Author Archive
SPWS’s Meredith Scheff at Comic-Con San Diego
(image: I express some sort of emotion at Jake’s hat) I will be attending Comic-Con this year from Friday-Sunday, and I’d love to meet some SPWS readers/fans- especially if you are attending in your external-combustion-punk outfits (external combustion? Get it?), costumes, or if you are showing off your
Portrait of a mad scientist: Alan Rorie of Almostscientific.com
(image: Alan Rorie working on the Dihemispheric Chronaether Agitator. Photo by Flickr user and KSW patron Great!steam) I've never been so enamored with any character type as I have with the mad scientist. The shop, filled with inventions, doo-dads; explosions from nowhere send machinery flying while (s)he runs yelling
And for this post I digress: That which writ the Guide
I know, I know- we’re a specialty blog. Steampunk. Gears. Brass. Tophats. Things of that nature. However.. I think that I am allowed one post that has nothing to do with Steampunk per se. I give you: The typewriter. The typewriter that belonged to Douglas Adams. The typewriter that
Slightly disturbing but beautiful steampunk leather mask
Livejournal user Bob_basset created this beautiful, if slightly intimidating, mask out of leather and brass. ..I suppose, even gimps are getting into the steampunk. I can’t help but re-imagine that scene from pulp fiction..
KMODDL: the incredible maker resource
A friend of mine recently turned me on to the incredible resource Kinematic Models for Design Digital Library, or KMODDL, run by the Library at Cornell University. The site has many, many models of different mechanical movements, designs, gears- and enough brassy bits and whatchamajigs to keep your boiler
SCRA: Webcomic Questionable Content invents most awesome band, ever.
The always-awesome webcomic Questionable Content has been running a short series of fictional (but for how long?) band "Society for Creative Rock Anachronism". He’s only 2 strips into the story arc at the moment, but apparently response has been, well, wide-eyed geeky obsessive enthusiasm. Go check it out.
Rusty, corroded, extremelly beautiful jewlery comes with free tetanus shot
The jewelry made by Flickr user The Justified Sinner does not, in fact, come with a painful jab to the arm; but is extremely beautiful. I would love to adorn myself in his creations- the rust and polish are SP’s version of denim and lace. Seen here is
Paul Cesewski’s Railcar on a Death-Defying Ride of Doom
Thirty Second Shingle Ride from Dr. Terwilliker on Vimeo. My buddy Paul Cesewski (and former shop-mate/shipyardian) built this rail-car that tickles all my maker-buttons: made from recycled parts, can go fast, utilizes an obscure form of locomotion, has a good possibility of injury, and serves no readily logical purpose
The Handcar Regatta
I am sorely tempted to build an entry for Dr. Erasmus P. Kitty’s Great Hand-Car Regatta. There’s not much info, but it looks like some great things are already being built. I love the idea of human powered vehicles to put to use some of the vast swaths of
Clockworks: The art of Liam McNamara
Liam Mcnamara built The Clockworks for the Burning Man festival waaay back in 2005. A 3 story tall all wooden, working, click-tocking time-keepin’ clocktower, and then burned it to the ground at the end of the week. Yes, even the clockwork gears were CNC routed out of wood. It