The Suitcase Machine

World's 2nd smallest working train set

2013-01-08T08:12:00.000-08:00

This is my Train Set in a Cheese box. They are 1/2 inch pieces cut out of wine cork, painted and embedded with magnets. Servo motor with a cardboard disc guides the train across the the tracks. It's a PWM circuit powered by a 555 timer. The sound comes from a Radio Shack recorder Module.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b90SFUmIv4

Train set in a Suitcase

2012-12-23T07:32:00.001-08:00

This is my N-Scale train in a phonograph box. It runs on an Arduino and Motor shield. I put a reed sensor on the tracks, and glued a small magnet underneath the locomotive. When the train passes the over pass, the tin-can bridge closes, the locomotive slows down to a stop and whistles. The train whistle plays from a Radio Shack recorder module. The speaker is hidden inside the overpass. It creates an awesome illusion that the train is actually playing the whistle sound! I put a relay in place of the play button. The recorder is powered through the motor shield. After the train whistles, the two light posts light up in a series of patterns. the tin-can slowly opens and the school rings rings. The train begins again passing through until it reaches the reed sensor and it repeats all over. The red button can be pressed at anytime to activate the whistle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgM5Xotab2I

Windmill

2012-04-04T13:23:00.002-07:00

This is a new piece for a new month. Acrylic on 2x4 ft canvas

Paintings from March 2012

2012-03-26T05:25:00.009-07:00

This is Acrylic paint on top of layered masking tape, on top of cut out pizza boxes, matted, sealed and framed!

Radio Pieces Feb. 2012

2012-02-26T06:06:00.010-08:00

These are all pieces of radios I own. I love taking apart and fixing radios. This is my Radio series.

Charcoal Feb. 2012

2012-02-26T06:01:00.006-08:00

These are all charcoal on paper. Drawings of memories past.

Drawings Jan. 2012

2012-01-28T07:03:00.000-08:00

Charcoal on Paper

Classic Magic - Custom Magic

2012-01-10T06:39:00.000-08:00

The Cups and Balls Routine is considered the oldest magic effect on record. Images of this routine were found written in stone on the great pyramids of Egypt! It's still performed by street performers, and all kinds of magicians today. These are hand sewn, and leather cut baseballs I made over the weekend. I made them in a lemon peel style. I can't tell you how difficult it is to take something flat like leather, and shape it into something round! I finally have a complete set that match!

Last Drawings for 2011 Charcoal on Paper

2011-12-27T15:11:00.001-08:00

Charcoal on Paper

2011-12-12T16:11:00.000-08:00

This is my new studio. It was an old textile factory converted into artist's loft's. I love this new space because I can finally make bigger things. These are my 2 new pieces.

Crank Organ Music

2011-08-23T08:49:00.000-07:00

After a week of re-learning music theory I punched out some music for my organ. I built a few tools so I can measure everything to scale. It was fun seeing music made with holes on paper. The paper had to be cut exactly 5 1/2 inches wide, and the length is based on how long the song is. For every second of music, 70mm of paper is needed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ir8XZddfdd8

Dummy Restoration 2

2011-08-07T06:44:00.000-07:00

This is a Paul Winchell, Jerry Mahoney, Semi-Pro ventriloquist dummy. I was asked to restore him from a magician friend Vanishing Vinny. He has a great trick he's doing that requires a very classy looking dummy.For the restoration we came up with a fair barter. He would design for me some important promotional material I needed for an upcoming magic show, and I would restore the dummy for his magic show. I accepted the challenge and it took me about 2 full days of work to finish.The original clothes were stained, torn, and stinky! the creepy part was that their were sweat stains on his collar.Anyway, I took apart his clothes piece by piece and slowly replicated his outfit. He works great!

Dummy Restoration

2011-08-07T06:30:00.000-07:00

Monkey Makeover

2011-07-20T14:56:00.000-07:00

My organ is finished but I have no monkey! I searched online for the perfect mechanical monkey and came across a toy that was made in the 50's and 60's. The toy was rusted and broken. I replaced a broken motor and sewed a new pair of pants. The monkey interacts with the organ because of an Arduino microcontroller. I also used the guts of an old voice changer toy. The mic from the toy is now used as a sensor to detect a certain level of sound, which

activates the monkey to turn on. Everything is nicely fitted into a small canvas backpack I made. I am excited to test this guy out!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJUbvyT9MOw&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

my handcrafted Busker Street-Style Organ complete

2011-07-05T10:39:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-Z8ahF1BlY

My handcrafted Busker Street-Style Organ Pt 2

2011-07-05T10:31:00.000-07:00

Here are more photos

My handcrafted Busker Street-Style Organ

2011-07-05T10:26:00.000-07:00

This is an organ built by the John Smith Busker Organ plans. This organ took me five weeks to make. I spent early mornings and late nights through the month of June and the last week of May. It was the most challenging thing I have ever Built. Worth every moment!

Hand Carved Chess Set

2011-01-10T07:51:00.000-08:00

This chess set was carved using oak. I stained one set of pieces with a dark walnut stain. The board was outlined with a wood burning pen. Dark stain was applied to half the squares, and the whole thing was then sealed with Mod Podge. I nailed leather to the bottom of each piece and sewed a small pillow to hold everything in place within the box, which was also handcrafted. I love this chess set. I now need challengers for some chess and wine!

Stan Laurel marionette

2010-12-26T19:22:00.000-08:00

Stan Laurel is a marionette. His head, hands and feet are all hand carved from wood. The suit was purchased and was intended for a new born child. I had to cut and re-sew everything so it would fit comfortably. Stan Laurel has controlled eyebrows, mouth, and hat. They are all controlled with springs, strings, and dowels. Rope holds the head, hands, and feet together. The marionette string is a multi-stranded bracelet string.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrxekU6ZBU8

mint box card trick

2010-11-23T11:30:00.001-08:00

Mint Box Card Trick is built inside of an Altoids tin. There is a wooden frame inside. The handle is made of wire from an old hanger and an eraser. A carved wine cork keeps the hole sealed on top. A few other sneaky things make the selected card rise. Everything needed for this trick is inside the tin. Everything, including the cards, fit to make this effect all self-contained.

Ball Box

2010-04-23T10:23:00.001-07:00

"Ball Box" is made from repurposed cigar boxes, bottle caps, and wine cork. The foundation of the box is made from pine. The box's interior uses traditional magic principles for vanishing an object. The hinges for the doors on either side are made from a clothing hanger. The wire was cut and pressed in to fit from the top and bottom, so the doors can swing freely.

The Dream Box

2010-02-18T08:19:00.000-08:00

"The Dream Box" is made in a repurposed Upper Cut cigar box. I used leather, brass, different foam boards, and cardstock to build the inside and outside. The handle is made from a wire clothes hanger. There is woodburning done on the front, and it's glossed over with ModgePodge. This box is the beginning of something I have always wanted to make: to have someone name any card, then to turn a handle on a box, and have that card appear. Watch the video, and let me know what you think! I'm curious to know how this holds up before I really start trying to perform it.

The Miniature Lightning Box

2010-01-15T08:06:00.000-08:00

"The Miniature Lightning Box" is made from the insides of a compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) and an old TV flyback transformer. The circuit inside of the CFL can generate high frequency currents that are fed into a high frequency transformer inside the base of the bulb. The high frequency transformer boosts the voltage so the fluorescent bulb can light up. The TV transformer makes high voltage and high frequency current to generate enough electricity to trace the electron beam that lights up the screen. When you take the CFL's transformer and replace the fluorescent bulb for the TV transformer, you can create well over 1,000 volts! this is my version of a high voltage supply/Jacob's Ladder. I love this project because the spring animates along with the electricity.

The Nickel Box

2009-12-16T08:31:00.000-08:00

"The Nickel Box" was made from copper, wood, bolts, screws, epoxy, scrap metal, skeleton key, paint, and nails. The tiny box was made from scratch, using scrap wood from another cigar box. All of the copper was hand cut to fit the box. I love this routine, because no electricity is required for it to work. The goal of this project was to create a magic effect that works like a crank toy.

The Jedi Mind Trick

2009-11-25T14:13:00.000-08:00

"The Jedi Mind Trick" started with a Star Wars "Return Of The Jedi" soundtrack cassette I found at a thrift store. Playing around with the case, I realized that playing cards fit almost perfectly inside, if you remove a few plastic stubs from the interior. The stand is a soap container from Walmart. A strong LED lights up in the center. The sound is from a musical greeting card. Everything, including the rise of the card, is perfectly synchronized to the music, with the help of a micro-controller.