Production in spite of me

Yesterday was one of those days when almost nothing went right. Tools broke and had to be replaced, pieces were missing and had to be fabricated, and I simply got things wrong. Not much headway was made through the day in the shop. We all have days like that from time to time. At least the weather was perfect for those drives to town. I tried my best to whistle while I worked.
The good news however was in the router room the router kept chugging away doing things right. The file was massive, the detail was tight and the file ran a long time but it ran flawlessly. While I was frustrated in the shop and running back and forth to town the machine kept working, and working and working. It worked through the night while I caught up on my sleep. This morning when I came out to the shop it was done, perfectly. I had no worries. This is what I love about my MultiCam. Even the tools were put back in their holders. It doesn’t get better than that.
The file was one I created in EnRoute last week. Since I posted the mantle project here I changed things up a little and added a few more pieces for the bottom and top of the mantle. It now covered a full 4×8′ sheet of 1″ thick 30 lb Precision Board, wasting little material. Tomorrow we’ll glue the pieces into place and then build the rest of the new fireplace front around it. 
Stay tuned for pictures of the progress…
-dan

Published with permission from precisionboard.blogspot.com. Source.

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

Published with permission from precisionboard.blogspot.com. Source.

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

Published with permission from precisionboard.blogspot.com. Source.