Well i figured it was time to get a post up about my great day Thursday. I had a double tutorial with Del and Ambrose about where i was going with this project and they loved it. Both of them thought that it was time to stop experimenting and get to building it.
Come Wednesday i am going to start building up the legs, i need to do a little tiny experimenting on whether i am building a connector between the squishes. Like something to put some magazines on or something or just to stabilize it. Tommorow i am spending most of my day drawing it up full size.
This is a rough translation of how the bottom of the table leg will look. I decided on square on square with Ambrose help because we thought mixing the two round and square would just look wrong. It's either the line disappearing into round or the line suddenly appearing with square on the bottom. Instead the two pieces being square is what i am going to need to do.
This is a picture of square to round. Looks all wrong in my mind, the nice lines that go into it suddenly disappear leaving nothing. The round will be used in the secret operation known as the Glass Table. Its so secret cant talk about it here.
This idea is working on the idea of having a tiny squish on top of the table. I needed to think about a way to attach the legs that wasn't too rough on the eyes. I thought to myself why not put the squish on top to hide the threaded bar. Seems like a no brainer, better than a nice bolt. I want to experiment with a few other ideas on what to do with it.
This is a few of the different ideas i had. I am leaning towards maybe using a single slug rather than stacking up two seperate pieces. I think a nice nugget on top would look a better than a couple laid on top of each other. I think it makes it look a little too busy on the table top. I want to keep it simple as hell up there.
This was one of the ideas i drew up a lot more. It was a double stacked top but i think it looks quite nice. I like the idea of doing the same slug for above and below the table fitting. I think it makes it gives a nice mirror look to the steel.
I was enjoying the multiple stacking so much i drew up a few ideas on the bottom. I like it but i think maybe that i need to get it back down to one solid piece. The stacking seems to be something that i could look into later but with the single bar going into it. This is a back burning that i need to work on later.
With my sketchbook i wanted to have a really free zone for ideas. If i thought of it i was going to draw it up and just see how it looks no matter how crazy it looked. These are a few of the ideas i have drawn up.
This is some of the first ideas that i had. Its a pretty low key idea i really like it myself, the table top is the heavy part crushing the steel below. I think the clean piece of steel that is untouched is something i really want to keep. I like how the compression starts at the bottom then suddenly the compressed nugget at the bottom. I am undecided on the top of the bar whether it needs to be compressed a little giving a sort of abstract idea.
This idea is a little toned down from the last. It would be straight down into the big wave then the compressed nugget. I don't like it so much because the nugget on the bottom is a little boring. The wave to me is a little drastic too, i think that it should be quite short on the bottom. Maybe like the bottom 60mm or so instead of half of the bar.
This is another idea for the top of the bar. It is a massive change on the others with its large upset. I think maybe a fold or something like the base would be a bit different. Lining up the bottom and the top would give it a unique look that i dont think i am ok with.
I want the top to be alot weaker than the bottom. I think a large strong top would be hidden under the wood so i just want a tiny feature that isnt seen alot. Its something that you get a view every now and again making it a really special feature to me.
This is a little more creative idea. I like it because the unchanged section in the center looks really nice. The bottom is really nice but the top is a bit much for me. I think i need to experiment with the top a lot before i get it down but i think this idea has some wheels. The bottom where it connects is really nice, the upset is a bit fat and the bottom nugget is really fat i like that.
Part 2 coming soon.
This is my new toy. I bought it the other day at hereford fixings for a great deal. He was trying to get 22 pounds for it but i managed to get it down because i was buying some dormer drills at the same time. After a short discussion on how much he was buying them for and how he was selling them for and bam got it a lot cheaper.
It is a really great tap kit for putting a thread into steel. I think for this project and the table i will be using threaded bar.
This was the first of the samples i did last week. It is a little plain but it was a great starting point for me. It is a single nugget crushed down and flattened off then i punched a hole into it. After the hole was in i set a bar into it.
I really like it because it was the first time i saw my drawings in real life. I have always worked well when i can see something and touch it.
This is the second sample that i have done. I did this to add onto the next sample but after i got a lot of people stood round talking about it. Everyone agreed it was a little boring and it needed something else to it. That my drawing were more exciting than what i had made. It became a really good sample for a little tapping it out, something i am trying to get alot more confident with.
This is the last sample and something i am really happy with. I did get a few comments that it wasnt quite as good as my drawings yet but its getting there. I think i need to get on grinding it flush a lot quicker as well as getting more confident with tapping. I like the flow alot more in this piece than the other, the line comes straight down from the upset. I am going to do a lot more samples of this upsetting till i get it down to a T.
Well kicking off the blog day i am going to talk about the questions Adrian asked me.
What is a table to me?
A table to me is a completely functional object. I think there is beauty in it but i like a table to do a purpose. I want to be able to put things on top of it and its level.
What does a table need?
To me a table needs a solid four legs. I like a table with four legs because it gives off a really strong look, i think three legs or even two is a little modern. I want my table to have a little a more classic look to it, thats why i am going to use wood on top instead of glass.
What do i want my table to have?
As i said above i want the table to have four solid legs and a nice wooden top. I want a dark wood with a dark metal finish. That sort of classic rustic feel is what i want to get across, i think alot of people chase the contemporary look but personally with this first table i want to stick the big guns. The Classics.
In other news i will be posting a few more entries today. I want to talk through my samples, sketchbook and my new toy.
Hey guys been a while since i posted so i thought i would post. Kind of a funny week, my ride to the forge isnt really here so i am kind of finding my own way there. Not too bothered because i need to do some drawing for this project and the trophy project.
I dont think i can get in tommorow so i think i am going to catch up on here. I havent really posted about my new updates or showing off the sketchbook that i have been working alot. I think maybe a blog day will be good for the project.
Thursday and Friday really want to get in the forge though for working on the tiny squishes going on top of the table to screw in.
Hey Guys been a while since i posted and i was determined to get one up today. Had a rough week so far with illness and another bout of home sickness been some ups and some downs but im back into this work now. I had a great tutorail with Adrian that drove some energy back into my ideas that were a little bit lagging.
We were talking this coffee table idea through and how i could make it. He looked through my sketchbook which i will be talking through at some point on here. He really liked the idea but he wanted me to ask myself some questions before i got into it deep.
What is a table to me?
What does a table need?
What do i want my table to have?
Those questions have kept me thinking ever since he said them. I am spending today drawing up and writing out ideas hopefully so tommorow i will have some better ideas to get in the forge with. Yesterday i did one sample, admitly it was useful and i enjoyed making it but i spent alot of time thinking rather than doing. It's wasted time like that when i could be sat here writing stuff up or drawing out ideas.
As much as i know we are supposed to be there surely wasting time there just because its timetabled isnt as productive as pulling yourself a side and working stuff out. Maybe i am just a mad man to think that.
Well i did fall asleep. Got to stop these late night study sessions, fucking with my sleeping alot.
Back on track wanted to talk about my tutorail with Del and the progression of my journey.
I really wanted to get some perspective on where i was going with this project. As i said in the last post i really wanted to get my squished pieces into something rather than sculptural pieces. Something about my background of coming from an old school style of forging shop i dont feel comfortable making a purely sculptural pieces. Admitly i like to make pretty things but i need those things to useable and have a purpose and thats was what was dragging me down about this project i couldnt see the light at the end of the tunnel.
After a short talk i could see Del was thinking the same thing. We spoke breifly about the squished pieces being a object on its own or it being a component of a bigger piece. We spoke about maybe some tea light holders and it didnt get me going and it really didnt get del going. She came with the idea of table which is something i thought about but didnt really visualise in my head. After a bit more talking we came up of the idea of using my pieces as components to a table. Maybe the feet, maybe the joints at the top.
So in honour of my new breakthrough i am doing some drawing in my book finally. I have pictured a few of my pieces and i am drawing them up as table legs in different ways.
I will be posting my drawings either today or tommorow explaining where i am going with them.
This is the first sample of the day just to try and get the blood flowing and get the techinque fresh in the mind. It was a piece of 35mm square section cut off at 100mm then i cut in with the cutting disk. Under the hammer it forced out the two corners making a really different look. Why i don't like this piece is it kind of takes away from the look of the squishing. The forcing of the corners out really distorts the look of it making it look like its two pieces of square rather than one.
I don't think i will be doing anymore like this because after the talks of the day it seems like im moving back rather than forward.
After that first sample i went and found the top tools i had been using for the Jake James week. While built for the sledge hammer i used them under the power hammer. It was rough and i have to admit if i do more i need to make a tool of my own than using a jimmy made tool.
This is the first one i made. In my mind it would be considered a failure because of the shallowness and the tool bouncing completley out of the tongs. I don't think of it like that because it was the first i made and what set me down the path of trying and using the top tools. I enjoyed it as a starting point but i needed to do more to understand why i enjoyed the little puncture.
I really like this one because it was alot deeper than the oringal. The tool bounced around more but it worked to a point. I like this one because it really flared out the steel and dragged materail into it making it look alot more like a puncture or a drop in the steel. Why i really like this shape is because it lends itself to a working thing rather than just a sample or a sculptural piece. I will be talking about that in my next post but making this into a functional idea is something i am striving to do.
This much larger section i used under the hammer to squish then with the help of Chris i worked the top tools in with the sledge. I like this one most because of the weight and tangabilty of it. It feels really good in your hand to move it around and feel the steel dragging in. Again i think i like this so much because it lends itself quite well to something that could be used whether its a component or a piece itself. What i dont like about it is i dont think the top tool was intrusive enough in a way. I wanted to see the steel moved around more or spreading from the tool and it really doesnt.
I have done large pieces like this before and they looked just like this when squished. Was hoping the spreading would be more. Maybe some deeper tooling?
This was my faveriote piece of the day. I love how square section looks when its pushed in because of the sweet line on the side. Why i love this piece most is because you can tell from the side its square but then you see that top and its so distorted. Like i was talking about in the last one with the top tool being intrusive this is it. It really pushed the steel and dictated how the final piece looked. I couldnt get that unique look on the top without the tool going in a pushing it around.
Look forward to the next post on my tutorail with Del and a short explanation of where im going next with this project. Getting awful late though so maybe tomorrow morning.
Hey guys, this should be the first of 3 posts tonight talking through my last couple of days. To start i want to talk about my initail meeting with Adrian and why it was so benficial to me.
I went to him so that i could basically get one person to rip it to pieces, i have had alot of great feedback from the other tutors about my project. That is great and i have enjoyed the feedback but sometimes i react better to a little bit of stick instead of all pillow.
The main things he pointed out is that its been done a thousand times over and i need to lay out what im bringing to the party. If i stick to what i am doing then it will become forgettable and mudane to the viewer. I had to get some solid visual source down and get into drawing more than all this steel sampling. With that in mind i took myself out of the forge today and im thinking i might miss tommorow to really get my paper side down.
I must admit i miss the forge and kind of feel like im missing out when im not there but without the knowledge of what to do im burning steel and time.
Look forward to a talk through of my latest samples and the super helpful tutorail with Del setting me on a decent path.
Thought i would put up a post about Tom Joyce and the stuff i have been looking at today. There will be a few pictures but sadly they are from my own book so the pictures arent great. Stick with me.
Tom Joyce is a blacksmith working in a really secluded area of forging. He mainly does large scale pieces worked under the power hammer alot to either distort or shape the steel in a unique way. The piece above is a real prime example of his work, the steel is barely worked but it shows off the plastic like qualitys.
Why i find so much inspiration in his work is it is a toned down version of where i want to be. He doesnt cut the steel or bend it just solely works it under the hammer to build up texture and surface. I would love to work in the larger scale that he does but with the restrictions of the Massey at Holme lacy i can only work certain sizes. I am going to go as big as i can but i dont think i will get to the sizes he works in. Maybe something like the top picture but the one below is just a dream sadly for me.
What i really take away from his work is how he manuiplates the steel. He never goes too far with a piece under the hammer, it must have took years of refining but it really has it. In my book From Fire to Form there is around 30 pages of his work and each one tells a story of how he has refined his skills. Im no where near that point myself but i hope one day i can pocess that real skill of knowing when to stop and when to keep going.
Hey guys it has been a while since my last post so i thought i would get something up. Had a crazy weekend after on Saturday morning i decided to go back to Sheff for a few days to relax after manic week. Now i am back and ready to get back into my own work.
Haven't touched on my own work for a while so going to fill my head with Tom Joyce's work all afternoon then put a post up later about it.
Here is a few shots of what we managed to get done during Manic Week.
Big thanks to Jake James, Del, Ambrose, Dave and every Blacksmith. It really reminded me why I chose such a mad career choice
