Steampunk Gear, Gadgets, and Gizmos: A Maker's Guide to Creating Modern Artifacts

Chapter 4Gear Mining—Or, How to Dissect a Cuckoo

So there I was, at the Bursledon car boot sale (that’s the British equivalent of a flea market for our colonial readers) in Hampshire, England, with my friend James looking for raw materials from which to make things. And there she was, the archetype of the “little old lady,” sitting behind her table, selling a few bits of old stuff. Right in the middle of the table is this perfect, though slightly damaged, cuckoo clock. I distracted James by pointing toward another table and saying, “What is that brass thing over there?” My hand shot out like it was spring loaded and I grabbed the clock before he could notice.

“How much for the old, broken clock?” I said, trying to down sell the piece and keep ...