Monday, July 11, 2011

Wanted: Clock bits, gears, etc.

If you know my work at all you've seen my steampunk jewelry. While I can buy plenty of little watch bits from various suppliers larger gears and mechanical bits are a bit harder to come across. I would like to make more steampunk sculpture and the watch pieces are mostly too small.

What I really need are pieces from old mechanical clocks and the like. Think old windup alarm clocks, grandfather clock movements, etc. I don't want to rip up anything that still works though. So if you have anything that fits the bill or know where I can buy some, please get in touch. In the meantime I'm going to keep my eyes pealed at yard sales and the like.

6 comments:

Rafael Rhino Rodriguez said...

i'm new to you, at the moment i can't dig into all your art but from a quick glance i can't wait to see more of your stuff... as far as getting larger gears i think the best way is make them yourself. roll a slab of clay and then cut out the desired shape. hope that helps... rafa
:-)

Unknown said...

Hi! Thank you so much. The problem is that I really do need the gears to be metal not clay.

Rafael Rhino Rodriguez said...

no problem always willing to help a fellow artist... I was wondering (i don't mean to be a pest)are the metal gears for more of a support and strength issue or is more about the feel and inspiration of using an actual used item. I understand both but i can't help but wonder. You got wanting fabricate gears myself... I have an idea for custom making them out of metal too or a combination of materials like resin and tin/ brass/ copper...

Unknown said...

It's a bit of both. The strength of real metal gears means I can do things with them I can't with polymer (plus it would be incredibly difficult to get the right sharpness of detail and precision with clay) and would be difficult but not impossible with resin. I'm sure I could fabricate them in resin with metal powders but there's something about the feel of working with real old gears and mechanical pieces that would be missing.

Rafael Rhino Rodriguez said...

thanks for indulging my curiosity, i kind thought it was about the feel of the real thing that helps with a sculpture and inspiration. i have spent my life collecting bits of junk from typewriters and other found mechanical things... (i come from a family of pack rats, a bad habit I've finally purged myself of... mostly) i made a quick look on amazon for gears and such (i'm working on some quasi-mecha/ steampunkish creatures) If you have time i invite you to read my blogs if you like. take care and have a good night. :-)

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