kaleidoscope

01
Dec
2007

Kaleidoscope – object chamber

object chamberThis kaleidoscope has an acrylic liquid-filled cell. The cell is one of the ones available from PolymerClayProjects and is filled with silicone oil and sealed with epoxy. I also glued a black acrylic circle to the bottom of the object chamber so it would be a sidelit cell with a black background.

I didn’t quite like how that looked – you could see the epoxy through the end of the cell, so I made a polymer clay endcap to make it look a little neater.

The cell contains polymer clay objects, including a sculpted swallow like the ones I used on the exterior, my own lampworked glass pieces and bead-filled ampules, beads, metal findings, and cathedral and dichroic glass. I probably should have used a few less items in the cell but it makes a great image.

Posted by Skygrazer in kaleidoscopes, 5 comments
01
Dec
2007

Kaleidoscope – Bearing

aluminum bearing collarI’ve wanted to do a kaleidoscope with a nice, smooth turning end for awhile. After a workshop with Scott Cole, I did some searching for good bearings with a large inner diameter (ID) so I could use some decent sized mirrors. I found some bearings with an outer diameter (OD) of 2 inches which were nice and thin.

bearing and collarThe bearings then sat around in a drawer for a year or so… My husband gave me a hand with the engineering this time around. I didn’t have any tube for the kaleidoscope body that was exactly 2″ ID but we found some PVC pipe to use which was close. The bearing fits directly in the pipe but you need to have some way to attach the object chamber to the bearing so it can turn.

bearing and collar togetherDave turned down a collar for the bearing using some square aluminum stock which he had on hand. (If we do this again he’s going to look for some thick walled pipe instead). Then he bored out the inner hole. The metal lathe makes some intricate spirals and shavings of metal which I think I’m going to have to try in an object chamber eventually. The bearing fits just perfectly on the aluminum collar – it almost snaps into place.

Posted by Skygrazer in kaleidoscopes, 11 comments