Steampunk is a unique place where love of gadgets, art, and the nostalgia for the Victorian-era antiques meet. In recent years it has grown in popularity and today there are dedicated websites, publications and book that deal with Steampunk. Yet most lovers of Steampunk are still just the observers, not really creating any of these artifacts themselves. You might be one of those people, and if you have always thought that creating Steampunk would require talent and technical skills well outside of your comfort zone, then you should check out “Steampunk – Gears, Gadgets and Gizmos”. It is an informative and instructional how-to book that will teach you how to create some relatively simple yet cool gadgets.

There are no formal technical requirements before you can start working on the projects in this book, but some familiarity with workshops and tools is highly recommended. A few projects are simple enough that you don’t need the skills much above the ones you needed for your elementary school projects.

This book contains a total of eight different projects, and they vary in the level of difficulty. The instructions for each one of the projects are extremely detailed and clear. The instructions are accompanied with numerous photographs and illustrations, which help you with your workflow and elucidate some of the trickier points. You will still have to tinker and figure many details on your own, but

There are numerous tips and hints throughout the book, which range from the completely general (“metal is always preferable to plastic”) to very specific (“Bending the wire slightly shorter than the height of the bezel will help tighten and secure the entire apparatus.”). They are a useful practical insights that are distilled from the years of practice and they can significantly reduce your workload and help you avoid some common mistakes.

The book contains a list of the most useful tools, going from the most inexpensive common hand tools, all the way to some ridiculously extravagant tools such as 3D printer. You may start shopping for all the tools listed, or you can browse through the book and acquire tools as you need them for particular projects. There are also numerous tips and suggestions for finding the vintage artifacts and other materials that will enhance the look and feel of your projects.

This book is extremely well written and even if you don’t have any desire to create any steampunk gear yourself, you will still be able to learn a lot more about the technical aspects of constructing Steampunk artifacts. This can further deepen your appreciation of this art form. Furthermore, Thomas Willeford can be very entertaining and amusing, which makes reading this book a really pleasurable experience. Willeford manages to capture a lot of zaniness that characterizes Steampunk in his writing style. I highly recommend this book to all fans of Steampunk, as well as hobbyists who want to explore new and different projects.

***** Review copy provided by the publisher. *****