Mechanical Marvels

[Richard Hash]

These were actually finished just before Hurricane Harvey hit, but were boxed up in a hurry before my house flooded, and I'm just now re-discovering them.

All these are from the Raymond Levy book "Making Mechanical Marvels in Wood" which I got in 1992 but somehow never found the time to make any, until a couple of years ago. I must admit these are the first wooden things I've ever made where dial calipers were my primary measuring instrument! Most of the tolerances are within 5-7 thousands, so I did learn a bit about which woods were more stable than others, and which grain patterns move in what directions (since I have an un-air conditioned shop, south of very humid Houston). Keeping cylinders perfectly round was challenging.

Woods are white oak, walnut, mahogany, mesquite, osage orange, jatoba, and maple.

I tried difference finishes, but the one I liked the most was slightly thinned wipe-on poly.

These were great fun to make and people are immediately attracted to them to start turning the cranks.

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Left to right - Eccentric (drives high pressure piston pumps), Fast-Return Actuator (slow powerful working stroke, quick return stroke), and Cam-and-Follower

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Left to right - Scotch Yoke (compact substitute for crankshaft-and-connecting rod), Double-Slider Coupler (for offset shafts), Self-Conjugate Cam (can operate at high speed with unusual motion)

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Univeral Joint

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Roller Gearing (compact and requires less lubrication)

[John K Jordan]

All these are from the Raymond Levy book "Making Mechanical Marvels in Wood" which I got in 1992 but somehow never found the time to make any, until a couple of years ago. ...

Incredible! Very nice job on the construction and I like your wood selections. Makes me want to touch and crank.

And now Amazon can send me another must-have book for my library. Thanks!

JKJ

[Thomas Canfield]

Looks like a job well done. I have the book, about the same time, but never got"round 2 it" like so many other things.

[Walt Caza]

Congratulations Richard,
Tremendous work! Fascinating topic! Sweet sharing!
Well done you!

In the "Hey-I-did-not-ask" department, I will offer further talking points to encourage possible friendly chat.

Hey, it builds pretty thin and slow enough already... Quit thinning that wipe-on Poly?!? : D
Have you tried spray-can lacquer? I do not own stock but have had good results with Watco in satin. Very touchable once dry.
A joy to apply. Fast dry and recoat. I do not mind the smell once well dry and aired out just a couple of days! : )
Poly kinda linger-stinks for a while? : O

Thanks for sharing a peek with the Creek.
Too cool !!!
Walt

ps
Which wood-moving-mechanism might you experiment with next?


bonus tip:
Hey, perhaps try a snapshot with a white beach towel or bedsheet and drape a smooth corner gently so the backdrop juncture is de-emphasized?
Your excellent work is worth photos which shine!
: D

[Richard Hash]

Walt Caza: I will offer further talking points to encourage possible friendly chat.

Well, I tried shellac, lacquer, Watco (and maybe something else, I can't remember), but slightly thinned wipe-on poly is what I ended up with. I don't recall it taking long to dry, but I was probably coming back to it a day or two later anyway.

Which wood-moving-mechanism might you experiment with next?

It might be awhile before I tackle something like these again. They had been on my to-try list for a long, long time, but I got myself a lathe last Christmas so for now I've got something new to play with ;-)

Levy's book does have several other intriguing models, and who knows? I might try to complete the set one day!

Your excellent work is worth photos which shine!

I can't take credit there, my artist wife gets that credit (though she would probably be embarrassed, she only spent about 3 mins setting up those pics). Better than my phone pics, for sure.