Leonardo da Vinci's Reciprocating Motion Machine

MACCHINA TRANSFORMATRICE DA MOTO ALTERNATIVO IN ROTATIVO.

Codex Atlanticus f. 30 v. Leonardo da Vinci

Working "reciprocating motion machine" model. Inspired by one of Leonardo's designs for converting a reciprocating motion into continuous motion. By moving the lever back and forth, a line winds up in the shaft with the "lantern gear" which can be used for lifting weights.

The set does NOT come assembled, mainly because I wanted to have pre-loaded springs for the ratchets, and because I didn't want to sacrifice it with relatively large clearances.

The model consists of 23 parts plus one spare pin and a spare ratchet. Assembling it should be very straightforward, the only consideration is that the pins are slightly conical in order to properly lock the components, and thus have just one correct orientation in their corresponding conical holes. The base itself has a plate with the machine's name in italian written in a blackletter typeface and Leonardo's name written in a font inspired by his very own handwriting.

Besides the components of this set, a thin cord and a weight are required to complete the model. I've added an optional weight in the following link. This model is perfect as a desktop toy or as a nice working sculpture in a bookshelf.

I hope that this will be the first model in a series of machines inspired by Leonardo's work.