Bike rack

I fabricated this bike rack a few years ago from plans from an artist in Des Moines out of 1 5/8" OD pipe. It was done through a former employer of mine - the sculpture is located in Des Moines' East Village.

ISU - Completion of Phase I

Three GREAT days in the shop. Still can't explain how fun and creative a process this was. Sarah Grant really got her hands dirty this week...literally.

Boonie and the Four Seasons - ISU installation

The sum of my cold forging...



Kim Hutchison (left) and Sarah Grant (right)



Mock-up of the "Spring" apertures...



The uncooperative photo specimen - but with a great creative eye - Michelle Lamb...



The finished fabrication of "Spring"...



Finished fabrication of both "Summer" apertures...



This was one of the funner days I've had in the shop in a long time. The heat made for an exhausting day; having to wear leather sleeves and a welding helmet all day will take it of ya. Despite that, the four of us rocked out to some cool tunes and had what was for all of us, an atypical day of productivity. Fabrication will be completed tomorrow and then it's of to the Sticks studio in Des Moines for some brass/coppper/wood adornments and some sort of paint/acid wash/sealed finish.

Faith

I don't need to show ya'll more pics, but I pounded out more leaves today...you'll just have to take my word for it. Tomorrow, they'll be done...I hope.

Brackets

I forgot I did these...like, two years ago.

Stair rails - Cedar Rapids

These rails were fabricated on the request of my brother-in-law, Clint Haight (Custom Projects and Homes). 1 1/2" tube square, 1/2" square bar, black powder coat finish. The residence is in Cedar Rapids, in Czech Village, where many homes were devastated during last year's flooding. Many of the homes are still vacant and remain in limbo.

Bethany's new chair...

I thought my wife deserved a finished piece...so I built her a swivel chair.

I.S.U. - cold forging

I started my mock-up of the I.S.U. project today with a nice dose of cold forging. Without any gas for the forge today, I resorted to a dished out piece of elm making a steel sandwich with the business end of my hammer. It did a surprisingly good job making fast work of the 11 GA hot-rolled steel I plasma cut yesterday. I will need to get some fuel next week in order to bend and manipulate the 3/4" vineyard bar - it won't cooperate as well as the 11 GA.

The stump did prove that wood prevails over steel once again...

Maple-Willow-Larch dining hall at I.S.U.

Here's a mock-up of the what will be A LOT of forging to be had by my hand in the next month. This is a project I'm working on with Sticks, a furniture and object art company based in Des Moines. The cardboard represents a stone facade in the newly renovated Maple-Willow-Larch dining hall at Iowa State University. 3/4" vineyard bar (vine-textured steel, see below) will act as "stalk" apertures where a variety of leaves will hang composed of either steel, wood, copper or brass.

So...what did you do this summer?

Bar stool for Kate's mother - II

This is about all I accomplished today. The birch-ply seat has been sprayed with polyurethane. Just waitin' for some vineyard bar to finish the arm rests.