Blogs
Each day another piece
As I work on the train project a little each day I find the modern tools make it so much easier than when I started the project more than a decade ago. Back then I was happy to use the hand held plasma cutter – a huge step up from the acetylene torch we had used up to that point. But the curves were always a little shaky and there was still lots of grinding to do – especially when I was making multiples of a piece. Now it is as simple as designing a file in EnRoute on the computer and then sending it off the the MultiCam CNC plasma cutter
Next load ready to ship
It was a holiday week which meant we only had only four workdays to complete our long list of things we needed to accomplish. The shipping date for the first ship and related pieces is set for next Tuesday. That morning, bright and early a giant crane and six 40′ container trucks will be waiting. That’s enough to hold one complete Viking ship, two masts, the keels and the balance of the target feature pieces. A few weeks later the final five containers will begin their journey to Dubai
Custom Tooling Board Blocks: Soft Tooling Made Easy
Custom Tooling Board Blocks Save Time, Money, and Material Soft tooling can be a time-consuming and expensive process. A common method is to order a number of individual tooling board sheets, bond them together in-house, and then machine the newly formed block to...
Every day a little progress
Each day I try to spend at least a few minutes each day to do a little work on the grampa train. Most days it is a short time but it’s enough to build a file in EnRoute, cut a piece or two on the MultiCam plasma cutter, pull a couple of welds or do a little grinding. I managed to assemble and finish the train controller yesterday. Today I cut some holes in the floor of the cab and fit it into place.
Precision Board Mobile: The Only Mobile App for Sign & Tooling Board
Introducing Precision Board Mobile: The First and Only Mobile App for HDU Sign and Tooling Board At Coastal Enterprises, we pride ourselves on providing some of the best technical support and customer service in the industry. We aim to give...
Hand control one
I love to design and fabricate somewhat complicated things using EnRoute and CNC tools. For the grampa train project I could have used a simple push/pull choke knob to accomplish the adjustment of the drive controls. It would have worked just fine but it wouldn’t be very authentic. Now I’m not at all a rivet counter kind of builder where everything has to be prototype down to the last detail but the thing I am modelling has to appear to function as it does in the prototype but in a fun way
Electric grampa train
It’s long been a dream of mine to won an electric train. Every Grampa should have one to share with his grand children. Only I wanted a very large train with the tracks circling the entire yard.
First half of Viking ship done
Today, we finished the first half of the Viking ship. After the painting was finished we carefully lifted the top section of the ship with the forklift and bolted the shipping frames to the bottom. These will prevent the ship from sliding in the container during transit. These ship pieces are now ready to crane into the container. The detail throughout the piece is superb and the crew is justifiably proud.
When Steampunk meets Polynesian
The past few months I have been learning new things pretty much daily and the past few weeks I have been tasked on learning the machines on the vinyl side of the business. As the illustrator/designer at the shop I am often given challenges or tasked to come up with ideas frequently. Jim loves to give me the most curve ball concepts to work with.