RODNEY FROST

Rodney Frost's collection of playful mechanical contraptions will captivate anyone who operates them—and they'll entice the creative woodworker too, because these whirligigs are as much fun to make as to maneuver. The secret to these movable marvels: propellers and other action-filled parts made from wood or metal. Full-size schematics and drawings, plus detailed written instructions, will guide woodwokers smoothly through building, carving, and assembling such enchanting projects as Grandad's Night Out, a wild and wonderful gadget with a handsomely dressed figure that dances on a box; the Politically Incorrect Weather House (it contains a hygrometer to measure humidity); and Mr. Muscles & Little Ms. Threemore, two exercise buffs who work out!

Rodney FrostArtist, inventor, and longtime author Rodney Frost is known for wacky, whimsical woodworking books that encourage readers to experiment. With his newest, most creative volume yet, he provides an introduction to the wild and whimsical world of kinetic art—art that moves. Using plenty of informative sidebars and dynamic illustrations, Frost teaches the basic techniques in his own inimitable style, beginning with easy, fun projects like weather vanes and mobiles powered by air currents alone. Then it's on to simple toys you manipulate with strings, and art mechanized by levers, cranks, cams, and cogs. Far from a routine woodworking book, Creative Kinetics will inspire even the least craft-minded reader to pick up some scissors and turn a tuna can into a propeller or cardboard into a jumping-jack.