Antikythera Fragment #1 - Ancient Tool Technology - Making A Small Parts Vise

Clickspring

Yes it kinda went off-road and into the bushes from there onwards! Cheers mate :)

Duncan Luddite

G'day Chris, Watching this again (and the previous episode where you were using a fly cutter and electronic dividing 'plate' on your lathe), and it was fun hearing you talking about using modern power tools and enjoying getting the work done faster :) Four episodes later and you were hand making your own files, with home created carbon steel, and consolidating your trip down the experimental archaeology rabbit hole big time XD Lovin' it. Cheers

veritanuda

Gotta hand it to you Chris, I think you nailed it with this idea and it takes you well out of the realms of just engineering and machine work into proper artisan work. It really is a thing of elegance and function. And there is a lot to be said for working at shoulder height rather than being hunched over a vice screwed to a bench. Terrific job. Well done!

Clickspring

Yes I'm an avid watcher if PT, he lives nearby...

Nice work! I didn't think it would that practical when I started the video, but I'm pleased to see I was wrong. Looks amazingly practical compared to how relatively easy it seemed to make. While watching I felt it reminded me of something else. Then it clicked for me; The "Primitive Technology" videos. I would definitively recommend you watch some of it if you have the time. You'll absolutely fall in love with the ingenuity and problemsolving.

Phil Sydor

Wow - this looks to be easier to use than a bench mounted vice. Excellent and practical design.

Alexei Barnes

Really cool to see these more primitive tools being made. Can't wait to see the others you make in this project!

Clickspring

Yes its my favorite wood too, so pleasant to work with, light, strong, easy to sand. Cheers Braden :)

Clickspring

Try refreshing the page Dirk, and let me know if that fixes it

Dirk Jan van Vliet

Is it just me or is the video really deleted? When I open it it says: video deleted by user..

Oak is definitely my favorite wood to work with. And plenty abundant here in the US Midwest. In other news, It never ceases to amaze me thing things you can do with a simple file. The kind of precision and patience I certainly don't have haha.

Dean Thompson

A much more readily available and much less expensive choice is an electric baby bottle warmer.

Wes Baker

Chris, I buy it (hide glue) in granular form and heat in a dedicated (and made for hide glue) pot. (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hold-Heet-Electric-Glue-Quart/dp/B008KHGM1G/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1488836103&amp;sr=8-3&amp;keywords=hide+glue+pot)" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.com/Hold-Heet-Electric-Glue-Quart/dp/B008KHGM1G/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1488836103&amp;sr=8-3&amp;keywords=hide+glue+pot)</a> I did a quick search on ebay.au but could only find glue pots from the US. Obviously electricity is anachronistic....! All you need is a double boiler. Add water to the granules. Heat to a honey-like consistency (more or less viscous for different applications) and apply with a stiff, hog bristle brush. <a href="http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_from=R40&amp;_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR1.TRC0.A0.H0.Xhide+glue+pot.TRS0&amp;_nkw=hide+glue+pot&amp;_sacat=0" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_from=R40&amp;_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR1.TRC0.A0.H0.Xhide+glue+pot.TRS0&amp;_nkw=hide+glue+pot&amp;_sacat=0</a>

Clickspring

Thank you Dean, I very much appreciate your encouragement mate :)

Clickspring

Yes definitely worth considering Peter, thanks for suggesting I will investigate it and see what gives :)

Clickspring

Ha! Still plenty of room for improvement!! - yes will definitely continue using the tool, its a pleasure to work with.

Clickspring

Thank you Wes, interesting to hear about the hide glue! I was tempted to have a go at making some, but the process looked like it took a fair amount of time. Do you make you own?

Dean Thompson

Your thoughtful attention to detail is inspirational. Both in your craftsmanship and the intellectual exploration of the tools and methods of the time.

Peter W. Meek

I would consider wrapping the closing ring (at least the bearing surfaces) with leather as well. Otherwise you are going to end up with a lot of wer on the outside of those oak arms. Leather might also improve the grip to keep the ring in place.

Paul Busby

Are we not supposed to notice or talk about how you suddenly mastered foundry work and sand casting :) April Wilkerson just released a vid on sand casting and it looks hard. Your video (like all of them) makes it look a breeze. Great vid, Do you see yourself using that tool for other things now.

Wes Baker

Chris, hide glue would have been available then. It, too, has to be heated, but the open time is much greater than shellac. I use it (hide glue) all of the time. It's a wonderful adhesive. Your work is lovely. Your machining and attention to detail, exquisite.

Clickspring

Thank you mate!

That was awesome! Nice casting work Chris!

Clickspring

Thank you mate :)

This is so tremendously pleasing to watch. It doesn't get any better.

Clickspring

Cheers Scott :) The oak "arms" will definitely be ok, and I think the wedge should be ok too. Its a piece of local hardwood, so its pretty hard stuff. It hasn't deformed at all after being driven in, and it looks to be sitting quite soundly in position.

Scott Clausen

Chris, I meant to say whole width wedge in my previous comment. Sorry.

Scott Clausen

You've done it again with another great video. Really enjoying it but especially the casting work. I noticed that the wedge you placed was not equal to the width of the holder's legs. Is this potentially a failure point? Just wondering if a whole width width would be better. Thanks again, Chris.

Clickspring

Thanks mate :) - Re the sand, its their proprietary green sand - they do very large castings for industry, brass, ally etc Yes I was shooting for a 5% tin bronze. Weighed everything accordingly, with a small allowance for copper oxidation during the melt. Will get it tested at some point to see how close I'm getting :)

Makercise

Let me second other comments. Love to see you doing foundry work too. Do you know what type of sand you got from the local Foundry? We're you shooting for a particular alloy? So many associated questions and curiosities I'd love to see you pursue. I won't overwhelm you with them all. I am impressed with the stories you tell, the quality of the delivery, and the beauty of the finished projects. Cheers mate.

Clickspring

...very carefully (boom tish!)

Clickspring

Cheers mate :)

I'm curious, how are you going to do the 365 tiny holes that adjust the egyptian calendar ring every 4 years?

Andrew Robb

Awesome video I was gobsmacked when you started hand filing that wheel amazing work.

Andrew Robb

Hi Chris,

Andrew Larking

You're a gentleman :)

Clickspring

Righto, will do :)

Andrew Larking

Yes, exactly those.

Clickspring

Sure thing Andrew - do you mean the Mitee Bite knock offs I made?

Andrew Larking

I thought, from the thumbnail, that the vice was tiny! Amazing work as always. Would yo mind talking more about your low profile cam holders? I'm about to make some but can't source the cap screws. Cheers.

Clickspring

Hey Leo, the scroll saw table can be tilted to give the required angle. A closer shot of the set angle here: <a href="https://youtu.be/qrhyTU95ydE?t=1m3s" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/qrhyTU95ydE?t=1m3s</a>

Clickspring

From a local foundry, beautiful to work with

Interesting video Chris! One question, how did you put in the pattern draft? Does the scroll saw cable tilt to enable an angled cut?

My guess is the original craftsman would estimate the division of the circumference by the number of teeth, or a factor of the final number, set this length with a compass divider and "walk" the dividers around the perimeter of the wheel, adjusting the dividers until the right number of steps divided the wheel evenly, then, if necessary, divide these sections again. This would be very tedious for some of the large prime number wheels in the mechanism, but it's a simple way to make even divisions starting from a visual estimate. I use this trial and error technique at work every day and you can get very precise divisions using only a few check-adjust-repeat cycles.

Robert Sindorf

Great stuff as always. Did you buy the casting sand commercially or was it something you mixed up yourself?

Fantastic as always! One question: how did you space out the teeth in the gear wheel you made at the end? It looked like you were eyeballing it?

Clickspring

Cheers Matt! I might not file them all tho!! Not sure my poor hands could take it!!

Pretenda

I love it. So elegant. I wasnt expecting hand filed gears though! Your dedication to your work is so far beyond anything I've ever seen before. Please don't ever stop making videos!

Clickspring

Terrific to hear that Matt - I spent today re-making my furnace. I've been using a sort of temporary thing to get a better idea of what I want long term and started on that build today - no vid on the build (I want to get back to the AM vids ASAP) but I will do a bit of a show and tell on it for patrons in the near future :)

Clickspring

I'll try to use it as much as possible to really test it out - I've got lots of filing ahead of me :)

Clickspring

Cheers Khalid :)

Wow, I had no idea you were going to be casting some of the parts as well! The whole series has just got that much more exciting as a result. It's intriguing to hear your thoughts on the potential devices and tools used for this build. Thanks so much for sharing! :-)

Clickspring

Definitely pleasant to use, really surprised me

Clickspring

Awesome!

Clickspring

Ha ha! You'll have to send me your roster!

Mark Wilkes

Great work as usual! That'd be a fantastic tool for any small metal work - the right balance of firmness, flexibility and gentleness on the part. It'll be interesting to see how often you use it. I think I'd prefer to use that than a watchmakers vise for a lot of things. Your production values just blow me away, man...

hi chris i really admire your work, and how you approach the task, i hope i would have the time some day and follow in your footsteps, i am sure i will learn something new

Tim bennett

Elegantly simple, I like it. I could easily see something of that style used back then. Also something like a stitching pony as well.

Stephen D Mills

I was just rewatching the other Antikythera videos when the notification for this video came in. ;)

David

Dammit, I am at work and can't watch this for several hours. I expect it'll be brilliant and worth the wait, everything else is. Just be more considerate of my schedule in future!!