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MAKE THE SQUIRREL WORK FOR HIS FOOD-The wind will make him do it. This whirlygig can be made in 1 day from throw-away items.
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Signing UpStep 1Whirlygig wind mobiles basics
Wind mobiles-- To make a wind mobile all one needs is an action item . This activity will repeat as long as the wind blows.
We have published several whirlygigs in Instructables that utilize old bottles of plastic. Ref:nstructables by Mistic
All one needs is a rotating mechanism that translates a propeller rotation into a reciprocal motion. This can be done with a rotating cam attached to the axle as we will shoe here. It can be any size that you want the object to move. In this case we used a one inch diameter cam. It could have been a 2 inch diameter disk thus giving a 1-1/2 inch up and down motion.
The object to be moved must have a rotating member ,in this case the squirrel's body.It could be a rabbit ,etc. cracking an egg.
It could be a lady milking a cow. It needs a repeating motion to succeed .
The object can be wood ,as plywood. In this case we used a sheet of left over gutter repair aluminum .026 in. thickness which we cut out with a shear.A coping saw can be used for plywood figures easily.
The wind power converter is a propeller. A wooden propeller[ prop] can be constructed from thin wood . We used old drink bottles as a prop. This way we helped out environmentally. Any piece of wood as a 2x4 can be used as a hub for the props.
The axle can be a problem . We have found some jumbo paper clips that we straightened out to work fine. You can use any steel item as a wire coat hanger. Some hobby shops sell 1/8 in. diam. steel threaded rods and nuts[6-32] for axles.
Linkage can be a problem connecting the cam to the figure. We used stretch string found in jewelry dept. of craft stores.We also have used stiff wire formed in a loop around the cam connection to work fine. The string was used to also to stop the figure from rotating too far,this is not needed when using a wire linkage.See materials list .
We have published several whirlygigs in Instructables that utilize old bottles of plastic. Ref:nstructables by Mistic
All one needs is a rotating mechanism that translates a propeller rotation into a reciprocal motion. This can be done with a rotating cam attached to the axle as we will shoe here. It can be any size that you want the object to move. In this case we used a one inch diameter cam. It could have been a 2 inch diameter disk thus giving a 1-1/2 inch up and down motion.
The object to be moved must have a rotating member ,in this case the squirrel's body.It could be a rabbit ,etc. cracking an egg.
It could be a lady milking a cow. It needs a repeating motion to succeed .
The object can be wood ,as plywood. In this case we used a sheet of left over gutter repair aluminum .026 in. thickness which we cut out with a shear.A coping saw can be used for plywood figures easily.
The wind power converter is a propeller. A wooden propeller[ prop] can be constructed from thin wood . We used old drink bottles as a prop. This way we helped out environmentally. Any piece of wood as a 2x4 can be used as a hub for the props.
The axle can be a problem . We have found some jumbo paper clips that we straightened out to work fine. You can use any steel item as a wire coat hanger. Some hobby shops sell 1/8 in. diam. steel threaded rods and nuts[6-32] for axles.
Linkage can be a problem connecting the cam to the figure. We used stretch string found in jewelry dept. of craft stores.We also have used stiff wire formed in a loop around the cam connection to work fine. The string was used to also to stop the figure from rotating too far,this is not needed when using a wire linkage.See materials list .
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Recycled bottle whirligig space shuttle dated Jan.21,2010.
Rotating whirligig .. may 2,2009
by Mistic