DIY Bellows

I decided last week that my next set of goggles will be Polkamatic. Previously I had been mulling over the notion of creating a radio themed pair, but that was less quirky and less interactive than the recent Theremin goggles I have finished… and I can’t allow myself to digress.

‘Polkamatic’ goggles? What the hell is that? Well, my interest in sound and the fact that I am a blazing Pollock have intersected into this lovely idea of an interactive sound mixer consisting of polka riffs and the like. These goggles will look like they were carved from wood, will have floral babushka fabric for straps, and no less than two bellows to simulate working accordions. Silly? YES. Very silly… I have the image of a one man band contraption with moving parts and knobs in my head… the only problem I’ll face is running out of surface area on the goggles themselves to put things.

Anyhow, as the focal point will no doubt be the puffing bellows, I took it upon myself yesterday to figure out what went into making them. Good instructions were difficult to find… and once I start trying to fold the thing into its accordion shape, I realized why. You can’t really explain how through images or video even. The best advice I can provide is to create a pattern similar to mine, remembering to keep the zig-zagged lines at 45 degree angles :

Take your time and make sure to fold over every line (even the small ones)… the more care you take in making sure your folds are precise, the faster it will take to shape the paper.

Remember, if an edge folds outward on one side of the bellow, the same crease on its neighboring sides will fold the opposite way!

With that said, here is one of my first attempts :

After I made about five of these, I managed to work the size down to an inch and a half square. It is small, but fits nicely on the side of the goggle. :

As you saw in the video, I hooked a little servo up inside one of these and ran the sweep sketch to get an idea how it would look in motion. The effect is quite cool. I even managed to find a smaller servo motor today that actually fits (once I trim the tabs) inside the 1.5 inch bellow sized for the goggle vents. :

And so you have an idea just how much smaller this guy is from a micro, check it out :

The next step is to pick up some snazzy paper from the scrap booking store and make the ones that will be installed… For the rest of my Saturday however, I am off to SYN Shop to do some Delta work. =]