This machine is not only fascinating to watch, there's an air of mystery to the whole thing, for some people have a difficult time figuring out exactly how it works.

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 24 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 24 balls (which are manually fed into the machine through a hole in the back), it will complete 24 cycles until it comes to a stop.

While most of the machine is made of purpleheart (which is an extremely hard tropical wood that takes on a beautiful reddish-purple finish), much of the trim and decorative components are made of genuine black gabon ebony, which is an even harder African wood that is quite scarce.

The "propeller" and scooper arm are both made of brass, and the 24 balls are made of lead. The base's removable drawer is lined with green felt.

The back of the machine can unscrew in order to gain entry to the machine's inner workings.

Approximate Dimensions: 12" long x 6" deep x 19.5" high.

Getting this machine to work properly was no easy task, for if the "propeller" was too heavy, or if the balls were too light, then it simply wouldn't work. However, the main problem was friction, which I kept to a minimum by having the axle rotate smoothly on tiny ball bearings.

Since all of my machines at the time had a Victorian aesthetic, my son, Eric, (who is an interior decorator) had suggested a more Art Deco appearance for this machine. (Indeed, he was responsible for most of the visual design...and it was his idea to have the arm and balls hidden in order to keep things mysterious.)

To achieve a more exotic Art Deco look, I used tropical hardwoods instead of the usual walnut. Of course, I soon realized that dealing with tropical woods is no picnic, for not only does it take longer to work with, its sawdust is rough on the lungs.

Nevertheless, I think the overall effect was worth it, as the machine is quite handsome even when it's at rest. In fact, I recently built a much larger version of this machine, Art Deco Majesty.