Key piece installed

Today I had my heart set on finishing the outside concrete work. But when we arrived at the site the plasterers had staked out the territory for their work. I wasn’t about to work under them. So we instead worked on the archway we had started last week. I showed how I built the routing file for the keystone with the letter ‘D’.
The concrete work is started at the top, with new concrete gingerly hung from the previously applied mud. It takes practice to lay on a heavy coat of wet concrete without a whole bunch hitting the floor from time to time. It took about two hours to lay on the Mud. It was Hailey’s first time mixing and she did a great job! We had time for some delicious pub food before we began the carving process. We started on the top on the oldest concrete. laying out the lines for the brickwork freehand and then carving in the grooves. Like all the other brickwork we had done it flowed in sweeping lines instead of being deadly straight as is most traditional brickwork. Carving is a slower process than applying the concrete – especially once the chemical reaction kicks. With the warm temperatures of today it was a race against time to get it done. At the end both Hailey and Sarah were helping me to carve in the details. 
I’ll still do a little detail work on the keystone, filling in the seam lines and mounting screw holes and evening out the texture with the die grinder. Then we’ll apply some base coats of paint. But before the glazes go on it is time to work some more sculpting magic. Two or three knarly grape vines will wind their way around the old worn bricks, looking like they have grown there for many decades. These will be sculpted over a welded steel armature to make them plenty strong. Then we’ll paint the vines and glaze and age everything so it looks as old as the pub we are crafting. All of it is working hard to tell our story.
-dan

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Counter inlay and other progress

Progress continues on many fronts at the Fox & Hounds pub. Because so many people are working in a small space we have to be very flexible, often working on three or four areas in a single day. Today was one of those days. Things are getting completed however.
A number of weeks ago I used EnRoute to create files of a simplified logo. This file was taken to my MultiCam dealer and he kindly used the MultiCam water jet cutter to cut the pieces from stainless steel and brass. I gave the pieces to the fellow who was casting the concrete countertops for the new bar. Yesterday they arrived at the pub at last and look fabulous! The logo is about 24″ tall and appears in two places on the bar. It adds a very classy detail to the project!
The temporary floor came down revealing the London rooftop for the pub patrons. It is giving everyone a first glimpse of what is to come in the other parts we have been working on. 
I’ll be posting some new pictures soon that will show the many other areas of progress around the pub. It is all coming together quickly now.
-dan

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Mantle routing file

Yesterday the temporary floor which we worked on to build the ‘London roofline’ came down. I could then size up exactly how I would build the new fireplace facade. After looking things over I decided I would use a wood frame for the bulk of the construction and welded steel for the bits around the fireplace opening. All will be covered with a layer of sculpted concrete. I fastened a piece of plywood to the center portion of the fireplace and hung the family crest as a point of reference. Everything would be scaled to this. Then I framed in the mantle using 3/4″ plywood. I will glue the routed 30 lb Precision Board over this form.
I then used the wooden mantle form to create a 1/4″ plywood pattern in two halves. It is just a hair under 11 feet wide. I took a picture of this pattern to create the vectors I needed by simply tracing it out. My client requested ‘genuine’ Old English lettering for the pub name.
I did the Lettering in Illustrator but it could have been done in EnRoute. I then brought the vectors into EnRoute to begin creating the reliefs. Since my board (and router) are only eight feet long I needed to break the file into sections to route. I drew a box and brought the bottom corners in to the angle of the bend.  I also did an 0.7″outline of the mantle shape to enlarge the mantle front enough to put a 1/2″ top and bottom piece of Precision Board on the mantle. I’ll carve those in place with the die grinder. I deleted the original smaller mantle shape and used the jigsaw tool to create the three pieces of the mantle front.
The text was then centered on the mantle.
I created the three flat reliefs at 0.4″ height. The I imported the horizontal sandblasted wood grain bitmap from my TEXTURE MAGIC collection. It stretched out to 12 feet without difficulty. I also stretched it out vertically to fit the mantle in a section of grain I liked. It was applied with a value of 0.2″
The lettering has a 0.3″ border. I first created a relief using this border vector. This was merged highest with the mantle pieces. Lastly the bevelled lettering is added to the relief.
 The tool pathing was done with a 3/8″ ball nose bit for the rough pass and a 1/8″ ball nose bit for the final.
I’ll route the pieces in the next days, and then install next week.
-dan

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Adding the family jewels

We stay busy on the Fox & Hounds project and it’s many, many pieces. One of the signs is almost ready for paint. There were a few details yet to do. After gluing in the support structure I needed to finish the edges and back of the sign. I took a few minutes and used the die grinder to add a subtle texture to the areas. It looks a lot like it was dome with an adze or flat chisel.
The other details would be hand done as well. Back a few weeks ago, when I was doing the workshop in Toronto, I was getting a few supplies (stir sticks and paint cups) and I found these large plastic rubies. They were perfect for the jewels I needed in the crown of this sign. It only cost a couple of dollars for a good sized plastic tube. 
The tops of the crown was sculpted with Abracadabra Sculpting epoxy. I used the die grinder to hollow out the sockets for the plastic jewels. I made them oversized and then partially filled them in with sculpting epoxy, then pushed in the jewels.
I trimmed the sculpting epoxy around the jewels and then fashioned some claws to look authentic. As quick as that this portion of the sign was ready for paint.
Then I used a little more Abracadabra Sculpt to fashion some grape leaves and fastened them to the sign. A couple more seconds with the die grinder introduced a subtle texture to the face of the scrolls.
Stay tuned for the painting process…
-dan

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Sign easel

They say that necessity is the mother of invention. In my studio that is often true. This past weekend I was doing my best to sort out things and glue up some more signs for the Fox & Hounds Pub project. There were a bunch scattered around various places in the studio in various stages of completion. It was time to come up with a solution to work on a number of projects at once. If at all possible I like to carve and paint my signs as they will be permanently mounted. They are transported in this same manner to minimize wear and tear as well.
Wall space is at a premium in my studio so hanging the signs on a wall to work on them was not an option. Also I needed whatever I created to be easily portable. Most importantly it needed to be STRONG as the signs I make can often weigh in at a hundred pounds of more. Than meant a welded steel frame was a must!
I didn’t over think things but simply brought the steel off the rack and started cutting and welding. I had scrounged some cool steel brackets with castor already mointed. They allowed the whole assembly to be really low. To make things as comfortable as possible I wanted to be able to sit while I paint. This meant I had to build a floor on the stand.
As I worked I came up with more ideas to create a stand that would serve a variety of functions. A removable bar slides through the top tubing to allow one or two signs to hang from it on each side.  A side tray also will be a great place to keep the paint I need handy. A five gallon pail fastened under the shelf holds fresh rags for our glazing. I screwed some trim around the platform to make sure the chair doesn’t roll off the edge.
I also fastened a piece of plywood to the back of the easel to hold a second sign. On both the front and back I screwed a French cleat to hang the signs which sported an opposite hanger. For those not in the know a French cleat is a piece of wood (I use 3/4″ plywood) cut with a 45 degree angle. The weight of the sign alone keeps thing hanging securely.
 -dan

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