30th of May

Well got in there today and got on with the forging, i went in expecting a cock up and i got one. I was basically going to weld up the center but then my welds werent impressive and Adrian didnt like anyone welding so i got on with looking at a few ideas.

This was a really rapid design page, i drew up trying some gas welding pouring into the whole and a large rivet through the center. After a small talk with Adrian and a few hits to the arm we (he) decided to get on making this big rivet.

Here is the little plasticine model that i made up to sort of show what i am going to be doing. Basically my idea is to drill out the center of a piece of 25mm for the slug, then putting a piece of 12mm round up the center. Hammer it down the use dishing tool to dish it out into the existing hole. Get on this tommorow see how it goes, last day forging tommorow so got to get this done tommorow, 3 hours for one rivet should be able to do it.

 This is the picture of where we are at the moment, i said i wouldnt be up agansit time but it seems like i am quite close to the finish and still not done yet. Got to get on this time frame next project.

29th of May

Well today was a bit of a funny day, i went in this morning thinking to myself couple quick welds and i would be done for the day and then the forge kicked me on my ass straight away. I hadnt thought about bending it over on a right angle to give that effect i was looking for, one thing i did learn is to get every piece right then to assemble dont assemble it then start bending it about it will weaken the joint. 

Well after some time fiddling about with the bend i went to adrian and he was quite sympathetic, he just walked over and got the ball rolling for me, with his expert supervision i manager to do it to a standard im quite proud of. I will be doing the last little bending on the back of the main drip piece, this could be abit tricky to get it lined up right but i think i can do it in a day.

One thing that was putting me off today was a couple of the 2nd years were on the forge opposite, they were perfectly fine to be there its there forge as much as mine its just anyone from a different year i sort get the feeling there looking at me forge thinking its a little shitty. But thats my problem got to get out of the head more i think and just do it.

This is where we are so far, liking this drip, just need to straighten it up, i will need to put alot of heat onto it so it wont break.

I went to my wood guy today and asked him to sort me out with a decent stand to mount my little piece on when it was done, i think this nice wodd with contrast the metal quite well in my opinion. Guess we will see when it comes to making.

In other news, i must say this week i have got a burst of energy, if it all fucks up tommorow lets see if it stays =]

28th of May

It has been a while since i put a post up here, i know i needed too but i just wanted to relax over the weekend. I think i am just running out of steam, i can keep forging but the creativity and making ideas up on the spot, that is slowly eating away at me.

That being said on friday i got some good things done towards my final piece.

 This is the final design, i drew it up

late on friday night. This is the final one

no more after this, no more changes.

This is the screw i will be making to put through the top piece to make it look a bit nicer than that awful screw left alone. I like this piece but i will have to make it work, i am guessing if it doesnt work then it could ruin the piece. 

These are a few more designs of the little bottom piece, i tried to get a really industrail look into the piece. I think i will be going for the curved piece instead of the right angle piece of angle iron. I like the look of the curve alot more than the straight edge.

 Well these are the pieces i finished on friday, was a fair bit of gas axe bending and welding but it worked and its ready to go on. Tommorow is assembly day, i will put up the pictures of what i do tommorow.

Got my cultural studies feedback today, guess i will see how it goes, i think i have passed i did all my work, and i certainly did a fair bit more than some of the other folks. I will let you know dear learning journal

23rd of May Post 2

and i am back, basically what me and adrian spoke about was the bottom piece, did i think that it needed to be fluid like the top piece. Admitly i had put alot less thought into that piece, seeing as it wouldnt really be seen i thought to myself i didnt need to put alot of design time into it. Obviously being Adrian if it is being done everything is being designed and it is having purpose, so we kicked a few ideas around and we got onto this idea of a shelf for it to sit on. 

 As pictured above i got onto the idea of using some angle iron as a shelf, i really like the idea because its a really industrial piece, and looking back at my first imagery i really did look alot of old machinery and indisturail pieces so i would like to bring that first pieces back into the final.

 This is the new design i got going, i am really fond of how it is changing as i am making it, i think as i go through the making stages i keep thinking and anaylsising each stage of the making and different pieces. Well expect another post tommorow explaining a couple more tweaks to the piece, but i am far too tired to get them up now. Sorry team =]

23rd of May

Been an eventful few days, havent posted because i have been blasting it at the forge and in this heat it has been killing me. I am thinking this could be a two part post.

Well the making has begun and it is in full swing, ive learned a few things on the way but i think that will be over on the tech journal. This place is for thoughts only, no god damn tech going on in here.

The building is coming together bit by bit, when i thought i had it all sorted had a quick chat with the man himself and he changed a few things and god it made me see a whole different idea for the piece. I have done some sketches which i need to get on here to show the new piece to the table.

Running upstairs for the sketchbook then another post.

19th of May

Well its been a crazy couple of days, i thought i was dead on to get started and get going making and then Adrian stopped me while i was walking to get stock and said lets have a look at that sketchbook. Something i have been dreading because he hasn't seen it in a long while, but i let him have a look and all was going well until he saw my final idea and well he was mad. He just pointed to the dish for the candle and in his own words 'What the fuck is that and how the fuck is it part of your idea?' After a lenghty discussion it was true the dish was a cop out because i had tried two methods i didnt like to hold the candle. We talked over a few ideas and i really took a liking to one idea in particular.

 This is the new design, basically i continue on the line of the bar that pulls the two pieces together will be the candle. I will forge up the two pieces then drill a hole through the two, on the top side where the candle will be i will use a dish tool unde the power hammer to put a small bowl into it so that candle can sit. When connected the candle should sit nicely.

 After refusing to let the day be wasted, i got started on the forging, this is just the first little bits done to the stock. I will try and keep this up to date with how it progresses every step of the way.

16th of May

Well intresting day last few, been a bit down with my progess as i am a bit behind with my plan to start making this week and i havent even got my idea set.

Yesterday i went to the forge having no idea what i was doing, i made a few samples.

 The second one i actually kinda like that took like no time at all to do, it was just a little power hammer work drawing it out in the center constantly. One thing i didnt take into account with my tension idea is the constant changing in lenght as it is drawn down.

 When i thought the day was another failure and i did this quick sketch and it finally fell into place, everything i have been thinking about doing. I had to re draw this idea and really try and understand it.

 This is the idea i got, i really like this idea above all the others i have done. This has got everything i want to put into my piece but at the same time it is simple enough that i can really do it well.

These are the pages i did after, i really needed to refine this idea with some experimenting, i have always expermented better with some drawing so i got down to it.

What i came up with is, the small dish on the end i will be making out of brass in the small metals workshop maybe tommorow, and i will be doing a black temper colour along it so it really goes. I think as far as the bottom piece goes i will be doing the large secton going up into a smaller section and attaching in the center of the large tapered down section above. I will be attaching brass dish with a small rivet on the bottom.

Got alot of work to do tommorow

13th of May

This was the image i did this morning, i was working away when something just didnt feel right as i was doing it so i rang up James and went round for a mini conferance on my work, after like an hour and enough tea to drown a horse we came down to the simple fact that all my elements were just conflicting with the vines, it wasnt helping it or making it more intresting it was just focusing on this idea of vines. Something i didnt intend to get in there as much, so i left James and went home to get some ideas going without the wrap.

 These are the ideas i came up with, they are relaying on alot of the first ideas i did. I think one of this kind of idea is going to be the one i take forward to make, i will do a little more sampling and drawing with this and wait for my assessment tommorow and see what the say about it all. After that i am just going to quote the lovley Matt Garton 'Fucking make it'

10th of May

Well eventful day, got a fair bit done today and another sample to add to my wooden stand.

 This is the sample i got done today, it is a bit rough for me because i only had a little bit of time today to get it done and i really it wanted done and set up today. 

 This is the design that i tried to get out with the sample, and even i say that they dont really match up. I rushed the sample which didnt do me justice or the design, i really want to get into the final piece next week so dont know if i will get time to do it again.

 These are a few more designs i did today, i think i am going to have to make one and then decide which one of the four i made up im going to take further and make it. Alot of work to do.

 This is the sample pole as it comes along, it really is becoming a piece itself as i add more to it. This could sit somewhere in my house most probably.

9th of May

This was a quick sample i made up yesterday, it was just a little thing i was doing to sort of forge up an idea. Don't particularly like this idea myself, i dont think this will be going any further along.

 Had me a tutorail with Kate yesterday too, she had a few pretty postive points. I wasn't really drawing it deep enough, i wasnt really doing my drawing justice with my samples. So got into the forge today and got on doing just that.

 This was the first sample i made up, i quite like this because i really worked the center as much as i could before it started to show little cracks. After seeing this i know i want to see a few more drawings of this kinda idea. 

This could be a double post today, might put up a few of the new drawings.