Glory Bound

Last weekend, I headed down to Kansas City for Mike Vallely's Glory Bound Skatepark Tour. It was epic...

Here's my review of the show coupled with an interview with the "Master of Disaster" Duane Peters (above)...

North Liberty deck addition & railing

For some reason Clint and I thought it would be a good idea for me to do this welding job in the middle of one of the hottest streaks this year during the hottest part of the day. After we were done today, I headed to Kum & Go and bought a store t-shirt to replace the totally drenched one on my back. This was miserable today...



The only existing railing was on the steps leading up to the stoop. We added the support post that is directly below the outside corner of the newly finished deck Clint added to the second floor. To the give the post a little more function, it now also acts as a railing post, with the addition of another right next to the house against the siding. All posts are 2 1/2" sq. tubing. The railing is 1" x 2" rect. tubing turned on edge. The homeowner will provide the finish via enamel paint.




Even though I could have gotten by using solid, mild steel MIG wire, I opted for .030 flux core wire with additional gas shielding. The welder was powered with a 5500W generator with a single 3-pole, 220V twist-lock outlet. We built a converter setup wiring a 50A receptacle into an L14-20 plug. My welder doesn't pull more than 20 amps, so I wasn't too concerned about overworking the generator, or tripping any breakers. The beads laid down looked pretty freakin' good. This made for a tidy little portable setup.




Thanks to Clint Haight of Custom Projects and Homes for taking the "action" pics of me under the hood.

Hot show, dude...hot

ISU - Oak/Elm dining hall shelves

Today's post is an update on the shelving being fabricated for ISU Dining in the newly renovated Oak/Elm Hall. Check out this entry from a couple of weeks ago for a drawing of the design.







Thanks goes out to Eric at Colony Heating and Air Conditioning for busting these oak and elm leaves out for me on Monday. Fast turnarounds rule. The leaves will be cold forged and welding to some vineyard bar under the shelf, running the length of the fixture. Again, go back to the drawing for a clearer explanation.

I drew these leaves in Adobe Illustrator CS5 and was able to save each as an AutoCAD .dwg. I absolutely love Adobe.



After not being able to find the shorty tri-pod my wife threw away, I improvised with a 1/4 x 20 bolt, Vise-Grips and my Jawhorse. For what? As if fabrication pictures aren't boring enough, I've been recording footage of myself in the highly entertaining act of fabricating on my Flip for a compilation video of this ISU job. We'll see how it turns out after installation is complete and I can edit all the clips together. I'm having a hard time coming up with an accompanying tune to go with welding, grinding, drilling etc....Any suggestions?

Gift - Kathy Svec

Here's a sculpture I was asked to do for Kathy Svec, formally of the Memorial Union at Iowa State University. I was handed a couple of pieces of stone and some wood used around the interior of the Union to construct a retirement gift. The above is what I came up with - the exterior facade of the north side of the Union by the water fountain.

Kathy did marketing, among other things, at the Union for 32 years if I'm correct. I had the pleasure of working in the building with Kathy for more years than a college degree should allow, but if nothing else, she ALWAYS had a smile on her face whenever I saw her. Not everybody was that way...just her.

Much love and longevity to her and husband, Dorian.