Friend's present

Here is what I made for my friend's birthday present

Here's a vid

Pretty good lookin'

I may not know much but I'm pretty good at making worm gears now and their associated spur gear partner by hand. Probably because I've made so many mistakes on previous attempts.

They're still a pain in the arse though.

I've been working on another model for a friend's birthday. I'll update with pics after the event.

UPDATE: I've just tried to make another worm and spur gear which was a complete disaster. It looks like my smugness got the better of me. Time to learn some humility.

Almost..but not quite

Here is my worm gear setup.

It moves great with no jamming but the only problem is that it's still too fast!

I have printed out some new gear templates which are slightly larger and have more teeth. I might also have to think about a smaller diameter worm. This is my weekend project now.

It's nice to see that it's progressing though.

Slower than the turle itself

So this is just a general update with a few pics. 

                                             My second attempt at a worm gear. 

Here is my attempt to make a drum sander thing. The elastic bands were holding the sandpaper in place. It didn't last long.

Here I have started to lay out the spacing for some of the parts and where to attach the main support for the gear wheel and the snail cam

An interior of the mechanics for the turtle. I have no idea how I'm going to link in the hand mechanism. I'll cross that bridge later. 

My second attempt at a worm gear. It's definitely better than the last one. The problem I had was how to attach the drive shafts to either end of it. The wood was quite soft and I could never drill dead centre on either end of the gear in which to insert the drive shafts. This left it with a wobbly rotation. I thought that I could all the 2 discs on either end which already had pre-drilled holes but it didn't really work.

Just some more supplies I bought from a design & technology company in bulk. Go to Hindleys.com for more information

I made some weights as I couldn't find any that seemed heavy/light enough. I used 2 pence pieces wrapped in cloth. I wasn't sure if I needed 6 but I made them all the same. 

Close up!

My latest worm gear! I used slow setting epoxy for the drive shafts and basically kept rotating along a straight edge to make sure that it stayed in place. This is probably the best one I have done so far. I think I'll be making another gear though as it doesn't mesh quite right with the worm (plus it looks a bit messy).

To do list:

- Make a new gear

- Make a  temporary handle

- Attach the weights (makes some pulley wheels)

- Attach the guitar strings to the levers

- Test

- Work on the hand mechanism

- Time everything correctly

- Paint/varnish

- Job done

I've also started thinking about another model for Christmas. Lots to do.

the turn of the worm

So, I made a worm gear using this tutorial (I couldn't have done it without this). I'm hoping the worm will deliver enough drive force to turn all the snail cams and lift the weights.

http://makeprojects.com/Project/Roll-Your-Own-Da-Vinci-Style-Worm-Gear/600/1#.UC-xwqOQmSp

This is the worm gear in its rough stages. I used a circular rasp to make the channels. The wood is from a mop handle

This is the slightly more polished version

So I checked the worm with the gear I made and it turns the wrong way. I'll have to do it all again. At least I know the theory now.The next stage had it been correct would to have been to sand it down.

Amateur indeed.

I've also been putting my new tube benders to use and now have some nicely bended brass tubing. The string flows smoothly through it now. Hopefully this will mean less friction is generated so I can use smaller weights. 

UPDATE: After coming home after a night out, I started messing around with the worm gear and found that if I turn the gear at the bottom of the spur gear it would turn the spur gear anti-clockwise. However, if I move the worm gear to the top of the spur gear, it moves the spur gear in a clockwise direction. This means that with a small change to the design, I can still use the work gear I have made. 

I'm a bit too hungover to work out why it does this but I am happy with the outcome.

Spending money...

I haven't done much recently as I am not happy with the tubing which I have used to guide the wire as it looks messy. I have invested in some mini tube benders which arrived today.

I now need to buy some more tubing.

I have also invested in a pair or wire bending pliers for making nice hooked wire. My attempts were always too messy. When they arrive, I'll post a pick as well as my tube bending attempts.

Update