Today I made a total mess out of my hobby room, exploding Lego parts (mostly Technic gears and such) in every direction possible while trying to build a functional azimuth drive.
After a day of goofing, I make 3 different versions. As with most iterative processes, I'm happiest with v3, not pictured in this video. You'll notice in the video that the propellers are huge, spin rather slow, and wobble a lot.
The wobble is due to using a vertical drive shaft to also support the pod. Since the '90s (vintage of Lego I have), a "turntable" part was created that allows for side-loading without putting stress on the driveshaft itself.
I recently bought a 2015 Technic Lego ship that had one of these turntables, so I pirated it to make V3 with fantastic results.
Next, I'll work to adapt RC motors to the Lego shafting, attach these drives to a hull, and have some fun!
