The View From Our Window
With the last batch of bigger pieces now out of the shop there was room for the horse and wagon once more. That meant it was concrete day. We decided to tackle the row boat and wheels first. The mud was troweled on and after it had set to just the right firmness the whole crew jumped in to do the carving. As always it was all about detail, continuing to tell the story visually.
Tomorrow the pirate horse gets the treatment. Stay tuned...
-grampa dan
It was another very busy day in the shop with three pieces recieving final paint and glazes. They will roll out the door tomorrow. The boys kept three welders going steady all day and finished the armatures of many small pieces. Jack worked on the metal frame of the stern of second pirate ship and made good progress. Welding the armatures for the features is a difficult task for you have to get a clear idea of what you are building firmly in your head before you start. It's done one rod at a time and often it is a while before you can clearly see the shape you are creating. The compound curves of the ship are especially challenging! This is going to be a very pretty piece when it is done. Great job Jack!
It was also time to begin the painting of the bamboo bridge supports. Today's work would set the style of everything to come. Angie and Jenessa did it perfectly.
Tomorrow we are back to sculpting concrete mud once more. Stay tuned...
-grampa dan
Moving day for our extremely large pieces is always a challenge. We had engineered a system of sturdy swivel castors which worked well on the welded structural frames but once the concrete was on the wheels proved to be a little light. It was time for plan B. We quickly placed an order for some castors that were even more heavy duty but this morning as we began the move they too failed.
The solution was to drag the monster ship under the lift beam and take the second set of castors off and set the piece down on some pipes with would act as rollers. Slow and steady was the order of the day with no one allowed to even think about putting hands or feet under or near the frame - just in case something went wrong. Our little tractor in it's lowest gear would do the heavy work and provide the moving power.
It took the whole team a half hour of work but everything went smooth as we eased the ship out of the shop and into the parking lot - all without a scratch.
With the ship and other completed pieces out of the shop safely it was time for a quick sweep and then a whole new batch of features was moved into the shop to continue. I love it when a plan comes together - even if it is plan C. :)
-grampa dan
Custom Design & Construction
