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

Also be sure to check out our following blogs for money making craft ideas.
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https://nevadacrafter.blogspot.com/

Shooting Star whirligig sign

Do you need to hitch your sign to a shooting star?

Once again keep in mind this is a basic concept design by Nevada crafter.com it is not done to scale and has not been tested. 

     In this design we have made it so that you can cut the design from a single piece of 1/2"plywood. The rainbow part of the sign is seven color bands. This is so you can have your chakra colors if you're into the yoga chakra colors. 

    It should also be noted that if you would like to hang additional signage below the sign you can do so.

    One of the things that we have changed is the propellers are not the traditional shape and they have stars cut out of the blade. Now this does affect the efficiency of the whirligig propeller but should not affect its basic function so long as the blades are mounted at opposing angles. 

    So if this post is to your liking please be sure to checkout our other blogs and our website.

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And our web site Nevadacrafter.com

Halloween flying bat mobile

Halloween flying bat mobile

 If it is done right it's a pretty cool project. A light tug on the pull string and the bat will appear to be flying. It makes a really cool decoration and center of conversation . The entire project is held together by chords or heavy string and works something like a marionette. NOTE: it should not be hung over a crib and should be kept out of reach of small children as the chords and strings can become a choking hazard!

   First drill your preliminary holes and attach the wings to the body using your chosen cord or string. Making sure that the corridor string you choose is heavy enough to support the weight of the project. Start with a ring or loop at the top, add four strings of equal length. (Length is about 18 to 24 inches )  Run two strings on each side of the bat through slits cut in to the dowel and use a dowel to keep your strings separated. You should now have two strings on each side of the dowel for the wings. The most difficult thing about a project like this is finding the right balance points. Adjusting the weight in the pull cord is usually the easiest but in some cases you may have to move the cord holes that support the bat. The two outer holes can be moved closer to the body if the body is too heavy or move them slightly further out if the wings are too heavy. Before painting and finishing your project it is best to do a trial run with everything assembled temporarily. If it is done correctly it should be balanced as shown above in the small diagram. Holes drilled in the wrong place can be filled in with putty or glue and sawdust. Be sure and take notes of where the correct balance holes are if you intend to make more than one .The body can be sanded down to remove some weight or a thinner wood stock can be used. Basically the body should equal the weight of the two wings. Metal washers can be sandwiched In between two pull cord bats or a thicker one that is hollowed out if extra weight is needed for the body. The pull cord bat is actually optional and should be included with the total body weight if used.

    Once you have your project balanced you can then proceed to paint your project. Keep in mind to use an equal number of coats of paint for both the wings and the body so as not to throw your weights off.

    One of the nice things about this project as it uses a single color paint with only a few highlights as desired. Can use plastic animal eyes to make it more realistic or paint a couple of thumbtacks.

 NOTE: If you want to make a quick trial mobile, it can be made out of cardboard or poster board.

    In the poster board bat I had to move the holes for the wings out further to accommodate the width of the pencil length dowel. I used paperclips on the wings to adjust the balance. This way once I have the weight correctly adjusted I could simply insert the paperclips into the foam part of the wings Instead of using the small bat on the pull cord I used beads as a counterweight. That is so I can add or subtract however many beads I needed to. I also used beads on the underside of the wings to keep the embroidery thread from pulling through.
     The size and type of material will always cause you to make adjustments in the location of the holes, the weights in the wings, and the counterbalance on the belly (pull cord beads). This is why you completely assemble your project. Paint, eyeballs and anything else you add to the project also adds weight.
    Once you have made all your adjustments and have decided on all the materials that you're going to use, it is a good idea to make notes and adjustments to your pattern. That way any copies you build in the future will be simple and easy.

      

    As always it should be noted that this prototype design is the property of Nevada crafter.com it is free to the public to use so long as it is not put into mass production. (Anything over 500) please also note that this post is copyrighted and Nevada crafter does not allow reprint, redistribution or republishing without permission from Nevada crafter.com

Cloud rainbow sign with whirligig umbrella - sign is optional

This is a cloud rainbow whirligig umbrella that can be used as a business sign or address sign. The whirligig part of this is unusual in that it is a hanging whirligig. You must make sure to mount the fan blades of the umbrella at an angle for it to work properly. As with many of my other designs, this is a concept design and has not been tested or prototyped as of yet. The design is set up so that you can scale it to whatever size you need. Keep in mind that if you make the whirligig too large it may not work mechanically. The eye screws may have to be mounted differently than shown to offset the weight of the umbrella and rainbow. The left eye screw should probably be on the rainbow above the umbrella. You may also want to scale the umbrella down in size.
    It should also be noted that the umbrella by its self is a whirligig and can be used alone without the cloud and rainbow.

hanging hand whirligig sign

Hanging Hand Whirligig Sign

Signs can be the cornerstone of any business success. Attracting customers attention can sometimes be a daunting task, as you are usually competing with hundreds of other signs.

      One of the main things that I've learned in the 40 years of being in business for myself is that the only thing that gets people's attention is the oddity that stands out from everything else.

    Motion is usually key, as this taps into primitive survival brain functions. The brain cannot ignore such things until it identifies what it is that's moving. 

     I learned very early on that whirligigs make some of the best signs. They don't always scale up to the larger sizes, but because of their motion and uniqueness they don't need to. In many cases people will actually stop and turn around to see what it is. Their curiosity gets the better of them until they know what it's about. That is why smaller signs work well in conjunction with larger signs. The larger sign states the name of the business, the smaller sign acts like a fishing lure directing them to the front door or whatever else you want their attention on. 

    Now with all this said I also learned that after seeing the sign for several months people became accustomed to it and begin to largely ignoring it. It is at this point that I change out the sign entirely and from time to time rotating different signs and maintain their interest and attention.