What was the idea?
There is a range of small wooden figures widely offered for sale for young families with each figure sitting on a standardised piece of 17 mm diameter dowel. There is then a matching range of bases with 17.5 mm diameter holes into which the figures can be plugged. Apart from the plugging and unplugging, this is a very static affair so I decided to add some movement and open up a whole new world, to boldly go where no turkey has gone before. I also find that the commercially available, mass-produced figures are a bit too simple, restricted as they are by the low price that parents are traditionally willing to pay for them. I like to take a few hours to carve each small figure which presumably makes them commercially unviable, but hey, I make things for fun, not money.
The movement
A 15 cm plywood disc serves as the base. It has four supports for the lid and a central bearing which allows the vertical spindle to turn freely. Turning the crank rotates the drive wheel on which a disc rests which is attached to the vertical spindle. Friction means that when the drive wheel is turned, it causes the disc to turn, rotating the vertical spindle.
This very simple mechanism is extended by the addition of two wooden cogs. One is glued to the cranked shaft and the other is fixed to a small music box mechanism. This arrangement means that when the handle is cranked the wheel turns and the cogs also turn to produce a merry tune. The music box mechanism uses a ratchet to drive its music drum. Turned the “wrong” way, the ratchet simply clicks harmlessly now and then and no music is produced.
The vertical spindle is glued to a disc which is friction-driven round and round. The spindle passes freely through the middle of another 15 cm disc above which both a 67 mm hemisphere and sphere are fixed. The hemisphere is used to fix the arms holding the figures and, with a lick of paint, the sphere looks like our planet Earth.
The five arms are made of 8 mm dowel attached to 40 mm hemispheres with a 17.5 mm hole drilled in the centre. Stretch your imagination a little and these could be flying saucers.
The Animals
The Video
Link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVyCAvw8i4U
Reflections
This is a fairly simple carousel with music. The ability to change the passengers makes it more interactive, especially for kids who like to put their own slant on things. I can carve as many figures as I feel like as they can always form an orderly queue to wait for their turn for a ride. Apart from the five flying saucers there is also one prime position right on top of the world.