The configuration of the build that I will share here is based on my interpretation of many of the clues Johann Bessler left for us. Sometimes I might not show how I arrived at a feature of the design because it would take up too much space to explain and I think most people would prefer to see the progression of the build. Having said that I will show some details to help understand why a particular part of the design is the way it is.
As for the clues, one of the clearest indications that Johann Bessler left coded information lies in his use of a pseudonym, Orffyreus. This device was a well-known system of coding, known in ancient Hebrew times as atbash or in later times as the Caesar shift, it involved alphabetic substitution. Using this simple code, Bessler changed his name to Orffyre which he then Latinised to Orffyreus. Why use such a simple easily identified code? His purpose in adopting a pseudonym was to draw attention to the possibility of further coded information. I followed the hint and found numerous examples of codes and latterly I found the really useful information which was designed to reveal his secret to anyone with the determination to follow the path he laid in various places.
There is much that still eludes my amateur skills in this field but I’m certain that once his secret is exposed to the world, his other ciphers will be broken and more information will be published by those whose expertise puts my own efforts in the shade.
This subject has been discussed numerous times on my other websites, see the links in the side panel. My publications are also listed there.
The most obvious clue obtained right from the beginning is the importance Bessler attributed to the number five, and through a process of deduction from many other clues, I found that his gravity-enabled wheel had five compartments each containing a single mechanism; that each fifth segment contained one mechanism and one weight; each weight being of equal size - and that the mechanisms operated in pairs.
Each mechanism was paired with its adjacent one, and as a weight fell, it lifted the previous fallen weight back to its former position easily. A clue to this action lies in one of Bessler’s more obscure clues.
He will be called a great artist if he can easily throw a heavy thing high and if a pound falls a quarter it will shoot up four pounds four quarters.