The Complete Guide to Automata Making

By: Richard M Barney

Every automaton starts as a cut-out shape that will not move. This book shows you how to make it move, one mechanism at a time. First you learn how cams, cranks, cogs, levers and linkages work, testing each one on a cheap card model. Then you use them to build twelve working automata: a Nodding Cat, Bobbing Duck, Rising Sun, Waving Hand, Pecking Hen, Flapping Bird, Rocking Boat, Plopping Frog, Marching Soldier, Chomping Crocodile, Spouting Whale and Bobbing Fisherman. Inside you will find twelve full-size, to-scale templates, a photograph of every single step, a materials and tools list for each project with the same build method shown in paper, cardboard and thin wood where it applies, short chapters on the mechanisms, and a troubleshooting chapter organized by symptom, plus a cam profile library, a conversion chart and a glossary. No workshop and no engineering training needed. If you have a table, a craft knife, glue and some patience, you can start with the first project today.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0HQBG9KX7
• ISBN13: 9798953458139
• Release Date: December 2026
• Publisher: Richard M. Barney Books
• Length: 148 Pages
• Weight: 0.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.0" x 0.3" x 8.5"