The Homespun Merry-Go-Round is a portable solar powered amusement ride, built by Al Gori.
The main vertical assembly is actually the rear axle of a 1968 Dodge Dart fitted with a washing machine motor and other reclaimed mechanical power transmission components. The machine takes 2-3 hours to set up and decorate. It takes longer each time to assemble because creator Al Gori keeps adding more gadgets and gizmos. The Homespun Merry-Go-Round even has an infant seat so the smallest riders can take a spin. Turning at a gentle 4 rpm, it can carry 2 passengers up to 250 lbs.each.
Other recycled parts have made their way into Al’s creation. The animated snake and monkey are driven by windshield wiper motors. The base is from a large file cabinet. He calls his craft of finding new and fun uses for old junk “Savage Salvage”: the art of getting something for nothing.
As featured in Makers: All Kinds of People Making Amazing Things in Garages, Basements and Backyards, by Bob Parks (O’Reilly, 2005).
The Homespun Merry-Go-Round has brought merriment to parties, art galleries, weddings and events in NJ, NY and PA including:
New Jersey
Camp Happy Times · Grace Bible Chapel · Liberty Science Center · Jefferson Day · National Night Out Teaneck · Newton Day · Special Children’s School, Sparta · Stillwater Day · Sussex County Fairgrounds
New York
The Atlantic Antic · Bindlestiff Family Cirkus · Canada American Day · Clearwater Music Festival · Forsyth Nature Center · Fringe Festival, Governors Island · Hastings-on-Hudson Take Me to the River Music Festival · Hydrangea Festival · New York Poetry Festival, Governors Island · Riverside Park · Rooftop Films · Sinterklaas · Staten Island’s Children’s Museum · The Summer Hoot · WFMU Record Fair
Schematics for the Homespun Merry-Go-Round 1.0
