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Hello All
here is my first Instructable, It’s a beautiful Nixie Lantern clock, A little steam punk and a bit Victorian, made up of mostly of found components
I tend to communicate better when there is something to show so please look at the images and tags, they sometimes will hold more info than the body of text.
Here is a parts list....
-large slab of walnut 2" thick by 36" long and 12" wide
-large slab of maple 1.5" thick by 30" long and 12" wide, both found on eBay
-2" diameter clear acrylic tubing .125" wall about 12" long, any plastic store and eBay.
-an assortment of gears and gauge faces / bezels, knobs and metal bits,
- A nixie kit, I highly recommend a seller on ebay who goes under the name...petes_kits, here is a link... petes_kits, http://shop.ebay.com/petes_kits/m.html?_trksid=p4340.l2562
he has to my knowledge the only nixie prototypers board out there that gives the experimenter options of screw terminals, solder pads and designated nixie patterned mounts for leads, not to mention he always answers and is there to help you out.
-you will need some basic electronic skills
-a multimeter with a continuity function (prefer an audible function).
-3 Blue leds
-A mill and lathe for custom parts, machining skills are very helpful
-lots of brass and aluminum
-all sorts of hardware and locktite
-12 conductor 28AWG ribbon cable
-9VAC transformer, wall wart
-assortment of gears, shafts and collars
and finally... lots of imagination.....
here is my first Instructable, It’s a beautiful Nixie Lantern clock, A little steam punk and a bit Victorian, made up of mostly of found components
I tend to communicate better when there is something to show so please look at the images and tags, they sometimes will hold more info than the body of text.
Here is a parts list....
-large slab of walnut 2" thick by 36" long and 12" wide
-large slab of maple 1.5" thick by 30" long and 12" wide, both found on eBay
-2" diameter clear acrylic tubing .125" wall about 12" long, any plastic store and eBay.
-an assortment of gears and gauge faces / bezels, knobs and metal bits,
- A nixie kit, I highly recommend a seller on ebay who goes under the name...petes_kits, here is a link... petes_kits, http://shop.ebay.com/petes_kits/m.html?_trksid=p4340.l2562
he has to my knowledge the only nixie prototypers board out there that gives the experimenter options of screw terminals, solder pads and designated nixie patterned mounts for leads, not to mention he always answers and is there to help you out.
-you will need some basic electronic skills
-a multimeter with a continuity function (prefer an audible function).
-3 Blue leds
-A mill and lathe for custom parts, machining skills are very helpful
-lots of brass and aluminum
-all sorts of hardware and locktite
-12 conductor 28AWG ribbon cable
-9VAC transformer, wall wart
-assortment of gears, shafts and collars
and finally... lots of imagination.....
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Signing UpStep 1Finding the way
first step was to gather all your resources and mix and match, try to figure what works and which direction you are willing to head in.
my original concept was to have each Nixie in it own chamber. but through trial Realized I did not want the clock to be lengthy.
after finding the diameter i was going to work in, i made sure the 2 Nixie tubes would fit side by side within the acrylic tube, this required a custom circuit board to be made to not only physically hold the nixies in place but to allow all the terminals to be easily soldered to, this also allowed me to place where I wanted the wires to terminate into the circuit board, out of site.
for the circuit board you will need....
-copper clad single sided circuit board material
-etching solution http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/ER-3/DRY-CONCENTRATED-ETCHANT/1.html
-circuit board transfer http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/TEK-5/TECHNIKS-PRESS-PEEL-PC-BOARD-KIT/1.html
all materials were purchased here http://www.allelectronics.com/
etch cut drill mount.....
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I love the wood work as I have done much furniture building, but the brass work puts this over the top, thank you so much for posting this, my poor old NIXIE clock will never be the same, in a some what grumbling tone, thanks for raising the bar so high, off he goes pondering the quality of his next project.....
As you would a digital clock, left to right, first cylinder has 2 nixies for the hour
Second is for the minutes and the last the seconds...
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Some day, when I have about 50 years to spare, I love to make one of these. In the meantime I will just have to admire yours!
Great stuff.
Yes it looks good on the yacht and the free swinging lanterns gently rock when underway...
I love this project idea- can't wait to start building it! I just need help with understanding the wiring portion. Very cool!
Thanks
Jack
Thank you