3 Simple Ways to
Share What You Make

With Instructables you can share what you make with the world — and tap into an ever-growing community of creative experts.

PhotosPhotos

Share one or more photos of a project, recipe, or whatever you've made, quickly and easily.

Get Started

Learn more & Get Tips

Step by StepStep-By-Step

Share your step-by-step photos with text instructions of what you made so others can do it too!

Get Started

Learn more & Get Tips

VideoVideo

Share your how-to video. You'll need your embed code from a video site such as YouTube.

Get Started

Learn more & Get Tips

Print PDF

Favorite

SteamPunk Pocket Watch

Steam Punk pocket watch I made out of spare parts hope you like it please rate if you do,its the first steam punk piece I`ve ever made thanks for viewing.I am aware that pocket watches are already steam punk but i thought this would be and interesting piece with the gears and copper exposed.

40 comments

Jan 21, 2010. 10:47 AMspylock says:

What does the term steampunk mean,Id never heard of it till just latley.

Feb 4, 2012. 7:56 PMiamamomof5 says:

Steampunk is a really interesting concept. The idea is, if you have a steampunk it seems to be set in the past. they seem to use horses, and dress very mid evil. However all of their technology is very advances. they have robots and blimps and things we down have in the modern world. but even though their technology is to updated, they use a lot of bronze and over complicated systems of going around things. For example, in the modern world we can have a watch that is very small and takes up little room on your wrist, where a steampunk watch would take up half your arm and do the same amount of things. if you'd like you can google "Steampunk" and you will see what I mean. Hope you found this helpful. :)

Sep 27, 2011. 9:24 AMKruegem says:

Watch the movie 'The Golden Compass' and look how everything looks old school yet more advanced

Apr 5, 2010. 7:39 PMRomanader says:

Typename isn't far off, I'd like to help fill in the gaps.

There is some vague and unofficial agreement that Steampunk is an anachronistic line of science fiction based roughly around the Victorian Age, or otherwise earlier than the advent of the computer. It's thematic elements hinge on utilizing "ancient" technologies in very sophisticated ways, I.E. a computer using pure steam power and components. Boiler, pistons, reservoir and various governors and whatnot. Flying ships, mechanical/pneumatic/steam powered assault weaponry, non-electronic cybernetics and animal/human grafting are also popular. See Levian, a book by Scott Westerfeld.

As an art form, Steampunk generally emphasizes the functional workings of a machine as the aesthetic component, unlike today where we try to hide the working bits away under a hood or in a sleek, stylized case. It's like the battle of form vs. function, in Steampunk, the Function is the beauty, like a Skeleton pocket watch, as opposed to a LEVIS brand digital pocket watch, which devout Steampunkers would call abominable.

I hope this agrees with any Steampunkers reading this.

Dec 22, 2011. 3:49 PMFinchbyFinch says:

agree 100%

and Leviathan is a GREAT book

Jul 21, 2010. 6:36 AMBlubber300 says:

I think you mean "Leviathan" by Scot Westerfeld.

Jul 24, 2010. 10:29 PMRomanader says:

Ah! Yes, good catch. The Instructables Robot doesn't allow for corrections or editing. Thanks!

Mar 24, 2011. 4:25 PMBlubber300 says:

It's one of my favourite books, along with Behemoth :)

Aug 22, 2011. 5:00 PMmitchblahman says:

same here, I loved it

Jan 26, 2010. 6:08 PMtypenamehere_____ says:

Steampunk is the category of fantasy/science fiction where the past basically meets the future eg. advanced technology in the Victorian age(which is the most common). A good example is the movie The Wild Wild West in which is instilled a wild west time period with lots of trains and horses and cowboys and such, but also high-tech booby traps and weapons, although it seems that most steampunk is more focused in books and art/modded objects.

Steampunk is not to be confused with diesilpunk, in which the petroleum happened in earlier in time (such as in the movie 9). This brings me to my final and concluding point, that Tim Burton is awesome.

Jun 18, 2011. 8:11 AMohelite1 says:

That is really cool. nice job you did there.

May 25, 2011. 9:30 AMPyro Fiend says:

Is if functional?
Did you use watch parts, or did you make it from random gears, pieces of metal, and other random stuff?
It looks really cool, btw.

May 25, 2011. 11:50 AMspacepirate04 (author) says:

the watch itself is functional the gears are there for looks it does keep time but its mostly a decorative piece thanks for the comment

Dec 9, 2010. 12:40 PMtodesengel says:

sugestion for the cover, if you can attach a copper or brass tube slightly larger than the watch face (with cut outs for the other random pieces you have in there) i would sugest a glass magnafying lens. but that aside very nice work. simple, elegant

Sep 27, 2010. 8:46 PMemerald0 says:

Do you have an instructible on how to make
i really really want one

Aug 28, 2010. 11:14 PM

paqrat says:

Very nice. I have seen any number of so called steampunk projects, here and other places that look to be something that someone just glued a couple of cogs in and call it steampunk. Your watch has an elegance to it lacking in many other creatiions. As to the crystal, perhaps a plastic watch crystal could be attatched with a few drops of rubber cement could be used. I'd get a crystal whose diameter was a little smaller than the outside diameter of the dial. That way you could glue the crystal directly to the dial. You would, of course, have to make sure the hands could still move before glueing it down.

Aug 27, 2010. 6:44 PMmonkeys98 says:

as the genius of wanes world said "EXELLENT!" seriously man make an instructable

Aug 18, 2010. 8:47 AMEuris17 says:

HOW DO I MAKE ONE?! looks awesome :D

Jul 18, 2010. 6:11 PMFionaP says:

I want one! I think it'd be really cool tho and maybe make a better steampunk peice if the...actual watch peice was more authentic. Maybe even if you just changed the color a little bit, so it didn't look so new and white it might look better. But I really do like this.

Mar 18, 2010. 9:43 PMButtermonkey63 says:

So where did you find the gears you used? And how did you get them to spin freely/what did you screw them into? Any advice on this would help -- Im working on something alot like this.

Mar 19, 2010. 9:25 AMspacepirate04 (author) says:

the gears came out of a old camera the metal there mounted to is just some scrap piece that had two post that the gears could sit on hope this helps

Mar 7, 2010. 3:06 PMexcessive.insurgence says:

you should make an actual instructable for this because i wanna make one but i dont know much about clock work...

Mar 8, 2010. 4:51 AMspacepirate04 (author) says:

the clock was just pulled out of a old pocket watch glued into place .

Feb 19, 2010. 3:28 AMknic says:

how can i make one?

Feb 10, 2010. 11:07 PMdawsonj says:

awesome!

Nov 17, 2009. 8:34 PMtinkernaut says:

As one who's been tinkering with watches forever, I say: Very nice!!!

I like your thinking out of the box: removing a quartz watch from its (modern looking) case and using a watch box to house it. Then decorating the empty space with steampunky stuff. Niiiice!!

Does your construction have some sort of crystal/glass protecting the watch dial itself? If not, you might consider adding something. Transparent styrene from packaging material cut to shape and glued with clear E-6000 glue might do it. Otherwise, it can only be used for display.

Nice job!

Nov 17, 2009. 9:33 PMspacepirate04 (author) says:

i have been looking for something to make a cover for it but i havent found anything i like yet i want to use a piece of clear glass but havet found anything like that to cover it guess i`ll have to use plastic thanks for the comment its greatly appreciated.

Nov 8, 2009. 12:23 PMKDFahn says:

Not gonna lie. Thats pretty B.A. How long did it take you to come up with the concept and actually building it?

Nov 8, 2009. 7:23 PMspacepirate04 (author) says:

Took about 3hrs including lettint the paint and glue to dry I had thought about doing this for a long time.

Aug 13, 2009. 8:39 AMsir-zeke says:

this is really quite nice!

Aug 13, 2009. 3:57 PMspacepirate04 (author) says:

Thank you!

Aug 7, 2009. 8:54 PMfunwithfire93 says:

are the cogs functinal or just decoration? and where did u get ur watch

Aug 8, 2009. 2:09 PMspacepirate04 (author) says:

The cogs do spin freely there not connected you can spin them with your finger I got the watch from a broken pocket watch I had laying around the case was busted up .