Claud - motorized metal fish made of salvaged parts

Check out the latest from Chris Cole -- a motorized fish made of salvaged bicycles, auto parts, salvaged steel, and reclaimed purple heart wood.

See more kinetic sculptures by Chis Cole on his web site.

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Weight-driven rotating marble machine powers a kinetic sculpture

Check out this clever weight-driven kinetic sculpture. The marble moving through the tracks cause the box to rotate, which acts as as type of escapement.

From the creator:

The thread connecting the two weights is wound around a reel on the axis of the front part. As one of the weights is heavier, the front wants to rotate. Where the marble reaches the "bottom", there are two levers. These levers prevent the machine from spinning while the marble is on the track, and release the machine every time the marble hits one of them. The levers also work as a ratchet mechanism to allow easy winding up. The marble probably feels a bit like Sisypho

[ Thanks Felix! ]

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Automaton pays tribute to the writer Ernest Hemingway

Check out this automaton by Eduardo M. Lázaro in Mexico. The piece is a tribute to the writer Ernest Hemingway's novel The Old Man and the Sea.

Also, check out his awesome steampunk pilot!

See more art by Eduardo M. Lázaro on his Facebook page.

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Artist Chris Fitch gives an in-depth explanation of the mechanics of his incredible swimming fish kinetic sculpture

Artist Chris Fitch took the time to of put together a video in which he explains the mechanics of his limited edition piece titled, Tantalus Mackerel. I don't need to say much more here, because his explanation is so good.

As for the piece, here is what Chris Fitch as to say about it:

The story of Tantalus has been, since its Greek origins, a consistently applicable metaphor for the human condition. Tantalus angered the gods by trying to feed them the flesh of his own son, passed off as ambrosia. For this, he was chained to the bottom of a lake that reached to his chin. With luscious grapes drooping from vines above his nose, starving Tantalus was unable to enjoy either food or drink, as they were pulled away whenever he reached. I won't go on about how I think this relates to American culture today, which suffers from a kind of self-inflicted hunger from unrealistic expectations. Nor will I attempt to make any connection between the story of Tantalus and our current global problem with mercury levels in deep sea fish, and how we are our own gods and are punished by our own actions when we poison our own food supply. Let me just say, instead, that this piece is about a frustrated fish trying to catch a bug.

It's an incredible piece in every way: the narrative, the artistry, the mechanics. He only made three of these beauties, and (as of this writing) one is still available. For more videos and photos of sculptures by Chris Fitch, visit http://www.chrisfitchsculpture.com.

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Short video profile of automaton artist Richard Hackney

Check out this wonderful short film about British artist, Richard Hackney, and his automata. Up-cycled copper boilers and light bulbs never looked so good!

See more automata by Richard Hackney on his web site.

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Gears shaped like fish that actually mesh and turn? Absolutely!

Check out this interesting project by Clayton Boyer and Forrest Burrnett featured in Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts issue 51, due out the summer of 2013.

Not only are these gears shaped like fish, but they have a very interesting intermittent motion. When the drive gear makes a revolution, it spins each of the smaller gears just one turn in sequence. The smaller gears remain stationary during the remainder of the cycle.

[ Thanks Charles! ]

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Magnificent silver swan automaton by John-Joseph Merlin

The Wall Street Journal featured a nice article on the silver swan automaton housed at the Bowes Museum. The swan was created by John-Joseph Merlin (1735 – 1803), a Belgian inventor and horologist. The automaton is indeed a marvel of mechanical design.

From the Wall Street Journal article:

The most complex machinery is in the neck. The movement is driven by four springs, each about one millimeter thick. There are five levers: one operates the lower bill to preen the feathers and "eat" the fish; the second operates the fish (which is concealed in the neck) that the bird appears to catch; the third allows the swan's head to nod; the fourth arches the neck; and the fifth is linked to the middle and allows its graceful movement.

Once a day, the automaton is set in motion. The bird looks left and right, then turns its neck around as if to preen the silver feathers on its back. Spinning glass rods in front of the majestic bird give the impression of a flowing stream in which several small fish seem to swim. The bird spots the fish and plunges down, beak agape, to catch one. Upon rising, a wriggling silver fish is seen within the bird's beak. After a few moments, the bird swallows the metallic fish and the show ends.

Here is the article in the Wall Street Journal about the silver swan automaton: Magic Wrought by a Merlin.

[ Thanks Bob! ]

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Hand-cranked metallic mechanical fish by Chris Cole

Here's an fascinating automaton to start your week. This piece, titled Delmar, was created by artist Chris Cole. The hand-cranked automaton depicts a fish. The kinetic sculpture features a chain drive, a fanning dorsal fin made of wrenches, several cranks, exposed linkages, and eyes made from sprockets. This fish is mechanical inside and out!

Check out more sculptures on Chris Cole's web site.

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How do you say "Steampunk Fish" in Russian?

Shown here is a mechanical sculpture titled Ferrum Fish. The piece is made of oak, lime, copper, forge steel, glass, sea shells, and other materials. From what I gather, this mechanical fish and several others like it were created by a collective of artists that go by the name Art Mechanicus or perhaps ArtMechanicus.

Sorry I can't say more about this amazing mechanical sculpture. The site is in Russian. At least I think it is; I simply can't read it.

Whatever the language, there are more photographs and videos to see if you head on over the ArtMechanicus.com.

[ Thanks David! ]

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The smallest swimming goldfish automaton you'll ever see

Laurence and Angela St. Leger are creators of hand-crafted miniature automata. They've worked their magic again here with this tiny goldfish bowl. When turned, a very tiny hand-crank sets this pair of even smaller goldfish swimming in circles within the bowl. Delightful, as always!

Order your own miniature goldfish tank at Cabaret Mechanical Theatre.

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Steampunk mechanical shark submarine model made with Legos!

YouTube member legobodgers decided to enter a competition in which the model had something to to with water and emphasized function over form. His idea? A Steampunk mechanical shark. Oh, and it's a submarine too (there is a tiny pilot in the shark's head). The piece is made from Legos with a lot of Lego Technic parts used for the sophisticated mechanism. Brilliant! I wouldn't change a thing. Well, OK...I would like to have it scaled up to full size and made water-tight so I can drive around it. But, that's it.

Here is a post about the Lego shark submarine on Steampunk.com.

[ Thanks Suzz! ]

Kinetic sculpture by Ben Trautman

Take a look at this amazing large-scale kinetic sculptures by Ben Trautman.

From the artist's web site:

My work combines the languages of industrial architecture and organic forms using intuitive engineering and experimentation. Inspired by cities, bones, mechanics and the movement of living organisms, I build sculptures suggesting creatures that inhabit the crevices of industrial decay. I work with dual languages, mass and delicacy or solidity and agility. Architecture inspires and hosts my work, provides context and scale, mass to inhabit or solidity to erode.

With a studio located in Oakland, California, he has made mechanical sculptures for The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and The Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito, California.

See more kinetic sculptures by Ben Trautman on his web site.

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Mechanical gift idea #7 - Not Yet fish automaton

It's not often one has a chance to purchase a genuine automaton by Paul Spooner for 41.5 GBP or about $64 USD. It stands to reason then that it's not often one has the chance to give a gift of a Paul Spooner automaton! Do it.

A bit about this piece from Spooner himself:

Another piece that exploits the attractive/repulsive effects of neodymium magnets. The handle turns a cylinder in which a magnet is inserted radially so that its poles alternate, causing a magnet buried in the fish to feel attracted or repelled by turns. The foil, which is pure tin and beautiful stuff in its own right, stops the fish from becoming airborne.

Clever, beautifully made, and from the workshop of a modern master. You can order Paul Spooner's limited edition automaton Not Yet from the Cabaret Mechanical Theatre web site.

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Fishermans Tale automaton by Keith Newstead

This automaton was commissioned by a fisherman living and a interesting sliding planetary drive with constant tension mechanism. As with all of his work, it has that Keith Newstead charm.

See more automata by Keith Newstead on his web site.

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Hand-cranked metal fish distorts amplifier sounds

The latest kinetic sculpture from Chris Cole, called Velouria, features a guitar amplifier hidden in the base. When you crank the sculpture, the metallic fish like comes to life. In addition, various ports are open and close which affects the sound coming from the amplifier.

From the YouTube description:

This piece was inspired by the Pixies song and will be part of the "Dig For Fire" show at C.A.V.E. Gallery in Venice California Sept 9-October 1, 2011.

Sounds like an interesting show! There is more on this sculpture at Chris Cole's web site.

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Another metallic kinetic fish by Chris Cole

Back in February, I posted about a motorized kinetic fish sculpture by Chris Cole called Orvog. Here is a somewhat similar piece by the same artist, but this one is hand-cranked.

More of Chris Cole's kinetic sculptures can seen on his web site.

[ Thanks Tony! ]

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