1/2—Mar/Apr 2019 AUTOMATA MAGAZINE • Volume 1, Number 2 March • April 2019 CONTENTS

Paul Spooner’s The Last Judgement

COVER: Paul Spooner’s FEATURES The Last Judgement. See page 6 DEPARTMENTS 6 The Last Judgement by Paul Spooner 3 Editorial An alarming view of the afterlife 11 Moose’s chariot by Eric Schade 4 News & events 11 An animal-powered engine? 16 My world of toys and automata by John Cervenka 5 Letters How an automatist came to be 21 Gallery 22 Cabaret Mechanical Theatre—a history by Sarah Alexander Part 2: Covent Garden 55 Automata for 16 29 Automata making in Prague by Kim Booth beginners An account of the Mechanical Object workshop by Sarah Reast 38 This Turk plays naughts and crosses by Martin Edwards A new twist on an old automaton 59 Reviews 43 Automata in the classroom by Colleen McGuire 38 9th graders learn mechanics Automata Magazine is published six times a year by 47 Making pinwheel gears by Marc Horovitz Sidestreet Bannerworks, Denver Colorado, USA Different methods for successful gearing: part 2 Editor and Publisher: Marc Horovitz Copy Editor: Barbara Horovitz 50 Laudator Temporis Acti by Wade Warman Website: http://www.automatamagazine.com Addressing the human condition E-mail: [email protected] 43 This publication and its contents ©2019 by Sidestreet Bannerworks AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 2 March • April 2019 Editorial What is an automaton? by Marc Horovitz

hen the early mak- And how about things that do not vise versa. We need to keep enough material in each to be of ers of automata, represent living beings but are our minds open but, given the interest to all of AM’s subscrib- W all the way back to still replicas of commonly seen things I’ve seen already and the ers. So please don’t hesitate to Leonardo da Vinci and before, objects—are these also automa- people with whom I’ve been send your articles, or ideas for built their marvelous devices, ta? Or what about the elephant communicating, I don’t foresee stories that we can discuss. it was their intent to replicate and sea creatures featured in that as a problem. I’ve immensely enjoyed meet- man—both his motions and his David Soulsby’s story about his • ing you through these virtual capabilities. Their machines were visit to L’ile de Nantes in the last The first issue ofAutomata means and also talking over astonishing in their complexity. issue? Are these automata? Magazine was gratifyingly well your projects and learning a The writing automata built by the Given all of the above, “au- received. I sincerely thank you little about you as individuals. I Jaquet-Droz family in France in tomaton” seems more difficult to all for making it so. I hope that must say, automata people are the 1700s almost defy belief, not define today than ever before. you’ll like this issue just as much. a fascinating group. only in their intricacy but in the Perhaps it all comes down to per- I am also most grateful to all This will be the last free issue fact that they worked so well. sonal preference—you must come of you who have sent in material of Automata Magazine. We’re Fast forward to today. We up with your own definition of for publication in future issues. still putting the finishing touches now have everything from what an automaton is. For myself I’ve received a wonderful variety on the subscription page and simple hand-cranked wooden and the purposes of this maga- of stories from collectors, mak- will send you an email soon to figures made to do everyday zine, I would consider most of the ers, teachers, and others. I think let you know that it’s ready. tasks (i.e., chopping wood), above to be automata. you’ll find the upcoming issues Until next time.A to amazing robotic creatures There is, however (in my of AM entertaining, educational, controlled by computers, com- mind), a difference between and stimulating. plex circuitry, stepper motors, automata and kinetic sculpture, This doesn’t mean, of course, and industrial-quality mechanics, although there is admittedly a that I won’t come begging again that will do just about anything sizable gray area between the for more material. A magazine asked of them. All of these might two, especially when it comes can never have a large enough be considered automata by to mechanisms and materials backlog. Having an ample sup- today’s broadening definition. and how they are used. I think ply of stories on file allows me What about nonrepresenta- that automatists could learn a much more leeway when bal- tional kinetic sculpture, though? lot from kinetic sculptors, and ancing an issue so that there’s

AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 3 Back to Contents pg. March • April 2019 news Puke Ariki Museum, New The second installment of a Plymouth, New Zealand, No- four-year exhibition explores In the next issue of vember 2019 to April 2020. the theme of steampunk art, incorporating the aesthetics of Marvellous Machines features 19th-century industrial design automata, hands-on interactives, and steam-engine machinery. workshops, and a series of art- These imaginative creations ists events. Ipswich Art Gallery, exhibit marvels of design, High Street, Ipswich, UK. engineering, storytelling, and July 20-October 31 2019. fantasy that demonstrate the ingenuity of steampunk art. The Fantastic Fairground Fac- https://morrismuseum.org tory is a new CMT Touring Exhi- bition. Peek into the Mechanical call for entries Cabaret Mechanical Theatre Marvels behind the Scenes at the Morris Museum (https://cabaret.co.uk/) has Fair. Debut venue: Tullie House A Cache of Kinetic Art: • Chomick + Meder dis- four new miniature automata Museum and Art Gallery, Carl- Tiny Intricacies: March 13-July cuss the construction of from the St. Legers. Lucky Cat isle, UK. July-October 2019. 12, 2020 their monkey automata waves his arm and Harlequin Timeless Movements: March hides in a box. See them here. Neugierige Maschinen features 12-July 11, 2021 • Tim LaGanke describes Also at Cabaret is a new Ap- automata, with a focus on ex- Our multi-year juried exhibition plause Machine from Martin tended workshop activities and series, A Cache of Kinetic Art, The Cleveland Grandma, Smith and Treaty of Tordesillas, tinkering opportunities. phaeno, showcases contemporary autom- a well known coin-op a paper cutout automaton from Wolfsburg, Germany. November ata and their inventive creators. fortune-telling automaton Andre Pimenta. 2019 to February 2020. For artists, the prospectus and entry forms for the 2020 and • Lee Hutchinson shows events Paul Spooner—New Works 2021 exhibitions can be viewed how to make a clothes-peg Cabaret Mechanical Theatre 2019. Rodic Davidson Archi- at https://morrismuseum.org/ (CMT) has announced the fol- tects, London, UK. Dates TBA. mechanical-musical-instruments- fencer automaton lowing touring exhibits: More info: https://cabaret. automataA co.uk/exhibitions/current/ • Sarah Alexander wraps The Mechanical Circus is a • Send your news items, new- up her history of Cabaret product information, and collaboration between CMT and Morris Museum Mechanical Theatre Rijksmuseum Boerhaave, Nether- A Cache of Kinetic Art: Simply events to us at: Steampunk lands. Banbury Museum, Ban- : March 15-August [email protected] • And much more! bury, UK, May-Sept. 2019. 11, 2019. AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 4 Back to Contents pg. March • April 2019 letters automata. Any ideas? —Brian Questions Dunn, Nipomo, California, USA. I have a couple of questions/ [email protected] topics on which maybe your readers can provide some insight: Boyer Museum Juta and Jim McCord (Mouse- Thank you for your article works, Canada) seem to have about the Boyer Museum in the disappeared. Back in 2007 I last issue of AM! It is amazing ordered one of their terrific kits how certain automata makers, and Contemporary Automata despite their impressive capabili- book which, to this day, is one ties and the fact that they have of the best educational books been busy for decades, have I’ve ever seen. But in 2008 their not been noticed by the greater website and email went dark. public. Paul Boyer belongs to Does anyone know what hap- a generation whose work has pened to them? gained only regional fame due to the limited media outreach of those times. Also, his machines were probably never classified as art but just “funny toys.” What many people do not cult or impossible in Europe if know is that a few works by 110V/60-hertz motors are used. Paul have been sold and are In Europe, 220V/50 hertz are privately owned. Here are common. It was not foreseeable, pictures of two of these. The though, that these two pieces details are lovingly designed would travel so far away from and painted, and the char- Belleville, Kansas. Nevertheless, acters are humorous and do these have a unique beauty that The above image is from not correspond to commercial is worth preserving. —Sergio a scrap of wallpaper Renato ideals of beauty. Somehow the Pinese, SwitzerlandA Boaretto had on his now dead woman at the barrel has also website. I couldn’t get a response lost a leg, like Paul, but her Send your letters, tips, likes, from him concerning from which shoe is still there. dislikes, ideas, etc. to: book this was taken, and am The use of motorized Ameri- still looking for a book that deals can automata, such as these [email protected] with these “higher functioning” two examples, may be diffi- AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 5 Back to Contents pg. March • April 2019 An alarming by Paul Spooner view of the Stithians, UK Photos by the author, except as noted afterlife

ometimes I raid the oeu- In the beginning vres of better artists to get The business plan was to make S ideas for my own work. In a coin-operated machine to be the case of The Last Judgement installed in the window of Caba- (photo 1) I went straight to the ret, Sue Jackson’s shop in Fal- top and appropriated a painting mouth, in time for the Tall Ships by Jan van Eyck (photo 2). It’s race in 1982. I don’t remember in the Metropolitan Museum of Sue suggesting a subject but I Art in New York and I’ve never am sure it wasn’t this one. Nor seen it. All I’d seen was a little was it finished until well after illustration in black and white the ships, the visitors, and their but that was enough to set me money had all departed. off making a skeleton, with the I made the chains of little bodies of the damned spilling figures first, then fitted them into out of its insides. It’s pretty tame a frame with a ratcheting drum compared to the original but that lowers them, four abreast, one has to simplify in order to at the front of the rib cage, then make mechanical things. This is recycles them behind. The fig- an account of the building of this piece (to the best of my recollec- 1. The Last Judgement was the author’s wittily tion) and its subsequent fortunes. macabre entry point to Cabaret for years. AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 6 March • April 2019 ures are made of lime wood, shaped with a fretsaw, roughly carved, then pivoted with cocktail sticks. I’ve still got the templates for the figures, which were made of aluminium and Formica (photo 3). That’s a man’s body shape on top, distinguishable by his scrotum, of which more later. The only photograph I have of the work in progress is of the beginnings of the rib-cage construction (photo 4). I’m not a religious person; my feeling is that all accounts of God, Heaven, Hell, and the rules for leading a holy life are too various and smudged with the fingerprints of mortal man to 2. The original Jan van Eyck painting is gruesome in the extreme. 4. The skeleton’s rib cage under construction. merit credibility. You can sense that scepticism in the two zones return to the spot for the player that top and tail the rib cage. to hit them again. There is a spaghetti eater, another demon The lower chamber saws at his steak, one stabs at After the machine has run for the last pea on the plate, and a few seconds, the doors to the another reads while stirring her lower chamber swing open, coffee. Behind the counter a revealing a scene of demons demon cook shakes a basket of relaxing in their canteen (photo chips. All of this was enjoyable 5). They are taking part in lei- to make. sure activities; two of them are Actions are transmitted mostly playing billiards, one taking a by means of wooden pulleys, shot while the other chalks his and rubber belts removed from cue. The billiard table is slightly VHS players or drive bands dished so that the balls usually 3. Templates for carving the multitudinous figures of the damned. made for model steam engines. AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 7 March • April 2019 There are also the gearboxes from two Black & Decker electric drills in there. The motor was a Fracmo, taken from a scrapped cash register. Mechanical cash registers and typewriters were being dumped wholesale at the time. I should have gotten more. I also had fun making the little bottles of HP Sauce and the TV, which, like all TVs in Hell (and mine on earth), has a fuzzy black-and-white picture that rolls round and round because the horizontal-hold doesn’t work. The rationale for this scene was humane; the demons should be entitled, like all workers, to time off in congenial conditions.

The skull When the onlooker has had a chance to inspect these activities, the doors close and the skull, which had been looking down on the lower chamber, raises its eyes. The top of the head lifts to uncover rows of pews, in which are seated six worshippers singing lustily (but 5. Demons enjoying their leisure time off work. silently—I didn’t have the sound technology and, anyway, it was At the time, I told people that drops and the motor stops. with a chute that led coins into a behind thick glass—photo 6). these worshippers were Method- I remember installing the ma- small, corrugated-cardboard box The skull’s mouthparts, driven by ists but I prefer now to think that chine in Sue’s shop. I had to cut that had once held a light bulb. the congregation’s mechanism, their fervor is more evangelical a hole in the window frame and There was no control over the joins in the singing. in nature. The skull’s lid then fit a slotted brass plate (photo 7) denomination of coin—as long AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 8 March • April 2019 as it fitted the slot, it worked was seen by more people, the machine but, because I’d notably when a video came out stamped “10p” on the brass (https://www.youtube.com/ plate, that’s what most people watch?v=8WWGN_4tNes) in put in. After the installation we which Rush, the legendary rock went to the pub and, on return- band, performed to the accom- ing, found that the skeleton’s paniment of visuals that included takings had paid for the drinks. The Last Judgement and The When Cabaret became Dream, (the latter now to be Cabaret Mechanical Theatre experienced at London’s home and moved to Covent Garden of coin-slot euphoria, Novelty in London, the skeleton was put Automation in Holborn: www. into a case made by Jonathan novelty-automation.com/). Craig. It was heavy and painted shiny black. The back panel had After Cabaret been part of the wind chest of a When Cabaret gave up the church organ. It was a piece of premises in Covent Garden, mahogany, planed flat, drilled to the skeleton shared in the vicis- coincide with the pipes, grooved situdes of that era, which is the to stop one pipe’s wind reaching subject of Sarah Alexander’s the next’s, and rubbed all over 7. The money slot, article in this issue. The Last with graphite. It was a beautiful which would actual- Judgement ended up at Marvin piece of wood that looked as if ly accept any coin Yagoda’s Marvellous Mechani- its grooves and holes contained that would fit. cal Museum in Detroit, USA. a message in an unknown Marvin was a good friend and alphabet. I got it for nothing has been sorely missed since his from Russell Richards, who had death on the first day of 2017. a second-hand timber yard, then He’d bought the skeleton in a in the middle of Stithians, now 6. The virtuous raise their voices in song. The skull sings in time with the move that contributed a great gentrified out of existence. music (even though there is no sound). deal to the rescue of Cabaret’s You can see the panel in the business when its American lower left corner of photo 8. The photo, I’m painting the sign that at the time. adventure went sour. picture was taken late at night, orders passers-by to put money Because Cabaret was now in Marvin had the skeleton on when all shop fitting and instal- in the slot because it will be a big city, The Last Judgement show at his museum but he lations at the market in Covent good for them to pay their way. got a lot more notice than it received a certain amount of Garden had to be done. In the Mrs. Thatcher was on the throne did in Falmouth. The skeleton criticism; people didn’t like the AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 9 March • April 2019 nudity and they felt that it was their jobs and who require rest theologically unsound. When rooms and other comforts to such objections arose in this make their off-duty hours as country, I could get away with tolerable as possible. As an explaining, for instance, that the added protection, there are labour laws that prescribe their little chaps’ willies were made conditions of employment. from cocktail sticks and only Here we see a well-stocked 1 1.6mm (/16”) in diameter and restaurant, with leisure facilities their scrota (see above) were in which the demons can relax only as big as dried peas. Over and unwind between shifts. here, we don’t consider this to be threatening. The skull The theological argument The uppermost section of this didn’t arise at all in this country display is fitted out with pews in but Marvin had to put up with which The Righteous throng to a lot of it in Detroit, where the celebrate their good luck. From them flows all wisdom concern- subject is evidently studied with ing The Life Hereafter and The greater intensity. He asked me Wages of Sin. The management to produce a notice that he greatly appreciates their assis- could put up on the wall next to tance in checking the veracity of the machine, that would satisfy this commentary. those with moral objections. I • sent him the one below, which Since Marvin’s death, I’ve seemed to hold off the criticism heard that The Last Judgement is for a while: no longer displayed at the Mar- • vellous Mechanical Museum. THE LAST JUDGEMENT I’m sorry about that. Perhaps if It’s not easy to find out the a visitor could prove a genuine truth about The Afterlife. 8. The author installing The Last Judgement at night, at Cabaret Mechanical Theatre in Covent scholarly interest and was not All we can say with certainty Garden in London. likely to sustain moral injury, is that The Wicked shall suffer for- evermore and The Righteous shall those who chose the paths of evil The rest area they might be allowed a peek. be there to watch. in their lives. Making sure that the tor- And I hope the moral objectors They are going down to a ments run smoothly and con- don’t find out about the Metro- The rib cage place where there is no one to tinuously is a team of dedi- politan Museum of Art in New The figures you see descend- hear their agonised cries—no cated operatives, blameless York; there’s some bloody awful ing here are the earthly bodies of one who cares, anyway. individuals who are just doing stuff in there.A AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 10 Back to Contents pg. March • April 2019 Of course, anyone can have a horse working for them. I had Moose’sMoose’s read a book to my boys called If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura J. Numeroff, illustrated by chariotchariot Felicia Bond, which stars a very smart moose who always wants more. So a moose it was! Some old timers may recall squirrel and moose cartoon stars, so my moose has a friendly squirrel helping out. Moose’s chariot rides As per the Challenge instruc- the rails on a cold, tions, I made a sketch on the snowy, January day in back of a napkin (photo 1) that Maine. shows the moose on his treadmill, powering a crude railway car pulling a log car. Now you might say that the moose would be better off just pulling the log car, but the snow and ice between the rails hurt his feet, so An animal-powered he needed a better way. The napkin sketch was detailed just engine? enough that I could figure out what I needed to do, but not by Eric Schade • Phippsburg, Maine, USA • Photos by the how to do it. I had a blown-down tree and author some pine logs that I could use his automaton project had try something new and creative. to use the car as a jumping-off for material. Using my bandsaw several varying inspira- This particular year, the chal- point for a unique creation. and table saw, I could convert a Ttions. It all started with a lenge was to build something I had seen photos of horse- rough log into useful wood for “My Large Scale” online chal- based on a simple wooden flat powered treadmills that were the project. This kept the price lenge. This garden-railroading car, the size of which was given. used to power agricultural down, of course, and kept the forum has an annual challenge The amount of money one could equipment. I thought that some- wood from going to waste. I that encourages participants to spend was limited. The goal was thing like that might be fun. sawed out some strips of various AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 11 March • April 2019 sizes to make the car (photo 2) and set aside a good chunk to be carved into the moose.

Construction I started the project by carving a moose out of the pine (photo 3). Its legs had to be movable, so he could walk. I used a Forst- ner drill bit to cut out sockets 1. This project started with a pencil sketch on 2. Materials were sawn from a pine log, using 3. Moose himself was freed from a piece of in his body, into which would a napkin, watched over by a plastic moose. a bandsaw. pine, using the bandsaw, then carved to shape fit carved legs, held in place with chisels and a sharp knife. with little wood screws. It took a couple of tries to get the legs to look right and to have the necessary freedom of movement. The ears were separate pieces glued in; they would have been too delicate to carve from the block of pine (photo 4). A proper moose needs antlers, at least if he’s a he and 4. Legs were fitted into sockets in the body 5. Moose’s antlers were made from bits of 2” 6. The antlers were then reheated to make a the season is right. Real moose and loosely screwed into place so they could PVC pipe, softened with a heat gun to flatten proper moose rack. lose their antlers in the fall and move freely. Ears are separate pieces. the material, then sawn and filed to shape. the Challenge was in winter, but what is a boy moose without antler shapes from the PVC (photo 7), cut them to length, out antlers anyhow? I wanted plastic and formed them a little and drilled holes through them. the antlers to stand up to some with a file (photo 5). Finally, I I then strung them together with abuse, so carved pine was reheated the plastic and bent the nylon sailmaker’s thread, mak- out. I had some scraps of PVC antlers to shape. Moose seemed ing a flexible walkway (photo plumbing pipe that might just quite pleased with the results 8). I tied the ends of the string work. I sawed a short length of (photo 6). together to form a loop of the 2” pipe in half, then heated it wooden walkway belt. with a heat gun (as used to strip The treadmill A roller at each end of the paint) to soften the plastic until I To make the treadmill, I sawed strung-plank loop spread the 7. The treadmill was made of pine slats, with could flatten in out. I then sawed a bunch of slats from the pine walkway into a proper tread- holes accurately drilled. AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 12 March • April 2019 mill. I added some metal axle rods on which the rollers rotated (photo 9), and some gears to transfer all Moose’s energy to the wheels (photo 10). Bits of wood were added in a work- manlike manner to flesh out the chariot body. Fencing keeps Moose onboard his chariot 8. The slats were threaded onto loops of sail- 9. Two rollers with metal axles were added to 10. Gears transmit Moose’s energy from the while it totters down the rough maker’s thread. stretch out the treadmill. treadmill to the wheels. track. I used a wash of India ink and isopropyl alcohol to weather the wood, giving it an old-time look (photo 11). I thought Moose would appre- ciate a nice fur coat to keep him warm in the winter air. For this, I used acrylic craft paints (photo 12). Rather than using just a single color, I mixed several col- 11. Details were added to give the chariot 12. Moose was brush painted with acrylic 13. Moose ascends the treadmill. ors with the brush as I worked. character. A fence helps keep Moose in place. craft-shop paints. Photo 13 shows him ready to Head movement linkage go to work. Leg Making the legs work pivots To make Moose’s legs move properly, I used some thin wire to link the legs together—right front to left rear, and left front to right rear (photo 14, figure )—1 so that the diagonally opposed 14. Wire links connect opposite legs to give 15. Motion is from a crank axle geared to the Right front legs would move together as he Moose a proper gait. treadmill and wheels, and wired to the legs. & left rear leg linked walks. A second wire from each set was run forward to a crank the treadmill and wheels so that For power, I tried a micro-gear Left front axle in front of the moose (pho- his legs would work as the tread- motor but found it too weak to & right rear to 15). This axle was geared to mill goes around. propel the chariot. I ended up Figure 1—Linkages leg linked AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 13 March • April 2019 using an R/C servo that I modi- fied to spin endlessly. To do this, I removed all of the electronics from the servo and soldered wires directly to the little motor inside. I also had to carve off the “stop” on the plastic output gear. To control the motor, I used a hand wheel in front of the human operator. I soldered a tab 16. This homemade switch, operated by a 17. Power to the reworked R/C servo is sup- 18. A driver, squirrel friend, and muffin onto the base of the wheel’s staff brake wheel, turns the chariot on and off. plied by four AA-cell batteries under the floor. encouragement were made from oven-baked that would contact a screw to Sculpey clay. make or break the electrical contact to the motor (photo 16). Four AA batteries hidden under the treadmill power the motor (photo 17). Moose is strong but needs help managing the chariot. A driver in a wool cap keeps things running smoothly by ap- plying the brake when going downhill. He also encourages 19. A drum of Moxie and some crates of wine 20. In order to make Moose’s head waggle, it Moose with a blueberry muffin and spirits are scale-related bits. had to be amputated and reattached. A brass on a stick. Squirrel keeps a stock rod nesting in a tube allows a rocking motion. of muffins at the ready, in case Moose actually catches one and muffins I sculpted from oven- ticle provided the impetus, and or requires more enticement to bake polymer clay, then painted I took my little Japanese saw to exert (photo 18). When things with acrylic craft paints. The his neck. Yep, it was as bad as get really slow, a barrel of Mox- barrel and laser-cut crates came it sounds, but I was able to reat- 21. A linkage between the front leg and the ie is available to give him the from my junk box. tach his head using a brass rod head keep the head rocking in time. strength to do what needs doing I had thought about cutting (photo 20). I slipped a bit of (photo 19). There are also a off Moose’s head (horrors!) and tubing over one end of the rod See Moose in action here: couple of cases of the “good remounting it so that it would and peened over the end of the https://youtu.be/wuDo- stuff” for the driver, too, should rock back and forth a bit as he rod to prevent the tubing (and aXrb5p8 the need arise. The characters walks. Having to write this ar- thus the head) from pulling out. AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 14 March • April 2019 With the proper holes drilled and the rod inserted, Moose was back in fighting trim. I decided the motion would be right if I used one leg to control the head’s action. I used copper wire to make a simple linkage between his left front leg and his neck (photo 21, figure ).1 When the leg reaches forward his head tilts to the right. He looks great with his head rocking as he saunters down the track. A little touch-up with some brown paint might be in order, but that is for another day. With new batteries, Moose‘s chariot toddles along pretty well. Sometimes the treadmill sticks for some reason but Moose keeps trying and almost always succeeds in getting the works moving again. The crank axle and linkages give Moose’s legs a pretty convincing walking motion (photo 22). Kids of all ages get a kick out of seeing Moose ride the rails at train shows. The addition of his waggling noggin may turn more heads than just his! This project was something new for me and was fun to share online.A

22. Moose’s chariot turns heads when it is seen sashaying down the track. AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 15 Back to Contents pg. March • April 2019 John Cervenka’s very first customer was the late Malcolm Forbes, who purchased a toy pas- senger liner. Over the years John has built My world of many toy boats, ships, battleships, and ocean liners, always striving to create an impression toys and of the real thing in the viewer’s imagination. This battleship represents a naïve impression of automata a steam man-of-war toy, just as early toys were representations of new, unfamiliar inven- tions—locomotives, automobiles, and planes. How an automatist The ship is a working automaton. It has a rocking motion in a tinplate sea, while the gun tur- came to be rets turn, the propeller turns, the soldier on watch turns, and the captain turns. Simply everything is turning, turning….

by John Cervenka Sydney, Australia Photos by the author

AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 16 March • April 2019 n email appeared in my inbox some time A ago. I do not normally open emails from unknown senders but the title was tempt- ing—“Automata Magazine.” I couldn’t resist, I being not only an enthusiastic toy collector but also an artist, making toys and working automata in tinplate. The message was to announce the creation of a new magazine dealing with the subject of automata, by its American publisher, Marc Horovitz. This was a hit up my avenue. I consider toys and automata as objets d’art, where so much imagination and technical know- how is involved in their creation. I’m a long-time admirer of automata and their magic—those legendary, expensive toys for adults, locked away and only taken out on special occasions to entertain friends and visitors. They are, in my opinion, the ultimate in toy creations and I occasionally create my own. But let’s begin at the beginning of how it all started for me. The clown on a motorcycle and the whale, both made of metal and powered by clockwork, were two of the toys that sparked the author’s interest and later led him to become a maker of tinplate automata. My world of toys and automata yesterday when I bought my first a trash market that we frequent- cycle—which I couldn’t resist. I It began one day, a long time toy. Sitting there on the ground, ed on Sundays, was a beautiful was fascinated by this toy. The ago, but it seems like it was only among other unwanted things at tin toy—a clown on a motor- next Sunday I looked for another AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 17 March • April 2019 toy and found both a clockwork century around 1860 and whale and a car. It is said that ended by 1914. when you have three of some- I wanted those toys and au- thing, you have a collection. tomata but soon realized they I was hooked. At weekends were beyond my means. Then we attended garage sales and an idea struck me—could I make as many trash-and-treasure toys like that myself ? Easy to markets as we could find. The say, harder to do. But, after all, pickings were rich and, also why not? calling on toy shops and going In my profession as a theater to auctions, I kept adding to my stage designer (scenographer), growing collection. This was besides designing sets, cos- also helped by my wife Vera, tumes, and props, it is custom- who shared my enthusiasm. ary to make models of the sets to Sometimes repairs to the toys provide the management, direc- were required, but missing parts tors, scenery workshops, and so were hard to find unless one forth, with a vision of the up- had another of the same item. coming stage production. These There are no spare-parts shops models, special props, etc., are for toys. Recycling parts, bits usually made from card, balsa and pieces, and useful shapes wood, and anything else that from broken toys proved to be is handy. So, if I could build a a good source of supply for detailed, colored model of the spares, which I recommend. Do scenery using these other materi- not throw anything away! als, suppose I used tinplate? I Wanting to know more about should be able to make a toy in these toys, I acquired various tin (correctly called tinplate)— books on the subject, discover- something of my own design. ing a world of fantastic toys of times past heretofore unknown Building my own to me; a world of highly elabo- Food cans are made from rate automata and wonderfully tinplate. I started rummaging for beautiful toys; a world of toys called by collectors and experts LEFT: The author’s first automaton. As the “toys from the golden age of music box plays, the violinist bows and keeps toys,“ which began in the 19th time with his foot, while the dog dances below. AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 18 March • April 2019 The face of the violinist. The author paints his automata in the A black poodle dances at the musician’s feet. The dog is A music-box mechanism similar to the one used in the violin- same style, and using the same color palette, as toys from the attached to the same vertical shaft that controls the musician’s ist. The works are clearly visible in the photo. The power take- Golden Age. The artistic treatment of the features brings the bowing arm. The figure stands on a base made from an off shaft is at the lower right. The winder is on the side away figure to life. inverted food can. from the camera.

empty cans—cleaning, cutting, single pieces for my wife and attire from the belle epoque. He axle. This disc is fitted with a pin and flattening them. Cutting myself. However, seeing interest plays a violin and has a poodle that transmits movement to two the tinplate isn’t difficult. Good from other collectors, I also be- dancing at his feet. The piece is levers and wires, one for hori- strong scissors will do the job. gan making a few more for sale. musical, with three actions: the zontal rotating movement (violin That is the easy part. To make a That’s how an artist toy maker man plays the violin, he taps playing, dancing dog), and the toy or an automaton is another came to be. I enjoy working his foot to the music, and the second for up-and-down motion story. There is the designing, the with tinplate. There are so many dog dances. The automaton is (foot tapping in tempo). making of a model, templates, possibilities in creating wonder- powered by a wind-up cylinder As you can see in the photos, and preparing the tinplate ful toys and automata. music-box mechanism. I used a food can, bottom-side parts, besides determining the I can only attempt to describe up. The musical mechanism is visual look, solving mechanical- Automata the automaton’s function. Once attached to the underside of the movement problems, action, etc. My first automaton toy was a made, I cannot dismantle it to can’s bottom, with the winder Learning to solder well is also street musician, which I made in show its innards. Once it’s done, on the lower side. Tinplate legs quite important. 1984 in an edition of two. It is it’s done. If it goes, don’t touch are soldered to the sides of the Being self taught, I gradually my design #44, sequence num- it—leave it alone. can so that the automaton stands became proficient in working bers 73, 74 (since 1980). The How it works: A power disc is a little off the table, while the with tinplate. I originally created street musician is in an artist’s attached to the musical-cylinder figure is fixed to the top. In this AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 19 March • April 2019 LEFT: A poster designed by the author to promote a gallery show of A view of the underside. The music box is wound from the bottom. A large disc has a peg that his toys and actuates the automaton’s motion via two levers. automata.

way, everything forms a self- The golden rule in automata de- elements with the visual, making contained unit and all of the sign is that mechanical simplicity the actions work as planned, But wait—there’s more! mechanisms and levers are hid- is always the best approach. and finally seeing the automaton • A video of the author’s violinist den safely from view. Of course, when bringing fully assembled and working. in action can be found here. I do not mind if the wires your dream automaton to visual The creation of an automaton • John Cervenka’s website is controlling the movement on the and mechanical reality, there gives one immense pleasure in www.toysbycervenka.com upper side are visible. That’s just are necessarily many problems the achievement, before disas- • To learn more about working part of the fun. The simplicity of to be solved in its construction: sembling it (again) for painting with tinplate, visit Tinplate Girl: the action adds to the charm. how to blend the mechanical and final finishing.A www.tinplategirl.com AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 20 Back to Contents pg. March • April 2019 GALLERY

Galloping Horse Birds by Marek Jeczalik by Neal Aronson • Santa Cruz, California, USA Norwich, UK Photos by the author Photo by the author

This automaton depicts two proud and anxious par- ents watching their toddler. The gear ratio makes the I was asked to make an eques- adult birds open their trian-themed automaton for a mouths and flap their surprise forthcoming 30th birth- wings more slowly than the day present. I’d always wanted to baby, which moves about make a galloping-horse automa- three times faster. ton, so I immediately set about I tried several different finding a clockwork drive I could methods of providing verti- gear down for this purpose. cal motion to animate the The horse is made from hand-cut adults, finally settling on the brass, with extremely fine gold- crank-and-lever arrange- plated wire for the mane and tail. ment to minimize lateral The whole project was finished movement. The baby bird with a glass cloche for protection. spins back and forth while I love to make one-off projects hopping up and down fre- in my spare time, using more tra- netically. I glued suede on ditional materials, and hope they the head and wings of the will eventually become heirlooms. adult birds as hinges and to provide contrast. [email protected] See the birds in action: Video: https://www.youtube. http://automatamagazine. com/watch?v=MmrUlAVKj7E com/videos/birds/

AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 21 Back to Contents pg. March • April 2019 Cabaret Mechanical Theatre—a history Part 2: Covent Garden

by Sarah Alexander • London, UK • Photos by CMT, except where noted JUSTIN LYCETT

1. The foyer and entrance to CMT was dark 2. Part of the Covent Garden exhibit. Automa- and cavelike, with walls painted black. ta are actuated by pressing the red buttons.

RIGHT: 3. Gambolling Dog by Matt Smith.

The small retail area of the new Cabaret Mechanical Theatre in Covent Garden, London. venue opened in December 1984 and, by March 1985, the ive years after open- tory in the Jan-Feb 2019 issue relocated permanent exhibition ing her small Cornwall of AM.) The new location was was ready to receive its first in- F crafts shop, called simply in the vaults of the former fruit- trigued visitors. There were 52 Cabaret, Sue Jackson moved and-vegetable market, and the motorized automata, examples the business to London’s Cov- interior was dark and cavelike of which are shown in photos ent Garden, calling it Cabaret (photo 1). Sue painted all the 2-6. Cabaret Mechanical The- Mechanical Theatre or CMT. walls black, which worked well atre would remain in Covent (See the first part of CMT’s his- with the brightly lit automata. Garden until 2000. HEINI SCHNEEBELI AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 22 March • April 2019 HEINI SCHNEEBELI HEINI SCHNEEBELI 4. Sue Jackson and Paul Spooner by Paul 5. Sheep Shearing Man by Ron Fuller. Spooner. At the beginning, five coin-operated machines were positioned at the entrance to entice visitors. Paul Spooner’s Last Judgement (see page 5) was placed outside, despite some initial misgivings on the subject matter by the Covent Garden Market management team. Paul had also completed The Dream (photo 7) in 1984. HEINI SCHNEEBELI This piece is based on Fuseli’s 6. New Guinea Proechidna by Paul Spooner. painting The Nightmare, and is 7. The Dream by Paul Spooner. operated by bellows and com- During CMT’s first years, it pressed air. Once the coin is window. A snake-like monster monster and the horse have became a cult destination for dropped into the slot, the bel- then appears from the ward- disappeared. The Dream is still those in the know. It was always lows start pumping, the window robe and the woman, who was on exhibit and can currently be difficult to explain exactly what it opens, and the “night mare,” or sleeping in her bed, wakes seen at Tim Hunkin’s arcade, was without seeing it firsthand. white horse, looks through the up and looks around but the Novelty Automation, in London AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 23 March • April 2019 (http://www.novelty-automation.com/). Tim Hunkin had written to Sue while Cabaret was still in Falmouth, suggesting that she might like to house some of his handmade machines. Sue was delighted to welcome Tim onboard. He brought along some of his existing machines, including The Oracle, a fortune- telling machine that delivered its answer in sand (Y, N, or ?) onto the back of your hand, and The Barman, which was placed inside the CMT exhibition and was operated by a coin. The barman appeared to pour ABOVE: 8. Tim Hunkin’s Barman, inside CMT. a glass of whisky. Then, after a pregnant pause, he delivered RIGHT: 9. Tim Hunkin’s Doctor listens to your heart and writes an illegible prescription. it at full pelt along the shiny bar top, which was usually a great surprise to the visitors. The glasses had to be wrapped in sticky tape, as they periodically fell off the bar and smashed. Peter Markey painted the background of the bar to complete the scene (photo 8). Tim went on to create more coin-operated

arcade machines especially for 10. Stirring Lady by Lucy Casson. 11. Beastie by Michael Howard. TIM HUNKIN Cabaret; those included The Doctor (photo 9), which appar- More artists her clever tin-and-wire pieces Howard (photo 11), and later, ently listened to your heart via The move to London brought in 1986, (photo 10). Other Martin Smith brought in his first a stethoscope, then wrote and more artists and makers to CMT. early contributors included Applause Machine (photo 12) dispensed a paper prescription. Lucy Casson came in, with Tony Mann, Jan Zalud, Michael and other exquisite mechanical AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 24 March • April 2019 figures made from beautifully carved wood and wire. The number of automata collectors grew and the makers could barely keep up with the demand for smaller items for the shop. Peter Markey’s Wave Ma- chine was always popular (pho- to 13). Because of the demand 13. for automata, The Fourteen Balls Sailing Boats by Toy Company was formed as a Wave Machine Peter Markey was partnership between Matt Smith part of CMT’s and Paul Spooner, so that larger effort to keep up editions of Paul’s work could be with the demand built by Matt and his wife Sarah. from automata CMT’s mail-order catalogs HEINI SCHNEEBELI MARTIN SMITH MARTIN collectors. kept tourists in touch after they went home, and many collec- 12. Martin Smith’s Self-Applauding Machine. tors keenly awaited news of the latest designs by post. Several tity, avoid marriages outside its editions were created each own communities. English aristo- year. The Mill Girl and the Toff crats, believing thick ankles to be (photo 14), designed by Paul a trait exclusive to working-class Spooner, with an edition made girls, prefer to breed from their by Matt Smith, was among own stock, too. Of course, neither the favorites. In this piece, a of the above groups has anything young man offers his girlfriend to do with the middle class, with a diamond ring on bended their Rover cars, pork-pie hats, knee, whilst their ancestors turn and collections of automata.” in their coffins below—one be- Keith Newstead started cre- ing made of fine wood with a ating automata in the early crown, the other of a cheaper 1990s Among his first pieces material. The caption is typical- was Junkas Giles Agriplane ly witty, with a hint of sarcasm: HEINI SCHNEEBELI (photo 15), inspired by Rowland “The English working class, 14. The Mill Girl and the Toff. Design by Paul STEVE TANNER Emett’s household machines of jealous of its unique cultural iden- Spooner, built by the Fourteen Balls Toy Co. 15. Junkas Giles Agriplane by Keith Newstead. the 1950s. In this, a farmer sets AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 25 March • April 2019 out in a clever flying machine, visits. The teachers were keen which transports his livestock to learn how to teach automata and dries his socks. making in the classroom, as it Keith’s coin-operated machine, was a perfect medium for learn- The Great Chophandoff, joined ing basics for Craft Design and The Last Judgement outside. Technology (CDT). Schools’ cur- Customers were invited to put riculums changed over the years their hand inside the machine and automata making became a and, after stern announcements firm favorite in both primary and from Chophandoff (recorded on secondary schools. The demand a telephone-answering machine) for teaching materials led to and much whirring, a “blade” our book Cabaret Mechanical was brought down across the Movement, various automata- visitor’s wrist and fake blood making design kits, and the spurted out from the sides. This How to Make Automata video was an instant hit. with Keith Newstead. We also My brother Will Jackson developed a small touring exhi- started creating large-scale HEINI SCHNEEBELI bition that we sent out to edu- machines after making a replica 16. Hotline to the King by Will Jackson 17. Winners of the Designing Automata cational institutions and science of Tim Hunkin’s Test Your Nerve schools competition. fairs, and launched the national machine (or Rabid Dog) for our Designing Automata competition first international touring exhibi- runs Engineered Arts, a success- their coats on and pretend to be for schools and colleges (photo tion in Japan in 1993. CMT then ful robotics company in the UK. customers, saying things like, 17). We realized that learning became home to many of Will’s Despite the popularity of the “Ooh, that looks interesting— how to make automata was as humanoid coin-operated cre- arcade machines in the foyer, two adults please.” Hesitant popular as collecting them. ations, including Crankenstein, there was often still a reluctance visitors in the foyer area would Stephen Guy arrived at Caba- which was brought to life by the on the part of visitors to pay soon buy tickets and follow ret in the early 1990s. He imme- turn of a handle; the Brain Wash to go into the exhibition. Ron them into the exhibition. diately started trying out card- Machine, where your friends Fuller’s Stamping Man, which board and wooden automata could witness the inside of your stamped your entrance ticket, Schools and education designs for workshops, as well head being cleaned; and Hot- helped, as did the addition of Some of the first visitors to the as mechanical paper cutouts line to the King (photo 16), an the noisy musical nickelodeon exhibition were lecturers from for the shop. Stephen continues underwater Elvis who could be in the museum. Sue also de- the nearby St. Martin’s School of to develop and run popular reached by telephone. Will went vised another way of solving Art, as well as numerous school automata workshops, inspiring on to create the acting robot, Ro- the problem. She would ar- teachers, who often brought further generations of makers boThespian. He now owns and range for staff members to put their students to CMT on school and engineers. AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 26 March • April 2019 Large-scale projects CMT was involved in two exciting large-scale projects during the Covent Garden years. Unfortunately, only one saw the light of day. The Ride of Life (1988-1990) was an ambitious project com- missioned for 25,000 square feet in a new shopping center—Meadowhall in Sheffield, UK. The idea behind this was a ride, in which you would set off, relaxed in your sofa, on a wild adventure through a series of animated scenes from everyday modern life created by 15 differ- MAX ALEXANDER ent artists. The ride would have 18. Paul Spooner’s Heaven from The Ride of 19. Ron Fuller’s Adam and Eve Bar from the Ride of Life is the only surviving relic of the ride. lasted 15 minutes, starting in Life was featured on the cover of the July- Tim Hunkin’s Sitting Room, trav- August 1990 issue of Crafts magazine. eling through Andy Hazell and Lucy Casson’s Tea Room, Paul mechanical mannequins that cluded shows that traveled to Spooner’s Airplane, and many showed off new Louis Vuitton Scotland, France, several venues more, ending up with the rider handbags designed by Monolo in Japan, the Experimentarium in leaving the sofa and choosing to Blahnik, Romeo Gigli, and Vivi- Copenhagen, and Technorama go through Hell or Paul Spoon- enne Westwood, among others in Zurich, Switzerland. er’s Heaven (photo 18). The Ride (photo 20). In the meantime, the rent, was nearly completed but was The exhibition was launched rates, and service charges in canceled by Meadowhall at the at a lavish party at the banquet- Covent Garden continued to last moment. Ron Fuller’s Adam ing house of Whitehall Palace rise, which meant that keep- and Eve Bar (photo 19) is the in London early in 1996. It then ing the exhibition open was a only surviving scene. continued on a worldwide tour constant challenge. Keith New- For the Louis Vuitton Centen- to celebrate the centenary of the stead’s response to the ongoing nial Project (1995-1996), Paul famous LV Monogram. Spooner, Matt Smith, and Will CMT continued to develop 20. The Louis Vuitton project involved the use Jackson created seven life-sized touring exhibitions. These in- of seven full-size mechanical mannequins. AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 27 March • April 2019 financial constraints of running a photographs of his work to exhibition had fallen. Toward permanent exhibition in a prime show Sue. Sue fell in love with the end of 1999 it became clear London retail space was to cre- the pieces and Carlos began that CMT could no longer sur- ate The Economic Cycle (photo working in the shop in Covent vive in London. In March 2000, 21) The politician and Chancel- Garden while creating small Cabaret Mechanical Theatre left lor of the Exchequer were the pieces at home in his spare Covent Garden and set off for blind leading blind, whilst the time (photo 22). The Kursaal, Southend-on-Sea, bank manager dangled pound Despite the continued popular- UK. That story will be told in notes from a fishing rod, just out ity of CMT worldwide, visitor part 3, in the May-June issue of of reach of Sue and Keith travel- numbers to the Covent Garden Automata Magazine.A ing in the circus cart behind. One of the last automata makers to arrive at CMT during the Covent Garden years was HEINI SCHNEEBELI Colombian artist Carlos Zapa- 21. Keith Newstead’s The Economic Cycle. ta, who in 1998 brought some

Sarah Alexander (L) and Sue Jackson on the cover of In and HEINI SCHNEEBELI Around Covent Gar- 22. Early work of Carlos Zapata. den, June 1993.

AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 28 Back to Contents pg. March • April 2019 Automata making in Prague An account of the Mechanical Object Workshop The author’s initial sketch of the magician.

he Czech Republic and Modern Prague also has a by Kim Booth Prague are well known well-regarded film-animation Berlin, Germany T for puppetry. In the days scene, resulting in a good sup- of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, ply of experts in puppet, arma- Photos by the author conventional theatres had to per- ture, and model making. Master except where noted form in German, so small travel- craftsman Miroslav Trejtnar ing companies of puppeteers, and his team have also taught who were allowed to perform hundreds of students how to in Czech, offered more than just make puppets at his Puppets in entertainment for children. Even Prague workshops (http://www. now, 100 years after the end of puppetsinprague.eu). When he that empire, puppet shows for announced a brand new Me- adults are still to be found and, chanical Object Workshop (No- from the couple that I saw, they vember 5-11, 2018), I thought it seem to be much appreciated. was time to pay Prague a visit.

LEFT: The author’s project, a magician, completed at home after the end of the workshop. AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 29 March • April 2019 Preparations To apply for a place, I sent a few details of things that I had Some of the team made. Once I was accepted, Mirek asked for an idea of what sort of mechanical model I would like to build, so I sent him a drawing, Miroslav (Mirek) Trejtnar graduated with high with a rough outline of the movements I’d like to include. We ex- honors from the puppet-design department of the changed a couple of emails and he said, yes, we can make that. Prague Academy of Performing Arts. He has Mirek’s American wife Leah Gaffen dealt with all of the organi- trained with Institut UNIMA in Charleville– zation—booked accommodation and a puppet show just before the Mezieres in France. In 1989 he started the KID course started, as well as an evening at the circus; sent a pocket Company, designing and producing wooden map of Prague. She even included some tickets for Prague’s public- puppets, toys, and sculpture. Mirek’s art has been transport system, which was great when I first arrived, confused by exhibited around the world, including at several UNIMA festivals. the unfamiliar surroundings. A schedule for the course and loads of He has designed puppets for numerous productions, including The tips about Prague were added, and we were all set. Baroque Opera by the Forman Brothers. He has also produced Via the social-media page set up for the course, I was pleased to puppets for the Jiri Trnka animated film studio in Prague. Mirek has see that three of the five students were repeat offenders. That was a taught hundreds of students at Puppets in Prague workshops. He concrete statement about the quality of the previous workshops. has also taught for the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, St. Martin’s College of Design in London, New York University in Fundamentals Prague, Chapito Circus Academy in Lisbon, Portugal, and in The six-day course, eight hours Macao and Hong Kong. a day (with a day off in the middle), was basically in four Zdar Sorm worked for the Trnka animated-film stu- parts: dio at Barrandov studio in Prague for 20 years and • Workshop fundamentals is now a freelance puppet designer of film anima- about machines, tools, and tion and theater, as well as a graphic- and furniture materials designer. He is a leading expert in the technologi- • Various mechanisms to make cal designs for animated films. things move • Maquettes to test the movements for your own project Leah Gaffen, an American who has lived in the • Building your project Czech Republic for over 15 years, founded the Puppets in Prague workshops with Mirek Trejtnar and has worked with him as a producer for the course since then. She has also done production One tidy workbench for each student, ready to and translation work for the Prague Theatre Acad- get started. emy and numerous theater-education projects.

AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 30 March • April 2019 Types of material and Chisels: sizes, shapes, and their care. Using a chisel. their quality.

The lathe, ready to turn some wooden wheels.

Tapping a hole.

How to properly use a bandsaw. Basics of brazing. Cutting threads. AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 31 March • April 2019 Mechanisms There is nothing better to aid in understanding a mechanism than to pick it up, make it work, and inspect it from all angles. Mirek has a collection of mechanisms—some complete models from other artists and some basic mechanisms that he produced himself to illustrate how cams and levers can be used. Examples for inspiration and understanding the basic mechanisms. These included Mirek’s own push-along cyclist, one of which is now included in the collection of the prestigious Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The Horse and the Runner, made by Peter Markey, use fascinating mechanisms. I spent quite a while handling them to see exactly how the movement is produced. Man and Fly, by Robert Race, uses a simple mechanism but is quite entertaining and shows that it doesn’t have to be complicated to be successful. Mirek’s own animated, carved face produc- ABOVE: Mirek, with some small friends hanging around behind him and some online inspiration. es a really striking effect, just from a set of cams. LEFT: Mechanisms—theory and practice. AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 32 March • April 2019 Mirek made plenty of base kits so that we could try out the mechanisms ourselves. Templates for three cams. Click here for a video of the three cams in action.

Making a maquette This is a fascinating intermedi- of my magician figure stand- I cut out the cardstock arm and With an understanding of ate stage of the process, which ing on a box with seven levers, tried it on the maquette, to see what mechanisms we could use shows whether your great idea ready to do whatever I planned if it worked. Is it the right size? in our own projects, we then can work or not. for the finished object. Does it hinge in the right place? moved on to trying out our ideas From this point on there was a Once I had screwed together With a sharp pair of scissors, on a sort of working model or flurry of activity, as Mirek, Zdar, the parts that Zdar made for me, this took no time at all, and a maquette. This meant drawing and the team took our more- I could start the process of add- second or third attempt allowed our ideas with enough detail detailed drawings and conjured ing movement. This first meant me to get it just right. When I that we could see how the work- up just enough of a starting creating a full-size pencil draw- was happy with the paper ver- ing parts move together, which point for us to work on the move- ing of something that moved, sion, I traced around it onto a bits are hinged, or which parts ments. In my case, this meant a like one of my magician’s arms. piece of plywood and cut it out sit on an axle or rest on a cam. strange centimeter-wide outline When I was satisfied with that, on the bandsaw. AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 33 March • April 2019 A “technical” drawing of the project.

LEFT: The basic magician maquette, with seven levers and a simple outline of the figure.

ABOVE: Cut-out parts in card. If they were okay, they were then cut in plywood.

RIGHT: With its seven movements, the maquette is finished enough to get ready for the real thing. AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 34 March • April 2019 Making the real thing Having proved the principles on Cutting the left arm on the bandsaw from the The left arm, as finished on the bandsaw. Same treatment for the right arm. the maquette, I was now ready maquette. to start on the real thing. To make the most of the time available, I dismantled the maquette so that we could use the pieces as rough templates. It didn’t take too long for the real craftsmen to cut lime- wood pieces roughly to shape, which I could then carve and prepare for assembly. My magician also needed a hat. It was again wonderful to see how experienced model The head’s a bit more complicated…. The head after carving. Zdar making a hat from two layers of felt makers go about that. Once we soaked in glue. had decided that it didn’t need to be made of wood (I mean, who wears a wooden hat?), two layers of felt were soaked in diluted wood glue, then clamped into an improvised hat mold. After letting it dry over night, I used a flat iron to smooth the brim, then trimmed it to shape with a pair of scissors. I added a bit of wire reinforce- ment where the hand holds it, A new base of the right size, with holes in the New levers made from nice wood. The hat, removed from its mold and the rim and ta-raaa…a hat! right places. ironed flat. AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 35 March • April 2019 The glued-together, blocked-up body, which dried overnight, being trimmed roughly to shape. The head has been joined to the body.

The magician’s jaw has been added to the head. The assembled base has been painted. AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 36 March • April 2019 How did I like the course? Although there wasn’t enough maintain my momentum and en- time to completely finish him, my thusiasm. The deliberate process magician was finished enough, of making a maquette to quickly and I was confident of being test out ideas really impressed able to complete him at home. I me. In my days as a working snaffled a few pieces of welding engineer I would have called rod and some fishing line and that “fast prototyping.” Seeing it set off for home, quite aston- used for mechanical models was ished at what we had achieved a surprise for me, although it in one week. Once the magician shouldn’t have been. That’s why was set up on my desk at home, you go on courses, I suppose. I was quite proud of him! The accommodation was The other participants in the reasonably priced and close by. course came from a diverse The local high street was full of range of backgrounds and all places to grab a bite of lunch. were quite supportive. The at- Leah organized an amazing mosphere in the workshop was cultural program, which, for a happy and positive experi- me, included a puppet show, a ence. The course was held in music show, a modern circus, a English, and sometimes some of trip to see the biggest mechani- the tutors struggled a bit to find cal nativity scene on the planet, just the right words. That didn’t and a very special visit to see actually matter, as actions speak one of Mirek’s old tutors. Fortu- so much louder than words, and nately, I arrived in Prague a little we all communicated just fine. early and had a chance to do I also enjoyed seeing ma- some conventional sightseeing in chines and tools, which I don’t advance of the course. have at home, in action. More All in all I had a great time, or less the first thing that I did learned a lot, and now I under- on returning home was to order stand why three out of the five The head has been screwed to the body, which has been screwed to the base, and the mecha- a set of chisels and a few other students had returned to Puppets nisms are starting to be fitted. Here, Zdar holds the author’s automaton in its nearly complete bits and pieces that I had found in Prague, having attended a state at the end of the course. The piece was finished by the author after returning home. particularly useful, in order to previous course.A

AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 37 Back to Contents pg. March • April 2019 A new twist on This Turk plays an old noughts and crosses automaton

by Martin Edwards • London, UK Photos by the author

n the spring of 1770, Aus- Responding to von Kempelen’s trian Empress Maria Theresa call for a volunteer, one Count Iwitnessed a new sensation. von Cobenzl stepped forward Before the empress and her and moved a chess piece to astonished court, Wolfgang begin the game. To gasps from von Kempelen, a Hungarian the audience, the contraption nobleman, unveiled a life-size whirred into life, the Turk moved wooden mannequin dressed as its eyes and head to survey the an ancient Turkish magician. He board, reached for a piece, and was seated behind a cabinet made his move. The Turk proved that bore a chessboard. One to be a strong player and quick- side of the cabinet was occu- ly demolished his opponent. pied by clockwork machinery, Known as The Chess-Playing including a music-box-type pin Turk, The Mechanical Turk, or cylinder. The other was hidden simply The Turk, the machine by doors, which von Kempelen became a sensation, traveling opened to demonstrate that the across Europe and America, space behind was empty, save challenging—and usually de- for a few brass discs and wires feating—the strongest players. (photo 1). Hundreds of articles and pam- phlets suggested how it might The author’s game-playing Turk is based on a work; speculation ranged from legendary automaton from the 18th century. a trained monkey or a Prussian AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 38 March • April 2019 The modern Turk The story of von Kempelen’s creation is probably familiar to most readers of this magazine, and there have been numerous replicas, homages, and refer- ences to The Turk in the work of modern automaton builders, but I couldn’t resist building another! I wanted my machine to play a real game, but chess—quite apart from the challenge to my mechanical and programming skills—would take far too long to play. What if von Kempelen had built a prototype, though—a noughts-and-crosses (tic-tac-toe) 2. The author’s Turk plays noughts and playing Turk? Well, he didn’t, crosses (tic-tac-toe). Playing pieces are bits but we can imagine… (photo 2). of curtain rod with brass X’s or O’s glued on Spoiler alert: if you haven’t 1. This old engraving illustrates the famous Chess-Playing Turk, originally shown in 1770 by top. The board is a picture frame with a ply- watched the video (https:// Wolfgang von Kempelen. wood insert, trimmed in brass. youtu.be/4mVtcGDpuy8), you might like to do so, as I am cavalry officer who had lost The Turk met its end in 1854 had heard the Turk pathetically about to describe the operation his legs in combat concealed when the Philadelphia museum wheeze “Echec! Echec!” as if of my noughts-and-crosses Turk, inside the cabinet, to von Kem- in which it then resided caught calling for help as it succumbed and there’s a reveal that I am pelen influencing the machine fire. One of its syndicate of own- to the fire. Mitchell subsequently about to ruin! himself with magnets or invis- ers rushed into the burning build- published a couple of articles The human player triggers the ible wires. Others considered ing in an attempt to rescue the explaining the secret of the game by placing an O counter that the machine was, indeed, machine but was driven back by chess-playing Turk’s operation; it (human plays O, Turk plays X) autonomously playing chess, a the flames. A later modification was a conjuring trick that in- on the empty board. The mecha- concept that apparently inspired had given The Turk the ability volved a false drawer, a sliding nism starts to rotate and clank, the mathematician, inventor, and to croak “Echec” (check) when seat, and sliding machinery that the Turk raises his head, moves computer pioneer Charles Bab- it placed its opponent in check, enabled the cabinet—contrary his eyes from side to side, looks bage to consider the possibilities and the failed rescuer, Dr. Silas to appearances—to conceal a at the board, then at his play- of thinking machines. Weir Mitchell, claimed that he full-size operator. ing piece. He then reaches for a AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 39 March • April 2019 piece with his right hand, picks Kempelen would weep. it up, and places it in position If you’re unfamiliar with contin- on the board. uous-rotation servos, they’re an As the game continues, the easy way of controlling the rota- Turk’s movement is interrupted tion of a small, geared motor. on his second move by a sneeze Like a conventional digital R/C (on one occasion, a player (radio control) servo, they’re challenging the original Turk did controlled by timed pulses, in claim to have heard a sneeze this case from an Arduino pro- from inside the cabinet, some- cessor board. The servo will thing of a potential giveaway) rotate forward or backward with and, on the third move, by a variable speed, or stop, depend- clang and a “malfunction,” ing on the pulse width. Addi- when the cabinet doors fly open tional continuous-rotation servos to reveal a diminutive operator drive gears and wheels behind watching the action through a the cylinder. Some spectators periscope, and turning a handle 4. A commercial mannequin head became the have commented that the mecha- to operate the machinery. This Turk’s noggin. nism is noisy; of course it is— operator stops, turns his head that’s deliberate! The original to look at the human player, I added a vertical divider, a Turk must have sounded like a takes a couple of drags on his drawer, and a pair of doors for box of nails falling down stairs! cigarette, then continues. On the right-hand section (see the the final turn, during the Turk’s lead photo). The Turk move, the machine stops with a 3. The impressive-looking mechanical works Like von Kempelen’s original, I am no sculptor and, although clanking, grinding sound. The do absolutely nothing. my brass moving mechanics are I have cheerfully attempted rath- little operator shakes his head, purely for show and don’t actu- er crude papier-mache heads for then kicks the control panel with on the street outside. My cabi- ally do anything at all. A music- creations in the past, I wanted a resounding series of clangs, net appeared on the pavement box cylinder was a must. This I my Turk to look as handsome which eventually frees the mech- outside my house—tatty, crudely made from a sheet of 0.3mm- and inscrutable as the original. anism and play resumes. painted, missing its doors, thick brass and used 3mm brass To this end, I bought a man- unloved, and abandoned. It’s bolts for the pins (photo 3). The nequin head (photo 4) from the Design considerations smaller than the original Turk’s rotation is driven by a contin- ever-reliable (well, usually) eBay. Readers will be familiar with cabinet but well proportioned, uous-rotation servo concealed It’s a bald, plastic head intended the design constraints imposed and it responded well to a inside the cylinder. Yes, the for modeling hats and scarves in by using what’s cheap/lying few sessions with paint strip- entire construction is electronic a shop, and its rather effeminate around in the garage/dumped per, wood stain, and varnish. and electromechanical; von features have led some specta- AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 40 March • April 2019 some spectators to insist that my procedure to cut away the hand Turk is a woman. He isn’t, and section, mount it to the end of the addition of a long party mus- the forearm, and arrange an- tache does help provide some other servo at the elbow to pull masculine credibility (photo 5). the wire and close the fingers. Unfortunately, his head was This is why the Turk uses his right filled with expanded polysty- hand (von Kempelen’s played rene, which took half a day to with his left)—it appears they chisel out. I cut out his eyes and only make right-handed robot- mounted eyeballs on miniature hand toys! servos inside. (It’s possible to The robot hand, covered by buy spookily realistic dolls’ a glove, also dictated the size eyeballs. It took me a while to of the playing pieces. These I find just the right color, so I now 5. Fully dressed and moustached, the Turk 6. The “body” is little more than an aluminum cut from sections of curtain pole have a fine, if macabre, collec- looks omniscient and inscrutable. plate and a mechanical arm. and glued a brass X or O to the tion.) I sawed through the neck, top of each. The playing board just below the jaw, and attached I made from a picture frame, a the head section to a vertically- stained-and-varnished piece of mounted servo so that he could ply, and four strips of thin brass, nod forward and back. Then I which look good and are quite mounted this whole assembly cheap, as they are sold as off- on another servo, horizontally cuts (photo 2). mounted, to provide rotation. Nine reed switches glued onto The Turk’s body is rather basic. the underside of the board, one It’s made from sheet aluminium under each small square, act and plastic, bolted onto the cabi- as sensors. The reed will switch net (photo 6). The fancy-dress 7. Flexible wire-reinforced plastic tubing gives 8. Shoulder and elbow servos provide motion. when the human player places a costume I used to clothe him just the Turk’s arm shape and form. The second elbow servo works the hand. piece, as these have magnets set about manages to disguise this. into their bases. This is actually His arms are made from lengths two in his shoulder for up/down caused von Kempelen some dif- similar to von Kempelen’s sys- of Perspex (Plexiglas) covered movement and rotation, the ficulty. I decided it was easier to tem. Magnets in his chess pieces by flexible plastic tubing to give other in his elbow (photo 8). cut my losses and use a child’s triggered the movement of flags them shape (photo 7). Again, I did experiment with making toy—a plastic robot hand (photo underneath the board, allowing the costume covers a multitude a functioning hand to grasp the 9). Squeezing the handle on the the hidden player to see which of sins here. Only his right arm playing pieces. This was a de- toy pulls a wire that closes the square a piece had moved from moves, thanks to three servos— sign aspect that apparently also fingers. It was a straightforward and to, and to replicate this on AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 41 March • April 2019 his own board. The cabinet doors I made from interior grade tongue- and-groove timber. The doors are mounted on servos that enable them to fly open when the mechanism “malfunctions.” For the little chap underneath, I searched for a realistic doll of the right size, and up popped just the thing on eBay—a sec- ondhand Mr. Bean doll. I built a new skeleton from aluminium, mounted his head and left arm on servos, and dressed him in his original clothes. Nothing could go wrong, until it trans- pired that children all immediately shrieked “Mr. Bean!!” as soon as the reveal happened. I had no idea Mr. Bean’s recogni- tion factor was so high amongst under-twelves—Rowan Atkinson 11. An inexpensive Arduino, along with the should be proud. Hence, the author’s programming, provides the brains little chap’s woolly hat (a baby’s 9. A plastic, toy, robotic hand grasps the game 10. The “secret” behind the action. A repur- behind the Turk’s motions. All wiring and elec- knitted cap), which effectively pieces. It is disguised with a glove. posed Mr. Bean doll keeps the show running. tromechanical devices are concealed. disguises him. His cigarette is an e-cigarette with the nicotine the control (photo 11), with a and-crosses myself, reasoning tion. He immediately did. A nonsense removed and the LED piggybacked sound card provid- that it’s a simple and logical stern talking-to for my Turk and a at the tip wired to the Arduino ing sound effects, which include game—how hard could it be to couple of lines of code to antici- so that it appears to glow when the sneeze during the second devise an effective algorithm? pate the corner trap, rendered he draws on it. turn and the clangs when the This turned out to be hubris, the Turk (I think) invulnerable. mechanism “malfunctions” or the when I confidently offered a To my shame, though, I didn’t The electronics little operator mannequin kicks young challenger a thousand cough up but merely offered the A single Arduino mega-micro- his control panel. I programmed pounds if he could beat the Turk challenger double or quits. He processor board handles all of the logic for playing noughts- when it was nearing comple- hasn’t taken up the offer yet.A

AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 42 Back to Contents pg. March • April 2019 Automata in the Classroom 9th graders learn mechanics told them they needed to use at home, where my husband tools—maybe even power had left a table saw, a miter by Colleen McGuire • Berlin, Maryland, USA • Photos by the author I tools. Some nodded in glee; saw, and a drill press to gather some mumbled, “Please don’t dust. Between starting to use make me use tools.” Others small microprocessors and robot- were still stuck on, “What the ics in class, and messing with heck is an automaton?” It may small woodworking projects on have been a shock to their sys- my own, I became enamored of tems, but my 9th-grade physical the idea of allowing the kids to science classes have risen to the experience the same joys and challenge of building automata. frustrations I was having in these Please bear in mind that I’ve new pursuits. only learned to “tinker” myself within the past few years. Background I have degrees in chemistry I’ve always taught a unit on and English, and have been simple machines and mecha- teaching chemistry and physi- nisms, as part of the physical- cal science for 20+ years at science curriculum. We love to Worcester Preparatory School do hands-on projects, and kids in Berlin, Maryland. In the last have built mousetrap cars and few years, I’ve begun teaching Rube Goldberg machines in a computer-science program- the past. For the last two years, ming class and have been using however, I have let the kids get Arduinos and Raspberry Pi’s to a little more creative and try to build robots and other devices. build their own automata. The The author put together a sample project with which the kids (ages 14-15) could interact before Over the same time period, I rules specified that there had making their own automata in this innovative class. started to play in the workshop to be at least three mechanisms AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 43 March • April 2019 Armeen learned about the challenges of get- Graham had fun laser cutting some of his ting all the cams drilled and the followers barnyard characters. lined up on her automaton.

and two objects needed to Ava and Meredith couldn’t let pass the opportunity to add bling! and would probably be happy to have different types of motion help make some of these pre- (up-down vs. rotation vs. slid- plan for his/her own device and laser cutter and CNC machine. shaped pieces, if asked. ing, etc.). include a parts list. These come in handy when try- Because my students have little Although recycled materials ing to build cams and gears as The experience mechanical experience, I first such as cardboard and cartons needed. I try to have a selection When we finally settled down had groups work with cardstock would work, I wanted the stu- of precut cams and gears avail- to work, it may have looked with pre-printed parts to build dents to get a little shop experi- able for the kids to use, and they like chaos in my classroom, but simple mechanisms to see how ence, so they scrounged around typically build around these, students were earnest in their they worked. We also watched for recycled wood or old toy which help to determine the size efforts and honest about their some fun examples on You- parts from which to construct of their devices. It might be worth frustrations. My classes typically Tube, and I showed them a few their projects. I’m fortunate to mentioning that local maker- have 16 to 20 students. Because samples of my own. Afterward, now run a small makerspace in spaces are always looking for I have a limited number of tools I had each student draw up a our school, and we have a small community-outreach opportunities and I required a majority of the AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 44 March • April 2019 Waverly made a “tea-rrific” automaton, with Chipper decided to add 3D-printed parts to his Hanna incorporated sound and light in her Joseph found that LEGO gears worked well. a spinning cup and pouring teapot. automaton. detailed backyard scene.

project to be done in the class- have not used any type of pow- bench tops! (Um…I do have a and explain their mechanisms room (so that I could be sure it er tool so this is always excit- few new holes in the workbench- and talk about the struggles was hands-on for the student, ing. They learn the difference es—oops!) they encountered and overcame not the parent), there was usual- between forward and reverse The designs the students select- while creating them. All the ly wait time, as students vied for on the drill—literally everyone ed for their automata were often automata were then placed on access to the drills or laser cut- makes this mistake at least once. similar to images found on the display in the dining hall for the ter. This was not always a bad They also learn the importance internet, like the barking dog or younger students to interact with, thing, I found, since it caused of clamping a workpiece in the cat and mouse. However, it’s under the supervision of my 9th students to stop and watch what place, especially if it’s a small always fun to see some of their graders. After this, the pieces their classmates were doing, cam they are drilling! Addition- original thoughts, like the golfer were on a one-month display in and they could learn from the ally, they learn that a waste and the dog or a Christmas the school library. mistakes of others. board, or spoil board, is a good scene in April. For this year’s classes, I’d like The most popular tool by far thing to put under their work so As the final activity in the as- to build a set of demo mecha- has been the drill. Most students that we don’t drill holes into the signment, students had to show nisms that can be disassembled AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 45 March • April 2019 Lessons learned

In no particular order, these • Friction is both your friend and are some of the lessons your enemy. learned by the kids while • Energy is conserved but not building their automata. We always in the way you expect. discuss the concepts at the • Small wood blocks are handy outset, but they have to be when attaching two thin surfac- lived to be appreciated. es at right angles. • The artwork matters but not as • Drills work better when set on much as the functioning parts. “forward.” • Wait your turn; offer and • Driver bits are not the same as accept help. drill bits. • 3D printing is slow but Thingi- • Goggles count. verse has tons of stuff ready to • The bandsaw is teacher territo- print. ry unless you are anointed by • Laser cutting is fun but it’s better the teacher for its use. when you know how to use • Spoil boards are important. Adobe Illustrator. Carly, Caroline, and Maddy definitely “rocked the boat.” • Clamping your work is neces- • Mistakes will be made…make sary, especially for drilling time to adjust and modify. and explored by the students. The outcome small cams. • Measure, measure, measure. The paper models were a bit The students were all intimidat- • Gorilla glue is the devil—hot • Documenting your work is not tedious and small to really illus- ed, frustrated, and disappointed glue is an angel. nearly as much fun as creating trate the concepts to them. I like at times, throughout the project. • Wood glue requires clamps. it but, when you get selected the idea of disassembly so that Some were disappointed with • Short push rods are better than as a highlighted “Instructable,” the kids can get a better sense their results but assured us that, long ones. it can be awesome! of the order of operations when with more time, they could have building their devices. For ex- fixed their machines. Most were ample, let’s not glue the cam in pleasantly surprised at their suc- I’m so glad to have the re- learning about mechanical place on the axle, build the box, cess and how cool it is to make sources and the support to be things but at least we have and then try to put them togeth- something that “works.” I think able to bring these lessons and demystified and gained an er! This will also allow the kids they were impressed with their experiences to my students. I appreciation for all the great to select the right mechanism for projects and proud of what they don’t know how many of them engineering we experience in their designs and vision. had accomplished. will be inspired to continue our everyday lives.A

AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 46 Back to Contents pg. March • April 2019 to work more smoothly. Planning gears with metal pins follows the same proce- Making pinwheel gears dure as outlined in part 1 for planning wooden-pin gears. Different methods for The smaller the pin, though, the more accuracy in construction is successful gearing: part 2 required. I use a gear pitch of 1/4" (6mm) or 3/16" (4.8mm) in my by Marc Horovitz • Denver, Colorado, USA • Photos by the author automata, with 3/32" (2.4mm) or 1/16" (1.6mm) pins, respectively. Both look good (to my eye) but if n the first part of this series, I I want more strength, I’ll use the discussed how to make pin- larger combination. I wheel gears of wood. In this part I’ll talk about using metal The tool pins and a way to make the Since I expected to be making gears relatively quickly. automata for the foreseeable Wooden gears, while perfectly future, I wanted to find a way functional, must necessarily be that would speed up wheel pro- made of larger components duction. What I came up with due to the relative weakness of were the tools seen in photo 21. wood when compared to metal, These look like dividing plates either steel or brass. Metal pins and, indeed, they function in a offer a couple of advantages. similar manner. The brass plate Because they are stronger, the gears can be made to smaller pitches, which means they’ll take up less space. Often, the whole mechanism can be scaled down somewhat. Also, in my experience, gears with metal pins tend

With some tooling that you can make yourself, pinwheel gears can be fabricated both 21. Tools like these can make drilling holes in quickly and accurately. pinwheels painless, quick, and accurate. AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 47 March • April 2019 (on the left in the photo) is for any of the numerous free CAD pin should be the same diam- Top ring one Outside diameter the 1/16" pins, while the steel one (computer-aided design) pro- eter as the pins in your finished size larger same as shaft is for 3/32" pins. The brass one grams online, then export the pinwheels. One end is pointed, than shaft dia. will yield wheels with 6, 9, 12, drawing in a file that is compat- which can be easily done by 18, 24, and 30 pins. The steel ible with a laser cutter. I suggest twirling the pin while holding plate offers 6, 9, 12, 15, and that you make all of the holes it against a belt or disc sander. Inside diameter 18 pins. Thus, from either of the slightly undersize, then drill them Better yet, if you have a Dremel same as pins tools, a wide variety of gear out yourself when you get them or other rotary hand tool, mount Apply soft solder or reductions is available. back from the cutter. That way the pin in that, then turn it on thin CA cement To make the wheels, I first you know they will be the cor- while holding the pin against the Figure 6—Center plug calculated the pitch diameters rect diameter. Also, include the sander to make the point. The of the circles for the number of actual circles on which the pins other end of the pin is bent over holes in each, making a little lie in your drawing, and have 90°, mostly to keep it from fall- chart of the results. I then cut the them etched into the surface of ing through the plate when you blank on my lathe and mounted the wood. This will avoid confu- don’t want it to. it on a rotary table on my milling sion when drilling your wheels, I turned the center plugs on machine. From there I was able as you can just follow the circle. my lathe. However, plugs could to drill the holes quite accurately. Most lower-end laser cutters just as easily be built up from The holes are the same size as will not cut steel. The go-to mate- telescoping brass tubing, avail- the pins in the wheels the plates rial seems to be Baltic birch or able at craft and hobby stores. will make. The center hole is the furniture-grade plywood. This The inside diameter of the small- same size as the shaft on which should be fine for a while. With est tube should be the same size 22. The three parts of the tool: the plate, the the wheel will be mounted. care, you should be able to as your pin diameter, while the center plug, and the pointed pin. make many pinwheel bodies outside diameter of the largest An alternative before your wooden tool starts tube should be the same size as of plywood the thickness of a I know that most people don’t to show wear (and becomes in- your shaft diameter (figure ).6 pinwheel and drill a hole in it have lathes, milling machines, accurate). The simple solution to Solder or glue all of the pieces (photo 23). The diameter of the and rotary tables. However, that is just to have several identi- together, then trim it to length— hole should be the same as the most people reading this will cal tools made at the same time, about twice the thickness of the shaft on which the wheel will have a computer and access from the same drawing, and plate. Add an additional ring at be mounted (as well as that of to a laser cutter (your local keep them on hand to replace one end to prevent the plug from the center plug). Put the plug library?) or someone who has the one that is wearing out. falling through the plate. through the plate, into the hole. one. Worst case, there are com- The tool consists of three parts: This will hold the plate in posi- panies online who offer laser the drilled plate, the pin, and the Using the tool tion on the plywood. cutting commercially. center plug (photo 22). The plate Once you have the tool, us- Choose the ring of holes that You can do the drawing in has already been discussed. The ing it is simple. Take a piece will result in the desired pin- AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 48 March • April 2019 23. A hole the size of the center plug is drilled 24. The plug is put into the hole and the plate 25. The scribed line is the edge of the wheel. 26. After the first pin hole is drilled, the pin is into the wood. is spun with the pin, scribing the wood. placed in it and the rest are drilled.

27. All of the holes are drilled and the wheel 28. Cutting the pins with a pin gauge. is ready to be cut out. RIGHT: 29. The finished wheel. wheel. Then put the sharpened the chosen circle. Then place the pins into place. Once all of the be mounted on the shaft in the pin in a hole of the next larger pin through the plate into that holes are drilled, cut the wheel same way as described in part circle. Using the pin as a han- hole. This will prevent the plate out and finish it up. 1 (photo 39). dle, spin the plate around the from rotating while you drill the I like to cut my pins with a I hope that this will give you center plug, scratching the wood remaining holes (photo 26). jeweler’s saw and a gauge enough information to make underneath with the pointed end Then just go around the plate, similar to that mentioned in part some pinwheel gears of your of the pin (photo 24). This will drilling holes, until you’ve drilled 1 (photo 28). When all the pins own, if this is something you’ve indicate the outside-diameter of all of the holes in the circle have been cut, I chamfer their been wanting to do. If you have the finished wheel (photo 25). (photo 27). If you use a drill one ends on the sander. The pins any questions or comments, Remove the pin and drill a pin size smaller than the pins, you can then be pressed into the please send them to me at au- hole through one of the holes in should be able to just press the wheel. The finished wheel can [email protected]

AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 49 Back to Contents pg. March • April 2019 Laudator Temporis Acti Addressing the human Conceptually, Laudator Tem- condition poris Acti preceded many other works that more fully embrace my artistic inquiry of how autom- by Wade Warman ata and kinetic sculpture can use Raleigh, North Carolina, USA humor to examine aspects of the Photos by the author human condition. Technically, for a first automaton design, I felt that Laudator Temporis Acti n 2015 I began was quite successful, since I researching the had previously only fabricated Ihistory and design one mechanical item—a simple of automata. As a cam-and-lever action. With this point of origin for my piece, I set out to incorporate research, the website specific traditional sculpting of Cabaret Mechanical The- linkages, etc., to get a better ponents and a narrative perfor- techniques and digital fabrica- atre (CMT) allowed me to view idea of how certain kinds of mance. The viewer is presented tion methods, including the works by many artists, including movements could be created. with an old, cantankerous-look- manufacture of key components Tom Haney, Dug North, Keith (The book Cabaret Mechani- ing man standing above a baby like the frame, figures, and pin- Newstead, and Paul Spooner. cal Movement proved to be an lying on top of an open-sided wheel gears. Through this research I was able indispensable volume and quite box. As the participant turns to see a broad range of aesthet- the jump start for me!) the crank, the man kicks and Construction ics and mechanics in their au- The result of my initial investi- the baby goes flying. When the The frame is a simple wooden tomata. Taking my research and gation was the automaton Lau- participant finishes turning the box made from poplar sourced exploration further, I also looked dator Temporis Acti. The piece crank, the baby and man’s leg at my local Home Depot. After into many types of mechanical itself is a rather simple design, return to their respective posi- determining the overall dimen- functions, such as gears, cams, with exposed mechanical com- tions, ready for another kick. sions of the piece, I ripped the AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 50 March • April 2019 boards to width on a table saw, gram called Sculptris, I manipu- then cut 45° mitered angles for lated a default object (a sphere) the corner joints. The frame is as if it were a piece of digital important from an aesthetic per- clay. My work was aided by a spective; as with Paul Spooner’s few provided-example models automata, the mechanical com- that users could work with, one ponents are exposed to view. I of them being a human head. wanted the viewers to see how The example head proved to be the piece works and, by leaving essential. I was able to digitally the front and back exposed, this mold it to not only reshape it but was achieved (photo 1). also to create the facial expres- The two figures, man and sion I was looking for with the baby, have different and ap- 1. The frame is an open-sided box made of 2. Appropriate babies were procured online man figure. propriate origins, according to stained hardwood. from eBay. the roles that they perform. The 3D printing baby is a plastic figure I found When I was satisfied with the on eBay (photo 2) and decided model, I saved it and sent the was the right fit. The man figure Wooden dowel file to my 3D printer, a Maker- was more of a challenge, due through hip joint bot, which is an extrusion-type to his movement and the expres- printer. For those unfamiliar with sion he needed to embody. It this technology, imagine a high was at this point I decided to tech, hot-glue gun. It melts plas- incorporate both emerging tech- tic (like hot glue), which it depos- nologies (3D printing and laser its in layers on the work surface cutting) and more traditional in the shape of the object you sculpting methods, so the man designed (photo 4). After the first became a mixture of both. layer is done, it does another on For his body, I cut out the 3. The man’s kicking leg was hinged at the hip 4. A head in the process of being 3D printed top of that, over and over and arms, torso, and legs with a via a wooden dowel. in plastic. over again, until you have a standard bandsaw. From individ- fully formed object (photo 5). ual wooden pieces I was able to his kicking leg, I simply drilled wood. This proved frustrating, There are some serious draw- make some rudimentary curves a hole in his hip and used a due to my lack of wood-carving backs to this process, in my that were representational of the wooden dowel as a joint (photo skills: I just could not get the ex- opinion. In particular, it takes a body, and that were more com- 3). His head, however, was not pression of misanthropy right. In- lot longer than one would imag- plete when glued together. as straightforward. Initially, I stead, I turned to 3D modeling. ine to print an object (10-, 20-, To achieve the movement of thought I might carve it out of Using a free 3D-modeling pro- and even 30-hour prints are not AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 51 March • April 2019 uncommon) and the print often fails numerous times before a Clay wall Plaster mold good one is produced. What’s more, with extruder-based print- ers, the object has an unmistak- able texture. It comes out with “tool marks,” or ridges, where each layer of melted plastic was formed (photo 6). Some people don’t mind this texture and look. I do. Thus, the 3D print for me was Sprue for slip casting, merely a step in the overall to be removed after plaster hardens process, allowing me to use the printed head as the “positive” for making a two-part mold. The 5. The finished head still on the printer bed. 6. Visible tool marks left by the printing pro- 7. A two-part plaster mold was made to cast a mold itself was made from plas- The support pieces underneath will be cess are circled in this picture. smooth head. ter (photo 7), for ridged texture. trimmed away. The head was cast in Flumo, a water based, slip-casting material that allows the artist to smooth out surface imperfections using a green scrubbing pad. The end result gave me exactly what I was looking for—the man’s head was not only smooth and ready to paint but also had the expression of a curmudgeonly old man (photos 8 and 9).

Laser cutting To fabricate the pinwheel 8. Heads cast in Flumo. 9. The finished, painted head. gears, I wanted to employ a rapid iterative process that would nology proved to be perfect for light that can etch or cut through speed and intensity. An example allow me to make and test gears this. Simply, a laser cutter works different materials, depend- of laser cutting, the crank handle quickly. Utilizing laser-cutter tech- by focusing an intense beam of ing on the laser’s programmed for my automaton, can be seen AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 52 March • April 2019 in photo 10. To operate the laser, a user must first create a design using a computer-aided-design (CAD) program. A CAD design works like a digital blueprint operator. I used a CAD program called Rhino to design my gears. Using this, I could quickly change the dimensions if the gears were too large or small, allowing the remaking of a gear in mere minutes (photo 11). This rapid experimentation with gear size meant the timing of the automaton’s motions were synced perfectly with each other: the man kicks and, as he does, the baby goes flying. For me, this was the most important technical aspect because, if the 10. Laser-cut crank handle. The dark, burned edges are characteristic 11. Pinwheel gears, precisely made on the laser cutter. timing was off, malfunctioning of the process. mechanics would have led to an awkward performance. More piece for feedback, one critique mance? Would it have changed Analysis importantly, if the timing of the in particular stood out to me as the humor’s dynamic, shifting it to As mentioned above, Laudator components was off, the ele- quite interesting. My idea was a more blatant attempt at being Temporis Acti preceded my fo- ment of humor could have easily to have perhaps added a spring funny and thus removing some of cused artistic research into how weakened the performance of to the baby to increase its move- the subtlety? Of course, barring automata and kinetic sculpture the piece as a whole. For me, ment. While I am not sure exactly the creation of another iteration might use humor as a way to having the laser cutter as such how this might have been feasible of the piece, I will never know examine the human condition. a fast and iterative fabrication on a technical level, it did provide the answer to these things. How- That said, I feel that an argu- method meant the difference much food for thought as to the ever, questions related to exag- ment could be made that this between success and failure. humor element. Would the extra gerated movements have served piece shows signs of first inquiry movement resulting from a spring me in subsequent inquiries as a in its initial stages and, as such, The humor element create enough exaggeration to way to add or increase humor to I think it is an informative and Upon presenting the finished increase the humorous perfor- the performance. successful work. AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 53 March • April 2019 The theme itself—kicking a behavior to be released—that humorous. They enjoyed and baby—was the result of an they could participate in nega- found entertainment in this act Write expression often used by a tive behaviors without the worry of transgression as long as it person I once knew, who would of actually transgressing laws remained comfortably safe and an article! say things like, “I’d kick a baby and social morals. Others were humorous through the actions of for a cup of coffee.” I always amused by the mechanical ele- the automaton figures. Automata Magazine needs thought this was an immensely ment and felt sympathy for the Despite these conceptual suc- writers. Everyone has a dark and funny image and had baby and disdain for the old cesses, especially when looked unique story. Writing it down wanted to use it in some way. In man. It is because of these dis- at as a precursor to my later and isn’t as difficult as you might conversations with friends and senting views that I cannot say more focused artistic-research think. If you’re shy, we’ve colleagues, I noted that the vast that it speaks directly to the uni- inquiry, I see weakness in the prepared some guidelines for majority felt that the idea of kick- versality of the human condition naming convention Laudator you: http://automatamaga- ing a baby was not only humor- or humor but it does reference Temporis Acti, which translates to zine.com/write/ There’s also ous but also strangely cathartic. some elements. “in defense of the past.” Though a list there of the kinds of This majority of opinion, When asked if the piece was I personally felt good about this stories we would like to see. however affirming toward the funny to them, as stated before, title, most of the questions I was You could write about your notion of humor it might have the vast majority responded affir- asked pertained to its meaning. projects, visits to places of been, fell shy of speaking to the matively. In discussing the notion When I explained the title and automata interest, your col- idea of the human condition. of humor, some of the follow-up the translation to people, they lection, problems you have When asked why they felt the questions were, “Have you ever seemed to stare blankly at me, solved, or what-have-you. This piece was humorous, people’s kicked a baby?” and “Would perhaps not understanding the fascinating field of endeavor responses varied. Looking at the you ever kick a baby?” As one meaning behind it. encompasses all skill levels, broad reaction as a group, the might imagine, 100% of the This gave rise to some and you don’t have to be an majority noted that the piece answers to both questions were thoughts. If I have to explain the expert or fine craftsperson to seemed to work effectively by resounding no’s. title, do I even need it? Will it write about your work. With addressing the sense of frustra- Interestingly, this negative re- add anything? Or will it (as it automata, charm and con- tion that all people experience action to the follow-up questions could be argued in this case) de- cept are often as important at one point or another in their did not diminish the humor for tract from the overall piece? So, as craftsmanship (sometimes lives, and allowing them to those who had found it funny. In as I have continued to move for- more so!). figuratively kick a baby relieved fact, in asking them what made ward with my conceptual work, I And don’t forget our Gal- some of this frustration. the piece humorous for them, contemplate and consider more lery. Please send photos and There were, however, some it was the very idea of doing carefully the naming conventions descriptions of your projects dissenting views. Some re- something so abhorrent that they and relationships that occur to be included. sponded by implying that they found funny: they would never between the participant, the felt empowered, to an extent, to kick a baby in real life but to do automaton’s performance, and [email protected] allow elements of misanthropic so in a pretend, safe way was the physical work.A AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 54 Back to Contents pg. March • April 2019 Automata for beginners I’m a bit biased about wood

by Sarah Reast • Llanbrynmair, Wales, UK • Photos by the author

his article is about decorating your automata. At T Timberkits, we concern ourselves mainly with automata makers who are hobbyists, rather than those engaged in profes- sional practices or aiming for gallery pieces, so our emphasis is very much on having fun with it. We also focus on characters and creatures, though not exclu- sively. Our aim is to give life to the piece, not polish (photo 1). Timberkits, as the name sug- gests, are made of timber, so I make no apology about this material taking center stage. I am a bit biased about wood. It is a really great material to work with:

Watch “How To Decorate your Drummer” for a start-to-finish case study: https://tinyurl. 2. Harold the Drummer, of Cartoon Violence, 3. Harold the Drummer, immortalized as a com/ybub327y 1. Happy Hands, painted and decorated. in real life. Timberkits automaton. AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 55 March • April 2019 warm, soft, fragrant, varied, full of character, and so on. The best thing about wood in the context of automata is how easy it is to customize. With a small amount of knowledge, experience, a vast myriad of materials, and the right glue, there is no end of possibilities. Plastic and metal are harder to manipulate than wood, and tend to need painting or attaching with more noxious chemicals, but there are lots of ways to use them in applied detail. For the sake of simplicity, I am going to talk about decorating characters here but the principles can apply to any theme. The most important tool is your own observational skills. The 4. Never throw away broken jewelry and make a habit of raiding other people’s sewing boxes, shells from the beach, wire from old electrical world is full of different textures gadgets, etc. Think magpie. and surface treatments, so take note. I often try to make models them (photos 2 and 3). bits. Or, as in my case, an office ple on the underground or in the look like known people, either Your next most important tool full of boxes of bits that drive my shops, musing along the lines by request or out of devilment. is your ability to collect mate- colleagues insane. of, Hmmmm, frizzy hair—wire I like to find defining details or rials. You need a box of bits Marry these two tools and you wool; brand new tattoo—draw- features that are quintessentially (photo 4)—or several boxes of will find yourself gazing at peo- ing pens; old faded tattoo—pen- AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 56 March • April 2019 cil crayons; sleek hair—embroi- and UHU All Purpose Adhesive dery thread; small dog—fluffy (spirit-based glue) for pretty pom pom from bobble hat, trim much anything else, with an to shape, add eyes…. I do this occasional spot of super glue obsessively. I no longer see (CA cement) for tricky materials. people as human beings, merely Double-sided sticky tape is useful as assemblages of interesting for thin plastics or metal-shim material equivalents. detail, but bear in mind that it Here are some basic tech- tends to come off over time. niques and guidelines: • When it comes to texture, • If you are painting wooden you are only limited by your components, do this before final willingness to experiment. assembly. Be aware, though, I generally find that things that your paint must not compro- become more alive with a good mise surfaces that need to move mixture of different media and smoothly against each other or layers. If you just stick to paint, surfaces that will need gluing 5. Thin strips of paper made better piping 6. Real fabric tends to be a bit springy and it for example, the result will be together. Wood glues depend than trying to paint neat lines. can be difficult to make it behave. Paper is a little flat. If you embellish with on the material being porous so easier to manipulate at this scale. Here, silver some fuzz, some twinkle, some won’t work on sealed surfaces. back after the first coat is dry, cord has been applied for piping. bumpy bits, and some scrumply Acrylics are the best paints to then apply a second coat. bits, your piece will take on a use but you can also try dyes. • Once the paint is dry, you makes great fabric effects but whole other dimension. Enamel paints will only work on can always use other media requires gentle treatment to cre- Finding the right material for sealed wood. Painting wood to add surface decoration or ate drapes rather than crumples the job is deeply satisfying, and tends to raise the grain; the marks. Felt-tip pens, drawing (photo 6). finding the right detail to capture fibers become plumped up and pens, pencils, little highlights of • I use PVA glue (white, water- the essence of your character is make the surface look rough or varnish—try anything (photo 5). based glue, wood strength) for a joy. Take your time, indulge, furry. To get the best finish, sand • Pre-painted tissue paper wood, card, paper, and fibers, and enjoy.A AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 57 March • April 2019 Keep an eye on our Facebook and Instagram pages for regular submis- Contacting Sarah sions from our customers, who love to show off their fabulous creations, If you have questions or like the ones presented here, for instance. comments for Sarah Reast about this column, you may write to her in care of Autom- ata Magazine: automata- [email protected] Just put “Message for Sarah” in the subject line. Sarah is the designer and director of Timberkits Ltd., which creates wooden mechanical models sold in kit form. To learn more about her company, visit https:// www.timberkits.com/

AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 58 Back to Contents pg. March • April 2019 Reviews BOOK REVIEW mechanisms, explaining the com- Figures in the Fourth Di- plexities. She peels back the lay- mension ers of each object and dissects the by Ellen S. Rixford mechanisms with great attention Published by the author : to detail, using exhaustive descrip- https://tinyurl.com/rix tions and careful explanations. ford The book encompasses rich 1 3 11 /4 x 8 /4", hardbound content, doesn’t skimp on de- 512 pp., profusely illus- tails, and uses generous visual trated, all color aids. Ellen leads us through Price: $80US + s&h tools, materials, and a huge ISBN 978-0-578-15865-5 range of techniques, providing inspiration to the aspiring build- This beautiful, large, self- er as well as eye candy for the published volume successfully appreciative viewer. embraces a vast amount of prac- The content is a compilation tical information, with beautiful of contributions provided by a photographs, and technical wonderful assortment of some diagrams related to the design physics and necessary tools for photographs that are filled with 30 noted artists, from the early of puppets and automata. simple movements, to in-depth information on basics, prin- masters to contemporary experi- No one publication has previ- explanations of some of the ciples, and mechanisms. These menters. Many of these artists ously attempted to explain the most famous 18th- and 19th- include linkages, cams, gears, have been generous in revealing mechanisms of animated works century works that are currently shafts, pulleys, and many more, their secrets, making the under- of art from basic to advanced found in museums. with descriptions and illustra- standing of these mechanisms— levels. The mechanics of the Quality was in the mind of the tions of how they are used. The from simple to more complex— hundreds of artworks that are author from the outset in pro- book covers both puppets and much clearer. featured in this volume are ducing this masterpiece. It is a automata, as these are closely This book is enriched by the described by clear technical visual delight and a joy to read. related. They range from 17th- beautiful presentation of these illustrations or photographs that The book weighs five pounds and 18th-century examples to puppets and automata. It offers rarely need written explanation. and is an inch-and-a-half thick. more modern pieces. the enthusiast, amateur builder, Over the course of 512 pag- Within its landscape format Author Ellen Rixford is an ac- student, and artist the scope to es, the reader is gently guided are more than 1,000 high qual- complished mechanic. She cov- enjoy, utilize, and understand through principles of basic ity, full-color illustrations and ers many detailed and intricate the content. —W.T. Ware AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 59 March • April 2019 BOOK REVIEW Transportation Cabaret Mechanical Theatre’s Automata & Mechanical models (car- success.) Our current standard Toys—an illustrated history riages, railways, of hand-operated automata by Mary Hillier automobiles), featuring visual puns was appar- Jupiter Books, 1976 (first moving baby ently completely unknown to her, ed., out of print) dolls, and the like and thus the world of automata Bloomsbury Books, 1988 became popular represented in the book is con- (second ed., out of print) and widespread. siderably different than the one 1 7 /2 x 10" Those toys we know today. 200 pp., hardbound with from the 1860s Given the meticulous historical color-printed dust jacket to the 1960s research and focus on clock- ISBN 1-870630-27-0 occupy the work, this is a book for those great majority who have interest in the long, Mary Hillier’s Automata & Me- of Hillier’s book. interesting history of moving, chanical Toys is a comprehensive It is heavily il- mechanical replicas of life. Col- history of mechanical amuse- lustrated with lectors of automata should gain ments, from jointed ancient- (exterior) photos great knowledge from it but Egyptian dolls through a battery- of automata—al- those looking for automata from powered NASA lunar-lander toy. most all in black- the past 40 years, or for inspi- Her writing is conversational, and-white—or ration to build something them- but extremely thorough. This is line drawings. selves, may not find much here a history book with illustrations, ing birds, animated animals, While there are some cutaway to help them. —Vance BassA rather than a how-to manual or and so forth. The goal was to or mechanical drawings, they project book. emulate complex behavior with are mostly old patent illustra- Many books about autom- The main focus is on clock- natural-looking movements. tions and not very useful to the ata, and of interest to autom- work automata, starting in the Around the middle of the modern builder. atists, are now out of print. 14th century in Europe and the 1800s, the manufactured-toy in- Published in 1976, Hillier’s However, they are still valu- 16th century in Japan. For centu- dustry began to flourish in Ger- book predated the Cabaret able and most are available ries, these were intricate, expen- many and England, giving rise Mechanical explosion of the through the used-book mar- sive entertainments for wealthy to less sophisticated and less ex- early 1980s. (One suspects that ket. Given that, we’ll be adults: for example, the writing pensive clockwork toys, as well the second edition, in 1988, reviewing more of these in or drawing human figures, sing- as steam-driven mechanisms. may have been in response to upcoming issues of AM.

AUTOMATA MAGAZINE 60 Back to Contents pg. March • April 2019 The End