Forging ahead

Okay - I had to say it.

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The following three photographs show the progress on my portable forge construction. I had some time available to me today to get outside with the angle grinder and cut up the old pump pressure vessel to make the forge body. After some thought, I decided to cut three 'tabs' as well as the rear heat shield. These tabs will fold out and support a solid rod of steel curved around the forge rim as a tool holder, stock rest and handle.

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Here is the cylinder, all marked up and ready to cut. Turned out to be a nice sunny afternoon for a June winters day in Melbourne, so working outside was rather pleasant.

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After half an hour with the angle grinder the two parts did actually part, and in the right places. Now to clean up all that rough edged steel.

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After some hand filing and a quick hit with the wire brush wheel on the angle grinder, the forge body is ready for the tab bending and fitting of the rod ring. Next step is to fabricate the connection for the blower, fortunately I have the right plumbing parts I need to do the job. Let's hope next Sunday is another rather nice winters day for working outside.

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And the word is steam

Stop Press!

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To all Melbournians.

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Maduncle will be appearing at the Melbourne Writers Festival in late August, presenting a short but concise oration on how the emergence of the steampunk subculture at the end of the last century totally changed the world as we know it...

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...in 2024!

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More news soon on locations and dates as it comes to hand.

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RRReceiver news

Fellow buffs,

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I seem to be alternating between forging and tinkering - not a bad life in fact.

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The RRReceiver is progressing nicely. I have the radio installed, the on/off switch, volume control knob and viewing porthole (because steampunk radio is a visual medium) fitted to the box. The speakers are in the horns ready to be wired up.

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You can see from the photo above, I still have room to install LED lights and a few prop gear wheels in order to make radio viewing more interesting.

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Next step is the LED installation and the antenna modification. Then it is pretty well ready to be a Three Triple R competition prize.

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(Hope I win - I would kinda like to keep it now I am nearly finished)

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Anvil update

Fellow hot metal bashers,

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Isn't it always the way? Just when you get your first 'thing' more of the same 'things' start to appear from everywhere. No sooner had I collected my first anvil, and my second one turned up.

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Big brother on the deck there is in need of some repair work, the top plate is cracked and needs some welding attention before it can be used again.

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You may also notice the new stand for junior, I tried out the trestle model and it was okay but a bit lightweight. This new stand is a very solid block of 'yellow box' eucalyptus, from a sawmill that salvages timber. It certainly provides a solid base and weighs a fair bit more than the anvil.

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Time to test it out on the weekend.

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RRReceiver progress - it's alive!!!

Folks,

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You are purveying the secret innards of the RRReceiver, all in working order despite my rampant dissassembling of the donor transistor radio components.

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I have removed the original speaker and wired up two new speakers, identified the two contacts on the circuit board that power the combination on/off and volume control and isolated them to control the power, and finally - removed the volume control pot, identified the three volume contacts on the circuit board and wired them to a new pot.

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Through some amazing process of sheer luck and good fortune, all new components in the extended configuration work perfectly. So now I can begin modifying the case and preparing the components for installation.

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I may also add an extendable antenna to the rear of the unit, and maybe even a headphone jack - time permitting.

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I love it when a plan comes together.

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My new steampunk project

Of course you all know that the worlds greatest radio station is Three Triple R in Melbourne (102.7 on the FM dial - or streaming on the web, just google 'Triple R radio').

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Anyways, last year I won a major prize (a macbook and ipod) from Triple R as a result of subscribing to the radio station during thier annual radiothon.
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As a result of their generousity, I have decided to be generous myself this year and build a steampunk radio as a prize for someone else who subscribes during this years radiothon.
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It shall be known as...

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The RRReceiver

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Here are the parts I have gathered so far. I shall use the brass parts for external speakers (similar to the ones on my monitor) and the box will house a radio, and flickering LED's. You will be able to look into the box through the brass lens mounted in the front panel. I shall install an on/off knob in the left hand side of the box and a volume control knob in the right hand side.

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But

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Where will the station selector control mechanism be - I hear you ask. Well, it won't have one as this radio is a RRReceiver and therefore only receives RRR.

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Mwyhahahaha!

But I Digress...

Meanwhile - my blacksmith journey continues.
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As of yesterday, I have my first anvil. Not a very big one - in fact I would have to say it is

'tiny'.

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But as far as portable anvils go - it will be a very useful item in my blacksmith tool set. So I made a quick stand for it out of some spare rough swan treated pine landscaping material. It works okay, and the best part is that the timber centre piece is the same thickness as the centre of the anvil base - so I was able to make up a couple of metal guides to hold the anvil in place.

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Next step is to build a portable forge. I already have the blower and the main body, now I need to start cutting and welding some metal together.

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(help!)

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