Frustated Felines

Action; Cat A jabs his fork at the sardine. Sardine swerves out of the path of fork but into the path of cat B's fork, thus lining himself up for another assault from cat A. An accurate representation of how the world should work. It was a product that we thought could be made pretty well entirely out of birch ply with no lathe or fancy fixings. Still, it seems rather challenging... Since staying with my dad and his cats, my dislike of them, which used to be pretended (to make myself seem interesting and opinionated) has become quite genuine. - Paul Spooner

You will need 6mm ply 1/4 dowel 1/2 x No.2 Round Head Black Japanned wood screws (If no black japanned youll have to paint the eye screws) 3/8 x No.2 Round Head any kind of wood screws (B.J. for uniformness) Little tension springs (Whistons) 18g - (3/64 dia) brass wire ( If different size get drill to match) Bits of tin plate from sardine tin, olive oil tin, pilchards etc preferably with gold inside. TOOLS Drills 1. 1/2 Flat bit or machine wood bit 2. 1/4 twist drill to make tight hole for dowel 3. 9/32 twist drill to make loose hole for dowel 4. 3/32 twist drill for screws 5. 3/64 twist drill for wire 6. 1/32 twist drill for tiny pilot holes. Get 2 youll break one. Sandpaper Bradawl Stanley Knife Tin Snips Round Nosed Pliers Drill in drill stand Soldering iron 25w Resin W wood glue

-1. Check t of base joint in frame. Take apart again. 1. Cut out sardine tin label. Reserve. 2. Sick down the rest of xerox onto 6mm ply. 3. When dry. Drill holes. 1/2 New sharp at bits for eyes Clearance hole for 1/4 dowel under cats chins (9/32) Tight t hole for 1/4 dowel (1/4) Check your dowel and drills to make sure that loose is loose and tight is tight. Other holes are screw holes /32 for clearance No.2 screws. Tiny holes are pilot holes drilled right through to transfer position to back of sheet 1/32. Drilling Holes. Its most necessary to be accurate. If you have difculty drill through all spots with tiny 1/32 drill to guide big drills and help see when marks drilled away. 3.5. Cut shapes out. 4. Sand back edges 5. Cut 5 pieces of dowel 4x20mm 1x 15mm 6. Knock 2 (20mm) dowels into the frame. Glue if necessary. The dowel Ive used is very tight without glue. Leave ush with front surface. 7. Put a dowel (20mm) into each front arm Use glue this time. 8. Put 2 black 1/2 screws No.2 into eye shutter. 9. Drill holes for forks along line shown on plan. Size of hole depends on size of wire. try not to get it too tight so you can t the forks later without mangling the whole thing. 10. Push rear arms (with eye shutters) onto dowel in front arm hrough hole in cat. This joint should move very easily. Put a blob of glue here when ouve got it right. 11. Fix cat body to frame with 1/2 screw. 12.Fix rocker to frame ditto. 13.Fix back leg between cat and rocker with 1/2 screws. ALL these joints easy to move. 14.Fix return pring between arm and body. Not too loose, not too tight, so it springs back every time. 15.Drill pilot hole fo 3/8 screw in this pillar. Make wire thing as near the same as example as poss. This is a better design than the one Ive made. The length of the loop is not important. Make jig when you got the size right. 16. Fix wire thing so that eyes are fully moved towards centre when hand is 1.5mm from surface of table. Grope around in this area for correct spot for screw. (Make a little wooden jig to t between hand + table) 17. Do the other cat. 18. Fish. Shape shs head both sides. sand. Undercoat + top coat humbrol silver. When dry try a hin wash of blue watercolour to make shy bluer. I havent tried that yet but will report. Draw eye + mouth with black humbrol on thin brush. 19.Put short dowel into sh tail. screw sh to back of frame with 1/2 screw. 20.Fix sh lever to rocker. With rocker in mid posiion lever and sh should be vertical. Use one screw only for now. (Glue piece of thin card (sample inc) behind for clearance) 21. Make forks. geddit? I didnt do mine like this yours will be good. 22.Fit forks. Check action forks should miss. If they hit a) move sh lever to best position b) Bend forks. Put second screw in sh lever. 23. Make sardine tin: Scribe round template onto sheet of tinplate. Preferably use a tin wih that goldish nish inside. Wrap tin round former. Solder. It doesnt matter if its not exactly the same... Make lid. Use end of former to get this shape. Wind up around round nosed pliers. Make key from brass wire. Push key into coil of lid. Solder if necessary. Solder lid to tin. 24. Find the best place for tin vis a vis sh + forks. Fasten with 10 min araldite. Try not to smear it all over as I did. You can make a gismo to help cramp it in place.

24.5. Extra safe! Drill a weeny hole here + pin tin on with brass wire. 25. Glue label on tin 26. Glue stand on. Another sardine tin clamp. Patent spring clamp available halfords. Pressing tin to wood. Bridging piece between back legs.