Datamancer.net - Technical Art and Steampunk Contraptions


	Typewriter Keyboard The keyboard for this project is going to be a 1908 Underwood typewriter, wired into the controller chip from a PS/2 keyboard. A bank of tactile buttons (pictured at bottom) will be mounted at a point under the typewriter where the keypress levers all come together at at even longitude.
	Chassis This 1920's King Radio cabinet will house the actual electronics of the Computational Engine. The motherboard, hard disks, and power supply will sit mounted to the floor of the cabinet, while a spindle-mounted, 90-degree cdrom drive will sit in that window in the front. (It's difficult to explain...pictures soon to come)
	'Hi-Fi' Sound System This Edison Phonograph horn will curl up and over the top of the monitor, angled slightly downward, more or less pointed at the user. I will mount speakers inside, just out of site.
	Miscellaneous accessories Pictured here are the two mini lampshades that will swing out from the sides of the Engine. I will sew beads along the rim of the shades to give them that 1920's era style. Above that is a pretty generic mantle clock. I'm not quite sure exactly how the body of the clock will fit in yet, but the rounded porthole window that has been removed from it will serve as the CD-ROM drive door
	I just recently stripped, sanded, stained, and polyurethaned all the woodwork. Do you believe I pulled a pair of those awesome chairs out of the garbage? Never mind the wasteland in the background...I was cleaning out the garage.
	Some of the miscellaneous parts and accent pieces
	DVD-ROM drive
	DVD-ROM with the glass porthole cover open
	Closeup of the modifed DVD-ROM drive
	The motherboard, some fans, powersupply, misc stuff
	I hot-glued red LEDs into 2 old radio tubes and spliced them into the supply, and glued them to the top, just for effect. When the supply is powered, the tubes emit a low red glow, very subtle. I know the tubes are sort of an anachronism, but what the hell, this whole project is about anachronism.
	Here's the rough structure all layed out. The legs of the table are from an old Singer sewing machine. I removed the pedal, wheel, and some support brackets and such, moved the legs out an extra foot or so, and mounted a long lathed support in the center.
	I cut curves in the phonograph horn so they are concaved, rather than convexed. I thought it looked a lot creepier this way. Look at the top of this page to see a pic of how it used to look.
	Here's a closeup of the computer case, and what will eventually be the case for the monitor. Those floral things atop the computer case are the brackets that will hold the mini lampshades. I removed them from some wierd lighting rack that I pulled out of the trash...I'm a total garbage picker. In a country as wasteful as the U.S., thats absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. I'd even go so far as to say that garbage is my frickin MUSE. I've come up with some of my best ideas from the crap I find in other peoples' garbage.
	Here's the table top after its been edge-routed and stain/urethaned
	By making a little spacer, I was able to use the Roman Ogee router bit I had as a rounded router
	Here's the side of the monitor case...I think the flash lit up the still-wet polyurethane or something, because the wood looks really light in this shot....Its really a lot closer match to the radio cabinet it's resting on.
	This one's a little better
	It's starting to take shape...I might have to trim down the monitor case a little bit, it sits a lot higher than I prefer, but we'll see how it all measures up with the flatpanel I'm getting.
	I did end up trimming about 2-3 inches off of the case..here's where it's at now. I also made a new clock face for the mantel clock.
	Rough mockup of the whole desk assembly
	...another angle
Coming Soon... Flatbed Scanner Grimoire, Crystal Ball Mouse, Detailed Construction of the Chassis and internals, and probably about 1000 other small additions before it's completed