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Home of The Big Drinking Bird.

When not Clampin' or creating websites,
I enjoy making kinetic metal sculptures.

This Art project is called "Big Drinking Bird."

Remember the little "Drinking Bird" toy?
Well, this one is over eight feet tall
and weighs a couple hundred pounds.

This hydraulic-powered kinetic sculpture was
built of welded steel; using half-inch and quarter-inch plate,
as well as sheetmetal for the hat and beak,
and four & five-inch diameter
steel pipe for the neck.

Empty propane tanks were used for the head and body
and an old leaf-rake serves as the "tail feathers."

The hydraulic actuator was made of four-inch ABS pipe,
half-inch plastic tubing, and a small submersible pump.


Principle of operation:
As water is slowly pumped through the plastic
tubing from the 55 gallon barrel into the ABS pipe,
the Bird becomes increasingly top-heavy.
This causes the Bird to tilt forward until the water spills back into
the barrel, where the cycle is repeated again.


Hatched at the
San Jose State University
Metal Foundry.
San Jose, California.
Spring 2001


Hear BIRD SONG.


Great Links:

Miles Sullivan, inventor of the original "Drinking Bird" toy.

Dippy-Drinking-Birds.

Drinking Birds.