Steampunk Guitar Amp and Music Centre with Moving Candles

A video to see this in action:

Step 1: Steampunk Entertainment System

There are more detailed instructions on the photos themselves which in some cases will be clearer than what is written in the text. This is going to be my guitar amplifier with a big difference. It uses a Roland Cube Lite which is run through my iPad and also has a built in projector.

A friend of mine (Helen) brought me this beautiful 1930's radio case. In a poor state but I saw the potential. I spent a few days sanding, staining and varnishing this case (Danish Oil) until I was happy with the result. This was the easiest part of the whole build.

Step 2: Gather your materials and tools

Materials:

• Old radio case (Large)

• Roland Cube Lite Guitar Amplifier

• Brookstone HDMI Pocket Projector

• 1" Square Tube Aluminium (Approx 3 feet)

• Microwave Turntable Motor 5 rpm

• 12 Volt motor 50 rpm

• iPad - 2nd Generation

• Brass (Various Candle Holders)

• Brass corners

• Sheet Aluminium (For Rotating Wheel and Arm)

• Switches Wire and LEDs

• Timing belt and cogs

Tools: (This are what I used but some things can be done with hand tools)

• Dremel (Rotary Tool)

• Cordless Drill

• Bench Drill

• Screw Drivers

• Grinder

• Belt Sander

• Solder and Iron

• Glue Gun

Step 3: Starting with the control panel

I pulled apart the Roland Cube Lite while being careful not to break any wire links. The wires connecting the control panel to the circuit board, I cut in half and added about 6 inches more wire so that it could be mounted on top of the radio case.

Speaker wires were lengthened as they were not long enough to reach the front of the cabinet.

The amplifier was mounted so the volume control was opposite the hole in the radio case which was probably where the old volume control would have been. Then a brass rod was connected to the volume shaft to extend the control beyond the radio case. The amplifier sat on wooden blocks.

For the control panel, a new panel was etched out of copper sheeting. (There are plenty tutorials which will show you how to etch copper). I deliberately made it look old and well used, this didn't need to be perfect, this machine belongs to another era, lol!

The control panel sits on a wood wedge which was covered in some old material.

The control knobs were changed to black metal, as the plastic knobs didn't look very good. I tried a couple of ideas and settled on black.

A hole was cut into the top of the radio case for the control panel. As you can see Isteel rulers were used to keep the Dremel in a groove, I only had one shot to get this right so I wasn't taking any chances.

Step 4: Installing the iPad

The window in the radio was perfect for the iPad, the hole was the exact size. A wooden groove was made for the iPad to slot into and was perfectly centered in the hole. Two mechanisms were used to turn the iPad on and change between apps (The home button).

To the right of the radio case, a slide button using a brass rod with a small piece of wood was the button pushing device. Lining up was critical. The iPad could easily be taken out when needed.

The home button was the hardest part. As you can see by the pictures there is not a lot of room to create the mechanism for this.

Step 5: Raising and lowering the control panel

It took quite a while to figure out how to get the panel to revolve out of the radio case. But after looking at different ideas from hydraulics to relay switches, I figured it out.

Cutting a circle of aluminium (approx 4" diameter) and a connecting rod (approx 6"), a round control dial was added to the circle of aluminium (the wood experiment failed miserably). The center of this was connected to the microwave motor. The beauty of this is that being an A/C motor when it can't move in one direction it changes direction which saves a lot of messing around with changing polarity which you have to do with a DC motor.

At each end of travel, some micro switches were installed which cut power and then on the front panel is a switch to control the raising and lowering of the panel.

Step 6: The speakers are mounted

A frame for the material to be stretched over was made and put into the speaker opening. Then two speakers were mounted on some plywood and screwed to the front panel. This is fairly self-explanatory as you can see by the pictures.

Step 7: Putting the amplifier into the radio case

This was a relatively easy step, although, just make sure the volume control lined up with the volume control hole in the radio case.

Step 8: We have lit candles rising up on power-on

I am particularly proud of the rising candles when power is turned on. How was it possible to fit this in without interfering with the panel raising mechanism? I am glad you asked. With a lot of trial and tribulation. As you can see from the pictures there are two shafts on either side of the panel mechanism joined by a brass axle. The candle platform joins the two belt halves together.

A 12 volt DC motor was attached to drive the belt and therefore raising the candles. There are micro switches at each end of travel to stop it at the designated points.

Step 9: Adding a projector (still in the making)

Next, a projector was added to project whatever was on the iPad to a screen, including Netflix, YouTube or any movie you wish.

This is the cherry on the top. A Brookstone pocket projector, and it works really well but I didn't manage to get it operational for my video. There is a platform created, on which the projector sits and a hole with a flared brass funnel through which the projector projects.

Step 10: Conclusion of the build

This was a fairly long and involved build and there are still things to finish. Bluetooth functionality will be added. A carry case because this unit can be used for presentations. It has a microphone jack. It can also be used as a Karaoke machine. The projector will up and running and I will create an update.

If you have any questions, please ask in the comments below.