Contraptors in IEEE Spectrum

Contraptors in IEEE Spectrum
ieeeSteam100108_1.jpg

IEEE Spectrum has a piece on steampunk, featuring our pals Jake von Slatt, Datamancer, and I-Wei Huang. Pictured to the left of Jake above is a project he’s doing for MAKE Volume 17. Can you guess what it is?

The desire to make things is an integral part of the steampunk movement. Drawing inspiration from fantastical works like Jules Verne’s Les Voyages Extraordinaires and H. G. Wells’s The Time Machine, steampunk adherents embrace the do-it-yourself ethic, and they prize unique, intricate designs over disposable, bland creations.

“It’s part art and part just tinkering with stuff, trying to create something that no one has really tried to do before,” says I-Wei Huang, known as Crab Fu, an artist and animator based in Dixon, Calif., who has built a collection of steam-powered mechanical critters.

The Steampunk Contraptors

10 thoughts on “Contraptors in IEEE Spectrum

  1. Jake von Slatt says:

    That’s the prototype and it’s really a weakling compared to the final article!

  2. Harl says:

    If it’s the picture to left, that’d be a Wimshurst machine.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wimshurst_machine

  3. Ntesla says:

    I can hardly wait to see what kind of style you crafted into the leyden jars!

  4. Gareth Branwyn says:

    >If it’s the picture to left, that’d be a Wimshurst machine.

    >http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wimshurst_machine

    You are correct, sir.

    And I’ve seen the finished project and it is beyond beautiful. Herr von Slatt has outdone himself, as per usual.

  5. jammit says:

    The picture on the right is a telegraph clicker. Could be used to morse out RSS feeds.

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Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. His free weekly-ish maker tips newsletter can be found at garstipsandtools.com.

View more articles by Gareth Branwyn

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