What are the general construction details of a whirligig?
All of our whirligig figures are made from ¼, ½ or ¾ inch thick red cedar, depending on the model, and are painted in bright colored exterior grade enamel. The figures are 10 to 12 inches high, again, depending on the model. They are mounted on a pressure treated yellow pine chassis that is either painted or stained, depending on the model. The chassis has a ¼ inch diameter, 5 inch long plated steel spindle for mounting. Our Whirligigs do not employ the use of brass for the “drive” shafts because the material is very soft and wears out easily. We fashion all of our “drive” shafts from 9ga. plated steel wire (9/64″ diameter). They are bent, flattened, drilled (as required by whirligig model) and then threaded to accommodate 8/32 plated nuts and #6/#8 flat washers. The drive wires that transfer action from the rotating shaft to movable parts utilizes a softer wire (17, 16 or 14 gauge depending on whirligig model) and is the vulnerable “wear point”. The wire (drive) is readily available a
