Steampunk whirligig / weathervane by Nevada crafter.com

    This is probably the most complicated whirligig design that I have created thus far. And as such I would like to stress that this is an untested design that may be better suited as a decoration indoors rather than an actual functioning whirligig or weathervane.
    The reason for the complexity is that it uses several different materials that are not usually incorporated into a whirligig. The design is a steam punk style and uses everything from wire, tubing and even wiremesh.
    I think it would look really cool using a copper mesh for the netting. The balloon itself is a simple oval 1/4" cut out painted gray to resembled the dirigibles used during the Victorian era. The guide wires or ropes will need to be some type of rigid wire such as brass welding rod or even bicycle spokes to support the balloon. Steam generator in the middle can be part wood but also could be just as easily fashioned out of a metal cut out. Tubing could be substituted with copper or brass wire. The steam gauge itself can be a sliced dowel painted silver and then applying a decal for the gauge and numbers. The ship body is cut out of 1/2" to 5/8" wood stock. The propeller is actually quite simple, in that it is a dowel using beads as a spacer and cap.
    The rest of the design is left open for your own imagination, such as the type and style of anchor that you wish to use or whether you would want to add any ports. I personally thought about drilling a hole in the side and then mounting glass marbles as port windows. You could probably use pipe fittings or even Sculpey clay for copper or brass fittings.

   If you have any suggestions or ideas please feel free to post them in the comment section. I'd be very interested in hearing people's input so I can make improvements on the design or future designs.

Please be sure and check out our website www.nevadacrafter.com and also check out our other blogs.
http://nevadacrafter.blogspot.com/

http://craft44.blogspot.com/

http://3dpenideas.blogspot.com/

Back and forth motion for whirligigs, steampunk and other mechanical devices

This is a mechanical gear assembly that could be used in a whirligig or other device to give you a back-and-forth motion. As the bottom gear turns it reaches a point where there are no teeth, which allows the upper gear to slip back momentarily as a result of the spring pulling it back in place. Please keep in mind that this is a conceptual idea, not a pattern and it has not been tested. It is presented here for entertainment and conceptual idea purposes only.

This is similar to a electromechanical device I found in old slot machines, back before computers. Although in the slot machine it was used to activate an electrical switch, much like a person pushing a button. The mechanics of this gear assembly could be used in numerous ways, such as simulating a person pushing a button, oars on a rowboat, or any other application that requires a back-and-forth or repeat motion. It is important to note that this assembly may have to be constructed out of a heavy-duty material (such as plastic or metal ) depending on how much wear and tear the device would go through. Make sure that the upper gear has room on the slider to move back and forth and that on the lower gear that the teeth are positioned properly. This setup will take some trial and error in order to figure out the best position for the lower gear. The spring on the upper gear should be of light weight and may also require testing of different lengths and strengths. If the spring is too heavy a propeller on a whirligig would not be able to turn the gear. As I stated before this is a conceptual idea and in theory it should work, but as with any new idea it is going to take a great deal of trial and error to figure out what works.

Note: this configuration could also be used vertically for the up-and-down motion of butterfly wings.