Beginning of my new MovingWoodStudio.com display system!

For scale, this industrial strength human powered tricycle is about 7 feet from front to back..... the rear cargo platform is about 26" wide by about 36" long!  Before finalizing the purchase, I inflated  the tires, and took it for a test drive.  It rode a lot easier than I had imagined.... the gearing seems most well arranged.  It is a one speed system, but did not seem to be that hard to peddle - even up a slight incline!  The main odd thing is the weird sensation one gets riding a tricycle.  After years of bike riding, it feels very strange to not be able to lean into turns, or to shift your body subtly to adjust when riding on an angled surface!  It has both a coaster brake, and a front drum brake.  I'll want to raise the seat a bit when I pick it up tomorrow and ride it home.  I figure I can design quite a good sized cabinet, shelf, and wall system mounted on that large rear platform - even probably going out over the back a bit, and out over the wheels too?  Probably also add a front basket for additional capacity.  I'm even hoping  I can create something that will let customers sit on the bike and peddle to operate a moving sculpture! A couple of options on easier riding include possibly adding an electric motor boost system, or it appears that the manufacturer has a three speed hub or a seven speed hub available that might be retrofitted.  First step after adjusting the seat height will be to remove the plastic tulips on the rear basket!

New Design - Jazz version of mechanical cards

Click to embiggen. Press lever on right end to bring up the volume.

Video below - $25 each
Contact us for other colors, or your own custom item!
our Shopify site or our Etsy shop

Jazz Kinetic Mechanical Card from Don Olney on Vimeo.

Mechanical Giant in Human Form!

Below is a photo of an old newspaper clipping that I got from a friend who knows my interest in Automata, and other things mechanical. A huge mechanical man made near here in Tonawanda, NY in 1900 --- "This curious counterfeit of a real person was designed to pull a carriage from New York to San Francisco ......" From the New York Hearld - September 9, 1900. I have posted a quite large image so you can click on it and easily read the story. Picture is not quite as big as I wanted it, but is readable. If you want a larger image, comment below, and I'll send it to you.

The link below added a couple of days later after I heard from a friend. Additional information about this "walking" figure. Turns out the carriage pushes the man rather than the man pulling the carriage, but it still seems like a very cool thing. After all, aren't all automata fake at their very essence? For me, it is the ability to fascinate and make us think that is the essence of automata!
More information from my friend and automata enthusiast Dug North

Zwiggle Surprise Box ver. 1.0

Zwiggles were one of my very first toys. Originally random curvy cuts with a bandsaw - cut from scraps of wood left over from a local lumber mill. I would just look at the resulting odd shape, add one or two eyes, one or two cuts to create a mouth or two, add wheels, and that was a Zwiggle! This little guy was a particular favorite who seemed to pop up fairly frequently, and subsequently was turned into many things including a lamp! Video below!Here is an old blog post about a larger Zwiggle my friend Rick Shannon had.

Zwiggle Surprise Box Ver. 1.0 from Don Olney on Vimeo.

Another larger mechanical design

Move the lever at the upper left back and forth to make her dance gleefully across the stage! This piece is also about 14" across. Video below. Come see us tomorrow or Sunday to see the new pieces at Booth 449 - Clothesline Art Show!

New larger mechanical design!

Unlike my previous small business card sized pieces, this one is 400% larger - i.e. about 14" across. Turning the wheel at the top or bottom of the piece rotates the propeller on this old bi-plane! I especially like the tread detail on the tires - below! Check below that for a video!

Temporary price = $100 plus shipping & sales tax - Order here

Another mini mechanical!

Another mini-mechanical / automata / kinetic business card. See video below - rotate gear on left end of this piece, and both spirals rotate! I'm having way too much fun with this!

Go here to buy one of these or one of our other mechanical pieces!

Mechanical Planetary Gear in Business Card holder

I've taken the planetary gear mechanical design, and put it into the front panel of our horizontal business card holder. The front information can be altered to include your information. I've also done several with other artwork on the front --- will post more pictures soon! Introductory price = $30 each. For a while I'll customize the front at no extra charge!

Video below.

Whirligig

A nice home made Whirligig for sale down the street at ReHouse. A couple of mended spots, but pretty cool none the less!

Balancing Act - Sunflower

Another prototype Balancing Act piece -- a Sunflower with watering can balance weight. I've made a couple of adjustments to subsequent pieces - including cleaning up the laser smoke, but again, I couldn't wait to post this one --- ;-) --- video below. I think I've learned that the higher the weight on the upper portion of the piece, the slower the swing? This one swings less frenetically? Any physics folks out there with imput? See original Balancing Act - Dancer here.

Balancing Act!

I should wait till I get a little video done, but I can't resist.... I've been working on this concept for a while, and finally seem to have it right. The dancer rocks for over 3 minutes on a good run! A very simple concept, but strangely compelling. I've got lots of ideas for other "Balancing Act" pieces, but suggestions are very welcome! This one is about 8" tall overall.

Below is the video! Posted in the evening.

T-rex and the apples.

This is one of the mechanical pieces I made a few years back (2003), as Uncle Don's Mechanicals. With the demise of making "consumer products for children under the age of 12", I'm rethinking trying some mechanical stuff again. My main goal right now is coming up with an interesting mechanism that creates interesting movement, without having it too expensive to sell any!

One basic question still eludes me - whether to expose the mechanism to public view, or leave it a mystery? Clue - in this one the main mechanical device is a pinch clothespin!
I only sold a couple of pieces back in 2003, but go look at the web page with those original pieces. I'll maintain the prices listed there - at least for a while. Below is the first video on the web of one of my pieces.... this one is not shown on that original web page --- I think I have a couple of them? Price on this one $125. This one is SOLD (4/7/2009) but I can probably make more :-)

Video of "T-Rex and the apples" below.