Antikythera Fragment #6 - Making A Hand Powered Drill

It alternates CW/CCW - Cheers :)

Clickspring

Wow! I started reading up on the physics of making flywheels and was trying to figure out how much torque your flywheels have. As you're using the drill does the rotation stay in the same direction or does it alternate clockwise and counterclockwise on the upstroke or down stroke? if it does I guess you can't thread holes with the pump drill can you?

Matt

Hey Matt - it was a best guess! I figured that with a spread of sizes I had to get lucky somewhere in the range. As it happens the smallest flywheel is right in the sweet spot for most of the AM work, with the next size up suitable for the few larger holes. The largest of the 3 flywheels has had little use outside of basic testing; the extra torque just isn't necessary for this particular project - Cheers :)

Clickspring

Hey Chris! I re-watched your pump drill project and was curious about how you came up with what size fly wheels to make? I noticed that as the flywheel got larger you generate larger torques. You had said in the video that the small fly wheel was for more delicate drilling.

Matt

Hello mate, terrific to have you watching :) - Its partly to be consistent with the ancient bronzes of the period (they tend to show anything from a few percent to up to 15 percent lead depending on the use), but also to give the alloy the benefit that lead provides: Increased machinability (easier chip formation), and reportedly better flow characteristics when molten - Cheers :)

Clickspring

Mate. I really love watching your videos. I'm a (nearly retired) technician by trade but you have created a few itches I now need to scratch :-) Just wondering why you add lead to your bronze recipe. Benny

Benny

Yes certainly possible - would be a good twist on the idea :)

Clickspring

Thank you Tyler :)

Clickspring

hi chris, i just had a thought about if it is possible to create a mechanism like the antikythera for the view from other planets in our solar system. what do you think?

I turned it to be a tight fit - although putting a slight bow in the pin would have been a better way to do it - Cheers :)

Clickspring

Cheers Jon!

Clickspring

Love your work.

m_tini

How is the set pin at staying in? It would seem that is could fly out if you go really fast.

m_tini

Beautiful simplicity!

Jon Ivan

Thanks very much Andy :)

Clickspring

You might find these videos interesting when considering early lathe technologies: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnv0DAR_gWA" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnv0DAR_gWA</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEibt31OlCA" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEibt31OlCA</a>

Andy Pugh

Thank you mate :)

Clickspring

Thank you mate, I very much appreciate your encouragement :) Re the paper - The peer review report on the first article came back just before Christmas. It gave a green light to the publication, but made some very helpful suggestions to improve the article. So I have decided to re-write it and then resubmit. I've since noticed something else that's worth writing up too, so I will submit both articles later this year. I will certainly keep you posted on their progress :)

Clickspring

Thanks a million for what you do. I have to travel a lot for work and your videos are indispensable in helping me stay sane till I can get back home to my shop. Your intense attention to detail is very refreshing to see along with your dedication to not settle for anything less than perfection.

Lonnie Koehn

Love that design :)

Clickspring

Cheers Bill, so pleased you enjoyed it :)

Clickspring

Its certainly possible Gottfried - Although I'm wary about putting anything forward that is without firm historical precedent. By the end of the series, I'd like to have a complete set of tools and techniques that not only we shop guys are happy to say is plausible, but also the archaeological professor types who know the physical evidence record are happy to call plausible too. Having said that, the mechanism itself was a bolt from the blue, so why not some of the tech used to create it :)

Clickspring

Another wonderful video Chris! Thank you so much

Bill Yester

Hey Adam, I made it an 85:10:5 Copper:Tin:Lead alloy, but I don't recall the actual weights all up. The first flywheel crucible charge was about 3kg I think, so about 300g of Tin on the first one, with the scraps reused and added to with fresh raw metals as the build progressed. Definitely HDPE - its such a blast to turn, and so much fun to try and land the chips in a certain spot of the shop with feed and speed. Very much appreciate your support and encouragement mate, thank you :)

Clickspring

Cheers Mike!

Clickspring

Awesome, so pleased to hear that Matt :)

Clickspring

Hey Chris, a couple of questions. What quantity in weight did you use in copper, and tin for the bronze components? I can remember back during the clock build, you loved turning the tin pad for polishing. So the other question is not on economics because plastic is cheaper than tin... But which do you like turning better? 😃 As always (as least here on Patreon) we ALL love and appreciate the extremely high quality, and well thought out videos!

Adam Ackels

You are a class act and no one on utube or else where share the skill and talent

Nelson Collar

Chris

Nelson Collar

Again, thank you so much for all the work you put into these projects and the videos, drawings, and the rest to document them. I continue to be amazed by your talent and dedication. Using the sprues from the casting was a nice touch too!

Mike Michelizzi

Hi Chris, Since Vitruvius speaks so casually about lathes, (something akin to, without actually saying it, "of course, dear reader, you know what I'm talking about"), is it unreasonable to imagine that the ancients took the notion of setting a portion of a lathe vertically, powering it with something like your hand powered drill? This would be analogous to an "antique" (it's all relative) post drill. To me, the advantage is that a less skilled operator can now drill holes where they have been marked, leaving the master to do design, layout, and other skilled operations. Just a thought. Best regards, G

Gottfried Schuss

Reminds of me a "Yankee" screwdriver <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yankee_screwdriver" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yankee_screwdriver</a>

Dustin

That was the best 20 minutes of my day :-)

Matt Waite

Cheers mate :)

Clickspring

Excelent video! Love the historical aproach to fabrication :)

Boguslaw Smalec

Awesome! So pleased :)

Clickspring

Ha ha! Thank you mate :)

Clickspring

Ha ha! This machine has turned me into a history nerd! Cheers :)

Clickspring

I reckon every shop should have a slug of HDPE sitting in the corner, to be pulled out for stress therapy when required! Cheers mate :)

Clickspring

Thank you Ken, will do!

Clickspring

Thank you very much John :)

Clickspring

Morning Chris! Perfect video to go along with my first cup of coffee for the day :-)

Chris Muncy

When your wife enters the room just switch to porn it's way easier to explain... As always awesome video Chris!

Strothy2

Chris, another wonderful video! However, are you a metal worker or historian? I don't know any other metal workers that can quote Vitruvius with authority. More power to you! Thanks.

Gottfried Schuss

Simply beautiful in form and function Chris, you look like you were having fun with that HDPE :D

Derek McAllan

Chris, your workmanship and videography are exceptional, as always. What really impresses me is the research you do to uncover and reproduce these ancient techniques. Keep up the great work!

Ken Condal

Chris, I have run out of ways to compliment you on your work and your videos, they are beyond compare! Every other youtube creator in the machining category always has nothing but praise for you, and it is no wonder. Thank you sir.

Mostly flex in the shaft - it wasn't the straightest rod in the box to begin with, but once it starts to experience the rotational forces, it starts to slightly flex and then it maintains a pronounced eccentricity - I figure its all part of what the actual tool would have experienced, so I've made no attempt to correct it - Cheers :)

Clickspring

What's the cause for the wobble? The pin for the handle?

Glen J Measday

Yes its incredible what they could achieve. Even as recently as the 18th century watchmakers were still working with reasonably primitive kit, yet they were turning out masterpieces. I had the night off tonight and was re-reading my favorite book on AL Breguet (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Art-Breguet-Daniels/dp/0856670049" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.com/Art-Breguet-Daniels/dp/0856670049</a> )- the work he and his contractors could achieve with essentially just a manual turns, primitive lathe and files completely blows my mind. It is so incredibly beautiful and also accurate - Cheers mate :)

Clickspring

Ha ha! Thank you mate :)

Clickspring

Thanks Chris - always a pleasure to watch your videos. Were I to do any of the work you produce there would be no room in my workshop with all the scrap I would produce :-)

Phil Sydor

Another brilliant video Chris. Just amazing to see the skills you now have. The sand casting is very impressive to see. Would love to see more on the how's and why's. Looks to be another bit of "tech" that hasn't changed much. Seeing what accuracy they could do that long ago (ok it took a lot more time) makes you wonder if we have really moved that much further forward beyond adding an electric motor to things and some better understandings in chemistry. As always i look forward to the next.

Paul Busby

Hey Al - The raw tin I get from <a href="http://www.northernsmelters.com.au" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://www.northernsmelters.com.au</a> and the copper is scrap electrical (bus bar, thick wire etc) from my local scrap metal guy. I melt that down into convenient ingots all ready to go for subsequent melts - Cheers :)

Clickspring

Hey Chris i love your videos. A quick question, where did you get the raw copper and tin from? Also +100 to mrpete222!

Al

My pleasure Derek, so pleased you're enjoying it :)

Clickspring

Another incredible video. I'm in awe of your dedication to exploring every aspect of this recreation! You are discovering so much, and sharing it with all of us. Thanks for bringing us all along for the journey.

Derek Meisenhelder

Cheers Jared :)

Clickspring

Terrific to hear that mate - Yes this has pretty much become my full time job now :)

Clickspring

So pleased you're enjoying them mate :)

Clickspring

Your videos are always worth the wait. It's interesting to see a hand drill that is of such a quality, all others I've seen are built out of very basic materials. Can't wait to see more great work as always!

Love your videos Chris! I always make time to sit down and watch them uninterrupted. One question that keeps coming up in my mind is - what do you do for a "day job"? Or are you lucky enough to be able to focus on your passion full time? In any case I'm always impressed with your work!

That was amazing. I am still not sure what I enjoy more, learning more about the tools or the projects themselves. I guess I enjoy everything you come up with - thank you for this!

Wahooo! and some fine bronze to turn it were too :)

Clickspring

Finally some BRONZE!

Gregor Shapiro

Oh man, seriously it drives me nuts! Anyhoo - at least its up :)

Clickspring

Woohoo, it's finally up! You're right Chris... your service is pretty woeful, even for ADSL! In the dictionary under "Patience" it just says: See Clickspring.

Chris Talbot