The Steampunk Spectrascope
Babbage Mark XX Computer
The Steampunk Spectrascope Charles Babbage Mark XX Computer, yes, I’ve given it a more fancy name, continues to evolve. Evoking the thoughts of Walt Disney who said, “Disneyland will never be finished.”
Looking at the screen I thought the left side of the frame could use a bit of extra interest. How about a smokestack chimney?
So, I stripped the wooden housing away from the screen…
…and laid it out, trying to fathom what to do and how to go about it…
Then I sifted through my plumbing bits and sorted out the configuration of elbows and tees I might need to support the extra length of copper pipe which would make up the smokestack. I also figured I should tee into the existing copper pipe surround directly opposite the tee on the right, to give the whole thing a bit of easy-on-the-eye symmetry.
It was my friend and prop advisor Barry Down who sorted, from his giant shed of bits, a brass air valve - he did tell me what it was called but I’ve forgotten - which was visually interesting and could happily pass as a Steampunkish top to the smokestack.
Finally, two pipe clips, painted and screwed into the left side edge, a couple of elbows pressed home off the tee – and the chimney smokestack snapped into place.
