Beauty is hidden in the details, but not many people can find it.
That’s why Chaotic-Tock has so huge gears. Usually, these elements are hidden from view, and even if they are visible, they are usually so tiny that details can’t be seen at all. But when gears are visible and big enough, they look so soothingly awesome. Passing torque from gear to gear, teeth pairs switching, smoothly turning… You’ll see it in person when you get your own Chaotic-Tock.
But gears are not the only beautiful detail that’s so often missed. You certainly have seen a lot of screws, bolts and nuts. Before I started studying mechanical engineering, I met a professor who claimed he could deliver two years of lectures only about bolts and nuts. I was a little sceptical at that time, but now I think I could do the same. Thread profiles, diameters, pitches, fillets… Usually these are so small that bolts look like sticks with rings on them.
This weekend, I decided to show how a bolt really looks. I made a huge one – an M64. It’s an exact wooden replica of a real $500 bolt. It’s interesting how small screws are totally boring, but this huge one just keeps lingering in your hands.
Here is how it was made and how it looks like. Besides, there are some nuts and bolts we used during making of Chaotic-Tock. Only a few smallest hex-head screws remain on the actual product.
I had to do some hacking on my small lathe and milling machine to achieve the huge 6mm pitch. I also had to make two special thread cutting tools for internal and external thread.
It was a fun project! But the weekend is over now. We and we’re back to our old business.
Which is even more fun! Crazy clocks, cool sensors and über-meters, we’re back!
