Thursday 19 February 2015

Ferris Wheel construction - part 3

Ha ha - I have taken some the much needed advice on board and ... voila!


The Ferris Wheel stands and does not fall over.

I have made alterations from yesterday though.

A. I have added a sheet of foam board to the base which has worked very well.
B. I have also changed the way the pods attach themselves. I went away from the clothes pegs and have used wire bits taken from paper clips instead. Now each pod is removable and so will be easier to paint.


The wheel goes through 360 degrees and can do so with a model or two on board. Each pod rotates fully. All very functional.

What it won't do is stay stable when a single model is located away from the centre line i.e. at the bottom of the rig.

So the big plan here is to introduce some kind of gear cog with a ratchet mechanism.


I have created a star shape with eight setting so the pods can be stopped in different positions. I then cut out a ratchet piece to fit into the gaps in the cog.


I used a long bamboo skewer which I plan to have 'in tension'. This should prevent the wheel from moving beyond its chosen position.



I think that the weak point in all of this will be the glue fixing everything to the central cylindrical timber piece. If this holds - then all should work - if not a rethink will be on the cards. That glue is currently setting so keep those fingers crossed!!


13 comments:

  1. Been waiting for this all day – kept refreshing the page!

    Looks stunning!

    Don't forget – an afterthought to my scalpel comment previously – that this is a run down fairground so rust and rot rules!

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  2. Looking good! Very ambitious project.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you - really good fun and hopefully we will have some fun playing on it too.

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  3. Oh my goodness, you absolutely star! Tremendous work.

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    1. Mate - it is just great fun. Can't wait until we get the chance to have a game on it.

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  4. I'm glad to hear you are getting the physics in hand. You might want to buy some plastic gears the will hold better.

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    1. Well spotted - my glue did not hold to keep the ratchet in tension. I have just installed some dowels to see if that will help. But plastic gears is a spot on idea.

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  5. That is truly brilliant. If the basic glue for the cog feels a little weak then you should be able to increase the surface area in contact with the shaft for mor glue. Or put a pin through and fix something to that you can the glue to the side of the cog.

    I grinned so wide when I saw this update.

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    1. Good thinking. My ratchet in tension idea failed at its first hurdle as its glue failed. I am now using dowels. This will change the point of tension and properly test the glue on the cog. So tomorrow will tell. The pin is something that I should have planned in - I will on anything similar in the future. There is just so much to think through on this kind of project. You can see why engineers get a buzz out of their job.

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  6. Sadly there isn't as much freedom or opportunity for out of the box bonkers in engineering which is why many of us gravitate towards this kind of hobby.
    Good luck with the test and I'm looking forward to seeing tonight's progress.

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