Liquid Crystal System

Finally got all the hoses made for the liquid crystal system along with some little back plates for the monitors made up from sheet brass and plumbing fittings. I just need to dye the hoses to a more realistic colour and add the jubilee clips to hold them in place.

Liquid Crystal Tank Progress Update

I have made considerable progress on the liquid crystal tank, the first two pictures show pressure scale which was created in photoshop printed to photo paper than glued to card to give a representation of an enameled plate. This was added to the Jagermister test tube (with the logo removed) and installed with my peice of pipework into the top of the blowlamp. Which then got a good polish with Brasso.

Car boot Sale Finds

Went to a local carboot and found the bits in the photo:

A mantle clock movement (seized) £2.50

A large storage jar with a ground-glass seal £1.50

A glass chemical bottle 20p

Assorted plumbing and gas fittings £10

All in all a good day!

Steam Hoses

Steam Hoses were created in three steps, firstly duct tape was wrapped around a copper pipe (sticky side out). Then thick garden wire was coiled around that at around a 5mm spacing. This was then covered with cloth tape. It should then be possible to slide the whole thing off the pipe giving you a none functional  steam hose that looks about right. It should be possible to colour these with ink but I haven't got round to that yet.

The other picture should be here but the post editor on this site is s&@t!

I found another junk shop!

I found another junk shop in Otley. This place is a bit off the beaten track and you have to have a good rummage. I didn't manage to get to the back of this place as the stuff was piled up to the ceiling! The person running the place had inherited it off his dad who had been a model engineer, you could get anything from there. ornaments, model soldiers, records, half a telephone exchange, machine tools and of course lots of brass bits. I got two large pulleys to make a belt drive on the side of the PC case and to brass and glass oil reservoirs (possibly from a stationary steam engine).     

Fake Valves

These were made from plastic thimble cases from a charity shop, the insides were made of car bodywork repair mesh, wire and small bits of metal from dismantled electrical equipment. These didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped. So I'm back on the hunt for the real thing.

Playing with Pipes

My first bit of copper pipework, this will be fitted from the liquid crystal tank to a manometer style pressure gauge made out of a novelty Jagermister test tube. I used a standard rotary pipe cutter and joined the pipe with epoxy. I think it turned out quite well for a first attempt.

Recent Purcases

I have come by a few more bits for the project, firstly this pair of small oil lamps, 

they are approximately 6 inches tall from a charity shop in York, not entirely sure how they will be incorporated but for just £2 for the pair I couldn't say no. They look like they should work (they even still have wick in them) so if I can get hold of some sort of lamp oil I may try them out, on the other wand they may get converted to LED. They are not the best made of things and as they are stamped as "made in Hong Kong" I assume they are of no great age or value.

The second item is considerably older and nicer, it is a 1930's beer keg double tap and is very heavy, in my opinion it looks a lot like a steam engine component, this came from an Antique/Collectibles/Junk shop in Otley and cost £12. Also in Otley I bough a two inch diameter miniature copper bucket which I don't seem to have a picture of.

Gutting a PC

 Dust and outdated components, all destined for the dump, though they may be used to test the modified case.

The Starting point was, a many year old time PC picked up for free following an advert on a local website. This case has many advantages 

1. This was free, can't argue with that.
2. This case is from an age when PCs were a luxury item and is better made than most modern budget cases. Leading to 3.
3. This case is made of thicker steel than is used now, meaning it will stand up better to having various openings cut out of it.
4. Lots of space, this can take a full ATX board with room to spare.

 A blank canvas.

Completed Side Project: Boyle's Law Lamp

 I finally got round to making a lamp out of the Boyle's Law Apparatus which I found in a charity shop. This was done using LED strip in warm white. A single strip runs up the back of the tube whilst four strips at the back provide a bright back light. The whole thing involved around a weekends worth of soldering and there's still a least on slightly dodgy connection. But all in all I'm happy with the way this has turned out. 

Liquid Crystal Tank

 The two items that were the starting point the blowlamp body purchased from Leeds Streampunk Market and a black plastic pepper pot which was the perfect internal diameter to fit over the top of my monitor stand.

The three photos below show how the two were attached together with a self tapping screw and much epoxy glue.

 

The whole the thing was then a push fit over the top of
one of the monitor stands, next thing to do is to get some micro-bore tubing or brake line and connect the "liquid crystal tank" up with the screens.

There will be T pieces epoxied onto each of the threaded connectors where the blowlamp handle would have been and then straight sections of pipe connecting to each screen. I am also watch a number of small pressure gauges on eBay with the

view to fitting one into the whole in the top of the tank possibly with a length of 15mm pipe.

Recent Purcases (PC speakers)

Three hardwood boxes picked up for £4:50 from a charity shop, these will be two speakers and an amplifier for the speakers for my Steampunk PC, they will be getting sanded back to bare wood then given a coat or two of  mahogany wood stain.

Looking into either installing an existing set of PC speakers or possibly building something with a bit better sound quality.

 These were an eBay purchase, a set of two brass goblets which are engraved on the outsides, they immediately reminded me of brass gramophone horns, they will have their bases removed and be installed as none functional horn speakers to the tops of the speaker boxes.

The amplifier box will be getting a cut out to accept the decibel meter which I picked up at the Newark Antiques Fair last year, I am undecided as yet if

to try to wire this up to one of the channels of the amplifier so the needle sweeps in time to the music. I am currently on the look out for a suitably steamy looking volume control knob.