Blogs - Steampunk Machine "Barnum's Dream"

A steampunk aficionado recently put together a blog detailing his handmade projects, which include a Gatling Gun and a model ship. "For many years I have collected odds and ends, motors, gears, oddball junk found at tag sales and dumpster diving from Staples to Colt firearms," he wrote. "I always had in mind that I would build some type of 'artistic' machine. I have dabbled in art, painting, some sculpting but have always wanted to create some large static piece, maybe a Rube Goldberg type machine. Instead, this is where I landed."



The Gatling Gun began as a project in modifying a 5mw (milliwatt) laser pointer to a 50mw laser, which later resulted in the decision to build a steampunk laser that used the pointer as a light source. "The entire piece is made from the lamp parts and found objects (by that I mean things that were picked up at junk shops, tag sales, manufacturers castoffs, junk yards) except for the barrels to the gatling gun, they are made from an assemblage of brass tubes that were bought at a hobby shop," writes Ed, the blog owner.



Construction on the ship began after a decision that the laser cannon was going to be a part of a larger piece. Starting with the tracks and trestle, which were made of vintage rail tracks and a disassembled wine rack, the assembly of the ship was underway. Construction continued with brass wheels to ride the tracks, a pulley belt, and rear wheel drive to move the ship. The boat itself was made of a wood frame, a planter, steel strips, brass screws, and various other materials. Through trail and error, the ship eventually came to be (though, according to the blog owner, it is only halfway done). "When you make something from scratch and the plans are only the ones in your head that come to you in that dreamy state before you sleep, there are a lot of do overs."

Visit Steampunk Machine "Barnum's Dream" to check out more photos and descriptions of the projects!