The Nodding Moose
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The Nodding Moose uses a cam and a cam follower that uses a coin as a weight. With this somewhat more-advanced project, the cam follower is a weighted, triangular tube rather than a simple flap of paper. Turn the handle on the box, and the paper moose nods his head rhythmically. Figure shows the completed Nodding Moose model. In the following sections, I break the model down, describe how to make each of the parts in turn, and then explain how to put all the parts together.
Tools and Materials
5 pieces of thin card Ruler Pencil and eraser Sharp craft knife Cutting mat Drawing compass Protractor Scissors penny White school glue and glue spreader
Follow these directions to make the box:
1. Copy the box templates onto a sheet of card.
2. Score the crease lines and cut out the holes. Cut out the holes in the card using a sharp craft knife. Score the dashed fold lines with a pair of scissors.
3. Cut out the pieces with your scissors. Cut as carefully and accurately as possible; the neater the cut, the better the model will be.
4. Glue together the pieces to complete the box. After you complete the box, fold in the flaps at the front and back and glue them to the
inside of the box . This adds strength to the box and keeps the edges of the cutout at the front of the box neat.
The moose’s head
The head is the main moving part of the model. The head joins to the neck using a card
hinge that lets it move freely. Inside the head is a bell crank inkage. The bell crank changes the direction of the motion from the pushrod to help move the head. Here’s how to make the head:
1. Copy the template parts in Figure onto a sheet of card.
2. Score and then cut out the parts. Score the crease lines and then carefully cut the parts from the card. Exercise the creases by folding them back and forth a couple of times so that they’re crisp and neat.
3. Glue the parts of the head together and add the ears and antlers.
Gently curl the antlers upward.
4. Assemble the bell crank and glue it inside the head (refer to this Figure )
Don’t get glue on the hinge flap, or it’ll stiffen up!
Body and legs
The body and legs are the main part of the moose. They remain still as the head nods. You make the legs from rolled up tubes and the body from two pieces of card that you fold over and join together.
1. Copy the templates onto a sheet of card and score and cut out
the pieces.
2. Glue the body/neck to the back piece.
3. Roll up the two sets of legs and glue them into the body. Roll the legs as shown in Figure and glue them into place so that they’re touching the top of the body. The legs should line up with each other.
In for a penny: Pushrod, cam, cam follower, and camshaft
The pushrod, cam, cam follower, and camshaft are the parts of the mechanism that make
the moose nod. The camshaft, which holds the cam, fits into the box and is turned by the
handle. The cam follower, which you weigh down with a penny, continuously rubs over the
surface of the cam and follows its shape as it turns. The pushrod is connected to the cam
follower and to the head.
Stick to the following steps to create these parts:
1. Copy the templates onto a sheet of card. Use a drawing compass to draw the circles.
2. Score and cut out the parts. You have quite a few parts here, so make sure you don’t get them mixed up. Carefully score the dashed lines and cut out the pieces.
3. Make the camshaft. Fold the camshaft around and glue the wide flap down to make a square tube. Glue the two cam pieces together, avoiding the tabs, to make a double-thickness cam. Slide the cam onto the center of the camshaft, but don’t glue it down for now.
4. Assemble the cam follower and pushrod. Wrap a penny in a strip of paper or paper cross. Then glue the coin packet inside the cam follower, near the end without the tab. The coin adds weight to the cam follower and helps the head move. Fold around and glue the cam follower. Make the pushrod by folding the piece into a triangular tube and gluing it.
The tree
Using three parts, the stylized pine tree completes the model. It sits at the back of the box and adds a foresty theme.
1. Copy the template from Figure onto a piece of card.
2. Score and cut out the pieces of the trunk using these steps:
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']]}The Nodding Moose uses a cam and a cam follower that uses a coin as a weight. With this somewhat more-advanced project, the cam follower is a weighted, triangular tube rather than a simple flap of paper. Turn the handle on the box, and the paper moose nods his head rhythmically. Figure shows the completed Nodding Moose model. In the following sections, I break the model down, describe how to make each of the parts in turn, and then explain how to put all the parts together.
Tools and Materials
5 pieces of thin card Ruler Pencil and eraser Sharp craft knife Cutting mat Drawing compass Protractor Scissors penny White school glue and glue spreader
Follow these directions to make the box:
1. Copy the box templates onto a sheet of card.
2. Score the crease lines and cut out the holes. Cut out the holes in the card using a sharp craft knife. Score the dashed fold lines with a pair of scissors.
3. Cut out the pieces with your scissors. Cut as carefully and accurately as possible; the neater the cut, the better the model will be.
4. Glue together the pieces to complete the box. After you complete the box, fold in the flaps at the front and back and glue them to the
inside of the box . This adds strength to the box and keeps the edges of the cutout at the front of the box neat.
The head is the main moving part of the model. The head joins to the neck using a card
hinge that lets it move freely. Inside the head is a bell crank inkage. The bell crank changes the direction of the motion from the pushrod to help move the head. Here’s how to make the head:
1. Copy the template parts in Figure onto a sheet of card.
2. Score and then cut out the parts. Score the crease lines and then carefully cut the parts from the card. Exercise the creases by folding them back and forth a couple of times so that they’re crisp and neat.
3. Glue the parts of the head together and add the ears and antlers.
Gently curl the antlers upward.
4. Assemble the bell crank and glue it inside the head (refer to this Figure )
Body and legs
The body and legs are the main part of the moose. They remain still as the head nods. You make the legs from rolled up tubes and the body from two pieces of card that you fold over and join together.
1. Copy the templates onto a sheet of card and score and cut out
the pieces.
2. Glue the body/neck to the back piece.
3. Roll up the two sets of legs and glue them into the body. Roll the legs as shown in Figure and glue them into place so that they’re touching the top of the body. The legs should line up with each other.
The pushrod, cam, cam follower, and camshaft are the parts of the mechanism that make
the moose nod. The camshaft, which holds the cam, fits into the box and is turned by the
handle. The cam follower, which you weigh down with a penny, continuously rubs over the
surface of the cam and follows its shape as it turns. The pushrod is connected to the cam
follower and to the head.
Stick to the following steps to create these parts:
1. Copy the templates onto a sheet of card. Use a drawing compass to draw the circles.
3. Make the camshaft. Fold the camshaft around and glue the wide flap down to make a square tube. Glue the two cam pieces together, avoiding the tabs, to make a double-thickness cam. Slide the cam onto the center of the camshaft, but don’t glue it down for now.
4. Assemble the cam follower and pushrod. Wrap a penny in a strip of paper or paper cross. Then glue the coin packet inside the cam follower, near the end without the tab. The coin adds weight to the cam follower and helps the head move. Fold around and glue the cam follower. Make the pushrod by folding the piece into a triangular tube and gluing it.
The tree
Using three parts, the stylized pine tree completes the model. It sits at the back of the box and adds a foresty theme.
1. Copy the template from Figure onto a piece of card.
2. Score and cut out the pieces of the trunk using these steps:
- Mark out one trunk length. Cut it out and draw around it. Use this template to mark out the other three sections of the trunk and a long tab. Add four small tabs to the bottom of the trunk sections.
- Use a compass to draw two half-circles, one inside the other, for the lowerbranches. Mark a rough zigzag between the inner and outer circles. This represents the end of the tree branches. Repeat for the upper branches.
- Carefully score the lines on the trunk and cut out all three pieces.
