My first gravity wheel

[jim_mich]

My first gravity wheel was built in Feb 1999.

This scale drawing was not meant to show the wheel, but was the main drawing for the components. The support frame was two triangular pieces of 1/4 plexiglass plastic about 15 inches high. The wheel was two side plates made from square pieces of 1/4 plexiglass plastic with rounded corners. As viewed here the wheel was to rotate counter clockwise. There were two axles, one on each end, with a clear space in the middle with no axle thru. The two side plates were spaced apart with a number of threaded rods. All moving parts were on bronze bushings. There were four pairs of round swinging pendulum weights. These weights could spin so as to eliminate most rotational inertia and only have straight line inertia. These pendulums would latch on ratchet type teeth on four levers. On the end of each lever was a roller. When the roller passed by the adjustable trip plate on the right, it would release the pendulum to swing free from about the 2 o'clock location. The pendulum would then swing through the center of the wheel and would latch somewhere near the 10 o'clock position.

The latches never worked very well. They would often not latch. And one swinging pedulum would then bang into the next pendulum bringing everything to a crashing halt. At the time I tried to calculate the movement, but my 'how to' knowledge was lacking. Sometime I will return to this idea and see just what it should do if the latches worked? What I did learn was a feel for the complexities of swinging pendulums on wheels.

I've dismantled some of it and was going to reuse parts in another experiment. I really should re-assemble it and take pictures some time while I still have all the parts.

[Nitro]

Hey Jim-Mich

I built my first attempt in 1981, But have no pixs or prints.
interesting concept.

Keep up the good work.

[TommyK]

Hey Jim,

Nice work. I can see how that would work if the pivot point of the weight were able to throw the weight behind it's swing or to the right of the axle.
I just don't understand where the draw guides come into play, Ahhh! unless that is the way that you disengage the pendulum.

[LustInBlack]

Jim! Is that the first design you post in a long time?! .. 8]

[jim_mich]

LIB, this was posted six years ago. It was posted 18 days after I first joined the forum.

[getterdone]

Hi Jim , nice design.

I was just wondering if you were designing from the Bessler clues when you built your first, or was it sometime else that got you started on this PM journey?

Leo

[jim_mich]

I first read about Bessler about three years after I built this first wheel and about a year before I discovered Scott's Besslerwheel.com forum.

[nicbordeaux]

Good grief Mich, you built something that complex only to discover it didn't work ? My admiration knows no bounds :)