Welcome to the Workshop
Do come in and have a look round, but mind where you tread - the management accept no responsibility for bruised toes or paint-splattered trousers.
This is the page where ideas, which may or may not be going somewhere, are deposited in a fairly random way. We have also included a bit of background information on some of the more curious things that we have produced, and/or plan to produce shortly.
If you have an interest in ornithology, you may be interested in the evolution of the Windy Duck (see 'Print & Build' page for a free downloadable template). Incidentally, if you manage to build your own Windy Duck, especially if it was a 'colour-it-yourself' version, do let us know - we could always start a duck hall of fame...
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Current projects...
Fieldhouse Engineering Challenges
In 2021 we stumbled across a series of engineering challenges that were set by Fieldhouse Engineering - a Somerset-based engineering company who are fully in tune with their more creative side. They had the wacky idea of setting some fascinating 'design, build and test' events for anyone brave enough to enter throughout 2021. Needless to say, this is something that Toby and I could not resist! These challenges are continuing into 2022, with the latest being a tug-of-war between battery powered vehicles (see entry advertisement below - recently commissioned from the Pencil Workshop drawing department). links to the events can be found on the FEng website website, or by searching for 'Fieldhouse Engineering' on Youtube.
Print & build
At the workshop, we have started experimenting with paper modelling, with the first attempts available to download from the 'Print & build' page. Each model has a printable template to cut out and fold, and a set of instructions. New models will be added when we feel suitably inspired.
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Incidentally, if you are looking at this website on a mobile phone, you may find it a little confusing as we haven't formatted it for one yet (we are also not sure if it would work well on one). One day, we will have a go at making it 'phone compatible'.
A very brief history of the Windy Ducks...
For anyone who may be interested in duck evolution, this photograph shows the various stages of development. From left to right we have:
Mk I 'Proto-duck' Assembled from assorted junk - just to prove the concept that a triangular section on a weighted, curved base would sway from side-to-side in a light breeze; it did (very badly) but enough to convince me that the project was worth pursuing.
Mk II 'Chicken-duck' This was the first duck to use the current marble-base. In an attempt to get the duck to turn into the wind, tail feathers were added, rather like a weather vane. This was successful in turning the duck, but the tail made the whole model too stable. It just sat there until the fan was turned up to maximum, whereupon it shot backwards off the desk.
Mk III 'Wing-duck' In order to improve air-flow and reduce aerodynamic stability, the size of the tail was reduced, the body was given a forward lean and wings were added to encourage air flow around the duck's body. Numerous wing types were tried - some flopped, others flapped, and several fell off. The shape you see here proved to be a reasonable compromise.
Mk IV 'Tailless duck' In an attempt to simplify the model, the tail was eliminated, and just the wings used to turn the duck into wind. (The tail was also adding too much weight to the back of the duck, causing it to 'sit down' when the air flow was anything more than minimal. The loss of the tail helped the balance, but the duck was very reluctant to turn into the wind.
Mk V 'Pivoting duck' To encourage the duck to turn, without having an overly heavy tail, the thin strip was added to the underside of the rocker. This strip reduced the contact area under the rocker, and made a big difference to the ease with which the duck would spin into the wind. Other minor changes were made to improve the wing shape, and the lower tail 'bulge' was added to increase stability under gusty conditions.
Mk VI 'Bill' The last prototype duck, more or less complete, acted as a stand-in for the filming of the 'Windy ducks' video, when one of his peers failed to arrive on time. In the opening scene with the fan, he is the one furthest from the camera, and is recognisable by the Sellotape used to attach his wings.
What next? - At the Pencil Workshop, we have tried building larger and smaller ducks, on A3, and A5 paper, varying the ballast, and introducing the 'colour-it-yourself' duck. Do try out some of your own ideas too, and see what else can be done with the design.
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Books and other ideas
This soup-and-smoothie-slurping, hazard-prone, large, green monster made his first appearance on paper in 2017 in a local primary school, as part of a project on teeth. Printed and bound in small volumes on the kitchen table, there were plans for him to go somewhere in 2018. However, he was overtaken by the windy ducks and is now back in the queue of projects. Never mind - there's always 2019... or 2020... or... I really ought to get on with this!
