Raven Bird Automata

I created my bird in a different way inspired by the remarkable instruction by the teacher of this course. I relied heavily upon the knowledge gained from the teacher in both of his courses on this platform. The movement comes from the body of the bird moving up and down and the wings are on a hinge with the body, creating the appearance of flapping wings.

I used wood and polymer clay. The wings needed to be removable because I needed to transport it across the country in a suitcase and I was concerned it would break all in one piece. I made a hinge out of brass tubes, the tubes on the body had slightly smaller diameter than the tubes on the wings. The brass then slid together in a friction fit. Gravity helped.

The gear that spins to create the movement was a little uneven and not smooth while turning so I used candle wax to smooth it out. I tried beeswax but it was too sticky and it had a lot of drag. Cheap candle wax worked great for a smooth glide. The hanging “drip” in the front is a nailed in wire covered in wax, it mildly helps stability in keeping the bird facing forward and not wobbling too much while moving.