Treadle Zephyr
From Mod Mania
Contents |
Inspiration
A favourite hobby and most enjoyable pastime of mine is to regularly visit second hand markets, op shops and garage sales. I love the random surprises that these particular 'retail avenues' offer. I enjoy the fact that they not only deliver consistently cheaper prices - they are also better options environmentally.
One Sunday morning I was perusing my local trash & treasure market when I came across this sculpturally classical, cast iron beauty!
Most people who have seen the piece, have assumed it to have come from an old sewing machine however, in actual fact it is the base of a vintage dentist drill and is actually over 100 years old. The piece celebrates those simpler times when a good dentist was the one with an overly developed drill pedaling leg!
Using treadle power was commonplace before electricity use became widespread. In most cases a foot pedal or platform was connected to a heavy flywheel which, once in motion, required only a rhythmic pressing with a foot to maintain rotational speed and movement.
Now feeling inspired, I began to search out new, modern applications for this ye-olde power source.
Deciding how to Mod
Not wanting to repeat history I tried to think of new avenues previously unexplored by treadle power. I set about investigating the object and brainstorming some possibilities. The connection of a belt from the heavy iron flywheel to a smaller pulley, could achieve high speeds - how could I use (and perhaps harness) this speed? It obviously good for making something move!
I have in my travels, come across smoothie blenders powered by pedaling, but I wanted something a bit more interesting than a food proccessor. It had occurred to me that by connecting an electric motor via a belt, a reasonable amount of electricity could be generated - even enough power for a radio even maybe a phone or camera charger. I was thinking that it would be great to mod something that once required electricity to operate, but now could be generated through kinetic energy powered by a person.
In the end it came down to two ideas. One was to be a 'Luddite-izer', using physical effort to power a mobile phone jammer- effectively bringing everyone in a 30 meter radius back to the telecommunication level of the 1800's. Unfortunately the illegal nature of mobile phone blockers steered me away from going down this route.
My other idea was to merge an electric fan with the treadle base to create an efficient cooling method that required power other than a little elbow (or should that be knee?) grease. The direction was set!
I set about finding an electric fan suitable for this purpose. I was keen to use a fan from the 50's or 60's, as the metal & chrome aesthetic would mesh well with the heavy wrought iron treadle base. The Nannas at my local op shop had a broken fan that fit the bill- they were happy to let me take it off their hands, as it was otherwise destined for the skip out the back. Perfect - I'd found the ideal complimentary appliance, which didn't cost a cent and was literally saved from becoming landfill.
The Modding Process
With my 'raw ingredients' now in the workshop, I disassembled the fan & began experimenting with possible layouts and compositions. Sketching helped to work out the best setup method, but I also experimented by clamping the fan onto a vertical steel rod protruding from the treadle base. This helped me to chose an ideal height for the fan- as it was to be nonadjustable I had to chose a height that would suit most users, both sitting & standing.
Creating Custom Parts
The original fan stand was one piece of bent chromed steel, connected on both sides with bolts. I figured the fan could be supported by one side alone, so I went about constructing the main vertical support shaft.
Using a metal saw I removed an end of the chrome frame. I was able to source a rod of steel with the same diameter that could be welded to become one piece.
Both sections were carefully lined up in the welding bay before welding with an oxy acetylene torch.
Flux was applied to the join to prepare it for the solder. In around one minute it was done! A dose in water to cool before a quick sand & the support shaft was finished.
Experiments revealed I would need to create a pulley for the fan shaft. Unless it had grooves the belt would likely slip. I sketched up a dimensioned cross section of a pulley to be made using a metal lathe.
The workshops' Peter Farnswoth took my plans & machined the pulley out of aluminum billet. I chose to have three pulley sizes in total, in case the fan was too fast or slow. A grub screw was fitted to lock the new pulley to the fan shaft.
Assembly
With the support shaft and pulley completed experimentation with the belt could now take place. 4mm Nylon cord was chosen as it fit in the pulley groves nicely. By melting and joining both ends a loop was created.
The placement of the fan meant that the fan pulley and treadle flywheel were not inline but actually 90 degrees offset. This had the undesired effect of having the belt come off when in use.
Tweaking
Some sort of bracket or additional pulley to keep the belt on track was needed. Pressing against the belt with screwdrivers helped to show where the belt guides needed to be located.
An additional pulley (sourced form a garage slae) was tried in several places before optimal location was found. The low placement helps to keep the belt from jumping off the main flywheel.
To finish the device a small section of the outer fan housing was removed to allow the belt to enter. This cover also protects the fast spinning top pulley from damage.
Reflection
I am generally happy with the finished product. The fan's hand guard may be considered to be a little dangerous by todays standards. The minimal protection from the moving fan blades may be less safe, but I feel it is much more aesthetically pleasing than if I had used a more modern version. It has the potential to be a rather beautiful semi-practical kinetic sculpture too!
The treadle fan works very well & produces a breeze that is easily on par with it's electric equivalent. There is a small quirk however- the flywheel must be spinning towards the operator when starting the fan, if it spins in the opposite direction the fan will suck and not blow.
I have really enjoyed an assignment such as this. I have enjoyed modifying a number of objects over the years...particularly with the challenge of addressing a problem, such as a cockatoo proof bird feeder, or a mood lighting system using a pulley's and an old aluminum colander as the light shade.
The opportunity to create something new (and hopefully useful) from seemingly unwanted objects is a skill I believe, all designers should be learning.
