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Steampunk My Mini


Deb

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The steam is getting stronger... I started the search for all things Steampunkian that I could find in my workroom. So far, I have two Plano boxes and one Rubbermaid one(for furniture). See what you started Deb? I even emptied a third Plano box in anticipation. I can't wait to start the emporium!

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Hehehehehe Casey...... May the Steam be with you! Now I'm imagining a Star Wars/steampunk bash..... Darth Copper anyone? Did you see Jen's Lady Vador outfit at the Comicon last year? Check out her www.epbot.com blog - it was an awesome modification!

I also bought some more clear stackable containers yesterday at the supermarket's Dhs5 bonanza. These are usually nearly Dhs20 each, so that helped!

I bought a few tiny copper tubing pipes from the craft store (imported all the way from Chicago) - at nearly $5.50 each :noway: but since there is no other source for these things in Dubai, a miniaturist has to do what a miniaturist has to do!

How can I bend these into a shape without compressing the tube and squishing it flat? I've seen little spring-shaped tube benders on Amazon - are they worth the investment? Naturally, I want to make spiral copper tubing.... sigh, the trickiest bend of all.

I do have a few electronic bits and bobs saved from old DVD players, remote controls etc that I will just have to modify with copper and brass spray paint.

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Lene, I use 18 or 20 gage copper wire from the hardware store in place of the tubes of copper. No one is going to be able to tell that they aren't hollow. For larger tubing I used bendable straws on the Shower Tower by Zar's Clockwork Trailer. For connectors on that one I used copper tape, like they use for stained glass work. http://caseymini.blogspot.com/2011/07/i-told-you-it-wasnt-kitty.html there are other entries about the Shower Tower that tell more. http://caseymini.blogspot.com/search?q=Shower+tower

I wish you had mentioned what you wanted to do sooner. As for the spiral with copper, I just bend the wire around something round that is the required thickness.

I used smaller gage wire for the Steampunk cappuccino machines and refrigerator.

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*bang head on desk and repeat*

Casey, you speak wise words!

I will add some copper wire to my online shopping cart..... it is very hard to find in Dubai. Here are only a few supply stores, and they sell in bulk to major contractors only (who needs 600 pounds of copper wire????). At least that solves the steampunk pipe problem.

I think the tubes I bought can be cut into segments for curtain rods. Since they are hollow, I can glue pretty stud earrings into the ends as finials!

Would this work? Has anyone tried this? If yes, please add any tips that might help!

Whew - so apparently, no money wasted, then :cheers:

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There are no small business electricians in our town. Everything belongs to huge companies sponsored by Emiratis. Legally, they must sponsor every single non-Emirati in this country. The paperwork gets quite convoluted! Small businesses also don't make it here, the rents and licensing fees are too high. And electronic shops and parts - pffttt - you're more likely to find a hen's tooth! There may be a few small shops somewhere, but in 9 years here, I haven't come across anyone who knows about it.

Dubai is for mega-billionaires, millionaires, normal rich people, tourists, and support staff. There are no "average Joe" people here with hobbies. Lumber is practically as expensive as gold. Ace, the hardware store, has a very limited selection of only a few things and the staff just shake their heads whenever I ask for something.

The only officially labeled "hobby" shop in the Dubai Mall, sells ready-made models of cars and airplanes/helicopters. Very little "DIY" happens in Dubai, sadly. The smaller businesses are all in "unsavoury" areas where women are not generally seen and it is not at all a safe place to go hunting for something. As an aside, Dubai has about 80% male population - mostly from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka - all places where women are considered to be subservient commodities. I've been followed by guys, filming me on their mobiles, when I venture into places like that, so I've learnt to stay away.

Talk about a clash of cultures; they practically freak out when I walk in and start asking about power tools!

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Hehehehehe Casey...... May the Steam be with you! Now I'm imagining a Star Wars/steampunk bash.....

<nudgling Lene and pointing to Casey> The Steam is strong in this one.

Jackie, I wish I could hold out hopes that Big Lots still had those clocks but it's been four or five years since I found them. Possibly the mainstream steampunk trend has pushed the price up on them but Anna, you're right that I love that kind of bargain!!

One of the best things in my steampunk stash is a roll of about twenty feet of insulated copper wire that was left in our old garage when we moved in. When I started doing steampunk I remembered that Bruce had tossed it on a shelf and when I dashed out to see, there it was! There are two different gauges of copper wire inside it too which baffled me but I don't question these things; I simply clutch my treasures to my chest and run for it. For copper pipes in mini I do what Casey does and wrap it around a pencil, cocktail straw, even one of my larger silk ribbon embroidery needles....whatever size coil I need. Lene, you can still use the lengths of tubing for things like axles for gears, decorative posts, and levers. One can never have too many levers. A good source of additional bendable metal would be jewelry making wire which is easy to find in silver or gold tone. I haven't looked at Fire Mountain Gems in awhile (that's a sure way to clean out my bank account!), but they've probably got one of the best sources of metal bits and bobs imaginable in the jewelry finding section. That's where I bought my filigree brass wings and ornamental corner embellishments years ago.

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Deb, I am lucky. There are a couple of bead stores, here in Tucson, that carry many types and sizes of jeweler's wire. I have found antique copper, bronze and gunmetal finish.. I even have several kinds of square wire. I use them all for jewelery as well as minis. I also buy a lot from a couple of ETSY suppliers. There are some that sell really great charms and wire very inexpensively. I even found a big supply of copper wire at a garage sale, very cheap last year... I have been known to pick up rusty pieces of metal in parking lots. The point is, you can find Steampunk supplies everywhere. Just be on the look out at all times.

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Holly, some of the Goodwill stores in our area sell big jars of broken jewelry for under ten dollars. And I do mean BIG. If they will let you inspect them, lots of times you can see if there are any watches inside. They are also a good source of chains and old screw earrings. Do you have Goodwill stores where you are?

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I have a couple of old watches that I was going to donate back before my foot surgery (and subsequent passion for minis). I just didn't get around to it, though, and found my donation box in the guest room today. I'm excited to have come across some raw materials, but not sure how to get at the innards! How do you take apart a watch to get to the good stuff?

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Deb, I am lucky. There are a couple of bead stores, here in Tucson,

Nooooooooo, speak not of bead stores to me! <theatrical tossing of hand to forehead> I get in so much trouble because I never met a bead I didn't like and I'm just a girl who can't say no when it comes to beads. I still have a stash kinda like your quilt fabric stash Casey. Late at night I get out the little plastic containers and croon, "My precioussssess" over them. When I was doing art quilts I was heavily into beading, especially fringes. When I made the wall hanging Bruce and I used at our Handfasting, I thought it would be cool to incorporate a 24" long beaded fringe with a four color chevron type of design that angled to a point at the bottom. And that was only a portion of the beading in that one. I did a four season series of weeping willow trees and all the branches were free hanging fringe. <sigh> These are the confessions of a bead-a-holic. The sight of a chrome delica or a fire glazed rocaille still gives me goose bumps. But they're going to come in handy for steampunk projects. I've already lowered the level of copper beads quite a lot. I have some that make great knobs if you put them on sideways and glue a rhinestone over the bead hole.

Jackie, I have a set of precision computer tools that somehow managed to find their way off of my desk and into my studio. :whistle: I use one of the thin titanium screwdrivers to pry off the back and from there you can gut the watch. A sturdy xacto blade can work to pry the back off too. Regardless of what you use, any time you're working with watch parts wear eye protection!! I cannot stress that enough because clockwork runs on very tightly wound springs and when they let go, they can snap back pretty hard and go flying.

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I find that gutting watches I can find a spot to insert that small scredriver blade if I first remove the bezel (which also makes a good doorknob; I used one for an oven door handle).

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Deb, as long as we are confessing... There are a LOT of bead shows at the same time as the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, here each year...you want to talk about getting into trouble? That's a double whammy!

Hundreds of gem and mineral dealers(from all over the world) plus hundreds of bead dealers. Its the largest show of its kind in the world. They take over whole hotels, any meeting hall they can find, and my favorite is the one at Tucson Electric park.(baseball) That one has both rocks and beads. And right across the street, there is a huge bead show going on at the same time! They invade in late January or early February and the whole town is one big pile of rocks and beads for a few weeks! Now, that's trouble!!

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Gail, I have enough laces and ribbons and braids to fill two large Rubbermaid boxes.

I had saved some old wristwatches for their innards and today I started a box dedicated to Steampunk bits & bobs; do you think I could find where I put those watches for "safekeeping"? DH even helped me. I'll try again Wednesday (doctor's appointment and all sorts of errands in town, hopefully a trip to the hardware store to pick up pegboard!).

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*cough cough* ahem..... ladies and gentlemen..... :1st:

I have just become the proud mother of a rare Mini Mundus Vintage Hat Shop kit!

From Germany, it contains shelves, counter, mirrors, various chairs, a few Queen Ann tables, display hat stands and materials to make hats.

Here's the item number: 231205853335

I'd never even heard of this company and now I'm in love with their kits!

In one fell swoop I have enough furniture for a whole hat shop and I am saving a HUGE amount on courier fees by not having to buy every single little thing separately.

Have a look and let me know if you have any ideas to steampunkify it for my Mad Hatter and Harrison!

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