Hobby Thread - April 26, 2025 [TRex]

Welcome hobbyists! Pull up a chair and sit a spell with the Horde in this little corner of the interweb. This is the mighty, mighty officially sanctioned Ace of Spades Hobby Thread. We gave the Ace of Spades Wheel of Hobbies(TM) a spin and it came up with automata!

[Top photo: fear the TRex automata horde!]

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I recently went down the rabbit hole of automatons. Mechanical automata are self-operating machines powered by springs, gears, cams, and levers. They are use complex mechanics to mimic simple behaviors or simple mechanics to mimic complex behaviors. They are often whimsical because of their subject matter. They are made for amusement.

There have been a wide variety of automata built over the centuries. Some attempt to mimic life through a representation of a doll. I'm more enamored of things that don't look like they're waiting for you to fall asleep so they can murder you.

I think of automatons as slightly different than Rube Goldberg devices. Automatons are more of a single function or action with a whimsical scene. A Rube Goldberg device is an accumulation of actions that makes an over-complicated way to accomplish something simple at the end.

Has anyone made their own? Has anyone bought automata made by others?

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This is a great example:

This workshop tour is marvelous:

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These seagulls are more simple but still fun.

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Paul Spooner is a mechanical joke maker:

Q: "Why do you make these jokes?"
A (Paul): "Because I am completely unsuited to make anything else."

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This is a wonderful combination of simple, clever and whimsical. JTB - these look perfect for a whittler! All you!

Love these:

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This qualifies as eccentric:

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Spirograph coffee table? Start watching and you're going to get sucked in to watching the whole thing. Very well done. Lots of great little techniques and learning along the way. Lots of detail in the patching and fixing. Bonus 3-D printing content to make a large-scale Spirograph and sanding tool! Huge amount of time involved. This is professional perfectionist level rather than casual hobbying and tinkering. This table sold for $12,000.

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Lego ingenuity? Medieval military tactics? Engineering? Lots of engineering. Ample time to build and rebuild a complex Lego city? Dedication to a theme? Rampant destruction? The 8 year old child inside me approves. Not really automata, but a similar theme.

A video showing a waffle maker built from Lego is peak Youtube. Again, not really an automata, but enormously satisfying to watch the build and the mechanics. Let me know if you see one at your local Waffle House:

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We talked about egg decorating in last week's Hobby Thread. neverenoughcaffine posted this comment:

What is this magic tool? AoS makes no endorsements, but including here given the Horde interest:

This video tutorial shows the fancy tool in use:

If you prefer to blow out your eggs without a fancy tool, this video tutorial is for you:

neverenoughcaffine sent a photo of the eggs she made to sell at the gift shop at the historic site she volunteers. She learned the technique from her mom over 60 years ago. The floral is the Bitterroot flower that her valley is named for.

Thank you!

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Easter crafting spotted in our travels:

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Horde Hobbying update from tankascribe

Source photo and finished product:

20250420-20250419-Margrethe --photo and finished painting.jpg

This is a portrait in oils. It took 19 hours from drawing to finished product, on a 9x12 inch stretched canvas. It's going to be a surprise gift.

I wish I'd gotten the complexion a little more peaches-and-cream (the subject is a natural redhead and quite pale) but it still turned out pretty good. Removed the background (she was sitting under a deep yellow sunshade), dropped out her hand holding back the veil as it would have been too distracting (and enigmatic by itself over there) and re-draped the veil to compensate.

Here is a bit of the progression as it went from original photo to three and a half hours into the block-in (with my first rough attempt at changing the veil), to nine hours in with all the green primer covered up (and my second attempt at changing the veil), and finally nineteen hours along and it's done.

Steps in the process:

20250420-20250228-Portrait in Oils of Mistress Margrethe Astrid Ravn.jpg

Outstanding! Well done. Thank you for sharing with the Horde!

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What are you hobbying these days? Does spring weather open up new options for your hobbying? As per usual Hobby Thread etiquette, keep this thread limited to hobbying. Your participation does not need to limited to the theme. All hobbying is welcome. However, politics, current events and religious debates can live in threads elsewhere. Play nice. Do not be a troll and do not feed the trolls. Pants, as always, are optional.

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Did you miss the Hobby Thread last week? We talked Easter hobbying. The comments may be closed, but you can re-live the content.

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Notable comments from last week:

Well said, JTB.

Well said, Beckoning Chasm.

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Words of wisdom:

"Because despite all our troubles, when things are grim out in that wide round world of ours, that's when it's really important to have a good hobby." Posted by: tankascribe at June 22, 2024 07:41 PM (HWxAD).

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If you have trouble finding something in the content or comments that resonates with you, hijack the thread for your hobbying as you see fit. We will feature a different theme next time. What are you hobbying? We love showing off Horde hobbying. Send thoughts, suggestions and photos of your hobbying to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Do mighty things.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 05:30 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Welcome Hobbiests

Posted by: Skip at April 26, 2025 05:31 PM (ypFCm)

2 We gave the Ace of Spades Wheel of Hobbies(TM) a spin and it came up with automata!

Brought to you by Bang Bang. The greatest little automatic in the world!

Posted by: Radio Iotia at April 26, 2025 05:31 PM (0eaVi)

3 According to the top photo, TRex has started working on his plan for world domination.

Posted by: Hour of the Wolf at April 26, 2025 05:32 PM (VNX3d)

4 Someone had one of those dancing mice, don't remember where I saw it

Posted by: Skip at April 26, 2025 05:37 PM (ypFCm)

5 And to think, I've been blowing my eggs manually all this time.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at April 26, 2025 05:38 PM (JkO4W)

6 Afternoon, hobby folk,

This week I visited my local pipe/cigar shop in the suburbs for the local Pipe Club meeting. Six guys plus me, ranging in age from 45 to geezer, all with beards and bent pipes. We had to sit out on the covered deck in front of the store instead of inside in the A/C, as another group had grabbed the cigar lounge to watch a sporting event on TV. The temp and humidity weren't too bad. All of the guys seemed quite conservative.

One had some jarred samples of various pipe tobaccos. In fact he had a pipe *box* rather than just a pouch, with room for several pipes and jars. He offered me one leaf called Cult Blood Red Moon -- "a cherry flavor," he said. It smelled like those cherry-flavored cold medicines my mother made me take at age seven. I politely declined.

A good chance to meet some like-minded people, puff, and pontificate.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at April 26, 2025 05:40 PM (omVj0)

7 Lego has come a long way in ghe last 60 years since I first got a set

Posted by: Skip at April 26, 2025 05:45 PM (ypFCm)

8 I think I had one of those banks that was an automaton--you put a coin on it and it automatically picks it up and puts it inside the bank. Does that count?

I don't remember much about it, except that it's probably a good introduction to government.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at April 26, 2025 05:46 PM (CHHv1)

9 Daleks would make grea subjects for toy automata, or those Hugo Gernsback robot riot cops from last night's ONT.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 26, 2025 05:47 PM (8zz6B)

10 Lego has come a long way in ghe last 60 years since I first got a set
Posted by: Skip at April 26, 2025

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Pretty much all you could do then was build a blockhouse with white, red, black, and clear squares and rectangles. It couldn't compare to assembly kits from Aurora, Revell, and the like. Now they have a thousand pieces, some of them, and cost $200 or more.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at April 26, 2025 05:49 PM (omVj0)

11 I think I had one of those banks that was an automaton--you put a coin on it and it automatically picks it up and puts it inside the bank. Does that count?

I don't remember much about it, except that it's probably a good introduction to government.
Posted by: BeckoningChasm at April 26, 2025 05:46 PM (CHHv1)

I have one of those! A dummy book made out of tinplate, with a green cadaverous hand that comes up through a trap door, and drags the coin inside. Spring-wound, it is.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 26, 2025 05:49 PM (8zz6B)

12

Build one of those Hugo Gernsback Radio Police Automatons that were featured in last night's ONT.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at April 26, 2025 05:50 PM (63Dwl)

13 I almost suckered and bought one of those animatronic bunnies that they advertising at Easter.

Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 05:51 PM (oXfCm)

14 Oops, too late.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at April 26, 2025 05:51 PM (63Dwl)

15 ***What is this magic tool?
---

Thought it was a DIY tattoo kit.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at April 26, 2025 05:52 PM (MGX5d)

16
I have one of those! A dummy book made out of tinplate, with a green cadaverous hand that comes up through a trap door, and drags the coin inside. Spring-wound, it is.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 26, 2025

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There was one that was advertised in Famous Monsters magazine in the early Sixties. It was a black box that hummed and shook, then a hand emerged from under a trap and pushed a lever, then retracted swiftly back into the box. (It was featured in a Season One Man From U.N.C.L.E., the one with 12-year-old Kurt Russell as guest star.)

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at April 26, 2025 05:53 PM (omVj0)

17 >>I have one of those! A dummy book made out of tinplate, with a green cadaverous hand that comes up through a trap door, and drags the coin inside. Spring-wound, it is.

Ha. Me too.

Posted by: JackStraw at April 26, 2025 05:54 PM (viF8m)

18 Ben they do look so cute

Posted by: Skip at April 26, 2025 05:54 PM (ypFCm)

19 Daleks would make grea subjects for toy automata, or those Hugo Gernsback robot riot cops from last night's ONT.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 26, 2025 05:47 PM (8zz6B)

I fear that the age of internal combustion-powered robots has already passed us by.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at April 26, 2025 05:55 PM (JkO4W)

20 Skip, you saw them too? I declined because my dogs would have destroyed it in a heartbeat.

Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 05:56 PM (oXfCm)

21 Those eggs are beautiful, NEC.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at April 26, 2025 06:00 PM (bss/y)

22 Went to a Ham Radio club meeting the other evening. One of the members demonstrated a 3D printer from Bambu Labs. I'm not a tech guy and I was gob-smacked. Small foot print and affordable. Amazing times.

Posted by: Rufus T. Firefly at April 26, 2025 06:03 PM (ntko6)

23 Skip, you saw them too? I declined because my dogs would have destroyed it in a heartbeat.
Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 05:56 PM (oXfCm)

Reef has destroyed two beds so far. One made it about a month and a half (heavy canvas, kind of like a carhartt jacket.) The replacement while I repaired and searched for an alternative lasted... 3 days. I sewed that sob back together.

I am thinking of just a concrete slab to put in his crate, but he would probably chew that to pieces.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at April 26, 2025 06:04 PM (bss/y)

24 22 Went to a Ham Radio club meeting the other evening. One of the members demonstrated a 3D printer from Bambu Labs. I'm not a tech guy and I was gob-smacked. Small foot print and affordable. Amazing times.
Posted by: Rufus T. Firefly at April 26, 2025 06:03 PM (ntko6)

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Guess what? The price just went up by 145%!

Posted by: Donald Trump at April 26, 2025 06:05 PM (JkO4W)

25 Thanks Aetius

Posted by: neverenoughcaffeine at April 26, 2025 06:05 PM (2NHgQ)

26 Aetius, may I suggest that you give him a raw beef neckbone every other day. They are cheaper and less trouble than replacing bedding.

Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 06:06 PM (oXfCm)

27 26 Aetius, may I suggest that you give him a raw beef neckbone every other day. They are cheaper and less trouble than replacing bedding.
Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 06:06 PM (oXfCm)

Hmmm, butcher dept?

Posted by: Aetius451AD at April 26, 2025 06:08 PM (bss/y)

28 26 Aetius, may I suggest that you give him a raw beef neckbone every other day. They are cheaper and less trouble than replacing bedding.
Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 06:06 PM (oXfCm)

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Then there is the beef pizzle, which will occupy him for hours but at the risk of making him gay.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at April 26, 2025 06:09 PM (JkO4W)

29 Dogs are hobbies... or an avocation... or a job.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at April 26, 2025 06:11 PM (bss/y)

30 Aetius, they sell them in packages of 3 to four in the meat dept here. If you can't find them you can just ask the butcher at the store.

Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 06:11 PM (oXfCm)

31 30 Aetius, they sell them in packages of 3 to four in the meat dept here. If you can't find them you can just ask the butcher at the store.
Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 06:11 PM (oXfCm)

Thanks. He's going to be a rough one with the chewing. He goes harder than Ajax- and I once saw Ajax disassemble a small tire.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at April 26, 2025 06:13 PM (bss/y)

32 I fear that the age of internal combustion-powered robots has already passed us by.
Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at April 26, 2025 05:55 PM (JkO4W)

They'd be retro-cool!

And if you got the geometry of the exhaust pipe right, it would blow smoke rings from its ass.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 26, 2025 06:13 PM (8zz6B)

33 Aetius added benefit is you will never have to pay a Vet for teeth cleaning.

Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 06:14 PM (oXfCm)

34 They'd be retro-cool!

And if you got the geometry of the exhaust pipe right, it would blow smoke rings from its ass.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 26, 2025 06:13 PM (8zz6B)

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And with the right attachments it could pump concrete.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at April 26, 2025 06:15 PM (JkO4W)

35 In my major hobby, have game board set up for Kunersdorf refight. Lots to do to get the troops out but it's coming.

Posted by: Skip at April 26, 2025 06:16 PM (ypFCm)

36 3D printing has become a big thing for some hams. If someone is producing a "must-have" gadget I'll just spare myself the up-front cost and aggravation and buy one from them.

Posted by: PabloD at April 26, 2025 06:16 PM (Z0gSs)

37 33 Aetius added benefit is you will never have to pay a Vet for teeth cleaning.
Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 06:14 PM (oXfCm)

That is a bonus. I think it is the rotty in him coming out. He is teething like crazy. Keep finding teeth in the carpet. Three this past week.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at April 26, 2025 06:16 PM (bss/y)

38 Since working on this here house in Arizona is my current hobby activity, I am please to report that I have just now screwed the last piece of door casing around the doorway in my front room, which leads into the bedroom. Exclusive of base moldings, all moldings and trim strips are made and in place. Going to mud over some countersunk screw heads, sand the mud and paint, and this stage of the job is DONE.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 26, 2025 06:17 PM (8zz6B)

39 AOP, feels good doesn't it.

Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 06:19 PM (oXfCm)

40 Cicero, been sailing?

Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 06:21 PM (oXfCm)

41
Dogs are hobbies... or an avocation... or a job.
Posted by: Aetius451AD at April 26, 2025 06:11 PM (bss/y)

__________

All three. Ask me how I know.

When people used to ask me where I worked, I'd reply, "I work at home and go to the office to get some rest."

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at April 26, 2025 06:22 PM (QnmlO)

42 Speaking of ham radio stuff, a notice for those of you who may have missed it: The Yakima MoMee is in two weeks, and I plan on doing a POTA activation on the scene. Mostly it'll be CW (20 thru 10 meters, depending on band conditions), but I might try SSB and there's the tiniest chance I'll have sorted out FT8 before then, but don't hold your breath. Check pota.app on May 10 and look for "MoMee" or "AOSHQ" or something like that in the comment field. I'll also try to post something on whatever thread is active at the time I go live. Let's make Morons on the Air happen! :-)

Posted by: PabloD at April 26, 2025 06:22 PM (Z0gSs)

43 Hadrian, you have my full understanding.

Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 06:23 PM (oXfCm)

44 Pablo D, very cool.

Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 06:24 PM (oXfCm)

45
I am thinking of just a concrete slab to put in his crate, but he would probably chew that to pieces.
Posted by: Aetius451AD at April 26, 2025 06:04 PM (bss/y)

___________

You can buy vinyl-covered crate pads in a variety of sizes. Even our guys can't destroy them.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at April 26, 2025 06:26 PM (QnmlO)

46 Large scale automaton, a strandbeest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5moqG-keqU

Posted by: Lirio100 at April 26, 2025 06:27 PM (zS4/f)

47 Needs tear gas dispenser.

Posted by: Itinerant Alley Butcher at April 26, 2025 06:29 PM (/lPRQ)

48 Given how complicated its clockwork mechanism was, does the Mechanical Chess Player (The Chess Turk) count as an automaton, given that it apparently was a fraud operated by a gifted but very small human being inside? Apparently it fooled people for decades. Benjamin Franklin played a game with it in Paris and was fascinated by it for the rest of his life.

Posted by: NemoMeImpuneLacessit at April 26, 2025 06:30 PM (XbCq8)

49
VGK-MIN is quite the barnburner.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at April 26, 2025 06:30 PM (QnmlO)

50 40 Cicero, been sailing?
Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 06:21 PM (oXfCm)

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The engine issues are solved and I've had the boat out of the slip several times for test runs.

Now I have a lot of problems with the running rigging in that it has been exposed to the environment for the last 40 years and is basically dissolving into fine powder. I'm replacing it piece by piece.

One of two things will happen now. I'll spend my last dollar getting this boat properly rigged to sail, or my name will come up for a larger slip and I'll just scuttle this one and get a bigger newer boat.

It is all in the hands of fate now,

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at April 26, 2025 06:30 PM (JkO4W)

51 Given how complicated its clockwork mechanism was, does the Mechanical Chess Player (The Chess Turk) count as an automaton, given that it apparently was a fraud operated by a gifted but very small human being inside? Apparently it fooled people for decades. Benjamin Franklin played a game with it in Paris and was fascinated by it for the rest of his life.
Posted by: NemoMeImpuneLacessit at April 26, 2025

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I think John Dickson Carr mentions that creation in one of his 1930s mystery novels.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at April 26, 2025 06:32 PM (omVj0)

52 Cicero, just think of how you have mastered the learning curve.

Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 06:32 PM (oXfCm)

53 That's funny, I still haven't received my invitation from Cicero to go sailing. Darn postal service.

Posted by: JackStraw at April 26, 2025 06:33 PM (viF8m)

54 JackStraw, I guess you didn't get my invitation to go on a trail ride either.

Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 06:35 PM (oXfCm)

55 52 Cicero, just think of how you have mastered the learning curve.
Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 06:32 PM (oXfCm)

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The only thing I've mastered is the product layout at West Marine.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at April 26, 2025 06:36 PM (JkO4W)

56 Greetings fellow hobbyists, anyone working on any model projects? I just finished a 1/35 Type 95 Ha-Go from Fine Molds and it was an absolute blast to build up.

Posted by: PA Dutchman at April 26, 2025 06:36 PM (31p00)

57 Congratulations AOP

Posted by: Skip at April 26, 2025 06:37 PM (ypFCm)

58 >>JackStraw, I guess you didn't get my invitation to go on a trail ride either.

You know me better than that, Ben. Horses love to abuse me, they can see me coming from a mile away.

Posted by: JackStraw at April 26, 2025 06:37 PM (viF8m)

59 53 That's funny, I still haven't received my invitation from Cicero to go sailing. Darn postal service.
Posted by: JackStraw at April 26, 2025 06:33 PM (viF8m)

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That is funny. I'll have to speak to the local postmaster. 🤪

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at April 26, 2025 06:38 PM (JkO4W)

60 JackStraw. You know that was in jest because I don't do the trail ride thing. We could sit in the outdoor living area with a libation and watch them amble across the pasture.

Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 06:40 PM (oXfCm)

61 Now you're talking. I'm good at both drinking and watching.

Posted by: JackStraw at April 26, 2025 06:42 PM (viF8m)

62 60 JackStraw. You know that was in jest because I don't do the trail ride thing. We could sit in the outdoor living area with a libation and watch them amble across the pasture.
Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 06:40 PM (oXfCm)

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That's what I do, but the ambling is done by fulsome young bikini-clad ladies guiding their paddleboards across the main channel.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at April 26, 2025 06:43 PM (JkO4W)

63 Paul Spooner automata guy:

HE HAS A TREADLE SCROLLSAW.

I didn't know those existed but I kind of want one now.

If only I had a use for it.

Posted by: FeatherBlade at April 26, 2025 06:45 PM (+JCh0)

64 Congratulations AOP
Posted by: Skip at April 26, 2025 06:37 PM (ypFCm)

Thanks! I just went around, and stuffed drywall mud into all the countersunk screwheads, and into flaws in the painted wood. My door and window casings in this large room are just 1X3 whitewood furring strips (tried to select the best pieces I could), sanded, edges beveled, and painted with interior house paint, contrasting color to the walls. Cheap and cheerful. The wood that trims the interior of the door and window openings is clear fir, stained.

Now I can start putting tools away.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 26, 2025 06:47 PM (8zz6B)

65 Interesting topic, TRex. I won't be building any automata as my mechanical ability except for knife sharpening is limited, almost zero.That explains my philosophy with such matters: "When in doubt, get a bigger hammer."

Posted by: JTB at April 26, 2025 06:48 PM (yTvNw)

66 You can still see some automatons in vending machines. You put in your money, push "B12" or whatever, and this tube contraption slides up from the bottom to B12, the drink gets pushed into it, and it slides back down into the dispensing area.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at April 26, 2025 06:49 PM (CHHv1)

67 JTB, I ascribe to that philosophy as well.

Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 06:54 PM (oXfCm)

68 I loved the dancing mice. That gives me an idea for some whittling projects and sketches. I wondered how he got the tails so thin without breaking until I saw he used a bent wire which makes perfect sense. The toothpick arms holding the chunk of cheese was also effective.

Doug Linker on his YT channel has a series he calls the 1 by 1 carvings: one knife and a one inch square piece of basswood. Those mice, in various poses, would fit in with that approach.

"Hmmm", he says as he strokes his beard.

Posted by: JTB at April 26, 2025 06:56 PM (yTvNw)

69 Table saw moved back into workshop.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 26, 2025 07:01 PM (8zz6B)

70 I almost suckered and bought one of those animatronic bunnies that they advertising at Easter.
Posted by: Ben Had

You too? They were awful cute though.

Posted by: Tuna at April 26, 2025 07:01 PM (lJ0H4)

71 Tuna, too cute they were. It is amazing the things that get created.

Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 07:04 PM (oXfCm)

72 I think the animatronic Presidents of the USA at Disneyland count as automatons, too. Hey! The thought just occurred to me when they install the Biden model they won’t have to make it move, just have a voice that is alternatively shouting then whispering, all the while muttering in gibberish (that’s pure American gibberish!).

Posted by: NemoMeImpuneLacessit at April 26, 2025 07:04 PM (XbCq8)

73 6 ... "This week I visited my local pipe/cigar shop in the suburbs for the local Pipe Club meeting. Six guys plus me, ranging in age from 45 to geezer, all with beards and bent pipes."

Wolfus,

Glad you got the chance to puff and pontificate. The image reminded me of just before opening day when the Nationals were formed. Five older guys at the grocery, all with white beards, getting hot dogs and rolls for the season opener. We realized we were all there for the same reason and spent half an hour chatting about games and famous players we've seen. It was very pleasant.

BTW, the Cult blood Red Moon is actually an excellent cherry blend for my taste. Plenty of cherry flavor but it burns slow and cool. A world away from the old Paladin Black Cherry that has been around forever.

Posted by: JTB at April 26, 2025 07:06 PM (yTvNw)

74 No need for a state funeral for Joe. They can just move him straight to the wax museum.

Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 07:07 PM (oXfCm)

75 Howdy. I don't usually have anything to contribute to the hobby thread. This might confirm why.

Not exactly automata (which look fantastic), but I did create a couple of fun virtual things in my brief, long-ago travels in Second Life. One was Chick 'n' Egg.

Life begins at rez, with an egg. Once rezzed, the egg just sits there for an embryonic delay. Then the head and tail and, er, wheel begin to emerge. The hatchling begins to peck and pivot and wander about within a circumscribed corral.

What was egg becomes a yellow chick for a period, then matures into the adult hen of various colors and patterns. Once during its lifespan, the hen produces an egg, which grows into a new hen.

At the end of its life cycle, the hen stops its behaviors, and fades away. Something in Second Life prevented my little virtual birds from propagating in perpetuity. I had fun, anyway.

More description & pix
https://bit.ly/2nd-life-hen

Posted by: mindful webworker - one life at a time at April 26, 2025 07:07 PM (+bW3+)

76 mindful, the chicken and egg are the purest circle of life.

Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 07:10 PM (oXfCm)

77 >>That's what I do, but the ambling is done by fulsome young bikini-clad ladies guiding their paddleboards across the main channel.

Got a movie recommendation for you. Coyote: The Mike Plant Story. Not a great movie but a great story.

Posted by: JackStraw at April 26, 2025 07:11 PM (viF8m)

78 Not to be macabre, but does Bernie, from “Weekend at Bernie’s” count as an automaton? What say you, Horde?

Posted by: NemoMeImpuneLacessit at April 26, 2025 07:11 PM (XbCq8)

79 71 Tuna, too cute they were. It is amazing the things that get created.
Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 07:04 PM (oXfCm)

Oh my gosh! Me too! They were soooo cute and my daughter loves bunnies...

Posted by: Iris at April 26, 2025 07:12 PM (bOJ2I)

80 Just now received another giant NOS air-variable capacitor to use for a loop antenna. B&W model CX-38B with 3/8 inch plate spacing and neutralizer plates, an exquisite bit of old-timey tech put to effective new use. Much cheaper than using vacuum variable caps.

Posted by: Peel gp A Grape at April 26, 2025 07:12 PM (Iud1/)

81 Iris. Hello , sweet lady.

Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 07:13 PM (oXfCm)

82 For Wolfus and the other pipe smokers. My order from KBV just arrived: Burley Morning, Burlier Morning, and Handsome Stranger. Haven't had a chance to try them yet. I'll have a report next week.

Posted by: JTB at April 26, 2025 07:16 PM (yTvNw)

83 78 ... "Not to be macabre, but does Bernie, from “Weekend at Bernie’s” count as an automaton? What say you, Horde?"

Closer to a sock puppet or marrionette I'ld say.

Posted by: JTB at April 26, 2025 07:19 PM (yTvNw)

84 Did anyone actually buy one of those animatronic bunnies? If you did, did they live up to expectations? I’ve always been leery of products not living up to the hype of the ads. Too many back of the comic ads as a child I guess: Sea Monkeys! Buy Your Own Atomic Submarine! X-Ray Specs! Etc.

Posted by: NemoMeImpuneLacessit at April 26, 2025 07:19 PM (XbCq8)

85 Time to say thank you and good night before the next act takes the Ace of Spades stage. Thanks for being here as always! Special thanks to those who submit ideas or photos from their hobbying.

Posted by: TRex at April 26, 2025 07:20 PM (ObhbI)

86 As this thread is winding down I ask that we all thank TRex and continue sending prayers for his Mother.

Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 07:21 PM (oXfCm)

87 86 Amen.

Posted by: Peel gp A Grape at April 26, 2025 07:22 PM (Iud1/)

88 "I almost suckered and bought one of those animatronic bunnies that they advertising at Easter.
Posted by: Ben Had

You too? They were awful cute though.
Posted by: Tuna "

I bet they don't look and move like in the ads. Just a guess.

Posted by: The 7' Polaris submarine made of cardboard at April 26, 2025 07:24 PM (vFG9F)

89 Nemo, didn't buy one.

Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 07:25 PM (oXfCm)

90 86 Amen, prayers sent.

Posted by: NemoMeImpuneLacessit at April 26, 2025 07:25 PM (XbCq8)

91 I worked two new countries last week, British Virgin Islands and Nauru Island. This morning I heard Galapagos Island good and loud but they couldn't hear me in ten call attempts.

Posted by: Peel gp A Grape at April 26, 2025 07:26 PM (Iud1/)

92 Is that often that only one side gets through?

Posted by: Skip at April 26, 2025 07:27 PM (ypFCm)

93 92 Yes, it's weird, isn't it?

Posted by: Peel gp A Grape at April 26, 2025 07:28 PM (Iud1/)

94 The closest I came to automata was a jack in the box. Loved that thing when I was about 2 or 3 years old. Couldn't have been older or I would likely have tried to take it apart to see how it worked.

Gandalf's admonition: "he that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom" doesn't resonate with small boys.

Posted by: JTB at April 26, 2025 07:28 PM (yTvNw)

95 Now I want one of those bunnies too. Well, this one anyway:

"Rare Gemmy Animatronic Bunny Rabbit Goofy Grinner Sings "Zippidy Do Da" & Ears Moves Around"

Posted by: fd at April 26, 2025 07:28 PM (vFG9F)

96 Thanks Ben Had and Horde. The prayers for Mama Rex are much appreciated.

Posted by: TRex at April 26, 2025 07:29 PM (ObhbI)

97 Did anyone actually buy one of those animatronic bunnies? If you did, did they live up to expectations? I’ve always been leery of products not living up to the hype of the ads. Too many back of the comic ads as a child I guess: Sea Monkeys! Buy Your Own Atomic Submarine! X-Ray Specs! Etc.
Posted by: NemoMeImpuneLacessit

I didn't succumb to the temptation. I wanted the pink one bad though.

Posted by: Tuna at April 26, 2025 07:30 PM (lJ0H4)

98 fd, that's like the mega version.

Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 07:30 PM (oXfCm)

99 TRex, thanks for another great thread. Those dancing mice really did give me some ideas.

Posted by: JTB at April 26, 2025 07:31 PM (yTvNw)

100 Apparently there is a market for animatronic tails.

Posted by: fd at April 26, 2025 07:32 PM (vFG9F)

101 92 Easily accomplished: as a youth I had a tube based short wave receiver that my grandfather had used to follow the war effort in WWII. Somehow, despite my putting up an antenna in the backyard, and hearing transmissions from all over the world, I never got through to anyone (you have been reading carefully, right?).

Posted by: NemoMeImpuneLacessit at April 26, 2025 07:33 PM (XbCq8)

102 Forgot to mention that prayers continue for TRex's mom.

Posted by: JTB at April 26, 2025 07:34 PM (yTvNw)

103 fd, I'm waiting for animatronic horse. I can imagine never having to clean stalls again.

Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 07:34 PM (oXfCm)

104 As this thread is winding down I ask that we all thank TRex and continue sending prayers for his Mother.

Yes.

Posted by: Notorious BFD at April 26, 2025 07:35 PM (mH6SG)

105 "I can imagine never having to clean stalls again.
Posted by: Ben Had"

I just don't think it would be the same.

Posted by: fd at April 26, 2025 07:37 PM (vFG9F)

106 101 ... Nemo, You wouldn't be the first, or last, person to confuse receiver and transceiver. After all, there are just a few different letters. And both use electricity and antennas. Right?

Posted by: JTB at April 26, 2025 07:39 PM (yTvNw)

107 I want a animatronic rhino to patrol the yard and cut the grass.

Posted by: fd at April 26, 2025 07:39 PM (vFG9F)

108 fd, you are very wise. There is much comfort in routine.

Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 07:39 PM (oXfCm)

109 It could go down and get the mail out of the mailbox too.

Posted by: fd at April 26, 2025 07:41 PM (vFG9F)

110 In 173 days I am going to be able to thank TRex in person, hug both he and fd and revel in this Horde.

Come join us for TXMOME X

Posted by: Ben Had at April 26, 2025 07:42 PM (oXfCm)

111 JTB at April 26, 2025 07:16 PM (yTvNw)

83 78 ... "Not to be macabre, but does Bernie, from “Weekend at Bernie’s” count as an automaton? What say you, Horde?"

Closer to a sock puppet or marrionette I'ld say.
Posted by: JTB at April 26, 2025 07:19 PM (yTvNw)

So a lot like Joe in “4 years at the white house “

Posted by: Tom Servo at April 26, 2025 07:44 PM (ZEzFB)

112 neverenoughcaffeine those eggs are exquisite!

Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at April 26, 2025 08:04 PM (dE3DB)

113 Just heard a great flapping and thrashing in the air overhead, and looked up in time to a V-22 Osprey flying towards Fountain Hills.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at April 26, 2025 08:07 PM (8zz6B)

114 That Lego building being destroyed? That's a Ninjago City set. No wonder each of those sets come with a half-dozen ninja minifigures; they need the ninjas to keep the city from being destroyed!

I admit, I chuckled heartily when the newly-built swinging-battering-ram started rolling and immediately fell off the cliff. Classic comedy; big build-up, only to immediately fall flat on its face.

Posted by: Castle Guy at April 26, 2025 08:31 PM (Lhaco)

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