Back to Business.
For the moment, the unceasing onslaughts of chaos have receded sufficiently enough so as to allow me to make just a little more progress:
Shown here is one of two just completed panel-illumination lamps. Two down... ten more to go!
UPDATED October 9, 2009:
These were made from readily available parts: the brass bits from two different types of door-stop bumpers, some small brass wood-screws and washers, a small wood disk that just fits in the bottom brass piece, three white-light LEDS from Radio Shack, a machine-bolt through the wood bottom to hold the two brass pieces together, some hook-up wire, some epoxy glue and... a ping-pong ball... yes, cut in half.
Shown, below, is my method for cutting these ( click on the pictures to view an enlarged image ):
I set up my benchtop drill by first using a countersink bit to make a centered hole in a fixed piece of wood. Smooth the edges of the hole with a little sandpapering and carefully place the ball with it's equatorial joint as horizontal as possible. Apply a little hot-glue to the top, and quickly use the drill-press to lower a 1/4" bolt till it's well set into the glue. Don't allow the bolt to contact the ball, itself, as this will distort it's surface and possibly ruin the alignment. Hold until the glue is well cooled. I then use an exacto-knife, fixed in a cross-sliding vise, adjusted slooowly ( and you may have to experiment with the cutting angle ), to cut the ball.
The domed doorstops have an interior piece for bolt-mounting, so you will have to mark and cut slots in the ball halves.
I then use my trusty nibbling tool to cut the slot, and an ordinary paper punch to finish the rounded end.
I prefer using two bolts in securing the brass dome, so a 8/32 nut is held in the outer hole while epoxy glue is applied and allowed to set.
Here, then, are all the parts used in this construction. The three LED's are 5mm white ultra-brights purchased from Radio Shack. Three seems to be about the minimum needed to give sufficient intensity for this to look good. More would be better, or I may add a couple ultra-bright red LEDs ( for those Red-Alerts! ). If you look closely, notice that the ends have been flattened, which greatly widens the "viewing angle" ( needed because of the very close interior spacing ) of the projected light, which then appears more evenly spread out through the dome's plastic front.
Photos showing various stages of the assembly. The LED's are mounted on a wooden disk used to secure the brass dome to the other doorstop piece. A tightly fitting metal spacer is also inserted into the center of the disk. This is used as a conduit for the hook-up wire, and to allow the brass assembly to be rotated about on it's wood base.
Finally, a picture of the project, console-mounted, and illuminated:
They look good, I think. At least good enough to justify the effort. Maybe I'll post some additional construction details later on... though they are quite simple to make.
One other thing I'd done was putting a bright-blue LED inside the case of one of my vintage Weston meters... illuminates the meter mechanism. Not sure about that one yet... whether it's worth the cautious effort or risk.
---------------
For the moment, the unceasing onslaughts of chaos have receded sufficiently enough so as to allow me to make just a little more progress:
Shown here is one of two just completed panel-illumination lamps. Two down... ten more to go!
UPDATED October 9, 2009:
These were made from readily available parts: the brass bits from two different types of door-stop bumpers, some small brass wood-screws and washers, a small wood disk that just fits in the bottom brass piece, three white-light LEDS from Radio Shack, a machine-bolt through the wood bottom to hold the two brass pieces together, some hook-up wire, some epoxy glue and... a ping-pong ball... yes, cut in half.
Shown, below, is my method for cutting these ( click on the pictures to view an enlarged image ):
I set up my benchtop drill by first using a countersink bit to make a centered hole in a fixed piece of wood. Smooth the edges of the hole with a little sandpapering and carefully place the ball with it's equatorial joint as horizontal as possible. Apply a little hot-glue to the top, and quickly use the drill-press to lower a 1/4" bolt till it's well set into the glue. Don't allow the bolt to contact the ball, itself, as this will distort it's surface and possibly ruin the alignment. Hold until the glue is well cooled. I then use an exacto-knife, fixed in a cross-sliding vise, adjusted slooowly ( and you may have to experiment with the cutting angle ), to cut the ball.
The domed doorstops have an interior piece for bolt-mounting, so you will have to mark and cut slots in the ball halves.
I then use my trusty nibbling tool to cut the slot, and an ordinary paper punch to finish the rounded end.
I prefer using two bolts in securing the brass dome, so a 8/32 nut is held in the outer hole while epoxy glue is applied and allowed to set.
Here, then, are all the parts used in this construction. The three LED's are 5mm white ultra-brights purchased from Radio Shack. Three seems to be about the minimum needed to give sufficient intensity for this to look good. More would be better, or I may add a couple ultra-bright red LEDs ( for those Red-Alerts! ). If you look closely, notice that the ends have been flattened, which greatly widens the "viewing angle" ( needed because of the very close interior spacing ) of the projected light, which then appears more evenly spread out through the dome's plastic front.
Photos showing various stages of the assembly. The LED's are mounted on a wooden disk used to secure the brass dome to the other doorstop piece. A tightly fitting metal spacer is also inserted into the center of the disk. This is used as a conduit for the hook-up wire, and to allow the brass assembly to be rotated about on it's wood base.
Finally, a picture of the project, console-mounted, and illuminated:
They look good, I think. At least good enough to justify the effort. Maybe I'll post some additional construction details later on... though they are quite simple to make.
One other thing I'd done was putting a bright-blue LED inside the case of one of my vintage Weston meters... illuminates the meter mechanism. Not sure about that one yet... whether it's worth the cautious effort or risk.
---------------
i manufacture analogue synthesizer modules and am a lifelong Doctor Who fan so i'm really enjoying this.
if by "synth modules" you mean analogue modules, i'd be happy to sell you PCBs for your synth panel.
Very, very nice work!
I love this project.
Fantastic work!
Re: Fantastic work!
I'm not far, but these are one of my favorite details from the original console, and I think you have a fantastic method for making them. Thank you!
I may bug you for advice on wiring them up.
I also love the collection of gears you've amassed. I'd like to pick something like them up to use to rotate the screen as applicable, but boy, after checking ebay, you either found some great deals or spent a small fortune on those gears.
In either case, excellent project and incredible attention to detail!
Your Help Needed! Save a Gear from being Steampunk'd!
If the bid history of other bidders has accelerated over the past few days, with "altered art" items in their list, and they have a low feedback count, bid carefully. They may be in a costume frenzy, paying almost anything for a big brass gear they can glue to their chest... and you'll end up paying too much if you happen to be "lucky" enough to win.
Be patient. There are bargains to be had, if you wait.
I was lucky in that many of the items in my inventory I've had for years. There used to be a huge surplus place in my downtown, where one could buy all kinds of vintage parts. Back then the word "surplus" actually meant surplus and one didn't have to worry so much about competing with folks playing dress-up.
Sorry... but this is a point of contention I have... It doesn't meant a thing if it ain't functional.
For making jewelry, one can now buy precut "gears" at the crafts-store. If "art" must include gear shapes, then it's possible to buy brass kick-plates at the hardware store. Cut circular bits from them, and use a file, dremel-cutter, or a mini-lathe, to notch them. Then they don't have to rip apart an antique clock ( or buy from a dealer who's tearing them apart ) that was built by a genuine craftsman, perhaps over a century ago. It might be the last remaining piece of handiwork produced by that person. How would he or she feel to know that it had been scrapped to make buttons for what might be a passing fad?
So much for the rant. I'm just irritated at having recently lost an ebay item that could have completed a collection of Boston "G" series gears.
Which are a far better choice for serious functional gear projects than the clock gears seen on ebay. Which are often pulled apart with no intention of preserving mechanical integrity. They are typically made of thin metal unsuitable for hard use, often bent, have missing teeth , and usually have the arbors ( shafts ) removed. Which can make them difficult to use.
For clock-works in a project , it's better to buy a full clock-movement, than individual pieces. And, if possible, adapt that movement to the application.
Boston gears, on the other hand, are usually very solid. The G-170 and G-180 series have a diametrical pitch of 32. Along with tooth-angle and the actual number of gear teeth, this is important in building anything that actually works. These also mesh well with the typical largest clock gears that are 2.5" to 2.75" in diameter. Look for bargains and obsolete stock in the Business-and-Industrial section of ebay. Bought new from a distributor... $$$!!!:
http://business.shop.ebay.com/Gears-/57
Retired machinists and dealers in vintage lathe parts will sell these, on ebay. And sometimes you will find them in the dusty corners of old-hometown hardware stores. One ebay source I had luck with:
http://shop.ebay.com/wittebob
Boston Gear has Gear Catalog-BO P-1482-BG , with design, specification, and selection information,available for download:
http://www.bostongear.com/literature/in
Another source are the vintage Gilbert-Erector Set, and the Meccano dealers ( Meccano being the somewhat sturdier of the two ) on ebay and on the web. Some of these will work with the Boston G-260 and 270 series, which have a DP of 24.
For other vintage parts, electronic and associated, a few other favorite haunts:
http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/repairdep
http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/toobe
http://www.oldradioparts.com/
And, of course, a cartoon that says it all:
http://wondermark.com/538/
Re: Your Help Needed! Save a Gear from being Steampunk'd!
I know what you mean about the steampunk stuff (though I have to admit, I've been guilty of +some+ of that myself )
In this case though, I'm really hoping to have everything actually serve a purpose other than just decoration (albeit most likely a distinctly different purpose from it's intended...)
Good stuff, looking forward to future posts!
Great Site
Hey all, snazzy board
I hope to be able to contribute and help others like this message board has helped me
_________________
[url=http://iphoneusers.com]unlock iphone 4[/url]
VPS Great Blog
VPS Good Blog