To purchase this machine, please visit my Etsy Store.

Though it incorporates a number of refinements, this intriguing, authoritative machine works in much the same manner as its smaller sister, Art Deco Elegance.

However, at its simplest, the machine basically works like a yo-yo, in the sense that it uses rotational inertia. Just as a string is tied between a yo-yo's axle and one's finger, a string is attached between the machine's central axle and its hidden scooper arm.

When the brass "propeller" is spun, the string winds around the machine's axle, which causes the arm to rise until it hits a trigger mechanism that releases one of 20 hidden balls. (It's the weight of each falling ball that keeps powering the machine beyond the initial spin.)

As the arm lowers the ball into the base's removable drawer, it causes the "propeller" to spin in the opposite direction before the arm rises again and the entire process repeats itself. Since the machine has 20 balls (which are manually fed into the machine through a hole in the back), it will complete 20 cycles until it comes to a stop.

To purchase this machine, please visit my Etsy Store.

The bulk of this piece is hand-crafted from South American bloodwood, whose color varies from a rusty salmon to a medium red. (Bloodwood is also known as 'satine' due to its ability to take on a fine, lustrous finish.) The black decorative pieces are made of rare gabon ebony. Both woods are quite dense and difficult to work with.

The finish used on this piece consists of a light coat of clear oil stain, followed by multiple thin coats of semi-gloss urethane varnish. While the base of the structure is made of poplar for dimensional stability, the sides and top are of bloodwood with ebony and maple trim. The built-in drawer is made of beech and maple, and is lined with green felt.

The "propeller" and hidden scooper arm are both made of brass, and the 20 hidden steel balls are one inch in diameter. The back of the machine can unscrew in order to gain entry to the machine's inner workings.

Approximate Dimensions: 20" long x 9" deep x 30" high. Weight: 27 lbs!

To purchase this machine, please visit my Etsy Store.

Building this machine was literally a race against death! (Well, sort of.) After I started the project in the Fall of 2008, I soon discovered that I needed to have heart surgery. Therefore, in true Hungarian fashion, I rushed to finish the machine before my possible demise on the operating table. In fact, I even left my son written instructions on how to complete the machine should I fail to meet the rapidly approaching deadline. But, alas, I ran out of time.

However, thanks to an advanced, robotic surgical procedure (appropriately named the 'da Vinci System', which is quite a machine in its own right), I not only survived, but my rapid recovery enabled me to complete the machine in late January 2009.

Although time-consuming, the construction of this machine went fairly well. Thanks to the lessons learned from building Art Deco Elegance, the larger Art Deco Majesty is far more reliable and user-friendly than its more delicate and temperamental sister.

So, instead of this machine being my farewell gesture to the sorrows of art and engineering, I'm proud to say that this awe-inspiring piece is the first machine that I've finally decided to sell. There will be more on the way!