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Like a car hobby, though even MORE uselessly complex!

2K views 42 replies 19 participants last post by  TH 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey, ya'll. I've posted these here before, and I know you like them. I built this mechanical sculpture from stainless steel for a library. It took over 200 hours to create, and every inch of wire was bent and shaped by hand. They get hundreds of visitors checking this thing out each day. I'm really stoked that it has gone over so well. I make a lot of these, and often I never get to hear the outcome from my clients. Hope you like it, and if you do view it, please give it a Like on YouTube or share it with a friend. I can always use a little internet support. Thanks very much!

https://youtu.be/zYLqVVxUsVw
 
#3 ·
Very awesome!
 
#5 ·
Thanks a bunch, Dave! You're really looking for a '76 Nova ss? Man, I think I've seen a grand total of one of those in my lifetime. A kid at my high school here in Indy had one in the late 80s. It was yellow, and I believe all stock. People used to sort of laugh at those. They were more show than go, but that was back when you could still find a used, crappy Mach I or GTO for a thousand bucks that was worth putting money into. Wish I'd had a pocketful of spare change in those days. I'd have a storage facility full of worn-out muscle cars that were suddenly worth ten times what I paid for them!
 
#9 ·
Thanks very much, J! I see you're an ME. One of my brothers is a got a chemical engineering degree, the other is an ME. Me? English and Journalism. Yeah, that makes total sense! (or not!)

As for watching it for a long time, one of the security guards told me, "Man, you can spend your whole 30 minute lunch hour watching that thing and not even know it!" He sounded like he'd done it more than once. Hah!
 
#13 ·
I hear ya, Terr, but it does play music! They asked me, "Could you do something musical?" It could be titled, "A Simple Machine for Playing Music." Maybe I need to make one that butters toast? Hah! I actually loaned out Rube's biography from this very same library a couple of years before I was commissioned for this sculpture. They have an annual RG event, and I emailed and asked if they might like to show some of my work for the event. Instead, they bought one!
 
#15 ·
Thanks so much! I have been at it for a few years now, started with small copper pieces. I tell people who ask me that, aside from welding skills, the biggest skill you're going to need is patience! There's so much trial and error with this stuff it's ridiculous. But I seem to like ridiculous, so that works out quite well. Thanks again!
 
#27 ·
Lang, I wish you ten thousand miles of trouble-free driving! Thank you SO much for forwarding it on to your friends and family. That is a HUGE help in getting my work noticed more on YouTube. Lots of people go there when looking for rolling ball sculpture, and they decide who they might want to commission based on those videos. If mine get lots of views and likes, then people see them more often in their results. Thanks again!
 
#28 ·
von! Thanks for checking it out. Glad you like it. Nope, not billiards, though I do have a box of those here at home waiting for the right sculpture. These are 1" marbles. I also have plastic ones for when you want a quieter sculpture, or metal for when you want a different look or need something with tighter tolerances (marbles are not all the same size, nor are they round). The first machine I ever saw like this as an adult had billiards in it. I've always wanted to do one of those, just haven't gotten the request yet.
 
#30 ·
Thank you very much, Jordan. The Indianapolis Central Library is quite a place. Their children's section is great, and they have tons of activities for kids every day. I go over there sometimes just to check up on the sculpture and see how they like it. They have Minecraft and Lego and build a robot and 3D printing and all kinds of stuff. My sister even likes to go there when she visits from Ohio.
 
#23 ·
How about a "life size" version that uses bowling balls???? :D :D :D :D
 
#33 ·
Here ya go, here are a few others: ball machine, ball run, marble roll, roller ball sculpture, marble run, Rube Goldberg machine, marble raceway, ball sculpture, kugelbahn (German), murmelbahn (also German), kinetic ball art, marble machine. There are a few others, but I can't think of them off the top of my head. Generically, it belongs to the branch of art called "kinetic art," but that covers lots of ground.
 
#38 ·
Not in appropriate at all. In fact, I'm glad you asked, as I'm working toward my goal of making this my full-time occupation. Here's my web site, and there's a page labeled "Commissions" that has examples and pricing. The "Gallery" page has lots more sculptures with videos on it, so you can see more of them if you like. Thanks again for asking!

Web site: Rolling Ball Sculpture by Tom Harold
 
#37 ·
I have such a big grin on my face from watching that my cheeks now hurt. :grin2:

Can you figure out how to do one with drums? That might be fun.

You have a great gift of imagination. Fun seeing the kids watch it too....

.....Wait, you can do all that but your cars don't quite run as well? What's up with that? That's just not right....
 
#39 ·
Thanks so much, Arch! Yes, I could figure out how to do one with drums. It would take a little more finagling, but I by now I have lots of practice with finagling, tinkering, playing around and just plain WORKING to get it done right!

The fact that my cars still have issues but these don't probably has to do with the fact that no one pays me to work on my cars. When you're getting paid for it, with a client who is counting on you, well, then you HAVE to get it running just right! This one was a killer. I made it in six weeks while working my full-time day job. I did nothing but work and sleep for six weeks, working 70-80 hours a week on both day job and my sculpture work. Got it done on schedule and within budget, though!
 
#40 ·
You know, You could probably have a nice little side business selling supplies to make these sculptures along with how provides and the like. I don't recall running across a place that had something like that. It would seem to be a relatively popular side hobby for car guys.
 
#42 ·
I've thought about that on occasion, but there isn't much in the way of special supplies used to make them. Really, if you have some 1/8" rod, a welder and some Vise Grips, you're pretty much there! There are a couple of spacers that people use to align the track while working with it, but those are easy to make on your own. If I had a lathe I might tool up some spacers to sell, but other than that, there's little specialized tooling for it. More serious builders create jigs for stuff. I have a couple that a friend made for me, but, again, I don't have the machinery to create them. It's actually nice that, other than the welder, there's not much special stuff needed to make them. It does help to have strong hands and a lot of patience!

I've thought several times about doing some instructional videos, but it's just been hard to get free time to make them. Plus, one of my other sculptor friends already has a few out, so mine would be redundant. I have a few simple instructional videos up already. I wonder if they would be very popular? It wouldn't be bad to have an additional stream of income, especially one that didn't require hours and hours to fulfill an order.
 
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