Gourds in Motion

 

The most recent book about gourds is about using gourds to create action toys and automatons. The projects are basic but with enough detail to encourage someone who is innovative and willing to test different materials to try interesting ideas. Science teachers can use some of the toys to explain centrifugal force, gravity, and friction. Math teachers can create math games, explain the math behind forces, and generate curiosity for the numbers behind an action.

OR, just have some fun!!

Using Changing Technology...

Clearly, nothing stays the same over time! The videos of the gourd automatic made with online video services are now gone. In hindsight, they should have been made personally and relied upon an outside service. In the coming weeks, those automatons will be unboxed and reshot. 

Life moves on - from reel to reel, to VHS tapes, to online video services. It just keeps moving on!

It's Time to Spread the Gourd News!

Yes, it's time to spread the gourd news of movin' and groovin' to other like-minded people. Automata can be made from wood, metal, plastic, paper, etc., but the time has come to let gourds come front a center. They are a natural fit with mechanical movements: light, similar to wood, can be decorated, and because of their naturally unusual shapes can hold a viewer's attention.

When this blog began, I was interested in approaching gourds from a new angle. As I learned more about the science and math behind movement, I admit I became overwhelmed. However, now the knowledge has come full circle, all the way back to simplicity where movement is as basic as what do I want my gourd to do?  Given a base and a crank, how can I put together pieces of gourd that will make the action happen?

Basic skills, a basic understanding of what shapes do, and we are off and running!

3 Sisters Singing in the Harvest

There's more to this post than the end result and I will upload the process in a few days, but for now get a load of the newest automata...just in time for the autumn harvest!

A Bit of Music

A bit of success just adds fuel to the fire, you know? I have three chickens dancing. What's next? A bit of music perhaps?

After some minor adjustments...

One vital lesson is to make sure to test the automaton when assembled. In theory, it should work but after testing, it became clear some minor adjustments were needed.  One chicken kept turning around and showing his behinnee when it needed to face forward. Also, one rod appeared to be looser than the others, which made another chicken swing from side to side instead of facing forward.

So, after some adjustments.....

Importance of Pre-planning

Here's an example of how pre-planning, even though thought out carefully, can run afowl (no pun intended) in hindsight. Once the gourd scraps and miniature spinner gourd were measured  and in place, the crank could not be turned a full rotation. It seems the miniatures spinner gourd, though small enough to fit, does not fit once the crank shaft is positioned off-center.

It was positioned off-center so the chicken's rod it associates with would be moved up and down. However, now the space above it will need to be ground out to allow clearance. The other option is to disassemble everything and start anew. Since wood glue was used, disassembling would entail completely destroying the whole thing and starting over. Better to make the patch repair by making space for the gourd to turn full circle and learn the lesson for the next automata.

Gourd Scraps as Gears

Upon reflection, it seemed appropriate to stay with gourds for the gears of this automaton since the chickens were gourds. Pieces of gourd scraps became two of the gears and one spinner gourd become the third one. The head of a miniature bottleneck gourd was used as the catch for the left side of the crank. The catch keeps the crank shaft from shifting out of position.

At this point, a crank handle is needed and a title. Automatons have a name, usually affixed to the front...a clever twist of words that can be a pun or ironic. That will take some thinking! When I figure something out, I will probably woodburn the words onto a blonde piece of gourd and attach it to the front like a trophy plate.

What title? The Three Amigos? Shakin' a Leg in the Barnyard? The Sky is Falling?

Carpentry Skills

Building the wooden deck for the automata has been a window into the unique skills a carpenter needs to produce a woodworking project. Sanding the edges smooth, grinding the dowels so they are indistinguishable from the surrounding wood was much easier using a belt sander. Doing it by hand was going no where fast...so to speak.

At this point, the deck and crank need to live up to the artistry of the chickens themselves.

Deck for the Automata

 Work has started on the foundation of the automata. Using pieces of walnut, the horizontal deck has been secured to side arms with bamboo dowels. The color difference will add visual interest to the 'cabinetry' of the piece. The joints and dowel heads will be sanded flat tomorrow when the weather is lovely and the work can be done outside.

In hindsight, the crank holes for each side should have been drilled before putting this together. By stacking the sides on top of each other, the drill could have done both holes at once. That way, the holes would be horizontal to each other. As of now, however, the sides will be attached to the base with dowels and glue, Then crank holes can be measured and drilled.

Starting simple..

It is so easy to conceive of elaborate automata actions!  I can think of all manner of crazy things my little gourd chickens can do but then I catch myself getting too complicated. Slow down, go simple, check out these high school technology student projects. They are simple, but make interesting entertainment.  Like the architect Louis Sullivan said, "less is more"!  [He was also famous for the words "form ever follows function", another thought to keep in mind when considering how the function of a gear follows its form...as the action follows the gear.]

Check out these simple projects from Griffith University...they are inspiring BECAUSE they are achievable. Others I find online are so multifaceted, it is overwhelming to consider a starting point!

Wormy Entrance

A worm could be added with a simple up and down, egg-shaped gear which produces a semi-circle arching movement.  It would need to be timed to be in sync with the bobbing chicken so that may be a little tricky. The goal is maintain simplicity.

Faisal Hoque says in his article, Why Simplicity is So Complex, "The key to solving complex problems may be to simplify as much as possible and approach them with a beginner's mind."  My favorite quote right now!

This Science of Conversation - if only a complex action could be put into my beginner's mind!

Feathers and Beaks

Feathers are added to give the chicken more movement as the individual gourds spin or jump. Color variations add visual interest.

Originally, I was considering doing a spin, a bobbing, and a jumping action. Since then I have learned a bit about eccentric and snail gears, and cranking actions. With an eccentric gear the 'center' hole for the turning shaft is off-center, giving a smooth up and down motion. Cutting the gear circle into more of a triangle or square shape but keeping the shaft hole in the center produces up and down motion, but more like a popping up and down....like jumping. That's the motion I want for one of these guys.

The spinning chicken is two gears running vertical to each other. The bobbing one is still hanging me up because I keeping thinking it needs something to bob after, like a worm coming out of the ground.

My Chickens Have Feet

At this point my chickens have feet and the start of beaks. I'm busy right now getting the research paper together. However, with a little effort each day I can get the chickens and gears together soon. I used chain for the legs so there is lots of movement when they spin and jump. The wings will be loosely connected with a jump ring so they flop around also

One of the problems so far has been making the gears. I have the design as shown in an earlier post, but I have been stubborn about trying to make them from the walls of gourds. I will have to abandon that concept for this first automaton and use plastic gears purchased from American Science Surplus.

These are 3 sets of snap-apart gears.

The Basic Elements

So, what do we have here? We know the movements we want to generate. The basic elements of a gourd automaton (remember, automaton is singular, automata is plural) are as follows:

a base - something to support the gourd figure
an action rod - something with which to rotate the gears or cams that interact with the figure
links - the connectors going from the gears or cams to the figure
crank - the handle that turns the action rod

Most important element? Have a solid idea of what the figure is supposed to do! If there is no clear idea of what the outcome is supposed to be, then no amount of interaction with the parts will come to fruition. It would be like doing research without asking questions -- no direction, no goal, no use bothering!  So, let's start with gourds that look like chickens, and make the chickens to the spin, the bob, and the jump.

Making the Soda Bottle into a Dome

OK, we have a plan for the improvised display dome to use with the gourd automata (well, the single ones -- not the multiple gourd automata).  First, cut off the threaded top using a PVC pipe cincher. It makes  clean cut and because it ratchets in steps, there is some control and very little leftover cutting debris. Once done, a spinner gourd makes a nice plug. Then, it is a simple matter of using an Xacto blade or scissors to cut the fluted bottom off to make the dome a suitable height for whatever it will be covering. The edge can nestled into a groove cut into a gourd base - awesome!

Now, having done all this, I decided to go with a dancing chicken trio for the first trial of gourd movements. However, there will be other gourdies coming!  Can you be patient for the dancing pig?  The butcher? The handyman?  Oh MY -- the possibilities!

Soda Bottle Shopping Trip

A quick trip to the local stores produced a couple options for the dome concept that could be applied inexpensively. They might actually allow a miniature bottleneck gourd turn and jump. An unexpected issue came to light once the soda was emptied out and the bottles washed -- the expiration date! Did not see that when the purchase was being made, MmMMmmmmm.

Side Trip into Future Display Options

A brief interlude about displaying automata. In the end, I would like to make and display mechanical gourd figures at a gourd festival for visitors to enjoy as a hands on introduction to the world of gourds. Yet, I am apprehensive of over-eager folks who what to investigate how they work and drop them. OR, as is the case at festivals, children are allowed freedom to go their own way and have not learned the careful art of trying something without being too harsh.

What if the automata could be displayed carefully in a protected case with the crank extended through the case? Then, people can maneuver the crank, see the automaton move but it would still be protected from curious fingers and airborne dust. I am intrigued. American Science Surplus sells shadow boxes that could work for flat automata -- if I use really small gourds OR use flat gourd scraps. That is something to consider, but I want gourd dancers and chefs and pigs and chickens to spin and jump, and that takes more circumference space than a shadow box can afford.   

A glass display dome at National Artcraft is a possibility but geez! at $49 a piece, it would outclass the gourd! I like the size and diameter of the dome because it would accommodate a 3-d automata and could be turned around so the viewer can see all aspects of the construction, but then I come back to the price and consider how many ideas I want to pursue. Nice concept; not going to happen.

Recycling soda bottles might give the same effect of a glass dome if the larger, 3 liter, size can be found. Maybe a trip to my nearest Dollar Tree is in order! 

Paul Spooner

A prolific and innovative automaton designer/builder is Paul Spooner. He is the builder of the Poisoned Cat, He believes humor and ease of building are two important factors involved with this particular art. There are many examples of his work online. His sketchbook is inspiring and makes me want to keep my ideas together as well.

In another YouTube, chickens are used to demonstrate four ways of using the same cam design to generate four movements. I found this interesting since I have been scrambling to achieve different movements with different gear options. By exploiting the many ways a cam can be used, many movements can be obtained.

These chickens do not move in flamboyant ways, but as the person opens the doors it is plain to see how the movements happen.

3 Movement Possibilities

Here are three movement possibilities for my gourd chickens. Each one will make a chick do something different. The round one will be the friction wheel for a horizontal disc so the chick spins, the oval/off-center cam will make a chick peck the ground like an oil derrick, and the sawtooth gear will have a chick jumping up and down and its follower (the rod connecting it) slides up and then bumps down the edge of each pointy tooth.  They are all on the same shaft so as it is turned with a crank, the chicks will all move at the same time.