We love our CNC machines as they help us do our work so much faster and with much more precision than we could possibly muster by hand. It’s my estimation that the work our wonderful machines do takes us to about half way to completion on most projects. Once the machines are done the real magic begins. That’s the part we do by hand. This afternoon I assembled the machine cut parts of the Pumpkin Creek Railroad sign onto the tree armature which we fabricated last week. Because the heavy duty bracket was also cut by a CNC machine things fit together very well. There are five layers to the railroad sign which I laminated over a welded steel interior structure which I welded to the bracket. Next week I’ll first do some final hand shaping with an airpowered die grinder before beginning the hand sculpting to add the intricate detail to the train. While I could easily have added more details with the computer model and the CNC I know it adds so much more fun and magic when done by hand. We’ll be sculpting the tree as well this week which will soon make this sign ready for paint. Stay tuned...
Sculpting magic
It is pure magic to see a concept design come to life. Today, we applied the concrete to the welded steel armature and sculpted it to look like the drawing. Matt took the lead on this project and did a great job! We’ve made some subtle changes during the build. The piece is a little taller than the design to afford better visibility from a distance especially during busy times. The warm chocolate chip cookies are apparently very popular at Vala’s Pumpkin Patch and there is often a crowd in front of the shop. The chicken will be sculpted as a separate piece so it can be removed for transport as the feature would be too tall to fit in a truck with the chicken in place.
As low as we can go
There’s plenty of fun projects on the go in the shop (pictures to come tomorrow) but I am also getting a little design time in as well on a future project. We are exploring some very fun ideas for the drive-in mini golf. I gave a sneak peek at two of the car designs previously. We want something for everyone’s tastes and so had to include a led sled - low rider in the mix as well. I think the Mercury is the classic of this kind of car and so a golf hole feature photo op is an absolute must. I’m looking forward to building this little beauty!
