Carved wood and clockwork devil automaton in Milan from the 16th century

Photo by Bob Frishman, 2013

This devil automaton now housed at a museum in Milan was made by taking a sixteenth-century torso -- possibly that of Christ at the Column -- and applying a clockwork mechanism to it. The automaton when cranked would turn its head and eyes, stick out the its tongue, and make an inarticulate sound. A seventeenth-century description mentions horns and a collar which are now lost.

The piece is part of the Applied Arts Collections Museum in the Sforza Castle in Milan, Italy. Another interesting blog posts about this devil automaton can be found on the io9 blog.

[ Thanks to Bob Frishman of Bell-Time Clocks for the discovery and photo! ]

---

Wood skeleton hand project with controls for each finger

Check out this amazing wooden skeleton hand project by Ronald Waters. According to the video description, the hand was made using a pattern found online. The hand parts themselves were created with a scroll saw and Dremel rotary tool.

From the video description:

This video is a test of the pull-pull cords for the fingers and the spring tensioned center cords. There is still quite a bit of work to be done before this is complete.

A hole was drilled through the center of each bone in the hand. Center cords run through each finger. These are attached to springs which hold the joints together by compressing them. Cords outside the fingers on the top and bottom act as tendons and control strings.

I'm not sure what the final product will be, but I can already tell that I'm going to like it a lot! I am looking forward to the promised updates.

[ Thanks Warren! ]

---

Staccato - a drummer automaton by Tom Haney

Check out the latest from automaton artist Tom Haney. This automaton depicts a performing drummer. The figure's body was carved from basswood and the head sculpted from polymer clay. The drum kit is assembled from a variety of found objects. Not only does the video show the piece in action, but we get a great look at the mechanism and its cams. There are also some really nice "in progress" shots of the piece.

Learn more about automata by Tom Haney on his web site.

---

Film about the making of a huge wooden automaton village

Here is a short documentary on the making of the amazing wooden village automaton created by Jozef Pekara from Rajecke Teplice, Slovakia. This giant woodcarving was created by Jozef Pekara over the span of 18 years. This huge, village scene uses 150 animal and 170 human figures to depict the history and traditions of Slovakia.

[ Thanks Les! ]

---