bar, and sheets. This installment show some methods for bending brass wire, rod, tubing, bar, sheet.  Be sure to check out the section on 'Further Reading' at the bottom of the post, as well as the links to useful tools and materials.

Here's a link to the article on how to bend brass wire, rod, tubing, bar, and sheet.

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This weight-driven kinetic sculpture is made almost entirely from wire -- even the escapement!

GJ Pearson created this fascinating kinetic sculpture titled Tiny Grass Is Dreaming. Similar to a weight-driven clock, a crank is turned to raise a weight, which in turn powers an escapement. The escapement allows the power to released in small stages. Also like a clock, the mechanism causes a bell to strike periodically. The wire construction is both impressive and beautiful. This piece took great skill to create, I am sure.

Here is where you can see a full playlist of GJ Pearson's work on YouTube. Here is where you can see more artwork by GJ Pearson.

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Exacting reproduction of the extremely rare Mills Verbal Fortune Teller machine for sale

Larry Bieza wrote to give an update on an automaton fortune teller project his team has been working on. Their recreation of three Mills Verbal Fortune tellers from the turn-of-the-century is complete. The video above tells you all about the machine and the process of reproducing it.

Bieza and his team studied the original extensively to create this faithful reproduction.

The fortune teller's voice comes from two independent cylinder players -- just like on the original. These play six inch long cylindrical records with a mechanism that allows them to play one fortune at a time. The fortunes themselves were created from the original surviving Mills Novelty cylinder.

The video includes many interior shots of this extraordinary build. No expense was spared in the making of these reproductions. Measuring about 8 feet tall and weighting in at some 300 pounds, details include quarter-sawn oak, red silk, period playing cards, hand-strung silver plated beads, spun brass ornaments, flat-key locks, and knob-and-tube wiring.

Production of the original coin operated machines was probably less then 100. Only one is known to exist. Back in 2011, the magician David Copperfield offered to buy the one remaining original for a reported $2,000,000. Unlike the one remaining original, the reproductions are fully functional, making them just as rare. This is the last of three reproductions for sale.

Should you wish to purchase this remarkable reproduction, drop me a line using my contact form or send an email to coinoplibrary [at]comcast [dot] net and tell them you heard about it from The Automata Blog.

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Christmas Copter automaton by Ron Varga

Here's a clever concept for an automaton -- this one created by Ron Varga. The remote-control helicopter flies around the top of the Christmas, each time barely missing the boy who ducks just in time.

Here is where you can find more information about Christmas Copter automaton by Ron Varga.

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Summer projects: Build your own wooden ornithopter kinetic model

Take a look at the cool wooden ornithoper kit! The model is based on an invention found in one of
Leonardo's notebook's

Turning the hand-crank sets in motion the gears and linkages that operates the wings, legs and arms of the pilot. It's a pretty big model, measuring 17" by 24" by 12".  The wooden construction kit uses a pegged gear train -- a lantern pinion and contrate pin wheel. This component alone would make this a model worth examing closely!

Here is where you can get the  wooden ornithopter model.

For the advanced Leonardo fanatic:
Leonardo's Machines: Da Vinci's Inventions Revealed

From Leonardo da Vinci's descriptions and drawings - and by using digital imaging - armoured ships, hydraulic machinery, winches and machines destined for use in war, work and pleasure emerge fully equipped and functional in stunning 3-dimensional, computer-generated artworks. A fascinating in-depth discussion of da Vinci's work and inventions accompanies these illustrations, revealing at the same time the incredible journey the authors of this book travelled whilst compiling it.

Here's is where you can find books on Leonardo's inventions.

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Amazing lion tamer circus act automaton kit made from paper!

Check out the amazing new paper automaton kit from cool4cats! In the fine tradition of Alexander Calder and Ron Fuller, the automaton features a Lion Tamer circus act. It also incorporates a clever trick found in some of the venerable French automata.

From the kit description:

Here's the wonderful lion tamer!  The kit contains all the materials  you need to build this amazing automaton.  You'll need glue, a craft knife and a few simple household items to help with assembly, but a word of caution: the lion tamer is a complex kit, so a fair degree of care and patience is needed, it's not suitable for young children.

Here is where you can order The Lion Tamer paper automaton kit.

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