Next I managed to find an old chandelier upright brass pipeĀ looking like entwined rope. This would hold the device upright.Ā The connector (30 pin) can be bought off ebay with an audio out.Ā I cut this connector in half to fit the chandelier pipe and then soldered on new wire to theĀ two halves. To make sure the wire didnāt come off hot glue was usedā¦..in abundance.
Then it was time to split the chandelier pipe, open it up and glue a protective cloth over it,
To attach the cradle to the case and toĀ secure the connector to the pipe I cutĀ some wood and hot Ā glued it in with theĀ connector. The picture below shows howĀ snuggly it fits together. A half moon hasĀ been cut out of the pipe so as to be able toĀ operate the centre button on the iPhone.
The control panel lettering was achievedĀ with a label lettering machine using aĀ transparent tape. The knobs I finally ended upĀ with are guitar knobs which were purchased onĀ ebay. Now all that is left is to create the powerĀ inlet point. Again a hole was cut in the back forĀ the power point and a copper sheet cut to fit theĀ hole. Unfortunately a fuzzy picture.
Now all we need to add are the brass horns.Ā The āelbowsā were inserted into holes cut in theĀ top of the case, glued (with 2 part epoxy) andĀ screwed. Then the horns were epoxied into theĀ brass elbows.
Earlier on you may remember I said that IĀ thought of putting the speaker holes in the side
of the caseā¦.well, I did cut the holes and thenĀ decided the horns looked better coming out of the top of the case. Now I had to cover the holesĀ in the side. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. These holes allowed the bass notes toĀ come out and the brass horns worked better with the treble tones. The holes were concealedĀ with mesh and a speaker grill from another project. Cut the mesh & grid with the rotary cutter.
You will see in the next picture theĀ speakers were screwed to the undersideĀ of the case lid.
Thanks for joining me. I hope I’ve inspired you to do better than buy a mass produced phone or tablet sound system.Ā If it allĀ gets too much I have been consigned toĀ make them for other people. TheyĀ come with a 2 year warranty and can beĀ ordered on my blog at www.steampunkwayoflife.blogspot.com.au .Ā You can also order our catalogue and
choose from a variety of SteampunkĀ audio players.
Questions? Ask away. Suggestions? I’m listening. Have you ever tackled a project like this? How did it turn out?
Update: Ā 13th of january, 2014
Thought you might like to see this latest toy :)
