The Steampunk Adventurer's Guide: Contraptions, Creations, and Curiosities Anyone Can Make

By Thomas Willeford

Fascinatingly Fun, Family-Friendly Steampunk Projects

"Here’s a Steampunk tale with an invitation to build Steampunk props. An interactive notion; an imaginative adventure; and a way to further stimulate your own imagination." -- From the Foreword by David Silverman, director and producer of The Simpsons Movie and codirector of Monsters, Inc.

Steampunk stalwart Thomas Willeford cordially invitesyou on an adventure--one in which you get to build ingenious devices of your own! Lavishly illustrated by award-winning cartoonist Phil Foglio, The Steampunk Adventurer's Guide: Contraptions, Creations, and Curiosities Anyone Can Make presents 10 intriguing projects ideal for makers of all ages and skill levels, woven into an epic tale of mystery and pursuit.

Follow the exploits of Isaac and Amelia, a brother and sister who must devise a series of beguiling gizmos to rescue their uncle from a skyship that's been commandeered by a nefarious villain and his rogue automatons. Each chapter contains an installment of this captivating story along with the step-by-step instructions and list of tools and materials you'll need to create the featured gadgets.

Discover how to forge these imaginative contraptions:

• Decoder armguard
• Signaling periscope
• Goggles
• Grappling hook launcher
• Airship harness
• Glider wings
• Rivet gun
• Power armor
• Magnetic amplification gauntlet
• Rocket pack

• Language: English
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education
• Release date: Nov 22, 2013
• ISBN: 9780071827850

Book preview

About the Author (Wanted for Questioning)

With an education in physics, history, and art, it was perhaps inevitable that Thomas Willeford (aka Lord Archibald Feathers Featherstone) would become a Steampunk enthusiast. His work blurs the precarious line between art and engineering. If, upon viewing a piece, one does not ask, Does that actually work? he considers the piece a failure.

Thomas has been creating unique and beautiful corsets and all manner of striking Steampunk gadgetry for more than 20 years. Thomas is also the author of the critically acclaimed Steampunk how-to book Steampunk Gear, Gadgets, and Gizmos (McGraw-Hill Professional). He and his products have been widely featured on television (MTV, BBC, Castle, and Oddities), online (Wired, Forbes, and Popular Mechanics), and in print (The Art of Steampunk, The Steampunk Bible, and Steampunk: An Illustrated History). Satisfied customers include musician Rick Springfield, director David Silverman (The Simpsons Movie), and actresses Patricia Tallman (Babylon 5) and Virginia Hey (Farscape). Thomas also contributed to the design of Alchemy Gothic’s Empire Collection, a line of Steampunk jewelry and accessories.

Thomas’s artwork has also been featured in numerous museum exhibitions worldwide, including Penn State’s STEAMpunk!, Dr. Grymm’s Steampunk Bizarre, the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation’s Steampunk: Form and Function, and the Ashmolean Museum of the History of Science at Oxford’s Steampunk, 20,000 Leagues at Patriot Place, and Mobilis in Mobili at The Wooster Street Social Club (home of The Learning Channel’s NY Ink). His clockwork spider Arachnae Mechanica is currently housed in the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is currently a consultant and prop master of the upcoming Steampunk television series, Bruce Boxleitner’s Lantern City.

Thomas currently resides in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with his six spoiled cats.

About the Artist (Have You Seen This Man?)

Phil Foglio is the coauthor, with Kaja Foglio, of the Hugo Award–winning Girl Genius graphic novel series and the novels Agatha H and the Airship City and Agatha H and the Clockwork Princess. Phil has been writing and drawing comics since the 1980s, with work that includes Buck Godot, the adaptation of MythAdventures, and work for DC and Marvel Comics.

Copyright © 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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This book is dedicated to Louise R. Howard,

for being a better friend than I deserve,

and Alexander Marty Gear,

for not letting me be just good enough at what I do.

Contents at a Glance

Part the First

Before We Begin

Chapter 1

What Is Steampunk?

Chapter 2

Tools of the Modern Mad Scientist … and Materials, Too

Chapter 3

You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out!

Part the Second

The Adventure

Chapter 4

Decoder Armguard

Wherein our heroes get the message

Chapter 5

Signaling Periscope

Wherein our heroes pass the message along

Chapter 6

Goggles

Wherein our heroes prepare for a trip

Chapter 7

Grappling Hook Launcher

Wherein our heroes get a lift

Chapter 8

Airship Harness

Wherein our heroes fly by night

Chapter 9

Glider Wings

Wherein our heroes get separated

Chapter 10

Rivet Gun (Modded Nerf Blaster)

Wherein our heroes get stranded

Chapter 11

Power Armor and Magnetic Amplification Gauntlet

Wherein our heroes are reunited

Chapter 12

Rocket Pack

Wherein our heroes visit their uncle

Chapter 13

Epilogue

Wherein our heroes escape

Part the Third

Hastily Scribbled Laboratory Notes

Appendix A

This Way Lies Madness

Appendix B

Dramatis Personae

Appendix C

For the Brilliant but Mathematically Challenged Mad Scientist

Final Thoughts

Master Patterns

Index

Contents

A Foreword of Sorts—All Sorts

Agents and Accomplices

Meanwhile, in an Underground Lair

Part the First

Before We Begin

Chapter 1

What Is Steampunk?

Alternative History

Retro-Futurism/Modernism

What Steampunk Is Not (Cog on a Stick)

Chapter 2

Tools of the Modern Mad Scientist … and Materials, Too

Tools

Materials

A Material to Make: Fleather—the Latest Thing in Mad Science!

Embellishments

Embellishments to Make

Chapter 3

You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out!

Sharp Things

Other Dangers

Part the Second

The Adventure

Chapter 4

Decoder Armguard

Wherein our heroes get the message

Build the Decoder Armguard

Step 1: The Armguard Base

Step 2: Bits and Pieces

Step 3: The Code

Step 4: The Decoder Mechanism

Step 5: Odds and Ends

Chapter 5

Signaling Periscope

Wherein our heroes pass the message along

Build the Signaling Periscope

Step 1: Cut Out Your Pieces

Step 2: Put the Pieces Together

Step 3: Install the Lights

Step 4: Finish It Off

Chapter 6

Goggles

Wherein our heroes prepare for a trip

Build the Goggles

Step 1: Cut the Gasket Pieces

Step 2: Prepare the Lenses

Step 3: Assemble the Gaskets and Lenses

Step 4: Embellish Your Goggles

Chapter 7

Grappling Hook Launcher

Wherein our heroes get a lift

Make the Grappling Hook Launcher

Step 1: Cut Your Pipe Sections

Step 2: Assemble the Launcher Mechanism

Step 3: Flesh It Out

Step 4: The Tank

Step 5: The Grappling Hook

Step 6: The Shaft

Step 7: Embellishments

Chapter 8

Airship Harness

Wherein our heroes fly by night

Make an Airship Harness

Step 1: Make a Strap

Step 2: From Strap to Belt

Step 3: The Back Strap

Step 4: Shoulder Straps

Step 5: The Up Straps

Chapter 9

Glider Wings

Wherein our heroes get separated

Build a Pair of Glider Wings

Step 1: Lay Out the Patterns

Step 2: Cut Part 1 of the Wings

Step 3: Cut Part 2 of the Wings

Step 4: Cut Part 3 of the Wings

Step 5: Embellish the Wings

Step 6: Assemble the Wings

Step 7: The Harness

Step 8: Mount the Wings

Chapter 10

Rivet Gun (Modded Nerf Blaster)

Wherein our heroes get stranded

Build the Rivet Gun

Step 1: Paint the Gun

Step 2: The Handle

Step 3: The Slide

Step 4: The Top Ridge

Step 5: The Magazine

Step 6: The Barrel

Step 7: Further Embellishment

Chapter 11

Power Armor and Magnetic Amplification Gauntlet

Wherein our heroes are reunited

Build the Power Armor

Step 1: The Chest Plate

Step 2: A Bit of Armor

Step 3: Make the Belt

Step 4: Make the Riveting Details

Step 5: Form the Chest Plate

Step 6: The Gauge

Step 7: The Back Plate

Step 8: Strapping

Step 9: Finishing Touches on the Body Armor

Step 10: Shoulders

Step 11: Arm Pieces

Step 12: Embellishments

Build the Magnetic Amplification Gauntlet

Step 1: Cut Out Your Patterns

Step 2: The Base of the Arm Guard

Step 3: The Grill

Step 4: Put Them Together

Step 5: Steampunk Tailoring for the Arm Guard

Step 6: Hand and Knuckle Guards

Step 7: Put It All Together

Step 8: Embellishments

Chapter 12

Rocket Pack

Wherein our heroes visit their uncle

Build the Rocket Pack

Step 1: Prepare the Bottles for Painting

Step 2: Paint

Step 3: The Mounting Plate and Harness

Step 4: Decorate the Tanks

Step 5: Attach the Tanks to the Mounting Plate

Step 6: Attach the Nozzles

Step 7: Embellishments

Chapter 13

Epilogue

Wherein our heroes escape

Part the Third

Hastily Scribbled Laboratory Notes

Appendix A

This Way Lies Madness

Further Reading

Viewing

Music

Games

Merchandise

Appendix B

Dramatis Personae

Easter Eggs

Appendix C

For the Brilliant but Mathematically Challenged Mad Scientist

Metric to U.S. Conversions (Length)

U.S. to Metric Conversions (Length)

Conversion Chart: Fraction/Decimal/Millimeter

Final Thoughts

Master Patterns

Index

A Foreword of Sorts—All Sorts

It wasn’t always called Steampunk. It may have been referred to as Victorian Fantasies or Jules Verne Technologies or HG Wells Horsing Around (ok, I made that last one up). The point is, that at about the time the expression was coined, Thomas Willeford had already been in the Steampunk business. He had been designing and building great stuff, in the Steampunk style.

It’s a style of designing a science fiction future with late 19th-century technology. I’ve always been a fan of the earliest science fiction, or scientific romances as they were called back then. The works of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells, these were the great pioneers of imagination. Wells particularly fascinates me—he invented so many themes of science fiction, and most of them within a six-year period. That’s a lot of genius!

Growing up as a boy cartoonist in the 1960s, I was enthralled with the George Pal film version of The Time Machine, the Ray Harryhausen fx-driven First Men in the Moon, and the TV show The Wild Wild West. They all had something in common: Steampunk design. Of course, my pals and I didn’t call it that; the expression was years away. But we all loved it.

Then, many years later, I am strolling around the 2011 San Diego Comic Convention. And I stumble onto Brute Force Studios. What th— ?! says I. Here’s a mad scientist from those pages and shows I loved as a kid, selling stuff! Well, I had to buy a few items, as I needed them for Burning Man (which has some incredible Steampunk creations as well). Thomas and I got to chatting and have been pals ever since.

So now Thomas has done something unusual. Here’s a Steampunk tale with an invitation to build Steampunk props. An interactive notion; an imaginative adventure, and a way to further stimulate your own imagination. It’s a nifty idea. I think even I can build these, thanks to Thomas’s clear guides, and I’m a lousy carpenter.

Sit back in your favorite chair, with your favorite tools. Time to get reading and building. At the same time! Go for it, you can—ah—what’s that? Oh—oh—yes I see. I apologize, I’ve been asked not to encourage reading and building at the same time.

It started as scientific romances, became science fiction, and now has come to be known as Steampunk. Call it what you like, it is the stuff of dreams. And I like it all. Because I’m a dreamer—but aren’t we all?

—David Silverman

Adventurer, Animator, Tuba Aficionado

Director and producer of

The Simpsons Movie and

co-director of Monsters, Inc.

Agents and Accomplices

With thanks to the lovely Sarah, for again putting up with me as I became downright demented (even worse than the first time) while writing another book.

To Phil Foglio, for taking on the illustrations when he could have been doing more important things.

To Ray Witte (writing assistance) and Brian Thomas (photographic assistance), for coming to my rescue when my hard drive got hungry and ate about 20,000 words with a side order of 50 photographs.

To Dene Woodman for his inspirational work on foam armor.

To Roger Stewart and the rest of the team at McGraw-Hill Professional, for giving me the chance to prove I had more than one book in me.

And to all of my other friends, family, and colleagues, who have been so supportive and encouraging through the process of writing this book.

Meanwhile, in an Underground Lair

All of the so-called, conventional scientists called me mad! Mad, I tell you! But I scoff at their pedestrian ideas and boring theories! They wish to keep all the true science for themselves! Not I! I present it to you all to free you from the oppressive yoke of the technocrats!

—Dr. Charles Claremont, Scientist, Quite Mad

You are cordially invited on an adventure. After all, isn’t that what Steampunk is really all about? Adventure? If there were no adventure, this would just be another book you wish you did not have to pretend to like after receiving it as a gift from a kind but woefully misguided friend or relative. But you are lucky, and this is not just any old book you have here. This is The Steampunk Adventurer’s Guide. You get to do much more than just read a story about someone else’s adventures. You get to make the equipment for your own adventures.

It might seem like the best way for you to enjoy this book would be to read the story until it tells you to make the bit of required Mad Science, then make the project, and then go on and read a bit more of the story, then repeat this process until you have finished the book or you cannot take the strain any longer. Are you going to do that? Yeah, I wouldn’t either.

You go ahead and read the whole story. It’s not very long, and I thought it was a lot of fun, with loads of airships, automatons (by the way, that is a fancy, Steampunk way of saying robots), and even a few Mad Scientists. Then, pick your favorite projects and get to work. You can’t exactly fight off a Type II Combat Automaton with a toothbrush, now, can you? You are going to need to equip yourself with devices available to those willing to apply only the maddest of scientific advances.

When I first thought I would write this book, I was thinking it would be fun and easy to write a kid’s book. I would come up with really simple projects. After just one look online at other craft project books, I was horrified to see all the same stuff I was embarrassed to make from way back when I was a kid. I thought, I can’t do this to those poor people. So I thought I would give them really cool projects to work on, something anyone would be proud to have and make the others jealous.

I came up with all these grand ideas, and about halfway through each one, I had to stop. How many people own a 7-inch metal-cutting mini-lathe? Or a 9-inch band saw? I had to stop myself and clutch my head like a stunned monkey and yell over to a friend, Hey, do you think having a kid ask their parents for a 50-pound anvil for an early birthday present is a bit too much? Their answer was, Not if you are writing this thing for a coyote who happens to be chasing a swift but flightless bird. … It is hard to imagine not using a tool you use all the time. Who doesn’t have a couple of drill presses sitting about?