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Christo Loyal user Cyprus 229 Posts |
My Card Duck has (very recently) changed her eating habits. The beak now opens and closes as soon as the head starts to move forward rather than as it used to when it was close to the card container. Consequently when the beak reaches the card container (houlet?) she has no way of collecting a card as the beak is tight shut by this time.
The mechanism seems to be a cam located in the head. I really don't want to destroy the finish/head to find out how she works and possibly alter/adjust the cam. Does anyone have 'inside knowledge' on this. Is there a diagram of the mechanism published anywhere. When they're manufactured surely some adjustment is necessary to fine tune the timing. How is that done. Or should I simply be a callous pet owner and discard her for something new. C Smile
"Humpty was pushed!!"
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Jerry Inner circle Some where in Florida 1402 Posts |
Well, if you get to point were you are going to discard the duck, might as well crack it open and see what cause the problem. This could provide a solution towards a future purchase if it occurs again.
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Christo Loyal user Cyprus 229 Posts |
Hi Jerry,
Sorry for the late response - I'd pretty much given up on a solution. There's been a little activity down in the 'Workshop' but no real solution. I spent a good hour yesterday afternoon trying to replicate the action for a video that someone suggested I make to detail the feeding trait. This would be better than a set of stills they surmised. Not an easy ask. The pull is critical I've found. A vertical pull results in the beak opening far too soon. A pull just back of the vertical results in a perfect action - but boy, it's fast. A pull a little further back from the vertical results in anything - sometimes an early beak opening, sometimes nothing, and sometimes the beak stays closed as it goes and parks above the cards in the houlette. Hopeless. It needs two handsas well as the mechanism is mighty stiff. This shouldn't be, from what I've seen of Tommy Cooper, Kimmons and others who are/were virtuoso's of the art. BTW the video never got made as I couldn't get the consistency required twice in a row. I'm rapidly coming to your way of thinking Jerry. In the interests of science this should become an 'Ex-Duck' (With apologies to Monty Python) and the disection scalpel wielded. I'll post my findings both here and in the Lancet... Best, C
"Humpty was pushed!!"
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Jerry Inner circle Some where in Florida 1402 Posts |
I purchased a brand new duck, to backwards engineer the working to make my own quality version and may be even make improvements.
When I have time. I took another look today. Perhaps one of the "cams" is on the wrong side. Without revealing to much, There are a series of cams (flat metal quarter moon shape), that work in sequence. The one on the jaw could have slip to the wrong side, so it can not complete its normal path. This only makes sense if we have the same prop of course. |
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