I like a good hand wheel. What can I say? It’s kind of like my thing for boxes, but that’s a whole other thread. Not really sure where it comes from, but when I see an old hand wheel or valve shut-off, my imagination runs wild with the creative possibilities.
Mostly for style, but partly for vindication against all those who ridiculed me over the years for acquiring so many hand wheels, I have decided to incorporate them in a very prominent way throughout the space. The most obvious installations of course being to control water. Thought I would share a couple of examples here. But keep in mind, we are not limited to flow control, for my fascination with hand wheels knows no bounds…
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXfgXfLK8LI3HZ7JMzwzbn_EuOxmWXoTR5BmR-SU-QtoIKywJm1bKfECqPruMohX12H_-a_dv82E3ykuIMwMe_IRCxMl6PgGePIsHqFZ7ZWNdn7QkNzev1sXDuLWVdWiz-srKLpFJ1zIY/s640/20121202_111906.jpg) |
The big wheel controls the hot water, while the small controls the cold.
(the shiny part in the middle will go away once I fix the patinas) |
The story behind these gets pretty complex, but let’s just concentrate on the valve and aesthetics part for now. I wanted a more industrial feel to the hot/cold water control for the Jacuzzi I am installing (skip over the fact that it is in the middle of the bedroom, that too is a whole other thread). Took a bit of engineering, but I ended up marrying these two hand wheels I got from an abandoned factory up north to modern gate valves used to fill the Jacuzzi.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXJJrxL9I6aXZy2lBx66QwBgFr17uMTS9k0JqliLR7MXVLfd98uMLF3AVNUZ8RuOau9fkaW0qGc3WPKRtfdWgWTM7jnd8EPcLiiLOIf13CFaclWZE3OJa4ExY7PFpldQx8m6u467iEUpw/s640/20121023_123933.jpg) |
Picked the hand wheels (out of my extensive and vast collection : ) |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmQNHYNIrexWIygpBfHmxguKH1Eqg3l93-Xyn9y9JalZNAIPl92qEmouqZdQTOdy2A2QV8QN4R1t7_Tz0kG_BlfIo3SkystmCoGF1UoQcjROHUWADHRM7_A8PaxrDqyblc36yCa3gAaDY/s640/20121023_142432.jpg) |
Figuring out relative placement |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn2wY4N6oyamrH5aBDmXAB48IFdDRWUIgcYG8CyhkDmLNzLfVd1SsI9HhaT9PZ-2WQWCtlrqOjmr8JKqmAM1a8L_g-2hIoYYO_4ZEvMP7n-9C0R4XbPK-ZAUQx_F4rBckYAUNOH5f6X8U/s640/20121026_120525.jpg) |
Started a small (but contained) fire in the studio |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwysD5l-s3gRTcPlMKXOTOEcrBfWsuyDrKuwF5zsr33E2t5q7KZ2VgZPbdhzqdqQR8FeMqBkf-DYgqqRpXkaSQ2Czb6OxzXorpOsPBlrjYOfunK_SHsALZj31FXG2qi6ozhIoHwpy7zzg/s640/20121025_234823.jpg) |
Fabricated these cool mounts for the gate valves. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTG5kMdEwV0-jSqH9DP9_xPgWPcM1imR0ygN5h8cHYDr8mKCY_7eBLwNAQatw0k1INHPr2E170HUXAMAOmypAsc5sY2CZsVn7rI65XR8E_fXIXr-f4WAWaVBJpifgzl8WRm_unz9osaHs/s640/20121030_161231.jpg) |
Figured out how to link the hand wheels to the valves. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfJqgcuVyTOpZfNLYjclkgDX5TTRLZmqOcCKdzhQb4wzTyMeyhyjoVHqXYiCFbuz1AMAjFuVC83rXFR12KR3zpjnhUMD1OwX_exns7nD0FuePk9bj4Cv_zKtDuEhuSmf91EwkmEN2RNr8/s640/20121030_085028.jpg) |
Built this cool cover... |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNjh3v-dagSWQoKUlHg8uwBf9aS2Og2K2AdDm6kfQ9BL4FN2tICz1-qEAubNk6i7dy21juTpOUmDmgxlwSBPyf6uk_2TPEf-g9M0WYfCYqVw1D7G558kcZp6SD-BLgQCgolj_XXMKzV4w/s640/20121121_145939.jpg) |
Set everything in place until the brick was finished. |
But it doesn't stop there. I have these three hand wheels from a decommissioned power plant in Connecticut that would be perfect to use in the showers for the three other bedrooms. Trick is to marry them to a modern valve control with temperature/flow control and anti-scalding, kind of a requisite for any modern shower.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmPGHRxbU7Pxpeg0WCbEAhs4M6wiQWlcn47QyrK5K0HA1PUKcFnHP1vWSjYWvirxdQ44VXKx8TfM8bZe7ymLl_SLQOboNO26P5PoEJGw6Rv2iRVFUwpu6rP9GGtvvharm8pya4lmvWqDY/s640/20121022_140909.jpg) |
A little prototyping and fabrication later... |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhotgZzFBEMb14pH9VjxBpjOv84jJYNJPBOl0fZRAwIrRWuYgU6Ph9jkfEkMtTjK02Z73H8Vyr8vE4DtO9nd9VAR9GtjObh1phdOgCCQfzLUC7QNEwZUTH0rT199fQGmOop0lW5xcvHGSc/s640/20121022_173718.jpg) |
One finished shower valve. |
Based on the prototype, I will fabricate all three and finally install them in the wall.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi26XNcpIUV5d1Ukt07vgWlJ-4HCBp7u6i5s44nShqFQhGCb6QEl6GT7F_07pgEyp_XXQW3RpeaPmjZXBub488kFLLLl3Lehjx_5M7rwv-j-NCsdqLb1pd23ou3_d9ExsJsLHUoS8xXvDA/s640/20121022_141013.jpg) |
They will eventually end up here, once the showers are completed. |