Lone Wolf Drafting and Design Gets Crafty – Part 2

This blog entry is part 2 of a 2 part series.  Click here for part 1.

As I have mentioned before, the slow economy has taken its toll on my small business.  Work seems to come in cycles, and right now, I am in a lull.  I can only do so much advertising and client follow up before I just have to realize that there is no work to be had right now.  So, in an attempt to not lose my mind, I have decided to try my hand at a new hobby – Steampunk Crafting.

For those of you not familiar with the Steampunk design, here is a brief explanation:

Steampunk is an art form that finds it inspiration in 19^th century Victorian history.  Items created in the Steampunk fashion usually include elements of a mechanical nature showing exposed gears, wiring, knobs and other elements not found in mainstream design.  The Steampunk genre can be applied to just about anything, but is most prevalent in clothing, machinery and jewelry, but can extend to modes of transportation and architecture.

You can find more about Steampunk here and here.

Below are a couple of examples of Steampunk design found on the Internet.

Cell phone retrofit.

Modified keyboard - maybe one day I will attempt this!

No idea - but it's pretty cool lookin!

This is a particular design style that I love, and the nice thing about it is that anyone can try their hand at it.  So try I did.  My wife, Allie, showed me a website called www.instructables.com – an excellent resource that shows you how to make just about anything you want.  Instructables.com has a massive section on all things Steampunk.  My first project – a pair of Steampunk lab goggles.  The guide that I used can be found here.

Most of the basic stuff I already had, and the more exotic parts I obtained from the dismantling of the adding machine, which you can read about here.

Starting with a just a pair of basic safely goggles; I followed the steps on Instructables.com to get the project going.  I went to Home Depot to get the main part of the project – the actual goggle frames.  They are made from 2 - 2” insulated metallic grounding bushings.  

Standard rubber/ flexible safety goggles.

2" insulated metallic grounding bushing

The other key to this type of project is Loctite Epoxy.  I used this miraculous bonding agent to put the whole thing together. All of the gears, knobs, and wire came from the adding machine and an old stereo.  My wife happened to have all of the paint I needed.  From there, I just followed the photo tutorial and made myself my very own set of Steampunk lab goggles.

The finished goggles!

The strap and details.

More details.

The top of the goggles.

I have a couple of other projects that I would like to attempt – retrofitting an old flashlight and a pair of binoculars.  

Flashlight and binoculars.

I will take more photos of the process this time.  I think I will continue working on these little projects until more design and rendering work comes my way.

At the very least, I will learn new skills and keep my sanity, for a little while longer, anyway.

Thanks for reading!