Long, long ago, as a 10 year old boy in in the sanatorium in Davos, Switzerland, my pals and I used to sing Brahm’s lullaby (Wiegenelied) every night before the lights were turned out and we were then supposed to sleep. Imagine my delight when, many years later, I found a music box that played this tune. I have never had problems sleeping, but I had learned the centuries old idea that counting sheep is supposed to help you to nod off. Put these two parts together and I had the basics for an automaton, for a Shleep Machine.
The Sheep
Carving woolly sheep seemed like a lot of work to me, so I improvised by using a scroll saw to cut some cloud shapes out of plywood. Glue three clouds together with 3 mm dowel for legs, add an egg for a head with a leather shoelace for ears and a sheep is born.
The Mechanism
I used some old Meccano gears that I found in my junk box to join the external crank to the vertical axle in the centre. Turning the crank makes the axle rotate. I inserted the music box mechanism between the crank and the gears to play Brahms’ music as the sheep go round and round.
I attached a wooden disc to the vertical axle with five slots cut into the disc – one for each sheep. Bent brass rod then forms a very simple hinge for the connecting arm to each sheep. Each connecting arm passes freely through a small wooden egg which serves as a wheel. As the centre axle turns, the wheels keep the sheep high enough so that their feet don’t drag on the surface. As each sheep approaches the gate, there is a bump in the path of the wooden egg, which makes the sheep jump up and over the gate.
The Sheepdog
Sheep are often looked after by a sheepdog. In this case the sheep are extraordinarily well-behaved, always going round and round precisely the same circle. This is very boring for the poor dog, who is left with nothing better to do than to chase his own tail. This is not connected to the main mechanism, so you have to give the red and white ball a twirl to start the action.
Reflections
No one has yet fallen asleep while using this, so I guess that it makes it a failure. As a ten year old boy the song was usually successful in getting me to drop off. I suppose the nurse turning the lights off helped too. Maybe I’ll try that next time someone has a go with my Shleep Machine.