1. Rotating Carving Station
January, 2023.
I've made 5 rotating swivels/rotators which allow carvers to spin (slowly) their carving as they proceed. I've used such a device for years now but I created 5 for a winter festival where I wanted many carvers to be able to try their hand at the fun winter activity. Note the variation in the design of the platforms. We will see which design is the most effective. A big thank you to Pinnacle Tree service for providing the short logs that form the base for these carving stations. The picture below shows myself, owner Greg and chainsaw expert Scott. |
2. Rotating display Platform
In my backyard experiments, I realised that I could carve on both sides, thus doubling my practice opportunities. Then I had a brainwave that I should do this on the front lawn too. I made a number of sculptures on the front lawn with this in mind and it was a great opportunity to learn. I then realised that building a rotator would allow the community to also see these creations. And in the long term if I could motorise the rotator….
My first rotator involved 16 casters that I bought for $2.00 each at Lee Valley. I screwed them upside down on the bottom of a slab of ¾” plywood that I had painted white. This would be the base. The axle was made out of a 1” threaded pipe that I was given from the discard pile at Home Depot and a flange in the middle of the base was the receiver. There was a bit of sharpness to the top end of the pipe, so I filed it down, and then, for good measure, I turned a little wooden filler plug on my lathe and glued it into the pipe to ensure it was safe. A second slab of painted plywood was put on top after a 1”+ hole was drilled in the center. My grandson acted as the initial tester and he very much enjoyed sitting on the plywood as I rotated him around and around. “Do it again Grampy” was his new chant. To stop snow from getting inside the rotator, I stapled a (roughly) 8’ piece of 4” wide corrugated plastic (also known as coroplast) around the edge of the bottom plywood disk. The top plywood platform was just a little bigger than the bottom disk to ensure that the coroplast would nest just under the edge. The plan worked perfectly and rotation was never hindered by snow entering or jamming the spinning top platter. I have recently started using white coroplast for obvious reasons. There is much more involved with my rotating platforms, but that is for another time. Update January 2, 2022. I have decided to use a lot more rotator this year as it gives me double the opportunity for carving. And I think my new more careful pounding process will mean my carvings don't sheer off the platform. I've also decided to name the device the SR1000. As you might guess, the SR stands for Snow Rotator. I guess my second rotator that accepts electrical wiring through the center should be called the SR2000. See the section below that summarizes this design. Just below you will see a video that highlights the build of this contraption. |
Creating a hollow core
The SR2000 snow rotator was built in a way that allowed elecrical wires to be fed up through the bottom of the rotator so that lights could shine out from the inside. The snow rotated. The wires did not. Check out the pictures. The removable plywood shape placed in the center of the rotator gets removed. It's in two parts because lifting out one long shape would be very difficult. Note the curvy joint to ensure proper alignment.