Kaleidoscopes

[nansea121]

Thanks Beth and Di:)

The mirrors work differently in this helicopter scope. Instead of letting the light shine through the tube in one pass, the viewer has to point the scope downwards so the sunlight will pass down through the top 'propellers'.

First pic shows the wheels off the scope. Notice the glass window on top?
Second is a closeup of how the mirrors work in this one. there is a regular 3-sided 2 way mirror placement inside th viewing tube, but there's also another mirror that is set at a 45 degree angle that bounces the light into the viewing tube.
The last pic is the same helicopter put together. The wheels are a good size so you get a nice variety of colours and textures.

[JoanFrances]

Amazing Nancy.  Love these, but have never made one.  I bought a kit but have yet to make one.  Another someday I'll project lol

[Audrey]

 

[nansea121]

What model of scope is the kit for Joan? The standard ones are good starters to learn with. I could have never did that helicopter one without learning some of the basics first.

I only have a few more pics and that's it until I make some more:)

The first pic is another version of a tumblescope which was made out of transparent glass. I lined the inside of the tube glass with some wide copper backed foil to give a golden colour to the glass.

Second pic shows that I fused the wheels with bits of stringer, confetti and and a wee dash of frit.

Third show some more marblescopes. I have some giant marbles here that are about 2" in diameter. Now that would make an interesting one!

[nansea121]

Last pictures for now. These one shows some groups of them. The one I gave Lauren is in the right side. That blue one in the front has some regular mirror on the side. The tall pink one is another tumblescope.

[Anne]

well I'm obviously going to have to make one of these. In the new year.........lol. These are REALLY nice Nancy. And your decorative solder work is fantastic!

[JoanFrances]

Nancy it is one of the clarity ones, that calls for the round front.  Just went looking for it and darn, I had to have tucked it in a hiding place cause it isn't where I thought it was

[Audrey]

These just blow me away, and I understand NONE of it. I would love to make one, though. Wouldn't know where to begin.

[nansea121]

These just blow me away, and I understand NONE of it. I would love to make one, though. Wouldn't know where to begin.

A good one to start with is a basic Clarity kaleido or a marblescope. I was lucky with my first one because it was part of one of the classes I took a few years ago. The main thing to keep in mind is the mirrors and the small viewing glass has to be very clean, no fingerprints or specks of anything on the surface. If there is, it will show up inside. If it's an enclosed Kaleido, then you wouldn't use any flux, or, the barest of minimums until you have the seams lightly filled in with solder to prevent moisture from getting inside. It would be the same idea as making a sandscape or that 50 bevel star that Rebecca made. If any moisture were to get inside, I'd take it apart and redo it until it was right. It might take a couple of scopes to get the hang of it, but after that, the sky is the limit!

[Glassic]

I was amazed at how easy they are, I think the hardest part was the clean up!

[PiscesGlass]

Nancy your kaleidoscopes are magical!  Nice job on them.  I like the decorative solder and the fun things you did, like adding filigree and attaching copper foil to the inside of the transparent glass.
I began making them at first using the Clarity kits, the first one was a bit of a challenge to figure out..just follow the steps one by one, they won't lead you wrong.  Plus any of us that have made them in the past I'm sure would help out anyone that got 'stuck'.
I also found out that while handling the mirrors, it was a good idea to put on latex gloves. It helped me keep from getting my sticky fingers all over the mirror. LOL.
I think I did most of my finish soldering on the exterior of mine prior to putting the mirror inside, with the exception of the end that hold the wand, which I did last and Nancy's absolutely right, don't use any more flux than you have to and apply it with a q-tip or something that will only put a very small amount of flux where you need to work and all should be well.

De

[Kev]

Nancy...those are beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!

[Elizabeth]

Nancy -those just blow my mind!   I'm with Audrey - just way beyond my understsanding!   And no such thing as kits available here in S.A.!   Will just have to wait till I'm rich and famous and have time to sit down for about 6 months to figure it all out.   Not gonna happen anytime soon!
Beth