Pascaline Assembly Instructions

General Advice

  • Check your parts collection. Make sure you're not missing any parts; you don't want to discover this at the last moment.

  • Apply Loctite to all screws unless the instructions say not to. Don't coat the entire screw, just the section where the nut will end up.

Readouts

  1. Insert three 1 1/2 inch screws into a red ReadoutGear and lay it face down on the table.
  2. Add a 1/4 inch spacer to each screw.
  3. Add a ten-sided blue ReadoutCylinder piece, making sure that the rectangular slot in the strut lines up with the rectangular slot in the red ReadoutGear.
  4. Add seven more blue ReadoutCylinder pieces, for a total of eight, making sure that all the rectangular slots line up.
  5. Gently pick up the assembly and place the fingers of one hand on the three screw heads to keep them from slipping out. With your other hand, apply Loctite to the ends of the screws.
  6. Add nuts but don't tighten them yet.
  7. Slide a 2.5 inch hex standoff through the center of the assembly and make sure that it moves freely.
  8. With the shaft still in place, tighten the nuts with screwdriver and pliers and make sure the assembly still slides freely.
  9. Repeat the above steps two more times to construct two more readout assemblies.

Accumulators

  1. Select an accumulator gear with the T-shaped slot in it. (Six gears have these slots, and three don't have them.)
  2. Insert ten 1 inch screws into the ten outer holes in the gear, and fasten them with nuts and Loctite.
  3. Repeat the process to produce a second accumulator gear.
  4. Join the pair of accumulator gears back-to-back using two 3/4 inch round standoffs and four 1/4 inch screws.
  5. Insert ten 1/2 inch screws into the ten outer holes in a green OutputGear, and fasten them with nuts and Loctite.
  6. Attach a yellow OutputGearCap to the green OutputGear on the same side as the 1/2 inch screws, using two 3/8 inch screws, nuts, and Loctite. All 12 screw heads should be on the same side of the green OutputGear.
  7. Attach the output gear and endcap assembly to the end of a 4 inch standoff using a 1/4 inch screw and Loctite.
  8. Repeat the above instructions two more times to build the remaining two accumulators.

Input units

  1. Insert twenty 1 inch screws into an AccumulatorGear in the input2 configuration (without the T-slot; there should be three such gears) and secure them with nuts and Loctite.
  2. Insert a 2 inch hex standoff into each AccumulatorGear and temporarily secure both ends with a washer and 1/4 inch screw; don't use an Loctite at this pont. We won't add the InputWheels to these shafts until we're ready to assemble the top panel.

Backstops

  1. Put a 3/4 inch screw through a green BackstopCover.
  2. Place a 3/8 inch nut (the large, heavy nut) on top of the BackStopCover.
  3. Add two green BackStopPawls and another BackstopCover.
  4. Add a dab of Loctite and a nut, and tighten. The nut will be loose within the backstop but trapped by the two BackstopCovers.
  5. Repeat the above instructions two more times to build the remaining two backstops.

Top panel

  1. Attach a red InputBacking piece to the TopPanel using a 3/8 inch screw and nut. Leave the nut loose.
  2. Put two 3/4 inch screws though a FingerStop piece and add two 1/4 inch spacers. Then carefully pick up the FingerStop and attach it to the TopPanel and InputBacking using two nuts. Finally, tighten all nuts.
  3. Repeat the above instructions two more times for the remaining two digit positions.
  4. Attach the yellow ReadoutShield to the underside of the TopPanel using two 3/8 inch screws.
  5. Attach the blue ReadoutCover to the top side of the TopPanel using two 5/8 inch screws coming up from the bottom and two lock nuts on the top. Tighten the locknuts just enough to hold the ReadoutCover firmly but still allow it to move.
  6. Attach two 1 inch hex standoffs to the TopPanel, in the holes that are in between the input wheels, using 1/4 inch screws.
  7. Attach the yellow InputBrace to the standoffs using two more 1/4 inch screws.
  8. Remove the washers from the top end of an Input assembly shaft, and slide the shaft up through the InputBrace and TopPanel.
  9. Slide a red InputWheel between the top of the TopPanel and the underside of a FingerStop; then push the Input shaft through the hole in the InputWheel. The tiny "0" digit cut in the InputWheel should line up with one of the slots in the yellow AccumulatorGear below it on the shaft.
  10. Secure the shaft with the washer and 1/4 inch screw removed earlier.
  11. Repeat the above steps two more times to install the remaining Input assemblies.

Sautoirs

  1. Take a blue SautoirMount "A" configuration (the one with two small holes and no hexagon) and attach it to a 1.5 inch hex standoff with a 1/4 inch screw through the small hole furthest from the large hole.
  2. Add a SautoirMount "B" configuration and two SautoirMount "C" parts to the stack on the standoff.
  3. Join two SautoirArm pieces with a 5/8 inch screw through the top hole, separating them with a 1/4 inch spacer. Don't tighten the nut down yet.
  4. Insert two CarryPawl pieces between the SautoirArm pieces, and connect them with a 3/4 inch screw through the bottom hole. Use a locknut instead of a regular nut on the front face of the assembly, but don't tighten it down.
  5. Thread the SautoirMount assembly onto the standoff. Tighten the regular nut all the way down. Tighten the locknut until the CarryPawl no longer swings freely, then loosen it a bit until the CarryPawl swings freely again.
  6. Add a screw through the furthest hole in SautoirArm pieces, extending past the first SautoirMount piece, with a nut to hold everything together.
  7. Put a 3/8 inch screw through the remaining hole in the CarryPawl pieces and thread a spring onto the end of it.
  8. Put a 5/8 inch screw through the remaining hole in the SautoirMount assembly and thread the other end of the spring onto it.
  9. Add a SautoirMountC piece to stack on the standoff.
  10. Attach two CarryLever pieces to the other end of the standoff using a 3/8 inch screw.
  11. Thread a nut all the way onto a 5/8 inch screw. Then insert the screw into the remaining hole in the CarryLevers and SautoirMountC (with the head on the forward face) and add another nut to the end. This extra long screw will serve as a spacer.
  12. Install a large (size 3/8 inch) nut and bolt in the CarryLever.
  13. Repeat the above instructions to construct the second sautoir.

Ratchets

  1. Lay out the BottomPanel on the table so that the engraved "Pascaline" label is legible right side up in the top left corner.
  2. Examine the MidPanel2; there are three long tabs on the bottom edge, and three short tabs on the top edge.
  3. Temporarily drop MidPanel2 into the third slot of the BottomPanel; it will only fit one way. This assures that you've found the front side of the panel. The three small holes for the backstop pawls should be located above and to the left of the larger holes for their respective accumulator and output shafts.
  4. Install three 3/4 inch standoffs into the top holes of MidPanel2, on the front side, using 1/4 inch screws.
  5. Install the two blue SautoirBacking panels on the front side of the MidPanel2 using 1/4 inch plastic spacers and 5/8 inch screws.

Final Assembly

  1. Drop the MidPanel2 into the third row of the BackPanel.
  2. Slide the two sautoirs into position; the big hole in the SautoirArm should line up with the hole in MidPanel2 and in the blue SautoirBacking plate.
  3. Insert an Accumulator shaft into the leftmost hole in MidPanel2, through the sautoir and the SautoirBacking pate, and a little bit beyond.
  4. Thread approximately 7 yellow hexagonal spacers onto the Accumulator shaft. The exact number to use will depend on the thickness of the plastic. Too many spacers will cause friction, which you don't want.
  5. Rotate the accumulator's OutputGear until the two rectangular slots are vertical. Then pick up an AccumulatorGear assembly, rotate it so that the T-slots are at the top (the vertical slot of the T-slot should be aligned with the vetical slot in the OutputGear), and thread it onto the accumulator shaft. You will have to press down the CarryPawl in order to get the AccumulatorGear assembly all the way onto the shaft. The CarryPawl should be resting outside the circle of screws in the AccumulatorGear. This should allow you to rotate the AccumulatorGear on the shaft, and the spring-loaded CarryPawl will click as it passes each screw.
  6. Thread approximately 8 yellow hexagonal spacers onto the accumulator shaft. The exact number to use will depend on the thickness of the plastic. Too many spacers will cause friction, which you don't want.
  7. Repeat the above steps to set up the second sautoir and accumulator gear, in the middle position of MidPanel2.
  8. The rightmost hole in MidPanel2 has no SautoirBacking plate, so add approximately 10 yellow spacers instead of 7. Then add the AccumulatorGear, and then approximately 8 more spacers.
  9. Insert MidPanel1 into the second row of the BackPanel.
  10. Put the three accumulator shafts through the holes in MidPanel1. Put a 1/4 inch screw through a washer and use it to fasten an accumulator shaft in place in relation to MidPanel1. Repeat for the other two shafts.
  11. Examine the BackPanel. There are three long tabs on the bottom edge, and two long tabs with a short tab between them on the top edge. Drop the BackPanel into the slot in the BottomPanel furthest from you.
  12. Rotate an accumulator assembly until the T-slot in the yellow AccumulatorGears is at the top. Note that one of the slots in the green OutputGear is also vertical and aligned with the T-slot.
  13. Drop a blue Readout assembly in place between MidPanel2 and the BackPanel, rotated so that the slots in the red ReadoutGear and the blue ReadoutCylinders are pointing straight up, aligned with the green OutputGear. Insert a 2.5 inch standoff to hold the Readout assembly in place and fasten it with a washer and 1/4 inch screw at each end.
  14. Repeat the above steps two more times to install the remaining two Readout assemblies.
  15. Insert a 1/4 inch plastic spacer into a hole in a backstop, and attach it to the 3/4 inch hex standoff in MidPanel2 using a 3/8 inch screw and a washer.
  16. Repeat the above step two more times to install the remaining backstops.
  17. Place an adhestive sticker on every face of the three ReadoutCylinders: 30 stickers total.
  18. The face directly above the rectangular slot in the ReadoutCylinder should be labeled with a black "8", with a red "1" above it. The face to the right of it should be labeled with a black "9" and a red "0" above it. Continue all the way around the circle.
  19. Examine the two SidePanels. Notice that there are four columns of slots, but only one of those columns has four slots; the rest have three slots. The BackPanel is the only panel with four tabs; the MidPanels have three tabs. Install the two SidePanels.
  20. Fasten the SidePanels using 1/4 inch screws and nuts through the holes in the BackPanel tabs.
  21. Drop the FrontPanel into the first slot in the BottomPanel but do not add any screws yet. Move the SidePanels outwards so that they don't engage the FrontPanel. Tilt the FrontPanel forward but leave it resting in the BottomPanel.
  22. Rotate the three accumulators so that the output cylinders all read "9". (Make sure it's the regular "9", not the twos-complement "9".)
  23. Rotate the three input wheels so that the "9" is just to the right of the finger stop.
  24. Drop the topPanel into position, resting on the top slots in the BackPanel and MidPanels. Tilt the FrontPanel back so that its slots also fit through the TopPanel.
  25. Slide the SidePanels into position so they mesh with all the side slots.
  26. Verify that the Input assemblies are lined up properly by dialing in an input and watching the numbers change. When a position goes from "9" to "0" a carry should occur. If the alignment is off, lift up the TopPanel, turn the InputWheel to the correct position, and put the TopPanel back down again.
  27. When the alignment is correct, secure the SidePanels with 1/4 inch screws through the holes in the FrontPanel tabs.
  28. Complete the assembly by adding 1/4 inch screws to the vertical tabs extending below the BottomPanel and above the TopPanel.

Dave Touretzky
Last modified: Sun Dec 4 23:03:35 EST 2016