Mandala Pattern Illusion Whirligig

As I have stated before this is a concept idea only, not a pattern. It is a design that creates the illusion of dots that change color and makes a great kinetic art deco for the yard.

UFO Solar Whirligig Idea

Sometimes all you need is a good idea.

            I had seen these globe shaped solar lights and used them in may other projects and after watching a great sci-fi movie realized they could be used to make a UFO. 

I began by cutting a circle out of a 2 x 6 scrap wood on my band saw, but I think I will use 1" of or thinner wood stock next time and glue pieces together as the thick cuts were somewhat difficult.

Dividing the circle in half with a pencil line.

And then using a belt sander I began beveling the top and bottom edges into a flying saucer shape.

I drilled a hole for the solar light to fit in and carved with the Dremel tool a recess for the solar light set in,

so it would sit flush is in the following photo.

Then using 2 x 2's created the pivot and vein part to mount the UFO on top of.

I used a screw that had no upper threads in the vertical mount, cut off the head, and using a drama rounded the top of the screw.

On the horizontal pivot I placed a brass tube in a hole I drilled slightly off center and then placed a BB in the tube to act as a bearing.

So I had something that looked like the following. 

I took a plastic florescent tube covering and cut a short piece to cover the black shaft of the solar light.

I painted the black shaft of the UFO solar light with florescent green paint and the inside of the clear tube with glitter.

Cannibalizing a second regular solar light, I used a Dremel saw blade to cut solar light carefully apart without disconnecting any wires. I cut a channel in the horizontal 2 x 2 and fitted the solar cell there and mounted the rest of the components(LED, battery) under the clear tube. But I found this to be too bright and later painted the inside of the tube with more florescent green paint to dull the brightness of the light.

I will later mount some type of tail fin and cow being abducted as a counterbalance to the UFO.

 As you can see I'm still not quite getting the effect that I wanted and in a future design I will most likely use cascading LEDs for the tractor beam at the bottom of the UFO.

So far the project has gone well and I will update this post when it is completed.

Not sure which one I like, so posted both. UFO on the back side is just a tail fin cutout to act as rudder in the wind. Cow is also just a cutout 1/8" stock or thicker. A propeller could aslo be added to lighted end.

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Who's catching who - Fisherman and giant fish whirligig

Who's catching who - Fisherman and giant fish whirligig

    In this whirligig concept we used an optional second pivot. Depending on pivot placement, boat shape, ect boat should wobble back and forth giving the impression the fisherman is fighting the fish.
    Unlike previous designs the bottom pivot is set directly in the fish and there is no need for a runner board or a tail fin. You do however need to make sure that the fish is cut out of 6/8" or thicker wood stock so it can handle the stress of the pivot.
    There is a small optional propeller at the aft end of the boat. The boat motors is actually part of the boat for added strength when adding the propeller.
    As always, keep in mind, this is only a concept design and has not been prototyped or tested. Adjustments in the locations of pivots and and types of materials used may have to be made.
Other considerations that need to be made are what types of weather the whirligig or weathervane will be exposed to. When designing a whirligig for areas like Nevada, smaller propellers may be preferable because of gusty high winds. Whereas along the coast where you're more apt to have constant steady breezes, larger propellers may be incorporated.
    I hope that this concept design inspires you to create your own designs. For more concept and patterns please be sure and check out our website at www.nevadacrafter.com

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Double Pivot Bumble Bee Whirligig / Weathervane

Double Pivot Bumble Bee Whirligig / Weathervane  

As with any double pivot system, the location of the pivot determines how much action or how little action in the pivot takes place. Moving the pivot for the bumblebee forward or back will determine how much back and forth movement the bumblebee makes. If the pivot is placed in the middle of the bumblebee, the bumblebee will have a tendency to spin. You will also want to take into consideration that the bumblebee needs to clear the tail fin as it moves back and forth.
     The legs and antennae are made from wire and the eye can be a simple bicycle reflector. Tail fin can also be reflectors, cutouts, wood burned etching, or simply painted design. Of course as always the design can be scaled up or down depending on size whirligig that you need.  The bumblebee propeller wings are small, which is indicative of a bumblebee which has disproportionate wings to body size. The black body and orange stripes are whatever size and width that you desire.
    The overall design is a basic double pivot whirligig/weathervane. The concept can be used on any design or theme. I hope you enjoy this design concept, feel free to give positive creative feedback.
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Have a great time crafting and thank you for checking us out.

Basic types of wind art and instruments

Description of basic wind art and instruments

This poster is intended to give a basic breakdown of the differences between the various wind art and instruments. This is also to clarify what I am talking about in the various blogs and the various terms that I use to describe what I'm working on. 

   


    Weather Veins are probably the oldest form of wind instruments. As time went by they evolved into more decorative forms and sometimes doubled as lightning rods as they were usually mounted on the tops of houses and constructed out of metal. 

    From this evolution arose the whirligig which not only functioned as a wind directional device but as a mechanical animatronic. Usually depicting some comic scene or action such as an old lady washing clothes or a mule kicking a prospector. Some whirligigs have also been adapted to create thumpers to chase away moles and gophers. Generally constructed out of wood there are not too many surviving antique whirligigs.

     Wind spinners or pinwheels are also among some of the oldest wind devices but were created more as a child's toy rather than decoration. When spinners are generally mounted on a short stick about 12 inches long or shorter. More recent designs are in the shapes of flowers and used as yard decorations.

     Weather stations are among the recent instruments created as a tool to monitor whether and meteorological events. Their sophistication now includes electronics that enable them to transmit information wirelessly, which allows them to be placed in remote areas and the unattended. 

    Kinetic art is the most recent addition to wind art and is generally constructed of metal. These works of art use the wind to create movement that is almost an optical illusions. They may also include wind chimes and solar lighting. Their design is more closely related to the wind spinners or pinwheels that children play with but on a much grander scale. They are generally omnidirectional which means they will operate no-matter the direction the wind is blowing.

This is a creation of www.nevadacrafter.com copyrighted 2016 not for reprint or republication without permission from Nevada crafter.com.

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