Content

• Steps
• Tips
• Warnings
• You will need

The sculptor Alexander Calder said: “For most, looking at a mobile is nothing more than moving flat objects. And only for some people this is real poetry. " If you want to create your own little creation, then we will be happy to show you how to do it.

Steps

1. 1 Take the materials you need. See the list in the "You need" section below.
2. 2 Use a hacksaw or a circular saw to cut out pieces of wood from the wood. For the first mobile, start with simple 5 x 7.5 cm wooden squares. Make 9 of these pieces.
   • For more complex mobiles, you can use different shapes - your flight of imagination will help you!
3. 3 Drill the holes for the fasteners. Clamp one piece in a vise on a workbench and drill a 2.5 cm hole on the side. Do this with all the bars. The drill should be the same size as the wire diameter.
4. 4 Prepare the wire. Use fine nose pliers to cut a 38 cm piece of wire and straighten it.
   • Make a small U-shaped hook at the end.
   • To learn how to make loops out of wire and use them as a template in making subsequent sections, make loops in this segment every 2.5 cm so that you get 12 of them. This piece will be called the mobile device.
5. 5 Make the base of the hanging mobile. The base should be two pieces of wood, balanced on a piece of wire. Use a pair of fine nose pliers to cut another 38 cm long piece of wire and straighten it.
   • Mark 19 cm on the wire and use needle nose pliers to make a loop or eyelet.
   • Take two pieces of wood and string them onto the wire from opposite sides.
   • Hang from the loop on the hook of the mobile device and balance.
   • You can correct the balance by shortening the wire if necessary.
6. 6 Make the first shoulder of the mobile. Cut a 30 cm piece of wire, line up and make a U-hook and bend it to the side.
   • Using the device of the mobile, determine the point of inflection of the shoulder, it is here that you need to make a loop.
   • Place a block of wood on the end of the mobile device without hanging the base from the hook.
   • Then take a new wire arm and hook it onto one of the hinges on the device. Find the loop that will best balance the device.
7. 7 Remove the shoulder from the hook on the device. Holding it close to the device, determine where you want to make a loop on that shoulder.
   • Make a loop, attach a block of wood to the shoulder and hang the shoulder on the hook of the base wire, then take the mobile device and hang it by the hook in the shoulder loop and check the balance of the structure.
   • You can correct by shortening the wire, bending it down slightly, or even reshaping the shoulder and looping it elsewhere.
   • You can also change the weight of the block of wood.
     
     
8. 8 Repeat the process for each hand.
   • You can position all the shoulders on the left side, or combine them on the left and right. br>
     
9. 9 Hook the last shoulder by stringing it onto the hook in the ceiling over the loop.

Tips

• To craft more complex mobiles, you can: change the shape and size of the wooden blocks; change the side on which you attach your shoulders; bend the wire in a special way; make your mobile hang or stand.
• Before you get started, gather enough ideas by looking at existing mobile models. To get started, search the internet for Calder mobile ideas. Calder is an important contemporary creative person who has made this type of mobile popular. His mobiles are on display in several contemporary art museums.
• Try making a mobile with cardstock and wire. You can use this as a model for your wooden mobile or as a finishing element. I used 40kg double-sided paper and 0.05cm wire. I cut 5 cm squares out of paper and with a hole punch made 2-3 holes in each card so I could put them on and off the wire easily and easily.

Warnings

• Observe appropriate safety precautions when working on a workbench and power equipment.

You will need

• Pliers
• Wire (galvanized wire in bobbins of 60 m is sold in hardware stores)
• A sheet of plywood 1.25 cm for weights or molds on the ends of the wire.
• Drill or hammer drill (with a drill of the same size as the wire)
• A vise to clamp the drill bars.
• A hacksaw to cut out pieces of wood.