Project:Swinging Puffin

ProjectInfoBox Swinging Puffin
Status:	in Progress
Release Date:	April 19
Initiator:	User:Ignaz
Team:	Ignaz
Materials Used:	leftover plywood 8mm thickness, acrylic paint, nylon string
Tools Used:	scroll saw, drill press, sandpaper
Software Used:	N/A
Approx. Cost:	low

As a Child I always had one of this swinging birds in my room, made by my dad. As generations follow some of my friends became/will become parents this year. I figured that such a swinging bird is a nice present for them.

Now there are lot of different manuals and cutting masks out in the web. But for what ever reason I wanted to have a puffin. But sure, the only ready available mask / template which you couldn't find, was of course a puffin. So I draw the one you can download on this page.

To find templates I figured out it is best to search the web for the german word "Schwingtier". For Example: [1]

BOM

• some wood board thickness max 10 mm - should be kind of a heavy wood like beech wood - i the bird becomes to light it will only make 2 swings and move back to a balanced state. Size of the wood board you need depends on the size of bird you want.
  • Body (1 x )
  • Swing (2 x )
• Nylon String Diameter 0.5 - 1 mm l (approx: 1 m)
• paint - whatever you prefer - best would be to use some paint that is childproof
• small wooden rod to fix the strings (I used 8mm diameter approx 20 cm length leftover wooden rod

Steps to make

1. Get some cutting mask or template for the body and swing or draw one on your own - If you want to make a puffin you can use this: Media:Mask_for_swinging_bird_puffin.pdf
2. If the template shows the position of drilling points don't just drill the holes in there. As the bird needs to be balanced, it is better to use the final parts and find the position subsequently by balancing the bird.
3. Cut the body and two swings out of the wood board and sand them.
4. Paint the parts and let them dry
5. Balance the Swing for example on a round pen - mark the balanced position at the body-side of the swing and find two positions for the linking holes, that are at the same distance from the balancing point.
6. Tighten the two swings together and drill the holes through both swings (diameter = diameter of your nylon string)
7. Find the center of gravity of the body part. Drill two holes with the same distance as the ones at the swing, in the upper part of the body. (It is important that you find the center of gravity - otherwise the bird will strongly "fly" downwards or upwards, as well as to drill the linking holes in the upper part of the body - that ensures a more balanced behavior when swinging.)