# A Monster project



## Gaffboat (Mar 11, 2012)

"No, it wasn't the airplanes. It was beauty killed the beast." My latest automaton project was inspired by the final scenes of the 1933 version of King Kong where he fights off attacking airplanes from atop the Empire State Building.










Everything, of course, is made from wood (basswood, poplar, and mdf) with the exception of a spring, a few screws, and Kong's chains. The biggest challenge was figuring out a way to support the ring carrying the airplanes as it rotates around a central hub. The attached photos show how it is supported by the drive wheel and two bearing wheels. I used a Jasper circle jig with a quarter-inch bit to make the central hub, rotating ring, and drive disk.

The machine gun sound effects come from a simple ratchet gear with a spring loaded clapper and Kong's head swivels side to side by a skew cam. The airplane support ring is driven round and round by simple friction from the round drive disk that had 80-grit sandpaper added to give it extra traction. No real gears are needed to drive the animation.

By the way, if you recognize the quote above, you are probably my age, and also a fan of classic movies. 

You can watch a video of Kong in action here: King Kong Automaton - YouTube


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## Willway (Aug 16, 2012)

Oliver Its great to take a thought and turn it into something GREAT!


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

You continue to amaze me Oliver. I shudder to think of the toilet paper dispenser in your home. :shout:


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

You're a strange man, Oliver.........LOL.

Great result, BTW.


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## greenacres2 (Dec 23, 2011)

Mike said:


> You continue to amaze me Oliver. I shudder to think of the toilet paper dispenser in your home. :shout:


I hope it's sanded beyond 220 grit!! 
earl


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

Mike said:


> You continue to amaze me Oliver. I shudder to think of the toilet paper dispenser in your home. :shout:


Oooo, yeah, yeah, yeah, I wanna see the toilet paper dispenser. :lol:
You have way too much free time on your hands. Keep it up.

With this much 'talent', or should I say skill?, I would like to see you make a marble machine. I've been fascinated by them for years.


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

Oliver,
I would love a tour of the space between your ears! The clever and creative ideas you come up with are awesome, and you have a great sense of humor.

I can't imagine what the next project will be. Keep them coming.


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## neville9999 (Jul 22, 2010)

Oliver that is very very neat but where is that hot Fay Wray? The Ape should be holding her in his hands. NGM


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## OPG3 (Jan 9, 2011)

Oliver, That is a very cool project! Your execution and documentation are amazing! I get told that I have too much time on my hands, also. Interestingly we all get 24 hours; how we choose to use them is part of what "defines" us. Some of the same people that tell me that I have too much time on my hands spend hours staring at a television.

Otis


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## Knothead47 (Feb 10, 2010)

*Wow!*

I am amazed how some people go "ape" over a project.:haha: Well designed and executed. Thanks for sharing. Will the TP holder be automatic or manually operated?


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## david_de (Jun 3, 2013)

That is really something. How many hours does it take to make something so intricate? Your ideas to achieve the animation are amazing.


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## Botelho007 (Sep 23, 2012)

Great clever and creative ideas.

Thanks for sharing.


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## Barry747 (Jun 16, 2011)

Oliver, incredible, as usual. When you do something you really don't monkey around do you? (Sorry about that, sometimes I just can't help myself. My wife says i should try harder.). Seriously, how do you plan your projects? Hand drawn, sketch up, some other method?


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## Gaffboat (Mar 11, 2012)

david_de said:


> That is really something. How many hours does it take to make something so intricate? Your ideas to achieve the animation are amazing.


Dave, as you can see from my attached sketchbook page, I started working on the concept on April 20th and finished it this week. I did have a 2 week vacation during that time so let's just say I spent about 6 weeks on the project. No idea how many actual hours.



Barry747 said:


> Oliver, incredible, as usual. When you do something you really don't monkey around do you? (Sorry about that, sometimes I just can't help myself. My wife says i should try harder.). Seriously, how do you plan your projects? Hand drawn, sketch up, some other method?


Barry, everything starts with ideas in my sketchbook and go from there. Since thoughts are often fleeting, I write notes to myself so I can remember what I was thinking if I get away from the project for a while. The attachments show some pages from my sketchbook and how the project evolves. Often ideas change in the shop as I work. In the end, the mechanism is usually simpler and more elegant than my original ideas. In this project, even Kong changed at the end because I didn't like the way he looked. So, I cut off his head and added new one. :cray:


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