The Wooden Carousel Base - Part 27

 I am making progress on the carousel base.  The three round plywood platforms have been cut.  It took so long because the weather has been crazy around here.  We had two days that were beautiful with temperatures at 85 and 87 degrees Fahrenheit (29.44 and 30.55 C.)  I admit that it was so nice to be able to get outside, that my husband and I decided to take some time off from everything and get outside and enjoy the nice weather.  The day after it was 87F. out, it snowed.  We only received an inch, but we had to wait for the snow to melt before sawing the wooden circles.

This photo shows the first platform with the bumps that will make the animals go up and down.  At the moment they are only taped in place until we make a full test run.  The test was delayed because I found that the bumps are about half an inch too high once the bead that will hold the dowel that travels over the bumps was added.  The height of the bead made it about half an inch (12.7 mm) higher than the height of the carousel turntable.  I will post more about testing the carousel on the next post.

Anyway, the solution to that problem was to add a center platform to raise the base of the turntable. Again, this caused a delay in the project due to rain.  We don't have a space that could be used indoors for this type of work.  

Once we test the carousel, the center platform will be glued in when I glue in the bumps.  At some point, a hole will have to be drilled into the base so that the electrical cord can be threaded through it.  This base will have feet attached to the bottom to lift it up enough to keep it off the electrical cord.  I do not want to drill the hole until we know exactly where everything will sit.  

Hurray! The most intimidating part of the project has been completed.  After the test, we may have to fine tune the humps just a little bit.  

Check back next Monday or Tuesday for a new update on this project.

Starting to Build the Carousel Base

 After a few weeks of getting nowhere on this project, I am finally starting to get back on track.  The parts have arrived and the weather has at least temporarily cleared.  One of the bigger hurdles has been reached.  The humps that will cause the animals to go up and down have been cut.  Many thanks to my husband for helping me design the bumps and cutting and sanding them for me.  He took my basic design idea and helped me to figure out what needed to change.  This part of the project is going to be so much better for his input.

The photo shows the wooden bumps on a poster board mockup of the base for the carousel.  They will eventually be glued (and possibly screwed into) a half inch (1.27 centimeters) plywood.  I am waiting for my husband to cut out the plywood circles.  I will need three of them.  One for the base that the bumps will be glued to, one for the floor that will have the carousel animals on it, and one to be the base of the roof.  

The platform that will make the carousel rotate will sit in the center of this bottom base and will also be the primary support for second level.

We also decided that I could fit five animals on the carousel.  I had been thinking of just using four, but the odd number actually looks better.  Right now, I am thinking that I will use the two horses, the tiger, the house cat, and the ram.  The rabbit will be turned into a free-standing figure as a stand-alone project.  I was still considering making the base larger to accommodate the rabbit, but the issue is that this is already a large project and I just do not have the room for the larger carousel.  Currently, the base is eighteen inches (45.72 cm.) and would have to increase to (60.96 cm) in order to add the other animal. 

(Sorry for the open space.  The blog platform will not allow me to post the pictures where I want them.  Another paragraph or so will be below.)

This photo shows the rotating platform I will be using for this project.

Some of the carousel animals that will be used.  The house cat is missing from this photo.  The horses are temporarily supported by some props as they do not stand alone.  

Hopefully, my husband will have time to cut out the plywood circles this week.  I am looking forward to getting through the mechanical part of this project so I can get back to working on decorating and painting the animals.  

Check back next Monday or Tuesday for the next post.

 

Parts are Here - Getting the Carousel Project Back on Track

 So, apologies for no post last week.  I was surprised to find that the last blog post had been saved as a draft rather than published when I signed on to do the blog today.  There was not much to report.  It was mainly a rant about delayed shipping of items I needed for the carousel and about the wretched weather we have been having.  We had another snowstorm last week and are expecting freezing rain and snow once again tonight into tomorrow.

The good news is that the rotating base for the carousel arrived just yesterday.  It took a couple of weeks for it to arrive.  Some combination of bad weather and parts not in local warehouses had keep it in limbo for 15 days.

The rotating base will sit on top of a wooden circle that will hold the shaped wooden bumps that will make the animals go up and down.  

A second wooden circle will sit on top of the rotating base.  The carousel animals will be mounted on that level.  A center column will hold up the roof.  I may or may not need extra supports on the edges of the roof.

A third circle will form the base for the roof of the carousel. I plan to put a tent type top made of paper mâché over that.  

I suppose that the good part of having the parts delayed was that it has given me time to rethink how the animals will be mounted onto the posts that will hold them up.  I am not sure that it was going to work as I had thought in my original plan.  I think I was missing a piece that needed to be there.  More experiments will follow.  

This photo shows the cat with a brace underneath it.  The cat does not stand on its own.

I am also considering whether I want to replace the cat and rabbit with the two horses on the carousel.  The cat and rabbit may end up as freestanding sculptures.  At one point I had considered making two carousels, one with horses and one with animals.  However, I am losing time on this project and really need to get a carousel finished.  I have so many other projects that I want to get started on, and I do not want to start another one with this project unfinished.

Check back next Monday or Tuesday for the next post.