Turning a Swivel Joint - Genesis & How To

Very interesting Charlie. I'm printing it out to give it a try. By the way, your link would not take me to the page. I ended up going to

to view the files. Mike

Here's the index page for the articulated joints stuff.

Any new additions can be gotten to from there. I've since found another way to cut the concave part of the socket halves, using a 3/8" diameter router bit for routing signs. Put it in a drill chuck mounted in the tail stock and bore a round bottomed hole. Quick and easy - if you've got the bit with a 1/4" shank. Am doing the illustrations for the process of using it to make the two halves of the socket for the ball and socket joint. Will post the url here when it's done and up.

I guess letting the unconscious part of the brain play with something works because, when I woke up this morning I had another idea for using the articulated joint idea.

Let us know what YOU come up with. And if you have questions I might be able to answer feel free to ask away - either here or by private e-mail (I use my real e-mail address). Fun this turning thing yes?

charlie b

Idea A Suspend the blue ball from piano wire (attached to a clock mechanism?) to act as a pendulum. As the earth rotates, precession will cause it to strike different clappers by turn.

Idea B Cause the clappers to either change a musical note (potentiometer?) or modify a light show of sorts. (Are there any pots that can read the position of a magnet?)

Idea B would yield a light show that was dependent on both the time and nearby activity.

You're welcome,

Bill

Charlie, I love ya.

TomNie

Bill in Detroit - you took the ideas for a ball joint into electronics with idea B - something even Arch didn't mention in his musing about interdisciplines/ muiltimedia posting.

Interesting idea. Could add a three legged dowel pyramid to the top of the rim of the bowl, a ball and socket half bead at the top - blue ball suspended from it on piano wire if the piano wire were thick enough. If the wire were thin enough the ball and socket wouldn't be required at the top of the pyramid.

Could also skip the ball and socket joints for the "rocking" beads around the inside and outside of the bowl if they were held on with fine piano wire. Interesting.

Was showing a friend the idea of the bowl, ball and swivel joint. He'd recently seen a show about Chinese technology that was 3-4000 year old. They used a similar idea for a seismograph. An earthquake would cause an articulated joined arm of a bowl to move and hit a ball inside. The ball would then fall into a hole in the bowl and then into a tube which would take it to a depression no the back of one of many bronze or brass frogs around and beneath the bowl. The device would give not only the direction to the epicenter but, depending on how far the ball had been moved, an indictation of the magnitude.

"There's nothing new under the sun." may be true, But there may be new uses for an idea that's been around for several milleniums.

More please.

charlie b

Neat stuff, Charlie- keep it up!

OK - another way to make the two hollow hemispherical parts for the socket of the ball and socket joint.

Have made two or three of the various sockets to play with and may get to making a lidded box to try some of the ideas. I'm interested in doing one using the SuperEgg shape (tilts and wobbles but won't fall over) and the counter weighted finial idea. Will put up pics on my site when it's done.

This ball and socket swivel joint is interesting and fun to play with. If you haven't tried it yet - consider having a go at it. Not hard to make and has lots of possibilities.

Fun this turning thing yes?

charlie b