The Karakuri Mechanical Doll of the Flourishing Edo Period

Product details Experiment highlights Questions about experiments

Questions about experiments: Check the following if your experiments run into problems.

Q1 The driving wheel cover has a different shape. Also, there is no auxiliary wheel.

The driving wheel cover and auxiliary wheel might have stuck together inside the bag. Pull apart the driving wheel cover into two parts. One is the actual driving wheel cover and the other is the auxiliary wheel.

Q2 The cogwheels spin free and the doll suddenly runs wildly.

The cogwheels might not be engaging because the bottom panel is not firmly attached to the body. Turn it upside down and inspect the bottom panel. Are the tabs sticking all the way through? If not, press the whole thing together till they do. Also, firmly tighten the bottom panel screws. (Note that when spining free, the driving wheel or large wheel teeth can get stripped, making the gears more likely to spin free. If this has happened, the problem will not be fixed merely by tightening the bottom panel screws.)

Q3 The doll does not move when the tea cup is placed on the tray.

When the doll does not move, the most likely cause is that the auto-adjustment pin does not rise nor does the escape wheel move when a tea cup is placed on the tray. The auto-adjustment pin is controlled by the tension spring (middle). The tension spring is probably too strong, so the auto-adjustment pin does not go up. To fix this, it should be effective to remove the tension spring (middle), gently bend it back to reduce its force, then replace it. (See the "Troubleshooting" pamphlet packed with the product for more information.)

Product details Experiment highlights Questions about experiments
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