Samples of Wednesday

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.