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Turning of the Week for January 19, 2026

Bill Boehme

Bill Boehme

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My selection for Turning of the Week for January 19, 2026, is Armillary Sphere by Clayton Thigpen. At first glance one might mistake it for a gimballed gyroscope, but it’s actually a very complex astronomy instrument that describes the complex motions of the sun, moon, planets, and stars in a geocentric (Earth centered) universe centuries ago when it was generally accepted that the Earth was the center of the universe before the heliocentric astronomical model (Sun centered model of the solar system) became the standard. As a retired Navigation, Guidance, and Control engineer, I was intrigued by this ancient instrument, which hadn't been seen for centuries before one was built on the campus of St. John’s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

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Here is a video that describes the design and implementation of the Armillary Sphere.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YCuozracGo
 
Excellent job on fitting all these components together Clayton…no easy task! The ancient ones would be impressed!! Nice choice Bill…pointing out the obvious re: POTW, the cross section of turned pieces selected is all encompassing!
 
Russ Braun said:
Excellent job on fitting all these components together Clayton…no easy task! The ancient ones would be impressed!! Nice choice Bill…pointing out the obvious re: POTW, the cross section of turned pieces selected is all encompassing!
Click to expand...

@Russ Braun What is POTW?
 
Haha, one website to the right Bill! This might not be the last time you hear that from me…I just chose it over at SWT a few days ago.
 
Congratulations, Clayton. It reminds me much of a piece I had as year that I called Orb Ligneus. Mine was totally conceptual as my perception of what a wooden satellite might look like. After I did it, I have thought about doing a gimballed gyroscope, but I've never gotten around to it. I might have to think about that again.
 
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