Posable Steampunk Mechanical Arm Lighting Unit

by cutshopguy

18K5818

Intro: Posable Steampunk Mechanical Arm Lighting Unit


This project began as an attempt to make a steampunk-inspired ( perhaps more cyber-punk?) mechanical hand and arm using principally brass and copper from scrap metal recycling plants. Along the way I decided to make it more functional as a lighting unit and as my teenage son had written a short story about A.T.A.C. ( a futuristic Sci-Fi world in which a combination of genetic engineering and advanced technology has allowed the development of military transport and  weapons systems that resemble electro-mechanical, but highly armed and dangerous dinosaurs, in which the pilot, placed in a "cockpit" within the pseudo-organic construct, controls, by direct neuro-integration, the higher functions of the construct (boy was he steamed when Avatar came out a few months after he'd written the story!).
Imagine very large sauropods and the like, driven by an indwelling human pilot and apart from the natural agility and weapons of the animal ( jaws, claws, mass),  also capable of deploying everything from plasma cannons to missiles (Think shark armed with a laser). Good fun and pretty awesome for a fifteen year old, I thought. Anyway, my project grew out of a hankering to do something which might not be out of place in that fantasy world, but which also subscribed to a steampunk aesthetic; also, it had to be functional, so I decided to make it a lighting unit for his room.It currently hangs on his wall and he's well pleased with the result.
Unfortunately, I only thought of this as an Instructable, long after I'd started, so this is just an example of an "I made it" project.The basic idea is pretty simple, but the details will be determined by what materials you have available and your imagination. My main tools were a power drill, a metal grinder, a brazing and soldering system using tin/lead solder and lots of elbow-grease.

18 Comments

OscarP34 8 years ago

The most beautiful light I have ever seen. You would make a fortune making more and selling them. I'd pay a hundred thousand for one!

cutshopguy 10 years ago

Thanks very much. two years on and its still in place and still works well.

houmeri 10 years ago

This is gorgeous

Hoggster 12 years ago

WOW. THAT. IS GENIUS.

cutshopguy 12 years ago

Thank you. That's very kind of you, but really, all you need is a friendly neighborhood scrap metal yard and some imagination plus a few basic tools and techniques. Oh, and a bit of time and patience.

longwinters 12 years ago

you definately have the creative juice in your veins.

I love most art that requires a second and third look, or more to see if you
took it all in.

cpowers1 12 years ago

this is definitely a piece of art love it

eserra 12 years ago

W-O-W!!!!
it's awesome!! how did you do that? where did you take the components?

imBobertRobert 12 years ago

looks like a robot also. like a robot collector from mass effect 2. really good!

eross-1 13 years ago

this is awesome!

seerixprojex 13 years ago

You're amazing, these are fantastic.

cutshopguy 13 years ago

Thanks for the support.Much appreciated.

cutshopguy 13 years ago

Yep. "Wow" indeed. Thanks for stopping by and taking a look.