In another thread I mentioned that I was working on some ClickSpring inspired gyroscopes, and promised some pictures.
Here they are!
First a shout-out to Chris Ramsay (ClickSpring). He has such amazing content;
much of it on youtube.
His camera work is first rate, his builds are always clear and his results beautiful.
His home page is here:
http://www.clickspringprojects.com/
If you haven't seen his excellent gyroscope build videos on youtube here are the links:
Part 1 where he makes the wheel (or rotor):
and Part 2 where he makes all the other parts and assembles it:
and here are links to the downloadable PDF plans in
imperial and
metric.
I only have three small criticisms of his build:
1) He shows in the video use of a little button to help mark the outline of the wheel taper cuts with the part on the super-glue chuck. If you go this way, be sure to make that part first! You do not want to have to remove the project from the chuck to go make that button when you need it!
(really this was just my bad planning, but if had been in the plans and not just the video I would have had it when I needed it)
2) I used the imperial plans and there were a couple inconsistencies..... for instance they show the lower bearing hole in the frame as 0.197", however the bearing itself is 0.200". Read them over for double-check before you start!
3) the loctite 603 bearing retainer only seems to be good for a single use! It was fine for my first unit, but then was too thick to wick into the slip joints a few days later. Maybe I just got a bad bottle.....but at $30 for two drops, it's not worth it!
I made a couple other changes:
1) rather than put a screwdriver slot on the upper bearing I knurled it and rounded the end because I thought it would be easier on tables, floors and other surfaces. Of course now mine won't balance on a string......
2) I found I needed to use non-permanent loctite for the threaded upper bearing or it would tighten/loosen with the rotor
3) I first made my first gyroscope full-size to the plans and realized how big it really is. I then made three more for some young people in my life as Christmas presents. I made those smaller for smaller hands, and hopefully a little stronger, just in case they get dropped....
Frame: 3-1/4" OD and 2-1/2" ID
Rotor: 2-3/8" OD, 1/2-inch thick,
Axle: 1/4" diameter.
Now I realize that I cannot compete with Clickspring for camera work and his amazing level of presentation.
Consider this an homage........
Here's the first full-size one I made:
I can get over 2-1/2 minutes spin time with the pull string.
I haven't timed it when using compressed air to spin it up.
In the video ClickSpring shows a lathe tool that will cut brass on the end and two sides. Here's mine:
The rest is just a collection of photos from various stages of the build:
This was really my first use of a super-glue chuck.....
Since I was making multiple rotors, I did NOT want to remove it from my 4-jaw chuck to go outside to loosen the glue with a torch.
However, from soldering near a super-glue repair I know the gag-inducing aroma and eye-watering smoke when you burn it.
Luckily, if you're careful you can get it apart at a lower temperature and it looks like this:
I used a propane torch directed at the brass wheel.
Well that should be enough pictures to prove that it really did happen!
-brino