Steampunk inspired four planet orrery

13 April 2012

Happy Birthday Kevin

The next project will be an orrery of the four innermost planets; Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.  This one will definitely be steampunk inspired and operational.  I want it to have an aged patina so I have deliberately used vintage pieces in its creation.  As in old "school orrerys", the Sun will be represented by a stationary  light source situated in the center and orbited by the planets.  In this case the light will be a miners vintage brass carbide  torch.  I will fit it with a battery powered bright white LED.

To make a rotating pedestal I am using an old "hurdy gurdy" hand drill that was given to me by a steampunk friend.  Although it is missing pieces and in disrepair it is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks Chris!    

  

The wonderful thing about the drill is the gearing that will allow the planets to rotate.  The awful thing about the drill is the gearing that won't allow the planets to rotate.  Allow me to explain. The head of the drill turns horizontally as the crank turns vertically by means of a crown gear and pinion gears mounted on a solid shaft/axle.

                     

Because the lantern must remain stationary there must be a shaft within a shaft so the solid axle needs to be replaced with a tube.  For this tube/axle I used a piece of threaded lamp tubing (damned if I can find the proper nomenclature) that I notched with a dremel tool and reinforced cutoff wheel.

For the center shaft that is stationary and holds the lantern, I used a piece of 1/4" all thread.  The axle is seated in the drill body so I rounded the hex nut so it would fit snugly in the seat to reduce as much play as possible due to the disparity in size of the tube and all thread shaft.

                         

I could now reassemble the gears and slide them over the center shaft.

To keep the drill/pedestal upright and to provide a plate for the lantern I am using some vintage lamp and candelabra parts.

Because the arms that support the planets will be relatively long and could hit the one cranking I will have to further modify the drill.  My plans are remove the crank and weld a 1/4" drive socket to that point.  A  long extension with a faucet knob attached will snap into the socket when needed, allowing one to safely operate the orrery.

Steampunk inspired orrery as aCelestial art sculpture

2 April 2012

The latest from the atelier.  Time waits for no man (nor woman) with this steampunk inspired solar orrery.  It is mounted on a four inch wooden square with each of the twelve zodiac signs cast in brass meticulously embedded.  Each planet sits atop its own clock works gear and powered by a battery operated quartz movement orbits the sun once an hour.

               

   

Let's set a planet on its ear...an orrery of Uranus.

As a follow-up to the Jupiter orrery the next planet I will tackle is Uranus.  The idea is pretty much the same as before material wise.  The planet will be a six inch steel gazing ball mounted on an as yet to be determined pedestal which in turn sits atop a wooden base with an inlayed gear.  There are also twenty-seven moons of varying shapes and sizes to be supported by wire arms.  Ahh yes, an explanation of the title.  Uranus also sports a number of rings though much less spectacular then those of Saturn but unique in their own rite because they surround the planet from top to bottom in stead of horizontally as they do on the other planets. I am toying with the idea of using thin lexan with thin rings of "grit" affixed to the surface.  The ball should be centered and the ring would provide support. Pictures will follow along with a step by step documentary of the build.

29 February 2012

Since this was an "extra" day I don't suppose it can really be counted as a waste.  That being said, it surely was not especially productive.  I rode around three counties looking for a six inch stainless steel gazing ball with absolutely no luck.  In the end I just bit the bullet and ordered one on line.  I did, however pick up a four inch ball for a later project maybe Mercury. I am a bit leery of the glass balls but, I bounced one of the wife's across the front sidewalk this morning with no appreciable damage so they may not be as fragile as I thought and my trepidation may be unfounded.  Either way, the cost is pretty much the same but the glass seems more abundant/available. I found a gear I would  very much like to use for the base but it weighs a ton. Forget UPS, we might have to use Burlington Northern for shipping. I am still tossing ideas around for the rings.  Another consideration that hadn't occurred to me  previously is that the moons are also arranged up and down and in most cases in line with, if not part of the rings themselves.  This will make for a very tall and narrow  orrery.  I may be able to provide some amelioration by using an extremely short base.  Time will tell. Since the planet is multiple shades of light blue I am thinking an oxidized (rusty ) red color or patinated copper on the base and rings will provide a pleasing compliment. Like Seymore in Little Shop of Horrors, my stomach is yelling FEED ME!  I will call it a day.

06 March 2012

The ball arrived yesterday so now I have the basics.  I will start with a wood base add a gear that might have provided rotation.  Atop the gear I have a piece of vintage lamp pedestal which in turn is topped with another smaller gear and capped with an arm from a vintage brass sconce.  The arm will support the ball and an eight inch brass macrame ring.  Everything will be held together by a length of  quarter inch all thread.

This is the concept.  It will of course be refined throughout the build but is pretty much how I envision the sculpture.  Although the are a number of rings surrounding Uranus  The Epsilon ring is the brightest and pretty much divides the "inner" and "outer" moons. If I used the twelve inch ring, the ball will be much too far from the center of the pedestal when centered in the ring.  It also would make the planet much larger the the previous sculpture of Jupiter.  Finally it would still only be representative of the multiple rings which would be entirely too busy if present.  With all that being said I feel one ring will provide the visual confirmation that rings exist.

The next consideration is how to affix the moons.  On any other orrery they would radiate from the pedestal. Uranus, however being the one always present in a crowd, has to march to its own drummer. I am weighing the idea of having them radiate from filaments soldered into the ball itself. I just don't want to end up with a "fuzzy" ball.  At any rate there is plenty of time to cogitate and I am sure a suitable solution will come to surface.

11 March 2012

The pedestal/mount turned out better than I had hoped and I am completely satisfied, pictures to follow.  I drilled the frame and inserted a set screw to adjust/maintain the angle of the ring and it works great.  To install the ring I split it to pass through the hole drilled for it and then drilled a "moon" off center to slip over the ring and form a joint where I had separated it.  I think I will install several more moons of varying sizes the same way since they all are pretty much in the same orbital path.  Next step is to paint the planet.  I gave it a good coat of transparent blue yesterday and now I need to spin it to add some vapor clouds.  I would like to be able to affix it this afternoon so I can start working on the remaining moons.                    

20 March 2012     

Allrighty then, I have done a bunch of little finish work and am really happy with how this project is going

Looking from the front waiting for its moons 

                              Side view showing the blue fill in the base highlighting the planet itself.

 Looking at it from the other side.  I am quite satisfied with the color striations.

                   The moons lined up ready to install.  I suppose I better figure out how I will do that.

28 March 2012

Uranus lives.  I think it is complete and I am happy.  All twenty-six moons of varying shapes and sizes are on and I feel it is a good representation.  I will probably never be enthusiastic about the wire filaments because they will always stand out to me.  I tried acrylic but it is much to fragile and heavy monofiliment line is a bit less obtrusive but it sags. I guess that is why they used wire in the first place.  I just can't get this levitation thing down.

     

I think they go well together and are a good start to a complete solar system

13 April 2012

In keeping with its unique personality, Uranus arrived at its destination in somewhat less than optimal condition. 

It is now back at the atelier  being stripped and getting ready for a fresh coat (or more) of paint before retracing its steps back to its permanent home. 

         

Can Jupiter really have sixty-four moons or a table top orrery of the largest planet

Inspired by the mini orreries, I have been commissioned to construct an orrery of Jupiter that would serve as a center piece on a large table.  It is not without some trepidation that I take this project on.  My concerns were and are the representation of the sixty-four moons/satellites and somewhat visible ring that surround the planet.
Here is the dilemma;  sixty of the moons are so small that at scale they would appear as a grain of salt or smaller. Even if I could mount them there would be so many arms it would be almost solid and as most of them are in outer orbits the model would appear more like Saturn.  Soooo we will take some artistic licence and endeavor to place them in an aesthetically pleasing manner that is still representative.  Next, we want to make this with a "steam punk" flair.  It has been noted by some lately that applying random cogs and gears and slapping on a coat of copper paint does not steam punk make.  I agree and while this is intended as a non-functional piece of art I would like the "hardware" to again represent a logical reason for being there.
    Let's start this build!  Jupiter will be an eight inch spun aluminium gazing ball one can purchase at most any hardware/garden store. For the pedestal I am going to use a piece of column from a vintage art deco floor lamp.  If this were a functional orrery it would require a mechanical means to rotate the moons around the planet so I an going to set the sphere atop a gear I located at a local garage and cleaned-up with my sand blast cabinet.

 The base will need to be heavy enough to provide stability to the orrery that will probably be about twenty inches tall and equally as wide.  I am thinking of using another gear that might have provided the planet with its own revolution providing the gravity required to keep all its moons in orbit. This gear will undoubtably sit on a wooden base that will be stained in a yet to be determined color.
     Well enough for day one now it is time to go spend some quality time with my lady so until next time keep imagining.

15 December 2011

     Ok then, I was cutting the top portion of the lamp pedestal so the ball would fit better and also lower the overall height.  The cutting disc broke caught the pedestal and slapped the hand I was holding it with against the saw frame Damn that hurt but I frequently tell the students "make like a civil engineer, build a bridge and get over it" so I am eating my words and I'm over it... but, it still hurts.  I am liking the look of this for starters and looking forward to the next two weeks of winter break for plenty of time to play.

17 December 2011

So after a late night (early morning) with my lovely wife at her company Christmas party I have had my coffee and am ready to start.  I cut another two inches of the pedestal this time without inflicting bodily harm upon myself.

  This was to accommodate  the smaller gear that would be used to orbit the moons around Jupiter.

 I am very pleased with the proportions and appearance at this point.

  I need to cut and drill the wooden base that will hold the larger gear that might have provided the planetary revolution and supports the pedestal and orrery. I am going to secure all the parts mechanically with all thread, nuts, and lock washers.  That being said, the next step will be to drill a hole in the gazing ball to install a wall anchor with which to screw in the all thread. Then I will need to drill holes in the smaller gear to accept eight arms that will eventually support the moons.  So it is off to the hardware store for a carbide bit and anchor.  When I return our local steam punk society is going to see the latest Sherlock Holmes so I will probably call it a day.  The boss is working tomorrow so if it pleases the dogs I will attempt to make more progress in the AM.

19 December 2011

After several attempts I finally got the dry wall anchor firmly inserted/attached  and test fitted the assembly with success.

  I've tried to drill holes in the small gear for the eight arms but every attempt has been an epic fail. Tungsten, carbide, and a couple others don't even make a dent so it appears I must develop a plan B. Perhaps  spot welding eight small nuts and then cutting threads into the rod ends.  I gotta give this some thought.  I found some small gears with which to embellish the pedestal.  I think these will add depth and a little steam punk flavor.  Off to the atelier to see what kind of trouble I can get into today.

20 December 2011

I cut eight slots in the small gear to accept telescopic tubes that will eventually hold the arms supporting the moons.

Next I painted the gazing ball. I sprayed it with a hammered brown then spun it with a drill while I stripped it with gold and silver.  As I finished the stripping I took my finger off the drill so it stopped immediately, however the momentum spun the ball off the all thread and it went bouncing across the driveway.  After a few choice words acquired over twenty plus years in the Navy, I took it down to bare metal and started anew.  I am happy with the outcome.  I will need to airbrush the "giant red spot" onto the globe and we will call it Jupiter.

21 December 2011

After expending much time and more gas doing "seasonal" things I am here with the dogs and the women folk are out doing retail therapy.  As I suspected, it hasn't been an especially productive day but, I did paint the four Galilean moons.

Welcome Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.  These are really Jupiter's only spherical moons.  The other sixty are basically  rocks with the four largest; Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea, and Thebe being the "inner moons."  The largest of the inner moons is Thebe at 100km in diameter in relation to Europa the smallest outer moon at 3,122km.  The remaining fifty-six are all less than 5km. Are we beginning to see the predicament involved placing them with the added bonus being that all of them have erratic/non-eliptical orbital paths. Speaking of moons, the one outside the window is whispering it is time to call it a day.

23 December 2011

I put together a working model to see how the colors would look together.  It is quite a bit larger than the "minis" but still only less than five inches tall.  I like the colors and can't wait to start on the moons for the big one.

30 December 2011

     So after a few days off I started back to work on Jupiter.  I painted the pedestal and sealed it with polyurethane as well as the gears and wooden base.  Once it is dry (probably in the a.m.) I can fasten it all together and start installing the moons.  The eight large moons will sit atop individual copper rods which go very well with the overall color of the piece.  The other fifty-six will be affixed to eight pieces of wire arched to represent the rings around the planet.  I am trying for as near invisibility as possible but lets face it the little buggers just refuse to levitate so wire seems to be the only solution.  Since there is a ring around Jupiter I think this will be more aesthetically appealing than myriad of individual arms. The eight arms fit into numbered tubes on the top gear and are "pinned" to keep them from spinning.  This should make it quite easy to assemble/disassemble especially for shipping.  Jupiter attaches by just spinning it onto the threaded rod in the top gear.  Barring any unforeseen events it should be ready to find its new home in about a week.

31 December 2011

Go ahead and count 'em folks cause all sixty-four are there.  A bird's eye view is the only way you will see them all so there it is.  The last thing to do is airbrush the "eye" and spin on Jupiter (which I have done earlier to gauge the positioning of the arches.)

 Overall I am happy and you can judge for yourself whether or not I was successful when I post tomorrow's pics.

Party hearty but be safe.

1 January 2012

Since Janus and Jupiter were co-existant and often invoked together it is an all together not inappropriate day to unveil the completed orrery.

                                  first quadrant                                          second quadrant

 

                                    third quadrant                                        fourth quadrant

 

a bird's eye view

detail of the base

detail of the upper pedestal