Shark Bait - Automata

Shark Bait - Automata

Carved White Pine mounted on hard maple base - Steel Wire Mechanism 18" long x 11" high and 4.5" at the shark's fins.

I bought a book called Making Simple Automata by Robert Race a couple of weeks ago. It took forever to be delivered, since it came from the UK. The book is light on step by step, but has a few interesting designs. I'm trying to find new options for mechanisms, and the bent wire cam shaft looked promising. I don't have the tools or dexterity to make super clean 90 degree bends in the wire. Likewise, the wire has a memory of the spool it came on, so the straight runs look wiggly too.

I think I will find a way to reproduce the mechanism in wood or shaping flat steel or brass to create the gearing.