Da Vinci Reciprocating Engine

To appear in the July Issue of Make Magazine


Last Spring I was blown away by the incredibly clever mechanical mechanisms displayed at the Da Vinci exhibit at the Tech Museum of Innovation. In particular I was taken by the simple way in which he figured out to build a saw mill, powered by a water wheel. The mechanism use two half lantern gears attached to a common shaft, they alternatively engage gear pegs on a larger wheel so the wheel turns back and forth, irregardless of which way the input is rotated.

The model is made of 1/4" inch birch plywood and 1/4" dowel rod. The model can be cut out with a jug saw, circle cutter, and the holes drilled with a 1/4" twist bit, but much better results can be obtained with a laser cutter.

The dowels are cut by hand. I have used Google Sketchup to export the drawings to a DXF file.

Close up of lantern gear engaging main wheel.

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