Hand-cranked Woman is Boss wood model

A couple years ago, I built several whirligigs. One of those is called The Woman is the Boss and is a fun one to watch.

I like to design and build hand-cranked toys for kids, but I have built so many that I have sort of run out of ideas on new ones.

I got the idea that I could convert some of the whirligig designs from propellor to hand-cranked power, and make some new hand-cranked toys.

I went with a gear drive, and guessed that I wanted a 3:1 speed reduction…......so I made a 2 inch and a 6 inch oak gear on the scroll saw (I print the paper pattern from Sketchup, then white Elmer's glue it to the blank….....then scrub off the pattern when I am done).

There is only a 1/2" throw, or total displacement of 1 inch. I drilled a hole for a 1/4" diameter dowel, that was 1/2" off center. I used a thin piece of brass as the connecting link.

The hardwood portions of the model are red oak, the balance is common pine. I used water based Anita's paints from Hobby Lobby for the colorful parts….....and red dye for the crank handle and 1 dowel retaining pin.

You can see my trials & tribulations on this project on my woodworking web site….......https://dalemaley.webs.com/hand-cranked-woman-is-boss

I had to make a Youtube video, so you can see the model in action…..


I uploaded my Sketchup model to the Sketchup warehouse. You can view or download it here.

The next hand-cranked toy will be converting the man cranking an old Model T from a whirligig to a hand-cranked model.

Thanks!