(no subject)
Progress, I guess.
Although it still seems painfully slow, there is some progress in the shop.
The bent wood for the suitcases is starting to reach the point where it's dry enough to continue working, and I managed to glue on the first piece on the smaller case. It looks okay, I think, but my opinion doesn't really matter much. If things work out, I should be able to add at least one more piece each day. 4 pieces per case, means a total of 8 days, although I might bring the big case down and start working on it at the same time. The biggest hassle is that while the clamps are on, the things are huge and there's no place to stash them. Kind of a pain in that respect.
The four-panel screen is slowly getting there. For the most part the woods have been painted and are just waiting for the overspray of fog. Next up are about three layers of birds to be airbrushed. If I can find an easy way to mask them, they'll go relatively quickly. If not...well, I have no idea.
Adding the fog shouldn't be hard, but I've never airbrushed white before, and getting the effect of fog does not appear like a slam-dunk. I guess we'll see. The frames are as done as they can be without the panels to go inside, so they're just sitting for now.
While I was wood shopping yesterday, I picked up the piece to turn the Harlequin Egg. I have no immediately plans to commence work on that, but I've got some pieces for Krugman to turn, so I might turn the egg shell at the same time. Like Krugman, it's going to be slow going, mainly because the shell is very very ornate, and doing it right will take a long time. I can probably add one little piece in any one session, so not more than two pieces in a day. I'm not sure how many pieces there are total...although I could probably do the math, but I'm guessing around 60.
Krugman is actually making some progress. I cut the first of the gear blanks tonight, and started making the jigs to work them too. The largest gear, not counting the huge ring gear, is nearly ready to start cutting the teeth. 366 individual teeth, and they all must be cut by hand since they're not "regular" gear teeth. Every one must be hand filed to shape...and they're really tiny.
I also started working on some 48 tooth blanks. There are several of those in the mechanism, and they're going to be my test bed for methodology. I have a reasonable plan, but how reasonable remains to be seen. I've pretty much parked the "design" work for the moment, since I need a couple of these gears to proceed. I'll probably play with cutting some teeth tomorrow, just to see how it goes. I'll have to be patient, and if I can't be then I'll work on something else. Precision is paramount on this one, and there's no room for errors.
I also picked up the Baltic birch plywood for the face, and I'd really love to start working on that. However, until I know more about the mounting holes for shafts and such, I really can't do that. I gotta be patient and just do things in the proper order. The face of the clock/calendar section is one vast field of marquetry, and although I have the necessary veneers, it's going to be a slow process because there's simply a mess of details. The hour marks are all roman numerals, and there are 366 day marks in addition to the zodiac symbols and Sabbat symbols too. Lots of work, needless to say.
I broke down today and purchased myself a Christmas present. I am not bothering with a tree, although I might still a couple sticks together in the shop just for fun. There won't be any other "packages" to open, so I cheated. I bought myself some clamps...that were on sale...and they're already in use tonight. Such is the excitement of my Yuletime.
BTW, did you know that the Mayan Calendar end date is actually Yule? I don't think they celebrated that holiday, although they might have known it was the winter solstice. Dunno.
In any case, if you happened to read this, have a happy solstice and celebrate whatever holiday you deem appropriate.
JF
Although it still seems painfully slow, there is some progress in the shop.
The bent wood for the suitcases is starting to reach the point where it's dry enough to continue working, and I managed to glue on the first piece on the smaller case. It looks okay, I think, but my opinion doesn't really matter much. If things work out, I should be able to add at least one more piece each day. 4 pieces per case, means a total of 8 days, although I might bring the big case down and start working on it at the same time. The biggest hassle is that while the clamps are on, the things are huge and there's no place to stash them. Kind of a pain in that respect.
The four-panel screen is slowly getting there. For the most part the woods have been painted and are just waiting for the overspray of fog. Next up are about three layers of birds to be airbrushed. If I can find an easy way to mask them, they'll go relatively quickly. If not...well, I have no idea.
Adding the fog shouldn't be hard, but I've never airbrushed white before, and getting the effect of fog does not appear like a slam-dunk. I guess we'll see. The frames are as done as they can be without the panels to go inside, so they're just sitting for now.
While I was wood shopping yesterday, I picked up the piece to turn the Harlequin Egg. I have no immediately plans to commence work on that, but I've got some pieces for Krugman to turn, so I might turn the egg shell at the same time. Like Krugman, it's going to be slow going, mainly because the shell is very very ornate, and doing it right will take a long time. I can probably add one little piece in any one session, so not more than two pieces in a day. I'm not sure how many pieces there are total...although I could probably do the math, but I'm guessing around 60.
Krugman is actually making some progress. I cut the first of the gear blanks tonight, and started making the jigs to work them too. The largest gear, not counting the huge ring gear, is nearly ready to start cutting the teeth. 366 individual teeth, and they all must be cut by hand since they're not "regular" gear teeth. Every one must be hand filed to shape...and they're really tiny.
I also started working on some 48 tooth blanks. There are several of those in the mechanism, and they're going to be my test bed for methodology. I have a reasonable plan, but how reasonable remains to be seen. I've pretty much parked the "design" work for the moment, since I need a couple of these gears to proceed. I'll probably play with cutting some teeth tomorrow, just to see how it goes. I'll have to be patient, and if I can't be then I'll work on something else. Precision is paramount on this one, and there's no room for errors.
I also picked up the Baltic birch plywood for the face, and I'd really love to start working on that. However, until I know more about the mounting holes for shafts and such, I really can't do that. I gotta be patient and just do things in the proper order. The face of the clock/calendar section is one vast field of marquetry, and although I have the necessary veneers, it's going to be a slow process because there's simply a mess of details. The hour marks are all roman numerals, and there are 366 day marks in addition to the zodiac symbols and Sabbat symbols too. Lots of work, needless to say.
I broke down today and purchased myself a Christmas present. I am not bothering with a tree, although I might still a couple sticks together in the shop just for fun. There won't be any other "packages" to open, so I cheated. I bought myself some clamps...that were on sale...and they're already in use tonight. Such is the excitement of my Yuletime.
BTW, did you know that the Mayan Calendar end date is actually Yule? I don't think they celebrated that holiday, although they might have known it was the winter solstice. Dunno.
In any case, if you happened to read this, have a happy solstice and celebrate whatever holiday you deem appropriate.
JF