Time to pack!

We've all had the challenge of packing for a vacation. The idea is to get as much stuff into as small a suitcase as possible. Packing a fifty-three foot semi-trailer is much the same - only on a much bigger scale. 

An important part of what we do is design ways to move, load and transport the pieces we build. We design safe and sturdy ways to do this while we are still in the design phase. With the next large delivery to NEBs now days away the work has shifted from production to getting ready for shipping. The six pub signs were mounted to  custom designed, oversized steel pallet. This same welded stand will carry the backs of the massive posts which will act as further ballast to keep everything upright for the 5,000 kilometre journey. The posts are mounted in pars on other custom built pallets. Ten concrete arches will also make the journey mounted back to back in pairs. A loading plan was carefully designed to fill the trailer in such a fashion as things slide in and out easily but don't wiggle on the way there. It is one more fun and challenging aspect of our job.

The little touches that tell the story

The design of a piece is critical. Picking the right colours and adding glazes can add a whole lot as well. But often it's the teeniest little touches that bring a piece to life. Those same small touches add a great deal to the story. Yesterday I posted a short video of the 'MARVELOUS MACHINE' in motion. It was pretty cool to see it in action. Today I spent only  few minutes on the piece but the time I spent made a big difference. I first painted the brass colour on the top plaque. It took two coats of the metallic gold. I then aged things down with the same glaze I used yesterday on the larger piece. While that dried I added a teeny bit of rust to one side of the base. Then I dry brushed on the smallest bit of dark metallic grey to the rotor and stand - where one would expect some wear. Then an even smaller amount of silver was added to the same areas. Then a couple of brush strokes of bright gold added wear to the brass plaque. A little more aging toned things back down.

Those few minutes with a brush and various colours of paint changed the piece dramatically. It brought it to life and added a whole lot of story. This little dynamo not wells the story of many decades of sevice.

Motion!

At every opportunity I do a little more work on the 'MARVELOUS MACHINE' It is slowly coming together. Today, I finished the assembly and basic painting of the dynamo and mounted it to the machine. It's fun to see the gears turn in unison and the machine moves at last. I've decided the bulk of the machine will be burgundy.