John Biggs.

Governor.      .064

Sterling silver, Stainless steel, Brass, Moqui marbles, Ebony and Mahogany.

11” x 8” x 12”.     Competed

    The governor was one of the first pieces were I had the glass modified. The stem was added and holes were put in the glass to secure the platform to the glass. Previously the jack stands had been my solution to stabilize the platforms in the glass. This presented some series challenges for me. All the components not only had to fit thru the neck of the bottle but also had to line up with the hole spacing. In particular the drive shaft of the motion. Setting gears is hard enough but to have the spacing of the platform and the gear set match the preexisting hole with out wear to have a smooth ride for the mechanism was a great challenge. In the end the action was smooth and clean. The shaft drives a bevel gear which turns the inner shaft spinning the two opposing moqui marbles. As the speed increases the marbles move up and out like a governor on a steam engine. At the top of the spin the wires hold back the marbles from crashing into the glass. The same clutch bearing is used in the base bevel gear to crate the bicycle power affect were as the motion is not stopped as twisting continues on the power shaft. The moqui marbles were found in Utah and I believe are volcanic inclusions in one I set a ruby. Oh well I was wrong about the marbles.