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This is a standard 12" floor model
Holmes stand fan that oscillates
from side to side. This will be the
mechanism to turn the head from
side to side in a slow, natural
movement of someone scanning the
room. I start with this and simply
remove the fan and fan cage. Cut
off the shaft that sticks out the
front that used to have the fan
attached.
Fast forward. This is what your
Keeper will look like when roughed
out. First you will make a box (you
may be able to utilize a 5 gallon
bucket upside down or a milk crate
for this). For me making the box is
actually the easiest thing. It will
be about 16" square. You will mount
the fan to the center of the box
with drywall screws through the
ends of the fan feet. Then simply
work out from there.
Take a close look
at the armature of the chest and
shoulders. I made mine out of
primarily 3/4" oak plywood. I
started with a piece 17" wide and
about 12" high. I rounded the top
corners where the shoulders are and
then tapered that down as a chest
using a standard jig saw. Then I
cut out a 6" diameter hole from the
top of the chest that actually has
an opening at the top of about 4"
wide. This allows the neck to clear
the wood completely as the fan body
oscillates from side to side. Once
you have the chest cut out, attach
it to the shaft of the fan so that
the fan body is centered to the
hole. I used two pieces of wood
that was cut out to slip over the
shaft and then put one screw
through the each end and into the
chest (from the back) until the
wood pinched against the shaft
tight enough to keep it from moving
or slipping.
Next we will build out
to keep the shirt the Keeper will
wear from getting tangled up in the
fan's movement. This will look like
skeleton bumps under the shirt, so
don't worry about the look of a
"real" skeleton. The section you
see behind his head is a 13" wide
arc that will allow the back of the
fan body to move without hitting
it. Screw this on with 2" drywall
screws through the chest and into
the ends of the arc. Use wood glue
at these two joints and use 2
screws for each side.
Now we make a cage for
the front of the fan at his chest
center. Make your sides as shallow
as possible and still clear the
front corners of the fan
body. Attach this the same way as
the back arc with screws that go
through the back of the chest and
into the two pieces. Now we need to
block the area with two 1/4" thick
slats to keep the shirt from
getting into the fan again. One is
1" wide and the other is 2". Just
screw these on with 1" screws.
As you can see in the photo, the
arms articulate. I achieved this by
starting with the shoulder
"sockets". I used a piece of 3/4"
solid oak 2" long and 1 1/2" thick.
Round the corners as you see here
and drill one hole through the
chest and screw a 1 1/4" screw
through the back of the chest into
the solid oak. Leave this joint dry
(no glue) so under pressure the
socket will turn left or right
slightly. Next I used a 3/4" x 3/4"
solid oak upper arm 13" long and
drilled and counter sunk holes
through both ends. I drilled a
corresponding hole into the
shoulder socket with one side
countersunk and attached the two
with a 1 1/2" long #8 machine
screw. Both the head and the nut of
the screw should be flush with the
wood so they won't snag on the
shirt later. Then I attached a 12"
long forearm to the inside
of the upper arm, overlapping each
3/4", then finally the 7" hand to
the outside of the forearm. Now my
arms are poseable to a large degree.
The legs are the same basic
construction. The hip sockets are
just a piece of solid wood 3 1/2"
long 2 1/2" tall. Screw this down
between the two side fan feet with
3" screws (be sure to predrill
through the socket and countersink
1/4" deep). Drill a hole 3/8" below
the top edge so when mating with
the leg the two will be flush. Cut
the upper leg 21" long. Mate this
to the lower leg 19" long and to
the foot 9" or so long. The legs
need only articulate toward the
front, not side to side.
Next, attach a 3" wide piece of
plywood about 14" long to the front
of the box, 3/4" above the bottom
with two 1" x 1" L brackets. Attach
a 3" x 12" piece under the other
end with 1 1/4" screws. Then screw
down a post to the top of the
extension. You can use a 3/4"
section of black pipe (plumbing
pipe) with a flange on each end.
Since you want the overall height
of your table in front of the
Keeper to be about 26 1/2" high,
buy a section of black pipe
(threaded on both ends) 24" long.
Next screw down a 16" deep, 18"
wide section of the 3/4" plywood to
the top of the post. This takes
care of the wood work for this
project! |
