Eureka!

Being my day off I decided to do a little of two of the things I enjoy most... a little welding and some sculpting.

Quite some time ago I started a small sample piece with a miner in a mining car on a sign. I machined the wheels and roughed out the rest. With us being so busy it has sat idle ever since. But good ideas can only gather dust for so long.

The water tower we installed last week still needed a weather vane. I've been thinking about what I would fashion until I spied the miner sitting in the corner. It was perfect. I bent up some steel, cut a bunch more and then welded up all the pieces. Another bit of time was spent grinding things nice and smooth. Then it was time for a little sculpting. It didn't take long to add the detail to the car and then sculpt the miner, who rides in the car with a giant gold nugget clenched in his fist.

The little piece adds a whole lot to the story we are telling. It will be allowed to cure a bit and then we'll add a few coats of paint. It won't be long until the weather vane sits up on the water tower. Stay tuned...

-grampa dan

Driving to my happy place

We all have a place that is our happy place. This place is where we can forget our cares and simply enjoy the moment and perhaps think about what might be down the road. I have a few such places. One of them is when I jump on our little garden tractor and mow the lawn. It is a sunny day job. With the noise of the mower I can't hear my cell phone, and there are few outside distractions. I simply have to steer the mower and watch out for things on the lawn that don't need mowing. With the slow pace of the mower that leaves plenty of time to think, dream and to go to my happy place.

Locally we are enjoying a stretch of warmer than usual temperatures. We've been seeing temperatures into the double digits (Celcius) which is into the low 50's on the farenheight scale. It certainly isn't summer but still pretty awesome for this time of year! It's only January 18 and yet the grass has been sprouting of late and even getting a little shaggy, especially in the middle of the lawn that gets the most sunshine. It was time to take a drive with the mower before things got totally out of control!

I cruised the lawn, enjoying the warm sunshine for a bit more than half an hour. As I circled the lawn my mind was far away, thinking of all the cool things we would do to the place this summer. It was so good to get back to my happy place. As I mowed I also noticed the trees are starting to bud furiously which can mean only one thing. Spring, my favorite season, is right around the corner. I can hardly wait!

-grampa dan

The beginning

I often get asked as to where I learned to do our large projects. There is no formal school that teaches these things. I learned primarily by doing. I was also inspired by many trips to Disneyland as a young man. While most simply enjoy the attractions I was the guy trying my best to figure out how they built all that magical stuff. I started with what I learned from my dad who did carpentry. I surrounded myself with those who had other skills like welding. Most of what I do was learned by simply doing. Mistakes and failures were all taken to heart. Every project was a stretch, built on the project before. A can do attitude worked wonders.

One of our earliest, large 3D projects was a good example of how we work. I was asked to build a giant archway to a planned development. I did the design and then went on a trip with our family... to Disneyland. Splash Mountain had just opened and it was built using similar methods to what I had planned to use on our project. As we rode the fun ride I was all eyes to every detail. As luck would have it, just as we chugged up to the top of the mountain it broke down just before the giant drop. Most guests were disappointed to hear we would be walked out of the ride. I was delighted for it meant I would get a peek behind the fancy front. We would go where few guests get to go. In those few minutes as we walked out of the ride, deep inside the mountain structure, I learned much of what I needed to build my project back home.

I learned plenty on that first large project. Actually doing is a whole lot different than merely thinking one knows how. Since then each project has taught me more and with each sucessive project we reached a little further. After more than two and a half decades in the business I'm still figuring it out and learning every day.

-grampa dan