Featuring a robot captain inside that operates levers and foot pedals while keeping an eye on his sonar, this 52-inch long mechanical shark features movements of it's own! The top fin (dorsal fin) has a moving rudder, and the side fins (pectoral fins) tilt up and down as the robot navigates the depths of the ocean. The large tail moves back and forth as the jaws chomp with a steely chewing sound. All this is part of the action that starts at the push of the button in the base. The interior console for the captain is lighted as is all the inner workings of this beast. The underbelly is lit with recessed blue lights from in between the seaweed below.

    This piece was started as reclaimed rebar, old propane gas tank pieces, a couple ball bearings for eyes, and some salvaged metal shelves. The robot was made from one of my old angle grinder retainer nuts as the top of his hat, and half a washer for the bill on the hat. his head is made from scrap pieces of conduit, and his body is a piece of scrsp 1x2 square steel tubing. The legs were made with salvaged hardware, including wedge concrete nails, while his arms and hands were created from a bicycle disc brake and an old metal coat rack. The sonar screen was made from a piece of 1x2 steel, the sonar-looking orange screen is the center part of a cooling fan guard from an old welder, and a piece of orange plexi.

     The piece is powered by 3 seperate hobby motors that drive the various linkages, also made from scrap metal and welding rods. The jaws are moved by an old Chevy van door lock actuator that was too weak to move the door locks, but works great for this piece. The copper accents are pieces of copper tubing I split on one side and hammered out on my anvil, then shaped to fit. The base is made from a salvaged propane tank from a gas grill, that I cut in half vertically. I used large bolts and nuts to create adjustable feet underneath.

   There is no software in the controls, it is mechanically operated, and simply turned on and off by several timed relays in the base, keeping more true to automata art. The rotating arms, various linkages, and levers in the actual shark body are what moves the pieces, no need for stepper motors, decoders, or programming. This piece was fun to create and I love watching it move, especially the sudden chomping action.