How to Make a Cheap Lightbox
For many of my recent projects I have found myself in need of a lightbox so I took a couple of hours from working on my latest project to put together this one. I used a piece of glass from the old Xerox machine that I bought for ten dollars
Thoughts on a DIY Electro-Chemical CNC Machine Tool
There is a class of machine tool know as CNC, or Computer Numerically Controlled. These are computer controlled tools capable of cutting complex shapes with a high degree of accuracy and repeatability. They generally cost tens of thousand of dollars and weigh over a ton. They’re often available used
Thoughts on Building a Steam Car
December 1, 2006 I want to build a steam car or perhaps a steam motorcycle. Why? you ask. Oh, just for fun, I reply. The first step in a big project is research. I ordered the Essential Steam Power Library from International Correspondence Schools, circa 1906. Lindsay Books
Copper Plating and Etching Altoids Tins
UPDATE: There's some great information on this page and it's comments, but I've recently published a far more comprehensive article here: Etching Tins with Salt Water and Electricity With this project I wanted to try a number of new things: Magazine pages as cheap toner transfer media Copper electroplating Etching
Electrolytic Machining of Brass – Part II:
After the perhaps overly optimistic attempt at electrolytic machining in Part I, I decided to try etching parts from thinner sheets of brass. Sheet with thicknesses of .010 and .015" were chosen and I used the advanced image search feature of Google to search for black and white appropriately steampunk images.
Electrolytic Machining of Brass, a Clockwork Trilobite
I have been having great success etching brass plate with a solution of copper sulfate and an electrical current. The depth, quality, and speed of the etchings have been quite controllable and it seemed to me that I might be able to etch completely through a piece of brass. This capability
Electrolytic Etching of Brass
Update: I'm often asked about the thickness, type, and source of brass I used for these journals. I am very lucky to have a local place, Metal Source, were I buy most of my supplies. I used 22 ga. (.025") brass and any alloy will do. In a
A Clockwork Guitar, the Steampunk Stratocaster
I have a Fender US Highway One series Stratocaster, which is a half decent guitar, but looks just like a million other Strats. I had been planning to replace the pick guard with a black mother of pearl guard but my experiments in electrolytic etching made me think I'd
Halloween Decorations 2006
Well, we haven't done a Steampunk Hallowe'en yet – maybe next year. This year's the theme is "Pirates" of course. It's a big year for Pirates. This is Geoffrey, he's a version of the Phantasmechanics Flying Crank Ghost . Click to view the movie. There's a bit more tweaking to
Kerosene Lamp and Lantern Workshop
Making and Repairing Kerosene Lamps: Wall Sconce Table Lamp Mae West Lamp Angle Lamp Repair Putting an electrified Angle Lamp back "in oil" Swing-arm Lamp When I was about 14 I purchased a brass boatman's lantern at a narrow boat chandlery in Nantwich England while on a