Some time ago, I featured a video of the absolutely astounding sculpture by Rob Higgs that can open a bottle of wine, then pour a glass. Here we some some British celebrities -- Steven Fry and Derren Brown among them -- operating the machine and delighting in the experience.
I posted yesterday about the book Ingenious Gadgets. No sooner had I posted than I heard from the expert on all things mechanical and kinetic, Falk Keuten, who writes the excellent Spiel und Kunst mit Mechanik blog. Herr Keuten was kind enough to inform me that the author of the book was featured in the video you see above. It's great to see pictures, but even better to see these antique contraptions on film! I was also made aware of the author Maurice Collins's associated web site called VictorianGadgets.com. The site describes itself as "A collection of bizarre, weird and unusual manufactured devices and gadgets, used in everyday life between the years of the Great exhibition of 1851 to the Festival of Britain 1951."
I should also point out that Maurice Collins is also the author of a similar book called Eccentric Contraptions: And Amazing Gadgets, Gizmos and Thingamabobs. Like the book mentioned above, this one shows you 100 bizarre and ingenious gadgets from the collection of Maurice Collins.
Here is an article on Maurice Collins by Esra Magazine. The article explains how Collins became a collector of weird, eccentric, and everyday gadgets from the past.
Over the course of 224 pages, author Maurice Collins challenges the reader to guess the purpose of 100 mysterious gadgets from the past. A brief description on page accompanies a large color photograph of the strange, silly, and clever contraptions on the adjoining page. Chapters cover gadgets for:
The Working Day
Domestic Economy
The Stuff of Life
Out and About
Body and Soul
From the book description:
Marvel at the ingenuity of the cuff holder which, as legend has it, was used by cardsharps at the poker table to hide the ace up their sleeves; find out how to make the perfect camping cuppa 1920s style; and decide whether the 1920s electric comb really could prevent hair loss. If you thought that phone cameras were a great invention find out more about the watch camera of the 1900s; if you've always found shaving too taxing, there is an automatic shaving cream filler and brush in the collection which allowed you to save time in that early morning rush to work - who knows why this never took off?
One of my favorite weekend pastimes is hunting around antique stores searching for old tools and other items. Trying to figure out the purpose of mysterious items is also a big part of the fun. It's interesting to see the huge number of ideas that have been brought to market over the years, as well as which ones never really took off. This book is like wandering through one of those antique stores, but you can do it from the comfort of your living room or nearest coffee shop. This book makes a nice gift for the gadget lover and history buff.
It's that time of year, when I start sending interesting mechanical things your way as gift ideas. Here's a fascinating kinetic sculpture that gives the illusion of perpetual motion.
An 11 inch metal rod pivots from the sculpture's 16 inch support bars. A shorter rod pivots around a fulcrum at the end of the longer one. The two bars silently swing around their respective fulcrums with no obvious source of power to keep them going.
The trick lies in a tiny electromagnet hidden in the base. The magnet causes the end of the longer bar to accelerate which keeps it going for up to a year of continous movement. It may not be perpetual motion, but that's impressive considering it can do this with only four AA batteries!
I was asked to contribute an article to a special issue magazine called Gizmos & Gadgets. Not to be confused with the technology magazine of the same name, this one is put out by the same folks that publish Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts
magazine as well a many of the best carving, woodworking, and craft books you will find. They have to be one of my favorite publishers, so when I was asked to write for them, I was really excited.
The magazine was a year in the making and they did a fantastic job. The projects are awesome and the documentation excellent. They did the job right. The video above shows the projects in action. The automaton I designed may be seen at the 00:53 second mark. There is a wealth of useful techniques within these pages and more than 10 cool projects. What follows is a list of the projects in the magazine.
1 - Kicker Gumball Machine
This fun gumball dispenser will test your hand-to-eye coordination, give you a great project to build, and reward you with a treat. Lots of fun!
2 - A wooden chest with a working wooden lock
Notable wood clock-maker Adrian Iredale shows you how precise cuts and careful sanding can produce a working padlock made almost exclusively of wood. I'm looking forward to making one myself.
3 - Rapid-fire rubber band gun
The ultimate in wooden rubber band guns, this one is fired by turning a hand-crank much like the old Gatling gun. It's incredible.
4 - Simplest possible working wooden clock
Master of the wooden clock, Clayton Boyer, provides detailed instructions on how to make a wooden clock. If you have always dreamed of making a wooden clock, but were intimidated, this is the one start with! It's unconventional design makes it a unique timepiece as well as a work of kinetic art. FULL SIZE plans for this project are included in the magazine centerfold. This is a great value -- more than worth the price of the magazine alone. Trust me.
5 - Tiny ship automaton
Fellow automaton-maker Wanda Sowry contributed this really cute automaton featuring a tiny ship rocking on the waves of the ocean. This would be an ideal choice for one's first wood automaton. It would also make a nice gift.
The Unwelcome Dinner Guest - Automaton by Dug North
6 - Dog and bird automaton
My own contribution to the magazine is a scene featuring a bird stealing a dog's food. The poor dog is tangled in his own leash, so all he can do is wag his tail and bark at the winged thief who pecks away at the food. I worked hard to use materials that could be found easily online and at local home improvement stores. I'm quite pleased with the dog's barking action which uses a four-bar linkage.
7 - Bouncing buggy toy
This charming pull-along toy features a horse and buggy with two riders. The riders are having a bit of bumpy ride. This piece has a strong ties to a long tradition of folk toys. Why not be a part of that tradition?
8 - Wood spitting whirligig
No written work on wooden gizmos could be complete without a whirligig. The Gizmos & Gadgets issue delivers with this fine example. A very traditional scene -- a man chopping wood -- is animated by wind power alone. A classic.
9 - The 'Smoke Grinder'
This is a fun little do-nothing gadget that is loads of fun. It's a great beginner project that will also make a nice gift for kids.
10 - The mother of all gear machines
Ed Legler documents how he made this intricate kinetic sculpture that graces the cover of the magazine. The author uses some tools that may be beyond what you have in the workshop, but you can cut the gears on a scroll saw. I'm going to tackle this one sooner or later.
11 - Marble track tower
A nifty marble machine is also described in detail at the end of the magazine. Because of the complexity, the plans themselves have to be purchased separately. Still, you can get a good look at what you would be buying or perhaps be inspired to come up with your own design.
This 152 page book, printed in 1966 (paperback) and again in 1975 (hardcover), covers the inventions attributed to the ancient Greeks. It includes both drawings and photographs of the subject. Of particular interest is the section dedicated to the design for the first steam engine created by Heron of Alexandria.
From one Amazon Reviewer:
Basically, the book keeps what the title promises: it is a brilliant account of ancient Greek gadgets and machines, focusing both on the explanation of the most important inventions and on the famous inventors they are attributed to. Further, Robert S. Brumbaugh gives concise and enlightening descriptions of different Greek philosophers' attitudes towards machines. This, combined with Brumbaugh's absorbing writing style, makes Ancient Greek Gadgets and Machines a most rewarding read.
Check out this book which examines all manner of quirky inventions and the people who create them. It is both an interesting look at an assortment of inventions and a useful study of the process of bringing an invention to market -- or not!
From the book description:
Americans love their gadgets, and Steve Greenberg, the "Innovation Insider," pays tribute to the country's spirit of inventiveness. Featuring more than 100 quirky innovations, Gadget Nation is a fun and inspirational showcase of clever creations. From the useful (a "Finger Shield" for when you're chopping food) to the offbeat (a diaper for your pet bird), you'll get a behind-the-scenes journey through the eccentric world of invention.
Secret Gadgets and Strange Gizmos traces this evolving connection from the deadly innovations of the Union and Confederate forces to the top secret, high-tech inventions that are making military history today. Chronicling the hits, the misses, and the important technological advances produced by the U.S. military.
Author Kaden Harris has created a book for the luminaries of MAKE Magazine. In it, he provides step-by-step instructions for building all manner of crazy contraptions. This stuff isn't just for the cubicle; it's for fun! If you are an ambitious or experienced maker or just curious about how to make insanely cools stuff, this is a great book.
From the book description:
From desktop guillotines and crossbows to mood-enhancing effects and music makers, each project presents a different set of challenges and opens new avenues of Maker lore. There's a strong emphasis on the basic mechanical theories and principles of the devices presented in the book, as well as the fabrication techniques you need to use. But this is far more than a book of project "how-tos". Eccentric Cubicle offers oblique industrial design and fabrication philosophies, countless cultural reference points, and innumerable bad puns.
I'm not entirely sure how you operate this mechanical puzzle, but they sure make it sound difficult to solve. It comes in three levels of difficulty for personalized levels of frustration.
From the ThinkGeek.com description:
Individually milled from a solid block of metal, the Revomaze features an internal labyrinth full of dead ends, traps, and one way paths you need to navigate to remove the metal core and solve the puzzle.
What makes the Revomaze truly great is its challenge to both your mental and physical aptitude. You need dexterity to manipulate the Revomaze as well as brain power to ferret out the correct path in the labyrinth. One wrong move and you're forced to start from the beginning. However the Revomaze is very fair minded... you screw up, you get punished, but you're always aware of whether you are making progress towards the solution.
Inventive and unique, this dynamic collection of woodworking projects teaches the basic skills needed to make exciting, action-packed toys. From rapid-fire nickel launchers and ball-and-socket robots to a monkey-toss gumball machine, each project includes a color photograph, a tools and materials list, a full diagram, woodworking plans, and instructions for using the finished product. Covering all the methods necessary for creation—selecting wood, drilling and shaping, making wheels and axles, and decoration—these constructions are simple enough for children and parents to complete together, all in an afternoon's time.
Here's a really nifty gadget clock dating between 1840 and 1875.
From the eBay listing item description
The rear left corner of the clock has a candle tube, and the front has a cantilevered arm that is activated by a time setting on the clock. Upon reaching the desired time setting, the arm lowers and the cup on it’s end snuffs out the candle.There is also a wake-up alarm setting. So we here have a clock that tells the owner when to go to sleep, and when to wake up!
Robotic toy-makers WowWee venture into the fully-adult world of robotics with their relatively new tele-presence robot dubbed, Rovio.
Marketed as a home sentry, they may have overstated its capabilities a bit. While it may not be stopping any intruders, it is an intriguing robot nevertheless.
You'll need a full-fledged computer with a broadband internet connection and wireless at the location where Rovio is to be used. The robot can then be controlled by any remote internet-enabled device.
The Rovio sends back both audio and tv-resolution video streamed in MPEG4 format. It has a two-way speaker/microphone setup that allows you to "talk" with entities on the robot-end of the arrangement. It can also take snap-shots and find its own way back to its recharging base. Not bad for $300.
Now...what to do with it? The stand-in for business meeting, "Say goodnight to daddy", and pet-soother all seem a bit of a stretch to me. I think it's best to assume, that you can use the Rovio to take a look around your place (one flat level of it anyway) when you are not there. While a more modest goal, that could truly be useful.
Here's a page with a full description and video of the Rovio robot.
The Geeks have been busy searching the universe for the most unique and interesting products available. With the holidays around the corner ThinkGeek.com has some offers with extra "geek appeal" like the one below. The have tons of great gizmos, spy gadgets, and a variety of mechanical toys. Here is one offer in which you get $5 off of orders of $25 or more!
Have trouble getting out of bed in the morning? Here is an alarm clock that will force you get out of bed.
You see, when the digital alarm clock goes off at the prescribed time it launches a rotor into the air that flies around the room as the alarm sounds. The clock will not stop ringing until the rotor is returned to the alarm clock base.
Does this seem like the kind of thing you need but you don't want a propeller flying about your room? No problem. Here is the terrestrial equivalent. This little bugger rolls off your bedside table and and hides. It continues to emit a random pattern of beeps and flashes until you get up to shut it off.
