Possibly setting a record for documentation delay, I am finally posting about this thing after about five years. In fact, it’s been so long since I built it that I don’t actually recall when it was built. Sometime after the Christmas of 2007, I think, as that seems to be when the digital photo viewer keychains I based this on came out. Anyhow, steampunk digital picture frame. Keep going below for details. (more…)
It has indeed been a while…
Real posts and even possibly a site redesign or replacement are coming soon (for real!), but for now I’m just posting a quick and LONG overdue link to my biggest, proudest creation: The Telecalculograph Mk. II. Again, a full write-up on that project is coming soon, as well as details on my other recent projects. Take a peek at my Flickr account in the mean time, if you’re interested!
The Torch of Saint Dismas
Warning: this one could be a bit upsetting
Imaginary:
“So,” she asked in her charming cockney accent, “this is what you’ve been working on so mysteriously all this time, is it?” The young gentleman to which she was speaking smiled in the affirmative and handed over the parcel, hastily wrapped in what was clearly the kitchen towels. He watched with pride and anticipation as his athletic, yet elegantly feminine wife drew the oddly-shaped gift from the linens in which it was lightly bound. As the wrappings fell gracefully to the hardwood floor, a look of gleeful disbelief spread across her alabaster countenance. With the eyes of a young girl just given a pony, she wildly looked up at her grinning husband and stammered “It…It’s some sort of…It’s…It’s a Hand of Glory, isn’t it?!?!” (more…)
The Bug: Steampunk Computer Mouse
The Telecalculograph finally has a suitable mouse!
Imaginary:
Though the eccentric Professor William C. Ravenscroft remains stingy on details of his “Telecalculograph“, he has recently allowed photography of the device with which its user controls it. These images, as well as speculation upon their contents follows:
SteamTV Part 1 — first looks at my newest project
My university’s chapter of the IEEE held a “Hacks/Mods/ Gadgets” contest a while ago, in which I entered the Telecalulograph and Vitorio-Nixie Tube. By sort of winning (there were only two other entries), I was awarded the chance to build the project of my choice–with them picking up the tab! I rather quickly realized that this would be the perfect opportunity to construct something that had been nibbling at the back of my mind for some time: a steam-powered Baird Televisor. While many people have built reproduction mechanical TVs, I am (to the best of my knowledge) the first to power it directly with a steam engine. I am beginning to see that there is good reason for this, but I am determined!
The project is in it’s infancy now (hence the “Part 1”), so there isn’t a whole lot to see yet. The physical framework and most of the basic components are built and functioning on their own, but the is an incredible amount of work to be done before the thing actually does anything interesting. I will be posting updates as I go along, so stay tuned! Photos and descriptions of what I have so far are after the jump:
Brass Tracks
Feel free to groan at the name 😀
Imaginary:
Slowly, powerfully, and with a certain indefinable confidence, the gleaming behemoth rolled towards the iron-clad fortress. 30 paces from the pitted wall, a great billow of steam burst forth and the elegant beast slowed to a halt. The unmistakable sound of massive, meshing cogs emanated from the monster’s head as the cannon lowered into place. A thunderous explosion rocked the ground and a barely visible blur shot out from the barrel. In an instant, a second blast was heard as the volatile capsule met its mark.
The VictorioNixie Tube
“Electro-chemical and electro-mechanical apparatus for the display of illuminated messages”
Imaginary:
This device was invented, designed, and built by the eccentric and reclusive Dr. Charles D. Ronalli in the late eight-teen hundreds. Click on the following links to see Dr. Ronalli’s original patent drawings and descriptions!
Victorio-Nixie Patent Diagrams
Victorio-Nixie Patent Description
Victorio-Nixie Patent Description (alternate download location)
(more…)
Steampunk Belt Buckle Ver. 1.0
My day-to-day wardrobe was in serious need of something steampunk…
I am, once again, breaking away from my own format by not writing a background story. This piece is not meant to emulate anything; real or imaginary. Instead, it is really just pure aesthetics and fashion…
Tick Tock: A Steampunk Clock
Click the Pic!
There’s not a lot to this one, as I really didn’t do much to it. Sorry, no crazy back-story this time 😦
The real story and a quick video after the jump:
The Telecalculograph
For my very first post, it seems appropriate to talk about the device on which i’m creating it: The Telecalculograph. This is also a good example of my work and will work nicely to set the mood for this blog.
Click the picture to see the whole album 🙂
Imaginary:
Though little is known about this odd-looking contraption, experts agree that the creation of the Telecalculograph marks a truly revolutionary achievement. High-ranked men in the fields of Mechanation, Mathematics, the Vital Sciences, and even Spiritualism have all shown marked interest in this most queer device. It can be thusly concluded that the Telecalculograph operates on such principles, however such details are being kept shrouded in the strictest manner possible. As one would expect in a situation where facts are scarce, rumors do abound. It has been stated by several anonymous persons that the bizarre, eerily-illuminated tube that festoons the machine’s facade contains something of a Magical, rather than Chemical, nature. Two well educated men of good repute have even go so far as to claim that it houses the incorporeal spirit of a deceased idiot savant! As ghastly and unbelievable as these speculations are, no explanations exist as to how a device ruled by Traditional Science could perform the tasks the Telecalculograph does with seeming ease.
Jake of All Trades 
