News FeedDay 29 – More Markey Cutouts
December 10, 2009 by admin
We have four more new Peter Markey cutouts for you – they make fantastic last minute stocking fillers or party gifts.
Tiger Paper’s Miniature Golf
Ever want to play golf, but dread all that walkng around? If so, hereâ??s your answer. This unique mini-Miniature Golf Game uses the special Finger Flick®©â?¢* process for teeing. All you need for this golf game is one finger…and some scissors, glue, maybe a pair of tweezers, oh, and a scalpel or an exacto-blade would be nice too. Cut out all the pieces, follow the instructions, and within 2 or 3 hours youâ??ll be ready to play. (Thatâ??s a much shorter time than those long waits at the green.) As an added bonus youâ??ll have the famed PGA** golfer Tiger Papers to assist you to that beckoning hole in one or three or seven. £3.95
Mechanical Jockey or Cowboy
In this set you can choose to make one or the other so you can either crank to the finish line, or crank ‘em cowboy! £3.95
Mechanical RowerComes complete with a rower who will do the rowing for you, as long as you do the cranking.* £3.95
*Boat recommended for land use only.
For the athlete in your life – the perfect gift.
The set contains three different heads, so you can choose between an American Footballer, a female Jogger or a male Runner. £3.95
Day 28 – Colour-in Xmas Card
December 9, 2009 by admin
Colour-in Xmas Card by Paul Spooner
As the time approaches for sending your Christmas Cards we thought we would provide an alternative to the traditional variety. So, Paul Spooner stayed up very late and drew a CMT Christmas card for you to download for free. The ‘Count Your Blessings Christmas Card’ (or cat havoc) features two recognisable cats creating mayhem as they wander the streets.
Colour-in Xmas Card by Paul Spooner – £0.00
You can colour it in and send it – or send it and your recipient can have all the felt-pen (or photoshop) fun.Here is a slightly different version coloured in.
Have fun!
Day 27 – Kinematic Models Digital Library
December 8, 2009 by admin
Sometimes there is nothing more exciting than looking at different ways making mechanical movement. Look no further than this wonderful website, http://kmoddl.library.cornell.edu/collection-toc.php
The Kinematic Models for Design Digital Library, (KMODDL is a collection of mechanical models and related resources for teaching the principles of kinematics–the geometry of pure motion. The core of KMODDL is the Reuleaux Collection of Mechanisms and Machines, an important collection of 19th-century machine elements held by Cornell’s Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
There are plenty of examples to look at and many Simple Machines and Drives, like the Slotted Bell Crank Drive
‘Circular motion of pin in disk, which works inside of the straight, slotted yoke, produces an irregular, vertical motion of rod. Downward motion of rod is slow but has a quick return’.
The ‘Worm and Gear’ mechanism
The worm or continuous screw on the horizontal shaft is the driver. This combination reduces the speed of the driven member and also multiplies its power. The power increases proportionally as the speed decreases. The speed ratio of shafts depends upon the relation of number of threads on the worm (single or multiple) to the number of teeth in the worm wheel or gear. This type of speed reducer is used between shafts at right angles to each other.
We think the mechanism of Paul Spooner’s How to Live No 17: Spaghetti is particularly beautiful. We have a collector’s item from 1999 available for sale:
How to Live No 17: Spaghetti – £3250 (excl. VAT)
Day 26 – Paper Kit Downloads
December 7, 2009 by admin
Cera Cera have been producing fantastic downloadable automata kits for many years. These make brilliant gifts at 3.90USD per download.
You just need to download and print them out onto white card, and you have the perfect gift without leaving the house.
There are 16 different designs to choose from.
Click here http://www.ceracera.com/e-shop.html
Two of our favourites are:-
Wusong and Tiger
Wusong, an ancient legendary chinese Hero, was drunk and faced with a fierce tiger late at night in the mountain. To defend himself, Wusong jumped on top of the tiger and fought with his bare fist and managed to survive the tiger attack..
Happy Tune
This is one of the new Happy Automata series model – Happy Tune. The cute little girl claps her hands together and nods her head while singing happily.
Turn the hand, follow the girl and clap your hands….sing a song (when was the last time you sang?)
If you happy and you clap your hand…… If you happy and you nod your head….. and you will be HAPPY!
Day 25 – Tim Hunkin’s Party Tricks
December 6, 2009 by admin
You now have just over 2 weeks to perfect a few clever tricks to entertain everyone this Christmas Holiday.
Tim Hunkin’s website – http://hunkinsexperiments.com/ – Hunkin’s Experiments is full of wonderful ideas, here are a couple to try out:-
How to Bewitch an Umbrella
How to Mind Read with Dice
(The book is now sold out, but you may be able to get one second-hand).
Visitors to Cabaret in Covent Garden were often entertained by Tim Hunkin’s Oracle. A lovely lady who answered your questions with a Yes, No or a ?. It was quite terrifying as the stencil disc spun in the air like a circular saw, while you waited with a licked hand ready to receive the answer which was written in sand – poured through the stencil. The sand got everywhere and ruined the coin counting machines!
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