Notes on Hubs.

~ Notes on Bike Hubs ~

You may wonder what makes our whirligigs spin.

The answer is a bicycle hub.  A basic front wheel hub is designed to spin well and fast and last a good long time.  I originally repurposed old bike wheels to get their hubs, but when I began teaching workshops and needing so many so often I had to start ordering them new.  I wanted to point out that not all front hubs are the same.  TYhey all should spin and work for a whirligig but the material it's made of an it's dimensions can vary slightly. Aluminum hubs are lighter in weight than steel but this makes little difference as far as the spinning goes.  What does matter is that often a hub is tight and not smooth moving.  Hold onto one bolt end an spin with your fingers.  It should rotate smoothly and easily.

If it doesn't, it may have a little rubber dust cover over the black lock nut.  These aren'y needed for whirligig purposes and they slow down the spin.  Just pry it off with fingers or a flat head screwdriver. (see below).

Next if it still seems tight, put one ends lock nut in a table top vice clamp and with a closed end wrench on the opposite black lock nut turn gradually to the left.  As you do this, continually stop and spin the hub.  Stop  turning the wrench as soon as the hub is spinning smoothly and easily.  If you over loosen the nuts you will notice a up and down wiggle in the hub that can cause the whirligig to vibrate as it spins.  If you experience this vibration in your gig, tighten up the hub slightly.

Happy Spinning!

Garden Club Whirligigs

~ Garden Club Whirligigs ~

The latest whirligig workshop consisted of members of the Woodinville Garden Club and we had been planning this for over a year.  I knew that they would be excited and ready to go.

And it was very true....whenever someone pre paints objects for their whirligig I know that they've been thinking and planning for a while.  Love the color!

Hustling and bustling in the studio!

Here, Cindy and I are discussing the proportions on her gig.

Adding a second hub created more height and distance between wind catchers.

They were a fun but very focused group, which is the perfect combination of both maker and whirligig.

A great whirligig needs to focus the wind's energy and be fun to look at.

I always like it when a parent and their child sign up for a workshop.  That's quality time and a great memory.

Dangling items from wire is a technique that has been utilized a few times over the years, but placing a copper tub at top and drilling random holes in the side walls to create a leaky tub effect was a workshop first. 

So many tiny little screws and washers.

Sometimes things happen in an unplanned way.  Like not being able to use a particular object because it was made of stainless steel and having to substitute a different item.  In this case the unplanned red tin added a color element to the whirligig.  I like it!


Thanks Woodinville Whirligig Team!
And a special thanks to Rebecca Love for volunteering and being the photographer that captured all these nice pictures.