Water Tower 06

I've taken a little break from working on the spout to get the superstructure and the sound system together.  The plan is to have "filling sounds", clanks and sloshing, play whenever the spout is lowered.  As I have a good idea of how I'm going to handle the spout mechanism, I figured that I should fit the speaker before going much further.

The speaker I chose is Altec Lansing "IMT 228 OrbitM" speaker.  I discovered the hard way that you need to pay close attention to the spec, as there was a cheaper USB only version of the speaker.  I specifically wanted the headphone plug so that it would easily interface with a Pricom Dreamplayer Light.  The components and amplifier are delightfully small, and the sound is very good.  I discarded the provided enclosure, as the body of the water tower will fill the need.  The joists under the tank floor make a perfect grill to conceal the speaker, so, I set the perforated metal aside for future use someplace else, for an as yet undetermined purpose.  The on off switch and indicator light are on a separate circuit board, very convenient for remote mounting.  Ultimately, there will be about half a dozen wires travelling down the stem of the tank.

Over the past several days I've been treating the support timbers with a mixture of steel wool and vinegar.  My clients have been using this finish on full size buildings, and it's working great in scale, delivering the look of real oxidized wood.  The timber was grained with the side of a razor saw and sanded.  The ends were treated with the "Timber Terminator" where they would be exposed.  I am going to get the structure assembled and then return to the spout.  I may take a detour to work out the chain and pulleys, as this could be a bugaboo with the working spout.