Our friends at M&H machine shop gave me the signal that the back axle for the little Jeep was ready this afternoon. They do beautiful work! It was a heavy duty work of art and will easily handle anything we can throw at it! The pieces went together in minutes. I wasted no time and quickly welded up a subframe and mounting brackets. I bolted the axle in place and then slid the assembly into place under the Jeep. A few minutes of welding made it permanent and I could take the little four by four off the jack stands at last. I still have to mount the jackshaft, hook up the throttle and brake linkages, place the chains on the sprockets and check everything over one last time. Then it'll be time for the test drive!!
A gang of roosters!
We don't do many private house signs but when we do you can bet they are fun! A current project is for a local family that owns a chicken farm. They asked for a sign that would go between two posts on their porch entry. Much to my delight they asked for chickens of course. I immediately knew the sign would have a plump chicken rousing in the center. But the family had requested more than one chicken. So I quickly designed some rooster brackets which would fasten to each side of the sign bracket. While I was at it I added two more similar brackets on the outside of these posts to hold up some hanging baskets. The family loved the idea so much they asked us to create another twelve rooster brackets for all of the other posts on the porch. We used our MultiCam CNC plasma cutter to cut out all of the quarter inch thick steel pieces. After I finish welding everything together tomorrow we'll send them off to the powder coaters to get their protective layer of black paint. When we get everything back next week the sign will be laminated over the frame. I'll sculpt the plump rooster into the center then too. It's going to be a whole lot of fun!
Helping someone else dream
Last year a local couple asked me to help them design their new house. Their architect had already done much of the planning work but they weren't satisfied with the way the outside was looking. They wanted something more whimsical and fun. They had seen our house and felt I was the guy to help them with their dream. I listened carefully to their thoughts and then set to work with my pen. I didn't need to make any major changes to the plan but adjusted rooflines, the shape, sizes and locations of windows and the final finishes on the exterior. The couple was delighted with the result.
The house is now under construction and they have called me back from time to time to help them pick finishes, colours and materials and make practical adjustments as necessary. The house is looking spectacular and as it becomes more finished will get even cooler every day.
