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A Clockwork “A Clockwork Orange” Orange

I was catching up on my podcasts and happened upon Geo’s Christmas List (25:20). One of George’s requested items was:

“One clockwork orange. Not the book but an actual wind-up piece of fruit.”

Wind-up fruit. Yeah, I can work with that.

First thing, I needed to find some sort of wind-up mechanism. I found something appropriate online. It turned out to be a cylinder about 1.75″(h) x 2.75″(d) (45mm x 70mm). So the inside of the orange had to be at least 3.25″ (85mm) in diameter.

I was really hoping to find a 4″ (100mm) clear plastic sphere to use but apparently they’re only stocked around Christmas time. Next best thing? A hollow plastic ball. I also picked up a styrofoam ball and some felt to fill the inside.
balls

The Hat
Luckily, Party City was already stocking St Patrick’s day supplies and had some mini bowlers that looked to be close to what I needed. I had to reshape it and pad it out to give it a bit of substance.
hat

The Orange
Cut both balls in half, carve out a cavity for the mechanism, sand, sand, paint, paint. A bit of orange felt for lining.
orange

Assembly
Stick it all together and add the eye. Yeah, it’s a bit lumpy and not entirely spherical but you get the idea. Might be nice to have it re-done as a ceramic piece or maybe a printable 3D model.
assembly

And here’s a clip of the orange in action.

I just wish I could’ve gotten it ready in time for Christmas.

Steve DeGroof

Steve consists of approximately 60% water and 40% organic molecules, arranged in a configuration that is, among over things, capable of describing itself in this manner.

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7 Comments

  1. Thanks!

    I started off with the plastic St Patrick’s Day hat and took a heat gun to it to curl up the sides of the brim. Managed to destroy 3 hats doing that. Good thing I bought 4.

    I padded out the shape with scrap paper, decoupage glue and spackle. Probably not the most optimal technique but it’s what I had on hand. 😀

  2. I was thinking this was pretty cool until I realized what song it was playing. That’s when I completely lost it. Still laughing.

  3. Yeah, I wasn’t sure if I should mention that up front (spoilers) or wait until the YouTube clip for the reveal. It took me a while to find something the right size and shape that played that specific song. Otherwise, I would’ve had this done ages ago. But it really did have to be that one, didn’t it?

    Also, apparently I can’t write “spoilers” without hearing it in River Song’s voice. 😀

  4. THIS IS SO FANTASTIC! Thank you for doing this. The Maestro was so totally amazed as well.

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