By James Donnelly
From childhood I’ve been fascinated by the intersection of art, craftsmanship, and science that can be found in 18th century scientific instruments. This project is my first attempt at capturing the essence of those qualities in a device made in my home shop. An early childhood visit to the Science Museum in London with my father forever altered the course of my interests, and I’ve been back several times since. The Science Museum has an impressive collection of steam engine models, and for years I wondered about the men who made them and the tools used. The Science Museum’s collection of antique scientific instruments is most impressive, particularly the Science in the 18th Century gallery. Since those visits, the men who worked in the machine shops of the University of Oregon and Hewlett-Packard provided inspiration and advice that kept my interest in making mechanical devices alive.
I first learned of James Ferguson (1710-1776) and the mechanical paradox orrery in John Millburn’s book Wheelwright of the Heavens, published in 1988. I met the author at an antique scientific instruments fair in London a year after the book was published. John graciously autographed the book as he sold it to me and was generous with his answers to my questions.
A few years after my encounter with Millburn, I married the Right Girl (Jan) and, with her encouragement, I established a shop that permits me to tackle projects dreamt of since childhood. A software engineer is not automatically a machinist, so I adopted the hobby of building small model steam engines as a way of learning the techniques that would contribute to construction of orreries and other devices. The ratio of scrap metal to decent results has been improving over the years, and I’m now emboldened to tackle more complex projects.
“Ferguson’s Mechanical Paradox Orrery” appears in the upcoming Fall 2009 issue of Digital Machinist. If you are a subscriber, stay tuned! The issue will be in the mail soon!
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