Log In
Register
Home
Topic RSS
11:14 pm
March 26, 2010
Offline
ironstein;8028 wrote: Wow, that is coming together beautifully. Obviously you are planning to weld everything, how are you going to hide the welds?
Not really Brian, its gonna be assembled in a public space and I'll be working about 9m high so I've avoided welds .... nuts and bolts job. Some mounting will be visible but where ever possible I'll hide the joints:
where the sections are "tubular", they join with spigots held together with a bolt (which is hidden behind a leaf).
where non "tubular" segments overlap, one segment will slide over and hide the mounting plate of the other
11:30 pm
March 26, 2010
Offline
D_Evans;8162 wrote: The sheer size is amazing, as is your work.
I don't do anything that won't fit in my forge.
I can't imagine what must have gone through your head when you were first talking about this with your customer- and finally absorbed the size he wanted the project... 'Oh yeah, I can do this. No problem'. Huh?
Fun to watch your work, though.
Good on ya!
Getting this job was bit of rum one. I'll reveal the location later; the owners don't want publicity at this stage.
It used to have some other sculpture on the wall but the previous lease holders removed this when the lease wasn't renewed. My GF used to work in the building and she just decided she'd go and speak to the new manager and persuade them they needed some new sculpture and that she knew just the person who could do it for them. I didn't really take her seriously until a few months later when I got a phone call asking if I'd come and have a chat with the mamager....
.....end result of which they decided they wanted something wiggly organicey covering a specific part of the building. When doodling on paper I didn't really take in the scale of the thing. It was only when I started laying out (LOTS) of 8' x 4' hardboard sheets I started to think "***k what have I taken on".
It's been 3 month SOLID HARD GRAFT so far with a least another to go. I've had a part timer do one days work a week but apart from thats it's all been me. I have a tendancy to live in my beloved workshop at the best of times but I've really over done it on this one. I'm pretty sure it will be worth it it. It's in a very prominent city centre location, it will have my name and website prominently displayed and will probably been seen by many 100,000s of people a year ... it's gotta lead somewhere sometime.
11:50 pm
January 18, 2011
Offline
Great stuff Dave! Very fluid.........I've always gotten the impression you work alone, if so you manage to pull off some incredible feats of metalworking by yourself............b
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."
— Dr. Seuss
6:04 am
June 16, 2010
Offline
As freakin' amazing as that looks already, I have a feeling that seeing it in person to get a feel for the scale and see the details would put it right over the top.
10:00 pm
May 15, 2010
Offline
Great progress David, only 997 pc. to go! It is an amazing ability to say "Yes, no problem" then go back and figure what you have gotten yourself into, then pull it off.
I may have missed it somewhere but I assume your rolling those branches up out of sheet and not tapering pipe? Or both?
Thanks,
Michael Dillon
http://dillonforge.com/
3:32 am
December 19, 2010
Offline
That is a very slick way to connect everything. I would have been stuck inside the box trying to weld everything, way to think outside the box! Amazing work David, i look forward to seeing it installed.
10:06 am
March 26, 2010
Offline
Danger;9193 wrote:
I may have missed it somewhere but I assume your rolling those branches up out of sheet and not tapering pipe? Or both?Thanks,
Danger
It's 1.5mm sheet. The texture dies I made sort of "crimp" the sheet into texture. It's much deeper texture than I could get using tube/pipe. The sheet is then rolled up into long tapers, tubes etc using the fly press and some hammering. The seems are welded and kinda blend in with the texture used.
The "tubes" are bend using the induction heater to get very localised heating. The largest "tube" I've curved this way is about 3.5" diameter. It does tend to buckle on the inside but it enhances the "look".
Then longest taper I did tapered from 3.5"down to about 1/4" diameter and was about 16" long. I would have hated to have done this out of solid
I ended up doing all the trunk this way, even the smallest bits. It makes it all very light. Kinda handy when you're fitting it 30ft up on a scissor lift.
The induction heater got a suprising bit of use on this project. I simply couldn't imagine life without one. I think it was Larry that said life without induction heater would be like life without truck
10:24 am
March 26, 2010
Offline
Finished
Traditional(e) ye olde civil(e) war(e) blacksmything it certainly aint. That said, every square mm (apart from the brackets) has been heated and beated .... er .... is that called forging.
11:18 am
May 15, 2010
Offline
WOW! Beautiful sculpture David, amazing, you da man!
I'm looking for a little nome to pop his head out of that tree!
Also like the bit of free advert.
Whats the finish?
Michael Dillon
http://dillonforge.com/
2:58 pm
June 10, 2010
Offline
David
That is a great piece of work. I'm amazed.
Daryl
3:07 pm
March 22, 2010
Offline
Thats gotta feel good man... And it turned out beautiful..
Whatever you are, be a good one.
Abraham Lincoln
3:09 pm
NWBA Member
September 25, 2010
Offline
That looks wonderful, definitely a destination when I get around to visiting your side of the pond some day. 😀
Regards,
Tim
Let us make a special effort to stop communicating with each other, so we can have some conversation.
Mark Twain
3:39 pm
August 14, 2010
Offline
Looks great, David!
I was wondering why we hadn't heard from you lately. Looks like there were some very good reasons.
I am glad you integrated the arc welds into the design, I think there should be more of that. It seems silly to spend inordinate amount of times hiding some parts of the process and emphasizing others. Anything that lets the smith focus on making cool stuff is good by me.
4:39 pm
NWBA Member
August 8, 2010
Offline
WOW!
Dave
No one really listens to anyone else, and if you try it for a while you'll see why.
- Mignon McLaughlin
4:56 pm
May 13, 2010
Offline
Wow!! That add on the corner should lead to some nice work. You will have to beat customers away with a stick.
5:15 pm
NWBA Member
April 22, 2010
Offline
I believe the appropriate phrase is "Damn, He's Good".
Is it hot dip galvanized?
7:49 pm
March 21, 2011
Offline
Truly amazing. Well done. I especially like how it grows over and under the drainpipe.
12:24 am
January 18, 2011
Offline
WOW, I can imagine driving past that building a thousand times , and if asked I probably couldn't describe it.......Your piece makes it unforgettable........Bruce
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."
— Dr. Seuss
12:18 am
May 14, 2010
Offline
Absolutely fan-fricking-tastic Hyde! Beautiful. LOVE the Verdigris metals signature. All that hard work really paid off. A real show piece. This should really kick down some doors for you on future projects. My hat is off to you.
-DB
Most Users Ever Online: 668
Currently Online:
9 Guest(s)
Currently Browsing this Page:
1 Guest(s)
Top Posters:
Larry L: 1566
Grant: 1420
Bruce Macmillan: 625
Lee Cordochorea: 595
Lynn Gledhill: 572
JNewman: 520
Gene C: 504
J Wilson: 426
Eric Sprado: 383
Tom Allyn: 340
Member Stats:
Guest Posters: 22
Members: 8727
Moderators: 4
Admins: 1
Forum Stats:
Groups: 23
Forums: 97
Topics: 3538
Posts: 20289
Newest Members:
Jeffrey Funk, Tom, churndashmaven, cameliacity, fred.f.chopin, RuoYi, rodeoneerer, NWBABjorn, mddangelo, NevillbergerModerators: Steve McGrew: 77, N.W.B.A.: 72, webmaster: 0, bluehost: 0
Administrators: admin: 540
Usage Policy