Datamancer's Steampunk Laptop - a sneak-pique

[Datamancer]

I am awed and inspired. My next laptop WILL be almost as cool as this, by jingo....

Neb

(Howdy all. First post!)

Welcome!
...and thanks!

[Datamancer]

The ratcheting switch was made using miscellaneous clock parts (of which I have a seemingly endless supply). I took a chunk of brass from a main plate and bent into an L-bracket for mounting, then salvaged the ratcheting gear, square shaft, and catch from a main spring winding assembly. I made a few little brackets to hold everything in place and mounted a micro-tactile-switch on a bracket. I reused a small piece of the main spring, bending it into a curled, springy "paddle" of sorts, then wrapped it around the square shaft. When you spin the shaft, the paddle contacts the switch button then slides right off of it.




For a little extra redundancy, I made the original power switch accessible through the black fabric of the speaker covers. It's completely invisible, but you can stick a small screwdriver or whatever down into the dead center of the left lobe of the left "f-hole" (the violin swirly-doos) and hit the original power button. This comes in handy for testing and software tinkering where you need to hold the button down for a few seconds to do a "hard" shutdown of the machine.

[Smaggers]

So it's a momentary action with the the spring "flipping away" from the contact.  It's a shame it's hidden in some ways. 

[Flynn MacCallister]

Oh my... I think I may weep, this is so terribly beautiful.

[Datamancer]

So it's a momentary action with the the spring "flipping away" from the contact.  It's a shame it's hidden in some ways. 

Yep, you've got it exactly. The paddle is kind of in the shape of a logarithmic spiral, so it rests on the switch momentarily then yes, "flips away" from it and off the button
I suppose if I marked the key and the brass flange (that i've added since the video to tighten up the opening) and went verrry slowly, I could get the paddle to rest on the switch long enough to hold it down for a few seconds, but I kind of intentionally designed it so the moment of contact would fall right between two teeth and ensure a momentary action.

[Smaggers]

I doff my hat Sir,  you are a craftsman, and that believe me is pretty much the highest compliment I can pay.

[Doctor Trakov]

If I could get a hat, I would doff it to you sir.

[Insanity]

Dear sir, you portable computing machine impresses me thusly! This makes me really itch to attempt a case mod. Alas, I will probably fail or get sidetracked partway through, but I can dream...

[Reiver]

*THIS* is superb! Might I ask what you used for the mousing surface?

[Datamancer]

Thanks everyone. The mouse has a piece of copper laid on it right now merely for the sake of conceptualization, but it will soon be replaced with a vinyl sticker that looks exactly the same, but will let me actually use the mouse. There's a whole discussion about it earlier in the thread.


I havent had much time for the laptop lately due to the batch of keyboards im putting together, but here's a small update....FEET!



These might get brass-plated, but I'm not sure yet. They don't match any of the other metal on the laptop, but I still think they look pretty cool as-is. We'll see. I'm running out of time and may have to cut a few corners, or at the very least, turn my obsessive perfectionism down a notch or two.

-~D~-

[heavyporker]

 Wait a minute, what?


 Where do you get metal feet like that? These are completely out of my base of experience.

[Quebrith]

Wow!  This is a huge stress relief: the top tinkering spot is secure, there's no need to delude myself with thoughts of competition.   

Famously done, sir!

[Datamancer]

Wait a minute, what?


 Where do you get metal feet like that? These are completely out of my base of experience.

I looked around for quite a while but couldn't find any feet that I liked. I tried parts suppliers for jewelry boxes, music boxes, ebay, etc, but nothing jumped out at me. As luck would have it, I was walking through Rag Shop and they were selling these cheaply-made clocks along the one wall, marked 40% off. One of them was a Victorian-styled square clock that had a ton of great little metal findings on it. After doing some quick mental math, I thought to myself, "if I saw JUST the metal bits (4 fleur-de-lis, a cool center badge, 2 "acorns", a "handle" on top, and 4 clawfeet) in a pile on an ebay auction, I'd definitely pay $17 for them!". So I bought it and ripped it apart. I even got a cool retro clock face out of the deal. I might go back and buy a few more because I know I can use the rest of the parts for future projects.

-~D~-

[heavyporker]

 Ah, I see, thanks. I'll look "Rag Shop" up.


 Nuts. Only in a few states, and their website doesn't ship anything, it seems. Mind posting a photo of that clock so we might try finding analogues?

[seetheduckie]

Ah, I see, thanks. I'll look "Rag Shop" up.


 Nuts. Only in a few states, and their website doesn't ship anything, it seems. Mind posting a photo of that clock so we might try finding analogues?

It looks to me that the Rag shop is alot like A.C. Moore and Michaels.  I don't know if this solves your geographical issues, but you might give those stores a look.

[Datamancer]

Yes Rag Shop is identical to A.C. Moore or Michaels, with the exception of having a small fabric section. Aside from that, they have the same exact layout, departments and inventory. There are a few minor differences but it's the same as going to Home Depot instead of Lowes. The clock has a big "Made in China" sticker on the bottom of it, so I'm sure you could find the same item at either of the other stores, or maybe a lower-end department store like a K-Mart or something.

Here you go...I bounced the flash back into the camera so you can see how crappy the wood finish is. It's a shame because it would be a beautiful clock otherwise.
Note the old-school "IIII" instead of "IV".



Happy Hunting!
-~D~-

[Datamancer]

Hey folks! The laptop isn't quite at 100% yet, but I recently had the opportunity to be in a feature for Wired Magazine so I whipped it together for some photos.  I still need to finish the lcd border, the buttons on the faceplate, add the chain stops and finish the cd-rom door, but I thought you all might want to check it out.






Here's the Wired article.

http://www.wired.com/gadgets/mods/multimedia/2007/06/gallery_steampunk?slide=1&slideView=10

-~D~-

[Chuzzlewit]

Splendidly done, old chap! And excellent to see all our other fine tinkerers represented in that article.

[wandering_nomad]

Sweet to see that you're definitely getting the recognition you deserve!

[SimianSapiens]

Simply stunning: Jolly Good Show Old Chap (JGSOC?). Truly inspiring. One day I too will acheive such greatness: for now I may only gaze in wonder upon your creation.

 

[Alderman Simeon]

A splendid job of work, good sir. I trust that you ensure to remove the winding key prior to closing the lid. May I enquire how long it is capable of operation between windings?

[morriganslayde]

That is amazing dear sir!!  Simply fabulous!

[Datamancer]

Splendidly done, old chap! And excellent to see all our other fine tinkerers represented in that article.

Why, thank you! Yeah I had started typing "Also featured...." but it was late and I had forgotten who else exactly was featured in the gallery and didn't feel like sifting through the 17 or so thumbnails to refresh my memory.
Man, that's a sexy desktop setup Jake has. I can't wait to see the mouse! I was actually going to make him one as a gift for all the keyboard business until he alluded to making one of his own. Well, there's always a printer, I suppose. I've some plans for those as well.

[Datamancer]

A splendid job of work, good sir. I trust that you ensure to remove the winding key prior to closing the lid. May I enquire how long it is capable of operation between windings?

The clock winding key (which was forged from a piece of ore found in a smoking hole after an electrical storm) hooks directly to a dynamo which feeds an aetherial collector array. The aethercells last about 2 hours without rewinding or hooking them up to the Leyden Bank (sold separately).

OK, no... but that'd be cool, right?

[Datamancer]

Thanks to everyone else I didn't respond to directly.


One thing I thought you all might like to know... I just found out that Rag Shop is going out of business. I'm not sure if all of them are going under, or if it's just the stores near me or what, but everything is 20-50% off, including that clock pictured at the top of the page. I bought another one yesterday and it was only $16.00

-~D~-