Hasta La Gadget!

Hidden amidst the winding pathways of Llewelyn Park, New Jersey, America’s oldest gated community, steampunk designer Will Rockwell is building a future that never was. He began his career as a TV producer but he always loved to tinker with metals, leather, and wood – the three components of good steampunk. After building a set of Rocketeer-style USB keys, friends turned him on to Etsy. He opened a shop and almost immediately was flooded with orders.

These designs are a labor of love for Rockwell who scours the junkyards of New Jersey for cool odds and ends. He has two workshops, one in Pennsylvania and one in the basement of his 1912 home.

Rockwell doen’t expect to get rich with his hobby but he’s doing well, nonetheless. His unique style, nautical-themed designs, and electronic additions to his devices meld the modern and the mysterious in a quirky way. My favorite project? His electric guitar outfitted with wild effects and knife switches, although his handmade USB keys are still amazing.

Will is definitely following the maker spirit and is even making a little money. His world is one of the imagination, full of undersea starships and steaming hard drives run by pistons. It’s enough to make you think you’ve stumbled upon the world of Captain Nemo via the Jersey Turnpike.

TechCrunch Makers is a video series featuring people who make cool stuff. If you’d like to be featured, email us!.

I’ve already got more flash drives than I know what to do with, but every once in a while I’ll see some that I need to add to my seemingly endless collection anyway. With these cool flash drives made out of old vacuum tubes, you’ll be able to send your data back in time.

They’re made by Latvian steampunk artist Slava Tech, and use old Pentode tubes as containers for USB flash memory. The coolest part is how they glow from the red, green or blue LED inside. It would be really cool if he made one with an orange LED for a more authentic look, though the red one is pretty close.

Each one is based on a high quality SanDisk flash drive, set into an old Russian vacuum tube from the 1980s, and accented with copper details.

Prices for the vacuum tube flash drives range from $69 to $79(USD), and they’re currently available in either 8GB or 16GB storage options.

There are plenty of different kinds of lights to illuminate your home or office with, but I’ve never seen anything quite as interesting as these lights. They almost look like neon tubes, but the designers say that they can be used to light up ceilings, walls, floors, and just about anything else.

The Atomic Clear Tubing system was developed by Polish design group Em and Es, and allows people to experiment with the modular design. They can be positioned horizontally and vertically, and are available in modules of 18″, 26″, and 35″, which can work as single units or be joined together. The fittings can be coated in a number of different colors.

The system also promises to eliminate problems with cables and wires, building the power circuitry into each section.

[via designboom]

If you’ve ever read any of the Elseworlds trade paperbacks from the DC Universe, then you have seen your favorite heroes in “What if” scenarios – like Superman being a hero in Gotham while Batman is in Metropolis, or Batman in the Civil War – that sort of thing. Well, if you like your Batman from the Victorian era, check out this Steampunk Batman gun.

We’ve seen plenty of Steampunk weapons before, but I have never seen one specifically made for the Caped Crusader. This gun was originally a Mattel Triple Barrel Grapnel Gun, which can fire soft projectiles, a la Nerf.

It was painted up with copper and given some Bat decorations by Nerfenstein. I love the detail and now I want to see some Elseworlds stories on the big screen. We can start with Batman in Victorian London, packing this gun.

[via Urbantaggers via Obvious Winner]

While there are keyboards that pair with your smartphones or tablets via Bluetooth, they’re probably not as interesting compared to this Steampunk arm guard that features an actual working Bluetooth keyboard strapped onto it. While the Bluetooth keyboard itself might be your run of the mill keyboard, the fact that it has been done up Steampunk-style complete with leather and brass makes it stand out from the crowd, and probably adds on quite a bit to the price which its creator, Thomas Willeford of Brute Force Studios is asking $1,200 for. According to Willeford, these are some of the features that you can expect from the keyboard:

– 3-in-1 multimedia wireless keyboard (Keyboard, TouchPad, Laser Pointer)
– Control your media while sitting on the sofa, lounging in bed, up to 100 feet away
– Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery with a short re-charge time
– Includes mini 2.4 GHz USB wireless receiver
– Wireless receiver stores inside keyboard when not in use
– Stand-by time: 500 – 700 hours

Also based on the photos, the keyboard arm guard will be available in either a square-key finish, or a round-key finish depending on your preference. It might not be the most practical thing but if you’ve got $1,200 to spare and wouldn’t mind walking around with it strapped to your arm, head on over to Willeford’s Etsy page to purchase one for yourself.

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