Woodgears Marble Machine

Wooden air engine runs off vacuum cleaner.

Woodgears marble machine.

Http woodgears ca marbleadd a simulation of the machine. I also built a wooden light stand for lighting for making better pictures and video based on a design by john heisz. Thanks to paul grundbacher for the inspiration. Went over to visit my friend matthias today he runs the woodgears ca website.

Construction was from april 20 to june 25 several hours a day. It adds binary numbers. Marble machines are complicated but useless pieces of toy machinery that automate the process of playing with marbles. Marble machine 2 1 is a new and improved version of my old marble machine 2 that i build in 2000.

A plastic bottle cap shooter. Mechanical counter like old car odometers. Marble machine 2 1 crank it for a cacophony. The marble machine weights 30 pounds stands 30 inches high the base is 19 square and the ring gears are 14 1 2 diameter.

This automation could in theory lead to gains in productivity as people are now freed up to pursue more productive goals. Marble run blocks build marble runs. It moves over 7000 bearings per hour and holds with 75 bearings. The moving ramps are based on paul grundbacher s machine etagen.

I plan to build more marble machines. Jenga pistol the game of jenga will never be the same. People often asked for plans for that machine but the machine was totally cobbled together one piece at a time so it wasn t the sort of thing i could draw plas for. Building instructions the plans include an extensive writeup on how to build the marble pump marble run building blocks and marble machine.