Kicking legs continued................  
  The "rocker arm" is a piece of hardwood drilled to pivot in the middle around a 5/16" bolt and drilled in the ends to accept hardware for the leg linkages. It's mounted to a 2x4 block of wood that serves as the main framework of the kicking legs.    
 

The legs consist of wooden 2x2's (approximate dimensions below). The leg joints are just simple tongue and groove cuts joined by a #10 screws, washers and nuts.

  
 
The leg linkages consist of 3/4" wide, flat aluminum bars (available at most hardware stores/home centers) connected to 5" turnbuckles. The turnbuckles are connected to the lower legs by inserting them into a "through mortise" cut into the leg and fastening with a screw. The easiest way to cut the mortise is by drilling a series of holes.
 
 

 

 The power supply is mounted in a box just below the pivot arm. I used a surplus 12 volt/3 amp supply from All Electronics that cost $6.50 (I know that because the price tag is still on it). This is wired to the low speed terminals of the motor (see the wiper motor web site for details).  
 
Here are some drawings that give approximate dimensions for the major parts of the kicking legs.
 
   
   
To finish things off, I added wooden sides and a top as well as a sheet metal cover over the motor. These keep the pants from getting tangled in the mechanism.
Here are a few more pictures that may help to clairify the design:
  Back to page 1  
  Halloween Home last update 12/2016