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Build this contemporary hanging mobile from the bottom up: cut and smooth sheet-metal shapes, hang them from bent-wire arms, and use fishing swivels to let sections rotate independently. Marco Mahler’s 2014 project gives a specific set of dimensions and hardware; treat them as a starting design, then adjust the arm angles until your mobile balances.
Materials and tools
Mahler’s Make: project uses the following supplies. Paint is optional.
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- Sheet metal and wire
- Monofilament fishing line
- Five fishing swivels
- A 6-ounce fishing weight
- A hook, screw, or nail for hanging
- Optional paint and primer
Gather needle-nose pliers, tin snips, a drill with a 5/64-inch bit, a hammer, a sander or sandpaper (or a sanding bit), a marking pen, and scissors. The project details and figures come from Marco Mahler’s Make: project, published October 2, 2014.
How to assemble the mobile
1. Cut and prepare the shapes
Use the project’s template to mark shapes on sheet metal. Cut them with tin snips, then mark and drill the attachment holes. Flatten the pieces with a hammer if needed, and smooth the cut edges with a sander or sandpaper so they are safe to handle.
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2. Build the lowest assembly first
Attach a shape to a bent-wire arm, then add a swivel and the fishing weight to the lower assembly. Starting at the bottom matters because the weight of each lower section affects the balance of the pieces above it. As Mahler puts it, “Mobiles are constructed from the bottom up, meaning you start with the lowest part because the balance of the higher parts depends on the weight of the lower ones.”
3. Add the remaining arms and shapes
Repeat the arm-and-shape construction for the other pieces, connecting sections with swivels. Mahler’s example uses five swivels and varies the distance from each shape to its arm’s balance point. From the lowest arm to the highest, his listed lengths are 4 inches, 3 inches, 10 inches, 5-1/2 inches, 8-1/2 inches, and 13 inches. These are dimensions for his design, not standard measurements for every mobile. He describes connecting arms as about 2 inches long and recommends leaving at least 1-3/4 to 2 inches from a loop to the next lower piece so gravity can pull on it.
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4. Hang and adjust
Hang the assembled mobile from a hook, screw, or nail using monofilament fishing line. Bend the arms or change their angles in small increments until the sections balance and the composition looks right. Expect to adjust the assembly; the listed lengths are a project example, not a guarantee that every combination of shapes and materials will balance identically.
Why use swivels and a weight?
In Mahler’s design, a conventional hook-and-loop connection restricts movement to some extent. A fishing swivel allows a section to rotate through a full circle independently of the other parts. The lower fishing weight gives the builder more flexibility when adjusting balance points; Mahler also describes it as adding stability, including for a breezy or outdoor location. The project does not specify a wind limit or report an engineering test, so the weight should not be treated as a guarantee of outdoor performance.
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Project dimensions and finish
Mahler describes his completed mobile as approximately 30 inches (75 centimeters) in both height and diameter, a size he considers suitable for an average-sized room. The project specifies a 6-ounce fishing weight and five swivels. These figures describe this particular build, rather than universal requirements.
Optional paint
If you paint the shapes, rough up the metal with sandpaper first to help the coating adhere. Mahler recommends two or three thin brush coats rather than thick coats. He names Insl-X Stix Waterborne Bonding Primer as his preferred primer for sheet-metal shapes; that is his stated preference, not an independently tested product endorsement. Spray paint and powder coating are alternatives described in the project.
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