Cappucino Express.....

This morning I arose with the urge for a good cup of coffee. So I built a cappuccino machine! Yup, I got out the welding equipment(E-6000), some copper sheeting, some cogs and wheels(thanks to Grace of TreeFeathers) and some fancy ironwork(jewelry findings).

I ran off a sheet with the cappuccino machines that I liked from the images category on MSN. I had already decided on the size......It is as big as the piece of copper I had left from the water heaters. It turned out to be just about perfect for what I had in mind.

With that and two teak wood cylinder beads that I had in my stash I built the body of the machine.

From there it was a couple of hours of trial and error with watch parts and findings and a lot of watching the glue dry.

I used various pieces to make the thing kind of look like the ones in the pictures, but with a few Steampunk variations. There are a few extra cogs and wheels that the real ones don't have.

First I found three watch parts that would stack up for the base. It happened that the curved piece had an indentation that exactly fit the bottom of the copper cylinder. I glued them together and waited. Then the cylinder went on top of that.

The next part was a top for it. That consists of a flat cog wheel, a half round filigree piece and a watch stem.

Moving down, I put on a various cog wheels, making sure that they meshed together......Hey! It may not make cappuccino, but at least is going to look like it does something.

I noticed that the ones in the photos were made with a place for two cups at the same time. I figured that this pot would hold enough that it demanded two spigots. I found a pair of very old brass screw type earring backs that matched. I cut them apart and re bent them to resemble the ones in the photos. I used the part that the front of the earring would have been glued to for the base where the cups sit. No comments on the size of the cups please. They were the only ones that I had. I put one other watch stem coming out of the opposite side of the cylinder, mostly for balance.

Between each step, I put the cylinder in a horizontal position so that the piece drying would not flop off onto the floor and get lost in the carpet.

Somewhere along the assembly line Tessie wandered in. Of course her first comment was "Oooooh shiny!". Next it was "What does it do?". I answered "It makes cappuccino."

There was slight hesitation and then the usual long questioning period. " What do the wheels do?When will it be done? Can I have some cappuccino? Why NOT?" I couldn't get a word in edgewise!

I finally managed to tell her that the "pretty shiny machine", as she calls it,doesn't work unless the water is hooked up. Her answer to that statement? "Hook It Up Now!!!!!!"

You know how that goes. She is in the kitchen now trying to figure out how to get water without pipes. The last time I looked she was crawling around under the sink. That should keep her busy the rest of the day.

I will have to wait until I install it to put the pipes around for it. Then....She can have her cappuccino. I don't believe that she even knows what cappuccino is. I think she just likes saying the word.

I'm going back to work now, while she is still occupied with the plumbing.

See you tomorrow.