Writing machine part 1

Working on my writing machine or whirligig as it where. I'm trying to drill holes in wood. First, I marked my rectangular wood piece with a an "X". The middle of the "X" is the center, so I drilled a hole. That went fine. I did the same for a small piece that I wanted to be up right (photos coming soon). Did that. Next, I took a long wood screw (has a sharp point unlike screws for metal) and drilled that in. Well, sort of. The wood began to flip around as I didn't use a clamp. Next time, I surely will. Also, I didn't drill enough of a pre-hole, so I had to redo that. I got the pieces drilled and added the wood screw. Perfect! Phew! Then, I decided to make a hole in the upright piece as I want to put a wire in there to let the arms be free hanging (like a whirligig has). Well, I used a small drill, not quite through. So, I got a much larger drill and started drilling. To my surprise, this snapped in half...and is embedded in the wood. I realize now I have to go slower with a larger drill as they heat up faster and become soft. So, I'll have to get another drill bit.

My project is based on this Felix the Cat whirligig. I chose to base it on Felix the cat for several reasons...the first being that my son likes Felix. I also like the stark contrast of black and white, the vintage feel, the story/history of Felix the cat and the comic strip story. I really felt like as I discovered why I liked Felix, I was doing an homage to this character. I know he's probably not the first cartoon based on a black and white animal...thinking of Mickey Mouse, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and Betty Boop. There is also an undercurrent of discussion about racial tensions as well within the strip story line and a working class feel since Felix originated in 1919 in "Feline Follies".