My Woodworking Spirograph Dream


wouldwurker

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 Yep. I've scroll sawed gears before....This is a clock I made several years ago. Yes, it worked but took up too much room so, it's in storage in the basement now. I've also made a wooden gear toy for the grandsons.

 

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So, it CAN be done.

 

Rog

Wow, I love the gear toy! How did your grandsons like it? I suspect my daughter would enjoy something like that.
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With a pantograph ... Movements are multiplied right?  Are forces multiplied back to the pattern then?  If so it might make the old plastic spirograph a touch too fragile.

Still, a very cool idea.

They're typically set up so that movements on the stylus end up becoming smaller on the piece of wood. This would mean that any force at the router bit would only end up being half as much at the spirograph. The downside is that it means the pattern being cut would be pretty small, unless you've got a really big spirograph.
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They're typically set up so that movements on the stylus end up becoming smaller on the piece of wood. This would mean that any force at the router bit would only end up being half as much at the spirograph. The downside is that it means the pattern being cut would be pretty small, unless you've got a really big spirograph.

Oh yeah .. good point.  I guess I was picturing the pattern getting bigger via the pantograph since the plastic thingies are pretty small.

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Wow, I love the gear toy! How did your grandsons like it? I suspect my daughter would enjoy something like that.

 

Sawdust, I made this for Christmas back in 2012 and both boys still keep them in their play rooms and do use them once in awhile.

The plans and directions were found in WOOD magazine issue 215 November 2012. The issue may be found online I think, if you can't find a paper copy someplace.

I made more than the required number of gears, and of course I was making two of them at a time so it took me about 8 days to make both of them.

I finished them with shellac because the youngest boy was only 3 YO at the time, and any tyke will put things in their mouth of course. :)

 

Rog 

 

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