Bob Farley
Turning found objects into garden art is a great way to keep things that may still be useful out of landfills. If you're in the habit of collecting discarded items at local thrift stores or one-of-a-kind knick-knacks from yard sales, chances are you have all the materials on hand to make a bicycle wheel whirlpool. I don't remember why I collected a bunch of little metal cups. I didn't even know what they were. I just remember thinking they might come in handy one day. The idea of what to do with them finally came to me when I attended a bird banding event in Fort Morgan, Alabama.
Michelle Reynolds
Under the shade of a tent at the bird weighing station, there it was, a red-painted bicycle wheel connected to a bracket made of metal conduit. It was the coolest contraption equipped with hooks around the rims of the wheel, and hanging from the hooks, birds in little drawstring bags. Environmentalists Eric Soehren and Scott Rush were working on the station. Spin the steering wheel to the next bird in line, lift a bag from a hook, lift the bird out of the bag, measure its vital stats, attach a leg, and then release the bird in full view of enamored onlookers. It was obvious that the bird wheel helped the guys process the birds faster. The bird wheel maker and longtime host of the public band event died a few years ago, but Bob Sargent's creativity and ingenuity lives on.
Eric Soehren
For more than 20 years, at various forest feeding grounds along the Alabama coast, Bob and Martha Sargent and Hummer/Bird Study Group volunteers captured birds in fine-mesh nets strung between trees to collect data and provide information to scientists about bird migration. The data is important to analyze and understand patterns and trends that affect bird migration. With the resurrection of the banding event, the annual survey continues, and with it, so does the information sharing between partners and agencies, the encouragement for future ornithologists, the excitement among participants, citizen scientists, and viewers. And I'm sure there are others like me who might see the bird wheel as inspiration for making whimsical found object garden art.
Bob Farley
Picking up the items was easy. I had the cups, nuts and bolts, a threaded metal rod, and a coupling piece. I just didn't have the bike wheel. But all I had to do was mention my project to my artistic scientist friend, Malia, and she helped me.
Items may vary. Instead of a threaded rod, there are other ways to make the base. It must be strong, and the coupling must accommodate the wheel axle, but it does not have to be fixed exactly. It's okay to have some extra clearance in the coupling because if the wheel isn't fully balanced, or the post is out of place, the axle will find its sweet spot and balance out. For wind catchers, you can use funnels, egg poacher cups, spatulas, soup ladles, tuna cans, metal or plastic cups, or cut license plates.
Bob Farley
Preparing the project involves drilling holes through the cups and the wheel. I used a block of wood under the cups when drilling the holes so as not to damage the workbench, and of course I wore gloves for safety.
Bob Farley
Since I had eight cups, the calculation was easy to space the holes around the rim. When drilling the first hole to avoid hitting the spokes, I envisioned four diameter lines intersecting the circle such that the endpoints of each line were set equal distances apart. It was like cutting a cake by eight...
Bob Farley
To attach the cups, drive the screws through the holes and hand-tighten the nuts.
Bob Farley
Tighten the nuts and bolts with a screwdriver and pliers, adjusting the alignment of the cups as necessary.
Bob Farley
To drive the stake into the ground without damaging the windlass, I first put a piece of rebar into the ground, essentially pre-drilling a hole for the base. The stake entered the place without resistance. Be sure to align the base so that the bike wheel is balanced on the hub.
Bob Farley
It works!
