This week, things have been so busy in the shop that I haven’t had time to do much on the laser of late. But late last week, I did a drawing and test run on the laser, producing this little gem. Back when I did fine art as a living, for every large show I would create a line drawing of an outhouse - just for fun. It would always be among the first to sell. I also produced several limited-edition prints, which also sold extremely well. As I sharpened my line art skills in preparation for the arrival of the laser engraver, I worked up this little beauty. I imagined the perfect outhouse… on the edge of the sea. To take advantage of the ocean view, it would face towards the water and be on a bit of a hill. A fancy nautical-themed weather vane would be the crowning touch. The next time I find a little time, I’ll do a test with watercolour to ready it for release. This print will be limited to an edition of only ten prints. Available soon…
'W' beginnings
After figuring out our systems on two relatively simple letters, it was time to get to the more complex ones. Since the ‘W’ was the biggest, it was the next one on the welding table. There are some tough, narrow segments on the inside. The key to efficiency was to send the inside corners first, then take the time to grind before I proceeded to the other side of the letter. That worked well, and I was able to get through all of the hard bits and begin the legs and base before the end of the workday. Because there are about a hundred linear feet of weld in this letter, I’m getting my practice hours in without a doubt. Stay tuned for the finish tomorrow…
Slight adjustment
We spent a good part of the late morning cutting plywood and assembling the shipping crates for my Sign Invitational entries. Things went pretty well, but when I set the pieces on top of the crates as they will appear at the ISA show, the Hornae Toade sign looked far too tall. I studied things for a minute and decided I could easily cut the bracket apart and weld a section of large-diameter pipe into the lower pipe to fit around the shield medallion on the bottom of the sign. I could then shorten the vertical frame (and shipping crate) by almost 4”, making the entire display 8” shorter overall and much more pleasing to the eye. We’ll enjoy the signs in the shop until next week, and then I will send them on their way south.
