Steampunk IPhonograph

I've had so much fun making this and it's such a good sound system, it takes you back to the 1900's (no I'm not really that old - that would be incredible though!). I have been interested in Steampunk for a number of years and have seen a great number of artifacts out there, some of which have appeared on 'Warehouse 13' and films etc. I have created a few myself but this is the only one I have documented. If you like this I have created other artefacts which I don't have instructables for but they might give you more ideas. Click here.

Making a Steampunk sound system has been on my mind for a year now and it wasn't until I saw Horatius.Steam's building a passive speaker for your phone instructable that I was inspired to do this, but unlike his I needed more than a passive speaker, I wanted 'POWER!'

Most of the materials I get have been from recycling depots, kerbside chuck outs and donations from friends although I did have to buy a few things for this project!

Materials List (of what I used, you can substitute anything you like):

1 x Old Cutlery Canteen (Box)
1 x Brass Horn - these are repos imported from India (one of many sites: http://india.alibaba.com/country/products_india-gramophone.html)
1 x Mini Stereo Amp - this I built from an old kit I had lying around at home, it has an LM380 audio amp, but really you should use a mono amp for this! Obviously!
1 x Transformer to run the amplifier
1 x 1.5 metre square of blue felt
2 x Potentiometer Knobs
1 x 1 metre length of shielded audio cable
2 x 3.5mm stereo plugs
1 x 3.5mm stereo socket
1 x Power lead with plug for mains
1 x Power socket
1 x Power switch (3 way)
2 x Mains driven LED lights (one red and one green)
1 x 100mm square of acrylic (3mm thick)

Equipment:

Drill
Soldering Iron & solder
Wire Cutters
Dremel (mini drill)
Hole Drill Bits
Wood Glue
JB Weld (epoxy)
Varnish (I used Danish OIl)
Brasso
000 Wire Wool
Propane Torch and Silver Solder (although you could use a good epoxy)
Sander and Sand Paper

I drilled three holes in the top of the box for the brass horn, phone stand and phone support.

Throughly sand the box and get rid of all the marks, scratches and varnish.  I only used 120 grit, it was all I had and I like the slightly rougher finish which gets lost when it's varnished.

The phone stand is just two pipes brazed at right angles.  First cut one length to easily fit your iPod, iPhone or iPad and cut a piece of pipe the height you want your phone to be at.  Cut a curve into the upright pipe and braze onto the phone stand pipe at right angles (see picture).  Cut a channel in your horizontal pipe for your equipement.  The phone support is as you can see in the picture.  Then glue all the brass in with JB Weld, leave overnight to dry.

Line the inside of the box with felt - I did this so that the speaker would not sound rattily.

The Mini Stereo Amplifier i made from a kit with my Easy PCB Holder. The wiring is fairly simple as I only used one channel of the amplifier.  I had thought of making a stereo iPhonograph but I couldn't fit two brass horns onto the box.  If you have any questions about the electronics please ask.  I think the pictures will help you.

I wanted to create an old world cable to run from the phone to the input socket, I have seen various descriptions to do this, here is a link to a good one here on instructables: Miss Betsy's Steampunk Mouse step 14.

Glue your felt to all the areas your phone will be placed

I love using Danish Oil for wood, it really brings out the wood better than traditional varnish.  You brush it on and when it has dried for about 10 minutes you wipe off any excess oil and do this for 5 layers.  With the last two layers use very fine wire wool to smooth the surface and get rid of any imperfections and when you put on the last layer of oil and let it dry you will add such a beautiful lustre to your wood.

The things I have left out which I will be adding later is the charger for the phone, a tone/EQ control (this is for the second dial) and a USB port for connecting to the computor.

I now listen to this iPhonograph more than I listen to my regular set up.  If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask either by comment or email - Cheers!!  If you like this have a look at my Googly Sound