Automaton Project - working title "Grandpa" [Archive]

xpro

19th January 2016, 03:21 PM

Grandpa's false teeth have popped out, and are laying on the floor in front of him. Behind, grandma sits on a chair, sleeping, dog by her side. Unsteady on his feet, he supports himself on a cane. With the left hand outstretched, slowly he bends towards the floor.....
.....to be continued.

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NCArcher

19th January 2016, 06:36 PM

watching..:2tsup:

Keith_1

19th January 2016, 07:19 PM

Gus,

Looking forward to seeing what happens with Grandpa

Whatever it is I am sure it will be a classy build.

Your sculpting work is first class mate :2tsup:

Regards

Keith

xpro

25th January 2016, 05:55 PM

Torso is now opened to allow for the mechanics to rotate head and the left arm, modifications to the head, the legs are complete, and the arms are almost done. The right arm will be jointed at the elbow to allow for movement as the figure bends forward. The two pieces are what was removed from the torso, cut down, and will be press fitted after the shirt is sewn in place, much further down the process. Timber is Huon Pine.
To be continued, thanks for watching,
Gus

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Keith_1

26th January 2016, 08:56 AM

Wow Gus,

Grandpa is getting his act together:D. Good Stuff

Happy Australia Day

Regards

Keith

artme

27th January 2016, 01:28 PM

Watching with great interest!!:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

xpro

28th January 2016, 05:52 PM

Watching with great interest!!:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

Thank you ! Hope it will be worth your time !

Regards,
Gus

xpro

28th January 2016, 06:24 PM

The upper body is now hinged to the leg section. Arms and mechanics of the left arm as the figure bends towards the floor is fitted now. In the profile photo the actuating dowel for the left arm swing can be seen between the torso and the legs. It is spring loaded, so when the figure stands back up the arm returns to the side as well. The profile photo shows the figure in its upright position. The right arm is hinged at the elbow, and it also bends, supported by the cane.
To be continued, thanks for looking,
Gus

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crowie

28th January 2016, 08:25 PM

I nearly missed this one Gus.....very impressive sir.. Crowie

Keith_1

29th January 2016, 03:33 PM

It's looking really good Gus :2tsup:

Bendigo Bob

30th January 2016, 06:13 PM

All I can say is WOW, Thanks for sharing the journey Gus.

xpro

2nd February 2016, 08:52 AM

All I can say is WOW, Thanks for sharing the journey Gus.

Thanks very much Bob !
Gus

xpro

2nd February 2016, 05:47 PM

370331 The beginning of Granny. Her head, the lounge chair, rough in of the body - made up of offcuts from Grandpa - and
Grandpa's false teeth. To be continued, thanks for looking,
Gus

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Keith_1

2nd February 2016, 06:44 PM

Tremendous work Gus :2tsup:

Love the false teeth

Regards

Keith

xpro

2nd February 2016, 07:54 PM

Thank you Keith,
I was so surprised at how they came out in such a short time, thought it would take a day.

Regards,
Gus

crowie

3rd February 2016, 08:48 AM

Thank you Keith,
I was so surprised at how they came out in such a short time, thought it would take a day.
Regards,
Gus

What sort of time did it take please Gus....Must saw you are one very talented woodworker/carver, sir....cheers, crowie

xpro

3rd February 2016, 04:25 PM

What sort of time did it take please Gus....Must saw you are one very talented woodworker/carver, sir....cheers, crowie

Peter, it was 1hr 45 minutes. I carved it attached to the end of a piece, held in a vice, then once done, cut the teeth off and finished the back. Thanks for your interest !
I was about to fix the bit where the top and the bottom meet, but it looks like a cavity, so it was left as is.
Gus

xpro

5th February 2016, 04:11 PM

Grandma will be sitting behind grandpa, slightly to one side, just reading. It will be covered by a blanket, only the feet, hands and head will be visible. Hair, glasses and perhaps a glowing/smoking fag will be added later. The two bellows are also made, their purpose will be explained later.
Thanks for looking,
Gus

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Keith_1

5th February 2016, 07:43 PM

It's looking really good Gus :2tsup:

Regards

Keith

Bendigo Bob

6th February 2016, 10:03 AM

Loving this thread :)

xpro

6th February 2016, 06:46 PM

Now that the majority of the character carving is more or less complete, started on the movement mechanics. Wanted to see if I could manage the bending without using external attachments, rods, links etc.
Cut a groove in the back of the right leg to accept a small diameter brass tube which would act as a conduit for a minute size stainless steel cable, bent the tube to follow the contour of the leg, glued it into place.

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The front of the tube protrudes just under the belly, and is inserted into the torso, a small spring between the legs and the torso returns the stance to its upright position.

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The wire is loaded into the tube, nicely moves around all the twists and turns. Here is a short video of the movement. Next will be the cam and follower to refine the movement.
Thanks for looking,
Gus

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Keith_1

6th February 2016, 07:48 PM

Very nice work Gus:2tsup:

Regards

Keith

artme

11th February 2016, 05:16 AM

Very inventive Gus!! I admire your carving skills!!!:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

xpro

16th February 2016, 07:53 PM

The movement control for this character seems to be working ok. The first part of the video shows the mechanics under the "stage". At the rear are two cams which contain the information for the movements. One controls the bend, the other the head turns. From the actuating arms, cable goes through the brass tubes embedded in the back of each leg, and is connected to the upper torso for the bend, and for the head, via a number of guiding eyelets to the bearing loaded dowel on which the head is installed. The white plastic arm under is attached to each end of the head cable which is twirled around the dowel, that is how the turns happen. All the mechanics is prototype, ( experimental :-)). When the whole thing is complete and working as wanted, it will all be remade (except the characters) to the wanted finishes/ standard.
Thanks for looking,

Regards,
Gus

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Keith_1

17th February 2016, 08:12 AM

That is great Gus. You are very skilled - Top Work:2tsup:

Regards

Keith

xpro

26th February 2016, 10:53 AM

Attached video is the progress of the scene so far. Cams which operate the movements, grandpa bending, turning the head, grandma reacting to his movements, and the gear train which rotates the camshaft. The speed reduction of this is 8:1. The "stage" shows the resulting movements. Further carvings to follow, and possible additional movements (provided I can figure out how) and the stage set following that.
Thank you for looking,
Gus

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crowie

26th February 2016, 08:57 PM

Damn clever sir....:2tsup:

Keith_1

1st March 2016, 08:19 PM

Brilliant Gus, Brilliant:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

Keith_1

1st March 2016, 08:21 PM

xpro

5th March 2016, 01:41 PM

Sorry Gus - accidentally pushed "want Picture" Video is great

Keith
Thanks very much Keith !
Gus

xpro

5th March 2016, 01:49 PM

The last ( I think, maybe not - thinking about one more ) mechanism now prototyped. Both are for effects. Not yet convinced that one works well at its capacity, time will tell. The actuators are spring loaded against the control cams, and released at the time required. If no further actions are warranted, the rebuild will follow.
Thanks for looking,
Gus

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Keith_1

6th March 2016, 08:27 AM

Gus

Lots of intricate work there

Well Done:2tsup:

Regards

Keith

xpro

10th March 2016, 05:10 PM

Gus

Lots of intricate work there

Well Done

Regards

Keith

Thank you very much Keith !
Gus

xpro

4th April 2016, 12:21 PM

After the rebuild of all the mechanisms, lacquer finish to everything, here are the sequential photos of the project.

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Frame and Crankshaft
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main Drive Gears
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Grandma's Head turning mechanism
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Bellows Actuator
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Bellows
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Grandpa's movement cams and followers

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The finished mechanism

The finishing touches to Grandpa and Grandma are in progress.
Thanks very much for looking,
Gus

crowie

7th April 2016, 09:55 AM

Gus, the time, effort, imagination and technical mastery is amazing sir, thank you for the photos & notes...Cheers, crowie

xpro

7th April 2016, 03:13 PM

Gus, the time, effort, imagination and technical mastery is amazing sir, thank you for the photos & notes...Cheers, crowie
Thanks very much Peter !
Gus

Keith_1

10th April 2016, 11:37 AM

Hi Gus,

The work you are doing looks absolutely fantastic. The lounge room is great. Can't wait to see it all in action.

Top Stuff :2tsup:

Regards

Keith

xpro

12th April 2016, 05:09 PM

Hi Gus,

The work you are doing looks absolutely fantastic. The lounge room is great. Can't wait to see it all in action.

Top Stuff :2tsup:

Regards

Keith

Thanks very much Keith,

Gus

htl

6th August 2016, 02:00 AM

Super nice project,
I'm so sorry to be late to this the party but looking forward to the finish.

xpro

26th August 2016, 05:45 PM

Due to other commitments it has taken forever to finalise this project ! Video still to come.

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crowie

26th August 2016, 06:03 PM

Due to other commitments it has taken forever to finalise this project ! Video still to come.

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Now I'm excited and really looking forward to the video....TOP JOB Gus....

xpro

8th October 2019, 02:13 PM

Finally a Video ! Only took three years..... I forgot that I didn't get around to posting the link to it. Please have the sound turned on. I have renamed it "Ageing Disgracefully"

Cheers to all,
Gus

Automaton "Ageing Disgracefully" from Gus Klekner on Vimeo (https://player.vimeo.com/video/364660062)