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Steampunk 4 gig USB drive

This drive is made of brass, copper, solder, watch parts and glass.

The cap screws on securely and the glass lights up blue when transferring data.

I like to think of this as a USB drive from the 1800s.

4 gig USB drive with Windows ready boost.

More of my work can be viewer here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/steamworkshop

81 comments

1-40 of 81

Nov 17, 2011. 12:47 AMjseverance says:

Old thread, but in case Reader is looking for general technique/info- for patina ("antiqued" finish) use Liver of Sulphur on brass, copper, silver, etc. There are other techniques (hard boiled eggs, ammonia/salt, vinegar/salt, etc) depending on the metal you are using, the depth/type of color you are looking for and the size of your piece. Google patina info. I've been successful using lower temp solder & hand-held butane torches for art/jewelry pieces- I've only needed to braze weight-bearing or structural work. Also, I've cut, ground to shape, finished edges & etched headlights and other high-temper glass with my Dremel (with extension) and a cordless drill. The sanding disc for the drill takes grinding plates just as well. :)

Steamworkshop, these are beautiful! Your attention to detail is fantastic! And I do envy you your "real" torches. :)

Mar 18, 2011. 11:50 AMMurphyHarris says:

the spiral looks great in the car light bulb.

Feb 19, 2011. 10:54 PMJ.A.R.V.I.S. says:

Great! How do you build it?!?!

Jan 20, 2011. 3:26 AMprosper58 says:

What kind of solder would you use to do something like this? I haven't found any info that's descriptive enough. All i see is "solder", and not what kind. So far I've had to use hot glue to keep things together in my steampunk projects (which is a bad idea because of the residue). Anyway, I'd appreciate it if you'd tell me a kind of solder that works for this.

Jan 23, 2011. 8:19 PMSteamworkshop (author) says:

Most of the connections are are brazed with silver solder. It requires very hot temps that can only be reached with a fuel/oxygen torch. I use oxy/ acetylene.

The wire on the top is held with plumbers solder fron the hardware store and a 100 watt soldering iron. I don't use that solder anymore. I braze everything now and only use the soldering iron for electrical soldering.

Mar 16, 2010. 3:12 AMwlai says:

Instructables are supposed to be for DIY, not BIFM (buy-it-from-me)

I have no problem about you selling on Etsy, turning a craft into income is great, but this isn't Etsy.com. It's Instructables.com, you need to INSTRUCT.

I seriously don't get why this was Featured. It's like the editors encourage this kind of thing.

Mar 16, 2010. 5:11 AMSteamworkshop (author) says:

You're exactly right. Instructables are to instruct. That's why this is listed as a SLIDESHOW. If you understood this site more you'd know that this is exactly what a SLIDESHOW is supposed to be. The fact that I added a link changes nothing.

If you read the comments you'll see that I've answered a lot of questions about how I did this.

Mar 16, 2010. 9:38 AMwlai says:

First of all, I've been on the site since Jan 2006. You've joined Feb 11 2010. So do you really want to challenge my understanding of the Instructables community?

Riddle me this:

A: If a slideshow is what you are after, why not just list your slideshow on Flickr?

B: And if show and tell is your purpose, why post a link to your Etsy store?

Look, we both know that the reason you are posting your slideshows here instead of Flickr is because you get more pageviews here because of the nature of this site, which increases traffic to your Etsy shop. Let's not kid ourselves.

Mar 16, 2010. 12:04 PMSteamworkshop (author) says:

So you've been here a long time. How many instructables / slideshows have you contributed in all that time? The answer is 0. At least I'm contributing something interresting to the site.

I don't have to expalin my intentions to you or ask your approval of where I post. Make up your own rules if you want but don't get pissed when I don't follow them. I'm following the rules and guidelines of this site to the letter. Obviously the editors agree.

What can I use slideshows for?
Slideshows are for showing off photos of what you made or did, but don't have full instructions to create an Instructable with.

Just because I add a link doesn't mean I'm not looking to show and discuss my work as well. It's clear where that link goes. If someone doesn't want to open it they don't have to. It's not disguised as anything it's not.

Mar 16, 2010. 12:34 PMwlai says:

Excuse me, I didn't realize posters have more say-so in the community. By that argument, commercial posters should have way more power here, right?

But since we are quoting Terms of Use, Let me suggest you don't cherry pick and look at Section 8:

<quote>
You agree to NOT use the Service to:

g. Upload, post or otherwise transmit any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes," or any other form of solicitation.
<unquote>

Perhaps I can look forward to you arguing that your link is not advertising or promotional materials?

Mar 16, 2010. 1:19 PMSteamworkshop (author) says:

I never said I had more say so in the community and I'm not the one asking for justification or telling people where they can and can't post. Lets remember something, you're attacking me here.

I hardly think adding a link to my Etsy site meets the spirit of the rule you quoted. They're talking about pyramid schemes and chain letters. My Etsy link is directly related to my slideshow and perfectly safe and harmless. I believe the editors (who do have more say so) agree.

I will (and already have) admit that I should have added more info about how I made this. I've answered several questions about the process already. I put a lot of effort and time into my work and enjoy showing it off and talking about it. It's a shame were wasting our time and energy arguing over a harmless link.

Mar 16, 2010. 3:32 PMwlai says:

You can argue till the cows come home, but I don't see a way around the fact that your etsy link is commercial advertising and promotion. You aren't pointing to a gallery simply exhibiting your work. Your link points to your web store selling your work. Plenty of slideshows do not show instructions, but they don't put up commercial links either.

I am not attacking you; it's not personal. I'm pointing out that your primary goal for this slideshows certainly seems to be promotion and advertising for your web shop, and not to instruct, as evidenced by your lack of instructions in the original post, but a clear front and center link to your shop.

If you only wanted to show people more of your project, you could have simply linked to your other slideshows on instructables, or a flick page, etc.. Instead, each one of your posts on instructables has a link to you web store.

To the extent that I make you defensive and uncomfortable, great, it's indeed my intention to make you rethink your approach.

Mar 16, 2010. 5:57 PMSteamworkshop (author) says:

Exactly, there's no point in arguing. You and your opinion mean absolutely nothing. You have no authority here and you contribute nothing to this site.

The fact that you've promoted yourself to hall monitor here may fill some emptyness but it just reveals your true self. People who have a life don't concern themselves with whether or not someone posts a link on Instructables. Seriously, is this the most important thing you have going on right now?

Yes I could have posted my slideshow with no link but I didn't. I added a link and it makes you angry. That's your decision and your problem. Do your self a favor and get over it.

I'm going out to my shop now and create something. You can stay here and make up more rules for people but I'd recomend enforcing them on someone else as I'll be ignoring any further comments by you.

Mar 16, 2010. 10:15 PMwlai says:

Quite the indignant response when your argument failed to hold water and is indefensible!

Here's my closing argument, using your own words:

First: "I never said I had more say so in the community"
Then "You and your opinion mean absolutely nothing."

First:
"Make up your own rules if you want but don't get pissed when I don't follow them. I'm following the rules and guidelines of this site to the letter."

Then
"I hardly think adding a link to my Etsy site meets the *spirit* of the rule you quoted" (emphasis mine)

Have it both ways, but I will continue to call you out if you keep on abusing the rules.

Jan 23, 2011. 1:49 PMdurgledoggy says:

Hmmm, Yes you did, you used your "advantage" in terms of membership years as a reason to try and boss Steamworkshop about and claim that you have a fuller understanding of the community than they do. You failed at that, but wouldn't give up.

Steamworkshop is right about the wording of the rule you quoted, this instructable does not fit in that, it is clear from basic reading comprehension. What makes it even more clear is that if it did violate those rules this instructable would not be here any more. It is here a full ... 10 months after you initially started whining. You are wrong again.

Look at how long I've been here for? Itching for a fight with a newb, I'm all ears.

Anyway, I just HAD to butt into this fight, because if I didn't the Internet would have imploded.

Jan 19, 2011. 3:28 PMSteampunkManiac says:

Wlai, stop attacking Steamworkshop because he has an Etsy link there. It's just unfair.

Jan 17, 2011. 1:40 AMChronos2187 says:

How do you secure the usb drive in the middle inside the tube?

Jan 19, 2011. 6:04 PMSteamworkshop (author) says:

It's held in place with two part epoxy. I fill the plug end of the tube with epoxy before I slide the USB plug through. That way the plug is also held with the epoxy so it's very strong.

It helps to fill stick a piece of rolled up tissue in the plug to keep epoxy out of it.

Mar 24, 2010. 9:40 PMTheWhiplash says:

I was just wondering how you found the glass for the back? did u use an old light bulb or what? This is really cool! thanks for posting.

Mar 24, 2010. 10:12 PMSteamworkshop (author) says:

Thank you,
It's a car headlight bulb I found at the local salvage yard. I do a lot of work with glass and have a special glass grinder that keeps the work wet while cutting. I'm not sure how you would cut one if you don't have access to a tool like that. The "heat and cool" method won't work and a traditional scoring glass cutter won't work either. A place that does custom glass work should be able to do it very easily.

Jun 29, 2010. 1:59 PM

Kaelessin says:

Ah i knew that shape was familiar . . .I just replaced my old headlights and now actually have a legitimate reason for having kept the dead bulb!

Mar 27, 2010. 3:43 PM-max- says:

COOL!!! it looks all vintigy and old, but its hold 4 gigs!!!

Mar 22, 2010. 10:29 AMfireraisr says:

Wow Man, I can't believe all the flak you are getting for this posting. Great build, it's truly a work of art. It's sad that there are people on here that want to beat you down because you linked to a store they could buy this piece from. In my opinion the slideshow itself is an instructable. Seeing the finished product of a skilled hand can be more educational than a 20 step instructable made by someone that has no idea what they are doing. Art is Art and we can learn a great deal just by looking at Art, otherwise we wouldn't have museums. Thanks for immortalizing your piece by posting it here.

Mar 3, 2010. 5:47 PMGreenPhantom says:

Looks absolutely wicked. Looks 100% steampunk but still remains fully usable (some other mods are too...gaudy.)

And FOR GOD'S SAKE STOP HOUNDING HIM ABOUT LACK OF INSTRUCTIONS. That's what a slideshow is...a show of slides. If you want to make it so bad then go FIGURE IT OUT.

Mar 4, 2010. 8:15 AMmadmikeee says:

Well this site is called INSTRUCTABLES not PHOTOBUCKET.

Personally I think this should be removed until he posts INSTRUCTIONS. I want to know HOW to make things. If I wanted to see nothing but pretty pictures I would use google image search.

Mar 22, 2010. 10:18 AMfireraisr says:

I don't care that he didn't put instructions on how to make it up. I never visit the photo sites and would never have seen his awesome build. I love steampunk stuff that keeps functionality and doesn't look gaudy. IMHO I think this is a better representation of steampunk than most other projects. Doesn't overdo it and is elegant in it's simplicity.
If you can't figure out how to do this mod on your own, do a little more research into the aspects he listed as being required for the build. Learn how to solder, go to the hardware store and look at brass and copper plumbing parts and make an attempt. I'm not trying to be rude, but there are plenty of usb mods on this site that can give you the basic knowledge to pull this off.

Mar 4, 2010. 10:02 AMSteamworkshop (author) says:

Once again, from the "submit" page of this site:

What can I use slideshows for?
Slideshows are for showing off photos of what you made or did, but don't have full instructions to create an Instructable with.

madmike, you might know that if you had ever added anything to the site.

If you want to make up your own rules thats fine but don't try to enforce them over the rules of this site.

I think I will do an instructional and call it "how to read"

Mar 17, 2010. 11:33 PMStratosVX says:

I don't have a problem with this being on the site as I like seeing what other people create. However, you should have looked at what you wrote before you started slamming people for not being able to read. As you stated, slideshows are "for showing off photos of what you made or did, but don't have full instructions..." Full instructions. You posted no instructions. I have been coming to this site for about a year now to see what people make and there are a lot of people that obviously decided as an afterthought to share what they were working on and they posted a brief overview of the process. Those are people that would not be able to post a full set of instructions. Now I know where you are going to go when you attack me for this post, and I will tell you right now that I don't care that I haven't posted anything or that I have recently signed up. That is irrelevant to you getting snippy with people that expect some kind of instructions to be posted on a site called "Instructables."

Mar 19, 2010. 5:15 PMalovon says:

This looks great! A very nice job over-all. The LED is a cool detail as well!

Mar 15, 2010. 2:47 PMSteamworkshop (author) says:

Thanks for the nice comments. I'd be happy to share some more details. This was my first slideshow and I never dreamed that it would generate so many views and comments.

The body and cap are made from copper and brass plumbing fixtures/pipes that I found in various flea markets, thrift shops etc... They could also be purchased new at hardware stores.

I use hard solder (1300 degrees) and an oxygen/ acetylene torch for most of the metal connections. The other metal connections are made with soft solder (375) degrees and a soldering iron or propane torch.

To shape the metal I use a bench grinder, belt sander, angle grinder, rotary tool, various files and sandpapers.

The light is from the existing LED on the USB card. There was no electrical work involved in this piece. I just made sure to design the case to show off the light.

There are no secret techniques used here. Grinding, soldering, scavenging and a lot of time.

Mar 6, 2010. 6:32 PMmokogrey says:

This isn't an instructable. Its an advertisement for his Etsy shop. Its a nice USB drive, and I LOVE steampunk, but there's no actual instructions on how to make one. Shameless.

Mar 8, 2010. 7:33 AMkdennis says:

Hey man, theres nothing shameful about making money; we all gotta eat right?

Mar 11, 2010. 4:58 PMbluknight says:

(removed by author or community request)

Mar 11, 2010. 6:54 PMkdennis says:

Im not the poster of this slideshow. but im pretty sure like the "hints" up there " brass, copper, watch parts and glass". in the description by the way.

you can figure out that they are plumbing parts and there is solder on the sides. so he/she soldered it together. got a usb stick the lights are usually already on the stick. its not hard to figure out.

let me repeat. "hints" are there if you read.

if he chooses not to reveal his secrets let him.

steampunk is a form of sculpting. usually something you learn on your own. in the thriftstore or the hardware store. there are no circuits and no codes. Its kinda pointless to expect a tutorial on sculpting.

Mar 11, 2010. 9:11 PMbluknight says:

I see the points you are making, but I feel like this is a site that serves to introduce people to these arts, not to keep trade secrets.

Mar 11, 2010. 9:28 PMkdennis says:

Thats true too. i mean I'd be happy to know what exact parts these are, but what can you do?

by the way, he's actually advertising to the wrong people. we are a community of people who make stuff and hate to spend money.

Mar 11, 2010. 11:35 PMbluknight says:

> advertising to the wrong people
Haha this is true.

There are more details in the comments below, for example the glass tube is a headlight bulb from a car that he got from a junkyard. I really just don't know where to find the clockwork pieces nor how to work with metal to make this kind of shape. The poster is obviously talented at it, but it would be great to see the actual process.

Mar 8, 2010. 1:26 PMJason Bj says:

it very nice but it would be better with the instructions

Mar 7, 2010. 7:44 AMnekojce says:

Great Job!

Mar 7, 2010. 2:38 AM

Plasmana says:

That is actually very nice piece of work! Steampunk is not really my style, but Im beginning to like it, I might even try make one when I get a chance...

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