[wood_chucker]

Man those are so cool great job.

 

[Chaincarver Steve]

Thats a good job Steve, you can make a movie with those fellows

I thought about how cool it would be to use them in some stop motion animation.

While I don't plan on doing that, I do intend to make a few humorous accessories for mine, my wife's and son's. And maybe have a few available for the ones I try to sell.

 

[Chaincarver Steve]

Uh, do you guys have any "tree-free" rump ribbon up in here?

Hi, Ya'll!

Ready, set, go.

Teeth are chattering.

Flashdance!

 

[Chaincarver Steve]

Put 'er there.

Dude, are you soliloqizing? AGAIN?

Over here.

... up high ... down low ... too slow

 

[Rashed]

I thought about how cool it would be to use them in some stop motion animation.

And you can name it wood robot.

 

[Chaincarver Steve]

Mi Amigo!

O' Sole Mio

Alright, I'll stop now.

 

[JLinWV]

That is totally awesome, great job:thumbsup:

 

[rayking49]

Man, those are just too cool. I absolutely love em. I bet they sell like bullets at a gunshow. Great job man!

 

[JohnnyTooBad]

Your minions rock! That is so cool! With those extra long bodies and short legs, they look like they be chillin in the hood. Word up!

 

[cabomhn]

This is one of the coolest out of the box things I've seen on the forum in a while, really really cool. Nice poses too :thumbsup:

 

[Hwood]

I think they are awsome, bravo dude!

 

[Ryan 4 custom]

Steve just gotta say so cool. Great job great imagination. They look awesome.

Ryan

 

[MeasureTwice]

Insanely Creative and one of the coolest and funny things I've seen :laughing::laughing:

GREAT Job!! :thumbsup:

 

[Shop Dad]

Very cool Steve. I can't believe you pulled an all nighter making those guys! Can you make them do "Thriller"?

 

[Chaincarver Steve]

Thanks for looking in and posting comments, guys. I thought you might enjoy these. I love making things that are different from the more common, expected types of projects.

Here's the book I got the pattern from: Zany Wooden Toys That Whiz, Spin, Pop, and Fly: Bob Gilsdorf: 9781565233942: Amazon.com: Books

There are some really novel and clever projects in there. Mind you, I did design my own torso (using the same overall dimensions) and cosmetics. I also re-dimensioned the ball joints. Fortunately, I had enough sense to make a test ball joint - using the exact dimensions in the plans - to troubleshoot any possible problems before committing to the design. As that was a hell of a lot of parts to risk cutting and drilling them all then having to scrap 'em and start over. And I found that the called-for dimensions DON'T quite work right. Yes, I used the correct size of ball called for in the plans. The hole was way too large and the centering of the slot was off. So I went with a smaller hole and opening, which I centered for more balanced appearance. The dimensions in the plans would leave you unable to tighten the joint without major inside sanding, which would have thrown off the appearance even worse.

I also used shorter dowels on the joints than called for in the plans. Well, I started with the length called for then found that I had to trim every single one of them. I did come up with a very quick, simple way to trim them all to the same length after the balls were already glued on. So I learned a cool trick while I was at it that might also come in handy in the future. The length they labeled on the drawings would have made the joints too long and weird-looking. The way I did the eyes was my idea too. When I first saw the ball joint robot project in the book I knew I wanted to make one and I'm so glad I did. Despite the minor dimension issues in the plans, I had a blast making these. And building 16 at once only upped the fun factor.

My advice to all: buy the book and make yourself one of these articulated ball joint robots. You won't be disappointed. If I didn't make these under such a time crunch I would have made at least one of them from walnut and exotics. But I don't know that I feel like making any more of these any time soon. Maybe some day. If they sell well, however, I'll be all for making another batch. :thumbsup:

 

[mdntrdr]

Very Cool! :thumbsup:

 

[firemedic]

Steve, you are a WILD MAN. Thats really cool!

 

[buggyman1]

Steve, those are so cool. I bet kids love them, i know i do.

 

[Chaincarver Steve]

Explaination of how I drilled the balls.

I was asked (by a member of the woodworking club I'm in) to explain how I went about drilling all of the 3/4" wooden balls. I figured I should post it here as well in case any one wonders.

Damn near every one of these balls had to be drilled with a 1/4" for the robot project.

I put down a piece of scrap board on my drill press table. See the hole highlighted black? That's what the ball sat on.

Another, smaller, piece of scrap was then drilled with a stepped drill bit to form a tapered hole that was 3/4" at the widest.

I then pressed a ball into the tapered hole (finger tight).

Finally, I held the holding block ball-side-down onto the hole in the wood on the drill press table and set up a fence (for quick indexing), which I clamped in place. Now all I had to do was press down on the holder block (about 3/16" gap exists between the sacrificial board and the holder block) tight enough to prevent the ball from spinning and drill the hole.

I used a bamboo chopstick (a dowel would work fine) to pop the drilled ball out of the tapered hole. Insert the next one and continue on. Almost perfect holes every time.

 

[Chaincarver Steve]

I failed to mention that a brad point bit should be used. And, of course, the hole in the sacrificial table should be centered with respect to the drill bit/chuck. So drill it first. Then change to the bit you need to drill into the ball WITHOUT moving the table.