When cranked, the large gear brings the flywheel up to speed. A smaller gear, an offset shaft, and two rods rapidly push & pull the wings up & down in opposite directions. When the crank is let go, the gears disengage allowing the momentum of the flywheel to continue driving the dragonfly’s wings for a few minutes.
The Dragonfly measure: 5” wide x 5” deep x 28” tall, the stand in 10” high. The flywheel is concrete. The stand is teak, the mechanical parts are cherry & maple, and the stand’s top & dragonfly’s body are milk-painted basswood. The wings are stainless steel & brass soldered and coated with thick shellac (a resin secreted by the female lac bug). The wing’s smaller lines are oil paint rubbed into the cracks of a clear crackle medium.
