Month: September 2014

A handful of good brass turned parts images I located:

Adam’s Record Collection

Image by Adam Melancon
Some from parents, some from Library Booksales, some from flea markets…

Tesla Foil

Image by Kordite
At Marcon, Louis Nicoulin showed me a take on a steampunk lightsaber that inspired me to construct my personal device. When I built my cane, I had wanted to add an electrical sword element, much like Agatha Heterodyne designed in the Phil and Kaja Foglio webcomic &quotGirl Genius.&quot Whilst the sword cane notion did not pan out, with Louis’s brilliant idea of making use of a telescoping magnetic pick-up tool, I was speedily off on a steampunk lightsaber design and style, or rather, a Teslatronic fencing foil.

The very first issue was replacing the single magnetic tool with two telescoping radio antennas. Two of them turns the factor into a Jacob’s Ladder sort of device. Oh, if only I could get electrical energy to arc amongst the two electrodes but that is way beyond what could be protected and handheld. I also wanted to bend the ends to match the way the suggestions are on Agatha’s swords but I identified that the alignment didn’t stay the way I necessary them to so I bent them back.

The grip is a wood dowel wrapped in leather. The front end is a pvc plumbing connector with a bike gear inside. The rear finish is some more plumbing with a piece of gutter mesh on a core rod from a lamp. I need to have some thing a lot more inside the chamber. One thing that lights up. Some vacuum tubes would be great. I added the copper wire and connectors on the side of the grip due to the fact I wanted it to be much more busy. A lot more steampunky. It also looks inherently hazardous because it really is clearly anything that ought to carry some higher voltage current but it is correct next to exactly where the operator’s hand goes.

I want to add a connector at the back finish so that I can run a cable to an off-hand generator as is in &quotGirl Genius&quot. That would be a hand held box with moving components and flashing lights. Large Tesla coils have an alternator that consists of a rotating disk with contacts that ark brightly and loudly with very higher voltages. They appear a bit like a Wimshurst Machine on steroids (at least, that what it looked like at the Science Center when I worked there). I’m not certain that would look very appropriate so now I am considering of a much more traditional generator hunting device but with no the enclosing (and concealing) magnets. It would look a bit like a rotary engine but with two rotating in opposite directions with strobing lights inside to simulate arcing electrical energy. For the cable from the generator to the foil, I believe a braided plumbing hose as is used for faucets would look great. Most of the ones I see on line have been chromed but I’m certain I can locate one in the original, uncoated brass.

A sound effect would be great. Those greeting cards that let you to record your own message may possibly function. I could get rid of it from the card and record the sound of arcing electricity to play as a continuous loop either in the foil or in the generator.

NYC – Brooklyn – Coney Island: Cyclone

Image by wallyg
Athough it is not the longest standing, or necessarily the most impressive, the Coney Island Cyclone might just be the most popular roller coaster about. The track is 2,650 feet lengthy (such as six fan turns, 9 drops, 16 changes of direction, and 18 track crossovers) and 85 feet at its highest point the very first drop is practically 60 degrees. Every single of the three trains is produced up of 3 8-person automobiles, but only two trains can run simultaneously. Invented by Harry C, Baker, the ride’s prime speed is 68 mph and it takes about 1 minute and fifty seconds.

After seeing the good results of 1925’s Thunderbolt and 1926’s Tornado, Jack and Irving Rosenthal purchased land at the intersection of Surf Avenue and West 10th Street exactly where the ride the Excellent Coaster sat. When the Vernon Keenan created Cyclone opened on June 26, 1927, at a final price of the Cyclone reported amongst 6k and 5,000k, a single ride expense 25 cents (35 on Sundays).

According to legend, in 1948 a coal miner with aphonia who visited Coney Island. He had not spoken in years but screamed although going down the Cyclone’s 1st drop and mentioned &quotI feel sick&quot as his train returned to the station—then prompty fainted right after realizing he had just spoken.

By the 1960s, attendance at Coney Island had dropped off. In 1965 (or 1971, reports disagree), the Cyclone was purchased by the city of New York for a single million dollars. Lack of riders hurt earnings, and the ride was condemned in 1972 it was nearly destroyed at the hands of a planned Coney Island aquarium expansion. A &quotSave the Cyclone&quot campaign ensued, and the coaster was leased to the Astroland park for ,000 per year. These days, the ride is owned by Astroland, but the land it stands on is still owned by the Parks Division. Astroland’s owners had the ride refurbished, and it reopened on July three, 1975. In the 1980s, events like the Mermaid Parade and Sideshows by the Seashore brought visitors back to Coney Island and the Cyclone. Its 70th birthday was celebrated in 1997 with a tightrope walk by Tino Wallenda in between the ride’s two highest points that year a single ride expense . Its 80th birthday was celebrated on June 26, 2007 with a brass band, stilt walkers and Miss Cyclone that year a single ride cost (with a re-ride choice).

Astroland Park, opened in 1962 by the Dewey Albert, served as a neighborhood anchor for over four decades–surviving recessions, urban renewal, racial tensions and the crack epidemic. But it couldn’t survive Thor Equities, who bought the home (but not the amusement park enterprise) from the Albert household in November, 2006. In its spot will be Coney Island Park, element of a planned year-round resort. The municipally owned Cyclone was not portion of the Thor sale, and the Albert household will continue to operate it under its contract with the City. The a three.1-acre park, adjacent to the Coney Island boardwalk owes its name to the the Cold War space race. A red, white, and blue rocket ship, rises above the rides with &quotASTROLAND PARK&quot painted across its fuselage.

The Cyclone was designated a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1988.

National Historic Register #91000907 (1991)