Steampunk Weapon Build: Fresh from the DSB Workshop

So without any blabbering from me here is a preview of the first steampunk weapon to come out of my workshop.

This little gem was constructed from parts from a 1999 Subaru EJ25 water boxer engine. Mostly. The gauge is from one of my father in laws many previous Studebaker's. The brass connector fittings for the braided hose were just sitting around in a peanut tin on the shelf. The braided hose was found in a drawer at the work bench.

It all started with a cast aluminum coolant pipe.

 Then both the long ends are cut off. I used a Dremel tool. A metal hand saw will do just fine as well.

The opposite end of the pipe is cut off.

Now to add something special. Here is the fuel rail assembly and two injectors from the port side head of the EJ25 donor engine block.

Once it's back in the vice, I can drill the necessary holes to mount the fuel rail and injector assembly to the side the barrel.

This was the first stage of setting it into place. Once the holes were drilled to make sure that it would work in this location the upper holes were left unthreaded to allow the rubber o-rings around the base of the injectors to allow them to rest snug in the holes. The smaller holes though were threaded using an average tap and die set that is in the workshop. I had to make sure that with the injectors being long that I used a pair of long bolts and custom cut a pair of hollow sleeves for the bolts to go through in order for the whole assembly to be mounted on the port side of the barrel.

Jumping ahead a few step, here is the almost finished weapon in the vice with the injector assembly permanently mounted and the fuel line twisted to meet the brass fittings connecting the pipework and the braided line together. Just above the handle you can see I've added an amp-metre as a filler to the hole that is in the cast aluminum pipe where the cars thermostat used to be mounted.

A close up of the gauge.

A view of the topside of the steamy weapon.

It's so close to being finished.

Here it is getting the first coat of copper paint.

This is all I can show you for now. It still has more work coming. I need to get a cap for the bottom of the handle and I'm considering wiring it with some fibre optic lights and a little something to make the gauge show this weapon has a positive charge when the trigger is pulled.

Be on the look out for the finished product soon and start looking for the next weapons project from the DSB Workshop.

How Steampunk Weapons Are Born

OK I really wanted to wait to write about this little gem until I had finished it, but I'm just getting to excited about it.

I've taken up a bit of a new hobby. My wife (The Paisley) and I belong to a local group called the Seattle Steamrats. We are steampunkers. We have been doing this since last year and have met some really great folks of all kinds of talent.

You will get a chance to meet a few as I start to interview them in the coming few months.

Back the topic at hand. Weapons. Steampunk weapons to be more precise.

Last year I had to replace the engine in the Paisley's Subaru. After replacement the old engine has sat in a wooden cocoon in my father in law's garage for the past 10 months. Well a few months ago I finally got over there and started pulling the heads off the block and the old flywheel and other items that I thought I would be able to part out and recoup some of the money that the new-to-me-used engine cost.

No such luck. After a month of advertising I hadn't sold anything from the old EJ25 sitting there and taking up space.

An idea struck me as I was staring at it wonder how to unload these parts or make them useful..........Steampunk weapons!! YES!!!  

We met a gentleman in the SSR that spends his time scouring the thrift store and yard sales and other low cost and freebie sites for old lamps and candle sticks and other bits and uses them to make steampunk weapons. Pretty ingenious really. He makes some really great looking items.

If you peep my profile photo, the weapon I'm posing with is a creation that my friend made to give you some idea of his style.

This had me thinking that I could do the same, but with engine parts. This was just too perfect since my father in law has not cleaned out his garage in the 20+ years I have known my wife. He has lots of engine bits hanging about waiting for me to make strange and utterly bizarre weaponry from them.

So to shortly follow this entry I will be unveiling my first weapon from the new creative outlet of my twisted little mind.

I have to get on the ball and finish this one up. Steamcon II is coming this fall and the Paisley needs some small dainty lady like weapons from my workshop.

One Tired Dog

Sitting at our neighbours the other day I looked over to see our furry child, Bon Jovi passed out in the Paisley's lap. I love this photo of him. He was just so worn out.

Chocolate Covered Bacon

I love to eat.

There are just too many good things in this world to not like eating.

Vegetarians and meat-eaters alike all have that one food that just send us over the edge and makes us want to gorge until we pass out in a food coma.

Mine is bacon.

There is only one thing that could make bacon better. Chocolate.

I had been thinking for a few weeks that I needed to make chocolate covered bacon. This was a totally random idea when it hit me. I'm not sure what prompted it. No, it wasn't marijuana, although you might suspect it was.

It wasn't alcohol either. People don't get the munchies when they drink. They gain karaoke prowess.

I had a bit of time off over the 4th of July weekend and decided to use part of that time to dable with my food Frankenstein. We had just gone to Costco a few days earlier and one of the items we picked up was a twin pack of bacon weighing in at just over 5 lbs.

I wanted to make the whole thing as easy as possible so the chocolate that I used was Saco Dulci dips. It's the easiest chocolate to use for dipping things into and forms a hard shell when it cools. All you do is heat it in the microwave and after about 2 minutes it's ready for dipping.

I had preppared 8 strips of bacon and let it drain to get the excess grease off of it and then cut each piece down into bite sized portions.

Before cutting into bits

The next step is to then dip (quickly I should say before the chocolate starts to cool) the bacon and give it a good coating of chocolate and place it on some wax paper to completely cool.

Once the chocolate has set, in say 10 minutes or less, you then have a tasty little snack that offers the salty-meaty goodness of the bacon and the sweet of the chocolate combined in one neat little package.

Look out Recee's, I'm sure I've just made the next great food product of the 21st century!! I better call Anthony Bourdain to see if he needs an assistant.

It really is good. I plan on trying peppered bacon and a variety of chocolates to make the ultimate chocolate covered bacon.

Just try it if you're in doubt. After all in some countries, pan fried spiders are to die for.