Today was all about leaves for Dayna's tree. I designed the cutting file and then let the MultiCam CNC plasma cutter do it's magic. Then the hard part began. I bent, fit and welded the leaves. Then the job got even tougher as it was time for a whole lot of grinding. By the afternoon we had eight beautifully shaped leaves ready to head off to the powder coaters for their coat of bright green paint.
More detail on the truck
Between all of the other projects on the go at our shop I still find a few minutes here and there work on the rail truck. The sidecar was mounted this past week which allowed me to really see how it was going to look. I decided it needed much more detail work, starting with some fenders. And after studying things closely I decided it would look good as a pickup truck rather than a flat deck - complete with a functional tailgate to allow access to the engine. This evening I spent a couple of hours designing the cutting files for all of the pieces and brackets. The whole truck is to be made of formed and welded steel with no bondo. We'll let it rust naturally for maximum character although I may add a little weathered paint and perhaps a logo on the side for a splash of color.
Dayna's sign mounted
I spent a little time in the shop today, even though it is the weekend. My goal today was to carve the woodgrain into the edges of Dayna's sign and get it permanently mounted into place. The tree has been a joint effort with Jeff doing much of the shaping of the tree under my watchful art direction. Jeff has a great eye and he's been itching to try the welding for some time. We allowed a generous timeline for the project in order to really have time to put our heart into it. This makes it a great project for him to learn this aspect of our craft. The whole crew is anxious to do the sculpting and painting which will begin when the armature is complete. The tree has a great feel already. I hope to add some branch structure tomorrow.
