I understand why those who dismiss my suggestions about Bessler’s wheel, such as the importance of the number five, do so. I have never filled in the blanks convincingly and without a working model incorporating all of those interpreted ‘clues’, no words of mine are ever going to persuade people that I’m right,
Recently I began working on yet another design but still based on my interpretation of those infamous clues that I’ve ‘obsessed’ over for many years. My experience with this particular design has proved quite difficult because getting the pivots in the right place is only part of the problem. Getting the length of the levers involved and placing each one’s connecting pivot correctly was difficult, also it was necessary to restrict a portion of the arc of each lever as .it moved, in order to stop it locking at either end of each action. This reduced the effectiveness of the actions, but this limiting factor can be overcome by adjusting the pivot position and the length of each lever. Another problem occurs when adjoining levers clash during their action because they’re too close to each other. Again this can be overcome by using longer pivots which raise the lever in contention, or just bending them upwards to clear the offending one. This can solve an immediate problem but ultimately requires an improved layout to maintain actions.
So it’s a trial and error process, or rather a case of comparing several variations to discover which obtains the best result. I also I have to ensure that I don’t overt-tighten the fixed pivots to avoid slowing or limiting the free movements of the whole assembly. So I always loosen each locknut by about three-quarters of a turn from fully tightened. This tends to lead to some looseness of all parts but it’s better than having everything too tight.
In this particular case I have come to the conclusion that when Bessler said he awoke from an inspiring dream, but still had to work on it for a long time before he got it right, I can fully appreciate those difficulties. I still think it will prove almost impossible to build a successful working Besslerwheel without a fully hands-on approach, but I would be delighted if someone were to prove me wrong.
I work with a sketch pad, drawing ideas that I think Bessler is describing and trying to fit them into a coherent combination that might contain an overbalancing advantage but include a natural reversal mechanism, operated by the same parts which caused the initial action.
I know I always think I’ve finally got the answer, but that is an important part of the research. The optimism generated by the idea that I know the secret is a vital ingredient in wanting to carry on. The knowledge that Bessler succeeded and was determined to leave information about his wheel and my own certainty about the clues he left, is enough to maintainer my appetite for building new designs and keep my enthusiasm continuing.
When I moved house about four years ago, I threw so much stuff away, thinking it was of no use because it was all failed mechanisms. There were more than 20 assorted round wood blanks with hundreds of small perforations drilled for insertion of various pivots; a huge 8tangle of discarded levers of all shapes and sizes. Now I wish I’d kept some but they’re gone now, and of course I have a few new ones to modify.
One day my interpretations will lead to a successful wheel and I believe that, if not by me then by someone else using my interpretations of the clues. There are so many clues I have never mentioned because detailing them all would be too tedious and time consuming, and they need to be taken as whole, not little bits here and there.
JC
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