A shaggy dog story

I absolutely love telling a 'SHAGGY DOG STORY' which is defined as 'a long, rambling joke or story, typically one that is amusing only because it is absurdly inconsequential or pointless.'  My entry for next year's Sign Invitational is just such a visual story. In fact, I decided to include a actual shaggy dog for good measure. Today, I fashioned the wire dog armature and did the rough sculpture to stabilize him in his pose. Tomorrow I'll finish adding the detail to the dog and surrounding corner of the sculpt. This is of course only the very beginning and many, many more fun and crazy details will be added - a little at a time.

May 12 progress 1.png
may 12 progress 2.png

Buckling down to the details

After a few days of pulling very long welds on large pieces it is finally time to get to the smaller details on the NEB's pub still. First, I designed and built a prototype barrel clamp. I opted for a turnbuckle rather than a faux hydraulic cylinder. The clamp went together quickly and looked great in place. Satisfied, I set the MultiCm plasma cutter in motion and cut all the pieces for fifteen more identical barrel clamps. These will be fabricated and welded into place before I go on to the next fun pieces.

barrel clamp.png
clamp pieces.png