What We're Making

[Ronstar]

Nice cutting boards & bows, Tetto!

 

[Ronstar]

Finished a burial flag box for a friend whose dad recently passed. He was a WWII veteran. Fitting that I finished it on Memorial Day. Just need to give it our friend and install the flag.

 

[davemartin88]

I made a sign for our local town hall and they finally got it installed yesterday. Turned out okay. I'm definitely not a sign maker but these have been fun projects, working with the HDU material which is a very dense foam material that cuts like butter and really holds the details. Mounting techniques have been interesting to figure out because while the foam cuts easily, for the same reasons, it doesn't hold hardware so have to tap holes and use epoxy.



I was lucky to find a retired sign maker in Florida who has been very helpful in answering questions and passing along ideas. Turns out he is from West Virginia and knows this area. For many years, he did some of the large signs that are displayed in some of our National Parks, multiple 4'x8' sheets of foam material epoxied together, carved with shapes like rocks or waterfalls, then painted, and mounted in various settings. He is a wealth of information.

I've also become a lot more aware of fonts used for signs, both their readability from a distance and being able to paint them without spending hours. I was told to use the 60/60 rule for signs, think about their visibility from 60 feet away and driving by at 60 MPH. The sign below probably wouldn't pass the speed test with the script lettering but the speed limit here is only 25 MPH!

Thanks to all who share in this thread with their work.


PS- For some reason, can't get the photo to align correctly. Tried multiple versions to get it to come out in the correct orientation but not having any luck this morning.

 

[f35phixer]

Larry Eats A Pancake - Larry David - Comedians in Cars Getting Coffe First Episode - YouTube - Video Dailymotion

I made the wiring harness, and restored the generator and semaphores (those little flip out things you see in the video) in that VW Beetle. Jerry bought it from a guy in FL who restored it a few years back.

semaphores equals turn signals, we've come a long way ;-))

nice car by the way !

 

[DAYDREAMER]

Making our retirement patio. Work in progress. Fun to let the brain think of ideas and bring it to fruition. We love stay-cations, so spending $ to make the yard like a campground. Making a national park theme. Have been looking at national park architecture for ideas. Will be making garbage can enclosure made of wood, and with a semi bear proof concept (we don't have bears, but maintains the park theme).

 

[DAYDREAMER]

Here's our sunning area.

 

[MissMolly]

Really nice Daydreamer!

 

[Ronstar]

Some friends are becoming snowbirds and needed a backscratcher to match the one in their primary home. So I made this for them.

 

[Walt34]

Way cool backscratcher! What did you photograph it on to get the black background?

 

[Ronstar]

Way cool backscratcher! What did you photograph it on to get the black background?

Thanks - I photographed it on my black desk blotter. And cranked up the black in Lightroom.

 

[street]

^ Beautiful!

 

[Tetto]

Very nice! Did you CNC the scratching bits?

 

[Ronstar]

^ Beautiful!

Very nice! Did you CNC the scratching bits?

Thanks - I wish I had a cnc, but the scratching bits were cut lengthwise on the table saw at 45 degree blade angle to table top. And the crosscuts were freehand on the bandsaw. Took me a couple of tries to get it to work.

 

[street]

Group picture before they leave

There is a couple of new carvings and a few older ones that are heading for a store that displays and sells them. So I may never see them again and thought a group picture better happen.
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=28888&stc=1&d=1530556289

 

[Nemo2]

There is a couple of new carvings and a few older ones that are heading for a store that displays and sells them. So I may never see them again and thought a group picture better happen.
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=28888&stc=1&d=1530556289

Great!!

 

[Ronstar]

There is a couple of new carvings and a few older ones that are heading for a store that displays and sells them. So I may never see them again and thought a group picture better happen.
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=28888&stc=1&d=1530556289

Very Nice! I may have asked this before - what kind of wood do you carve?

 

[street]

Ronstar >>> Cottonwood. These are wall hanging but still are 24 to 28 inches high and 10 to 12 inches wide.

 

[Surewhitey]

Bought a new house, so needed new address placard..

 

[Surewhitey]

Made these for gifts too...

 

[davemartin88]

Did a WV state seal for the local town council office. HDU sign foam with bronze metallic paint. I didn’t apply the paint but think it might need one more coat to even it out although there is a glare from the window.

 

[Ronstar]

A toybox for the future grand niece

 

[Ronstar]

Saw this photo of Prismatic Springs of Yellowstone NP at an art fair in Tempe, Az. Talked with the photographer, and he explained how he took the shot from a helicopter. I thought I could take a similar photo from a ridge behind the springs, but there was bear activity when we visited in May.

We found the photographer again at a Chicago art fair, and bought a print. Then I made a simple mahogany frame from scraps.

 

[MBAustin]

Very nice frame for that striking photo, Ronstar. I was just in Yellowstone and photographed it from the ridge above, but the helicopter shot is much more striking. I spent about 30 minutes observing the spring and it changes color and intensity depending on the lighting and the clouds. I think it would be difficult to impossible to get anything close to this good from the ridge, so you did well to find the artist and buy it!

 

[Ronstar]

Very nice frame for that striking photo, Ronstar. I was just in Yellowstone and photographed it from the ridge above, but the helicopter shot is much more striking. I spent about 30 minutes observing the spring and it changes color and intensity depending on the lighting and the clouds. I think it would be difficult to impossible to get anything close to this good from the ridge, so you did well to find the artist and buy it!

Thanks, and thanks for going up the ridge to see if it was a good photo spot! It is a difficult place to photograph due to its size and the steam.

 

[Jamie1101]

You Gotta Love Bricks

Like everything in my life things can get involved. Last June I picked up some 400 Nelsonville "Star" sidewalk bricks in pristine condition. I switched out the sidewalk installation I had done in 2012 with this better brick. I need to set up the brick saw to make three cuts for the missing 1/4 brick, and two bricks at the left of the post.

I had enough 3/4 & 1/4 included with this sale so not to have to cut up any of these beautiful bricks. There were bricks by the steps which I could not replace so I just resued the old worn bricks. You can tell the worn bricks by the white on the high surfaces which is where the glaze has been worn away from foot traffic. It makes for a great "compare and contrast" when I show this installation off....