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The Steampunk thread

spartanmanor said:
I am just jumping in on this thread and probably sticking my foot in my mouth. Steampunk has been out for a while and there are a lot of good examples out there and just as many more bad ones. I am not a true fan of the look as it seems to me to be more about the ornamentation of past technology without any real statement or function. Anyway here is a nice link for all you steampunk kids: http://www.steampunkmagazine.com/


*edit so I am a little late to the party with the link. Anyway here is my idea of steampunk:
http://www.prestonservices.co.uk/marine.htm
http://hasbrouck.8m.com/index.htm
http://www.kentlacey.com/index.htm
http://www.rappahannockboatworks.com/
http://www.survivingworldsteam.com/news.htm

I would love to build a triple expansion motor one day and have my own launch.
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I agree.. it is just ornamentation for the most part.. however, the centipede I posted is what I would call true steampunk. It's actually steam operated, however, controled by R/C.. I guess something that small would just be too hard to do completely steam.

I believe steampunk should be something that actually functions by steam. But I also think that's where the punk part comes in... stuff that is just gussied up.

I've always tended to call a lot of what has been posted Mad Max, or industrial dreams style.. Fantasy industrial, or what have you.. but I believe it should take real steam before it's branded as steam...

I was just telling the wife a few weeks ago I'd love to get one of the steam kits and build something, or even get a small lathe and design and build my own.. I've always been a huge steam fan, just never got into it...

As far as the Elephant, LOVE IT, even thought it's all hydrolics, but the theme is more what I would call WILD WILD West theme or style.. but I sure do admire the ability of those people to build and operate it...

I've always loved the look, just never thought about actually doing something in the style.. but I'm really getting the urge..
 
similost said:
I agree.. it is just ornamentation for the most part.. however, the centipede I posted is what I would call true steampunk. It's actually steam operated, however, controled by R/C.. I guess something that small would just be too hard to do completely steam.

I was just telling the wife a few weeks ago I'd love to get one of the steam kits and build something, or even get a small lathe and design and build my own.. I've always been a huge steam fan, just never got into it...

As far as the Elephant, LOVE IT, even thought it's all hydrolics, but the theme is more what I would call WILD WILD West theme or style.. but I sure do admire the ability of those people to build and operate it...

I've always loved the look, just never thought about actually doing something in the style.. but I'm really getting the urge..
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I have seen the RC stuff and that is very cool. :thmbsp:

I was really into the idea of building a steam engine a few years ago. I even purchased a 50's vintage Atlas lathe with all the thread making gears to do just that. One day I will get down to doing something with it.

James it is scary how much we think alike. :scratch2:
 
ozmoid said:
It was designed by a woman, for her personal use. Not implying you should run out and buy one. :lmao: :dunno:
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Ok, I guess that explains that.

I still believe that if you are going to design something that there should be a purpose behind it. The bass amp, in my opinion, is a good example of a well executed design. Every part has an intended function without over ornamentation, anymore and it becomes window dressing.
 
Holst said:
I got a second place ribbon in the art show at the country fair... I was the only entry.
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Geeze, that must have been their way of saying that they just didn't get it, huh? :lmao: ;) Laughing with ya, bro, not at ya. Someone mentioned Mad Max, & I imagine that was the ultimate movie for steampunkers, even though it wasn't actually steam powering the vehicles. Or the Wild Wild West movie, which had some great stuff in it. Wouldn't it be great to build a steam-powered chopper, similar to the gas-powered one in the Mad Max flix? :smoke:
 
spartanmanor said:
I have seen the RC stuff and that is very cool. :thmbsp:

I was really into the idea of building a steam engine a few years ago. I even purchased a 50's vintage Atlas lathe with all the thread making gears to do just that. One day I will get down to doing something with it.

James it is scary how much we think alike. :scratch2:
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Yeah.. I think so.. I just wished I thought more along the lines as you do when it comes to understanding electronics. I can deal with simple engine and equipment wiring, building wiring and such, but you start building things with trannys and caps and such, and I start getting lost... I really want to get these radio's done, but I'm lost...

However, you hand me a lathe, a welder, and a stack of metal, and I'm all over it and understand it well... attach a computer, and I can make it do some cool stuff.. I was thinking of one time about using a couple of brake pistons to build a cool steam engine with.. Just didn't have the lathe to make some of the parts I was figuring it would take..
 
Cool blimps!Here's mine!
2007_1106Spock0123.jpg
 
Man, I love STEAMPUNK! The Time Machine is my all time favorite. The fantasy drawings are simply amazing artwork. They say this got started in the 80's but I can remember a lot of 70's underground comics with this theme, such as "TRUCKIN'". Nothing like a parallel dimension where steam vehicles and analog computers reign as the leading technology. Thanks to WARDSWEB for bringing up this thread.....:p::):grnbounce
 
spartanmanor said:
I still believe that if you are going to design something that there should be a purpose behind it. The bass amp, in my opinion, is a good example of a well executed design. Every part has an intended function without over ornamentation, anymore and it becomes window dressing.
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Unlike the steam engines you linked to (which I love), "Steampunk" is more about creating the impression of mechanical/analog in ways it is impossible to physically achieve. Just try making a non-electrical computer with the same form factor as the laptop linked above, or even the desktop-sized cases for that matter. (Or Holst's "Iron blimps"!)

I love the old steam engines, but Steampunk is ultimately about fantasy, not reality. Most of the steampunk stuff I see shows very Victorian influences - ornamentation is half the point.
 
ozmoid said:
Unlike the steam engines you linked to (which I love), "Steampunk" is more about creating the impression of mechanical/analog in ways it is impossible to physically achieve. Just try making a non-electrical computer with the same form factor as the laptop linked above, or even the desktop-sized cases for that matter. (Or Holst's "Iron blimps"!)

I love the old steam engines, but Steampunk is ultimately about fantasy, not reality. Most of the steampunk stuff I see shows very Victorian influences - ornamentation is half the point.
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:thmbsp: That's how I've always understood it, as being informed by the idea that everything looked a lot cooler at the beginning of the industrial revolution, with some people extending the aesthetic right up into tube electronics. Steampunk, as I know it, is entirely about the look rather than the function.
 
I think that where Steampunk is concerned, design is an end unto itself. In other words: Form is function.
 
Some of the engines in Spartanmanor's first link are absolutely where steampunk has it's roots - glossy enameled finishes, polished brass parts, beautiful wooden casks and chambers... as much unnecessary eye candy as function. :yes: :thmbsp:
 
It would be cool to actually see a resurgence of steam power. Steam as a power source was in existence a lot longer than the internal combustion engine. If you asked most people alive today they would have no clue what a steam engine is or that it even existed. At one time steam powered most means of motorized transportation and was the driving force behind all commerce. The steam engine was invented in the late 1600’s and was in heavy use till it’s decline in the 1950’s.

If you want to see some amazing photos from the end of the steam era check out O. Winston links photography (most of these were shot in rural Virginia):

NW-1103.jpg
 
WOW.. that's one hell of a cool, "Planes, trains, and auotmobiles" shot... Pretty damn cool...

I miss the town fairs they have in Illinois... they used to have a lot of steam engine displays, a bunch of the old steam tractors, and every now and then maybe an old steam car... really cool stuff...
 
Although this isn't considered steam punk, and is an actual real machine, I had to post this. Listen to this thing "Breath". It was like it really was alive, and not just a bunch of parts.. You really have to see one running in person to understand..

I used to run one of these about 8 or 9 years ago, and just reaching over and flipping the switch on was such a rush, listening to it run up to speed. It was so quiet, then once you engaged it.. it was just so mesmerizing.. I would love to have one just to sit and watch run for hours.. Amazing how they could make something so complicated so long ago, work so well, and still run today...

This is more what I like about steampunk.. not so much the eyecandy alone, but the fact it can function, and look good and seem to take on it's own identity all at the same time..

http://youtube.com/watch?v=jOdGYUuQebI

Here's a different manufacturer... but very similar.. the one I ran was the Heidelberg, but it was a different model than the one I first posted.. a little bigger, and more moving parts.. The flywheel was on the side, and massive, it was cool just to turn it over by hand using the flywheel.. it was probably 4 feet in diameter..

http://youtube.com/watch?v=5g4Ttv5XtwE
 
similost said:
Although this isn't considered steam punk, and is an actual real machine, I had to post this. Listen to this thing "Breath". It was alike it really was alive, and not just a bunch of parts.. You really have to see one running in person to understand..

I used to run one of these about 8 or 9 years ago, and just reaching over and flipping the switch on was such a rush, listening to it run up to speed. It was so quiet, then once you engaged it.. it was just so mesmerizing.. I would love to have one just to sit and watch run for hours.. Amazing how they could make something so complicated so long ago, work so well, and still run today...

This is more what I like about steampunk.. not so much the eyecandy alone, but the fact it can function, and look good and seem to take on it's own identity all at the same time..

http://youtube.com/watch?v=jOdGYUuQebI
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Very cool! :thmbsp: We have a bunch of Heidelbergs in our shop the oldest being a KORD which sounds very similar to the Windmill. The build quality on these are amazing. Point to point wiring all laid out to perfection.


*edit: here is the KORD http://youtube.com/watch?v=ERZOPjWSoHA
 
I knew you would get a thrill outta that David.. .. and you know what I mean when I say it's like they are actually alive.. but that kind of stuff to me is what the real insperation behind steampunk is..
 
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