GEARS OF GRACE · STUDY, NOT RULED

Material and motion

Fifteen specimens. Colour is only 4.5.3 and 5.2; what is new is surface, edge, wear and machine motion, none of which the record carries. Every tile names the construction that makes it, so a kept tile is already a token and already a recipe.

MOTION is the argument. 5.6 rules motion for the whole brand and says never linear. A driven wheel has to be linear or it reads as broken — the second tile is the same wheel on 5.6’s entry curve.

SURFACE

BRUSHED STEELsteel bright, drawn in one directionrepeating-linear-gradient(90deg,…1px) over a vertical ramp

CAST IRONiron dark, mottled; a poured surface, not a flat fillfractalNoise 0.035 ×4 over slate 900 → forge 900

RUST BLOOMember and rust breaking through iron, in patchescoarse turbulence masking an ember ramp, multiply

MACHINED PLATEengine-turned: the finish of a cut facerepeating-radial-gradient at 6px + fine grain

EDGE

CHAMFERthe corner is cut, never roundedclip-path:polygon(…12px cut on four corners)

RAISED BEVELa part standing proud of the plateinset 0 1px 0 #fff6 / inset 0 -1px 0 #0007 / 0 2px 0 #0005

INTAGLIOstruck into the plateinset 0 1px 2px #000a, inset 0 -1px 0 #fff3

RIVETED SEAMa joint that is fastened, and shows itrepeating radial-gradient rivets on a 1px dark/1px light seam

WEAR

SCRATCH PASStool marks, shallow and directionalrepeating-linear-gradient(101deg, #fff1 0 1px, transparent 1px 7px)

EDGE OXIDATIONrust creeping in from the edge, centre clearinset radial burns in rust — 4.1’s construction, rust instead of copper

PITTINGcorrosion in the surface itselfturbulence 1.6 ×2, multiply at .30

MOTION

CONTINUOUS · LINEARa driven wheel. Constant angular velocity, forever.animation: spin 20s linear infinite

CONTINUOUS · RULED EASINGthe same wheel on 5.6’s entry curve. It surges and stalls.animation: spin 20s cubic-bezier(.19,1,.22,1) infinite

RATCHETan escapement: twelve discrete clicks, no glide.animation: spin 4.8s steps(12,end) infinite

CAM · DWELLa follower lifted, held, and dropped.keyframes with a flat hold; exit curve up, entry curve down

Round two. LIGHT fixes one source so every bevel in the system agrees. TYPE ON METAL gives 4.5.2’s face a material. PARTS answers 5.7 — a plate is a part, not a container. MOTION II is where 5.6’s ruled curves belong: the gauge needle uses the bounce curve exactly as written. Press the control.

LIGHT

ONE LIGHT, FROM ABOVEevery bevel lit from 12 o’clock. One source, whole system.highlight on the top edge, shadow on the bottom — never reversed

RAKING LIGHTa low light is what makes grain visible at alllinear-gradient(100deg,…) across the grain, not along it

FLAT FILLthe failure mode: a colour with no light in itbackground:#6f798a — nothing else

TYPE ON METAL

GEARS OF GRACE

ENGRAVEDcut into the platecolor:#2e3540; text-shadow:0 1px 0 rgba(255,255,255,.45)

GEARS OF GRACE

EMBOSSEDstruck up out of the platecolor:#e2e8ef; text-shadow:0 -1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,.55)

GEARS OF GRACE

STENCIL, WORNsprayed on and half goneember fill + a turbulence mask eating the letterforms

GEARS OF GRACE

ETCHED, RUST IN THE COUNTERSacid-bitten; the oxide settles in the cutsdark fill, rust glow inside, 1px light below

PARTS

EPISODE 001

NAMEPLATEa label is a fastened plate, not a coloured boxrivets + chamfer + engraved type

SEAMa divider is a joint between two plates1px shadow over 1px highlight, not a hairline

CONTROLhover lifts it, press seats it. Try it.bevel → inset on :active, 120ms, no bounce

EPISODE 002Title to come

INDEX PLATE5.7 says no visible containers. A plate is not a container — it is a part.ground change + seam + engraved label; no border

MOTION II

SPIN-UP & COASTinertia: it takes time to start and time to stopper-keyframe timing — ease-in, linear, ease-out over 9s

JUDDERa mesh catching — the tooth that does not want to goirregular keyframe stops; the machine is worn, not smooth

HEATan ember breathing. 5 s — inside 5.6’s atmospheric band.box-shadow and opacity loop, 5s ease-in-out

GAUGE SWEEPa needle thrown and settling. This is where 5.6’s bounce curve belongs.cubic-bezier(.34,1.56,.64,1) — the ruled curve, on an instrument