This is more CAD work- cardboard aided design.
There is no fear of gaps. Gaps just guarantee solid penetration.
Walking it around. This is TIG welding at around 200 amps.
Starting to look like something…
And it works! What a beautiful world!
Tag Archives: fabrication
Fins
This is an in-progress shot.
A man broke a part from his boat and asked us to fabricate a new one. The fin itself was carefully sculpted with a milling machine, some creative fixturing, and a whole lot of sanding.
Underhood
A man obsessed with chrome wanted everything under the hood of his Cadillac Allante to sparkle. I prototyped and produced stainless steel covers for each of the holes under the hood. The one shown above was a test fit in traditional steel. This work required some lateral thinking to problem solve, and skills in traditional and computer drafting.
Making a fixture
I’ve been known to design, fabricate, and dramatically over weld fixtures.
I had a real axe to grind that day.
Adding a pipe onto an axe or sledgehammer does two great things- adds a little more weight, and helps to extend the life of the handle. Missing and hitting the axe near the head puts a ton of stress on the handle, this protects it.
I also built up the bottom edge, which had worn away, with TIG welds, and then ground it back into shape.
What’s in the box?
I found a present that I knew my friend would really enjoy, but because of the nature of our friendship, I couldn’t make it too easy for him. So I fabricated a box out of steel, put the gift inside, filled it with rocks and told him that what was inside was fragile and heat sensitive. The final product weighed 26 pounds.
I think he cherishes the memory more than the present.
My day at work
Turns out that fiberglass will dull a blade really quickly.
My dad likes to casually mention the things that he would do if he hadn’t started his business. Sometimes it “I should have been an engineer for thirty years and then retired into doing what I do now.” Sometimes it’s wishing to be a pilot. Today, it was showing off a clever little chunk of bent steel meant for one of the handicap vehicles and declaring “When I grow up, I wanna be a fabricator.”
When he works, examining around things, checking for interferences, he’ll sucks his breath through his teeth when he discovers something he’d rather not have to deal with. He clicks the plastic of his teeth alignment mouth guards together as he works a way around the problem in his mind.
We couldn’t find enough spring clamps, so we improvised with a set of jumper cables.
When it comes to fabricating, any line is better than no line. The line you try to create with your mind is going to be off by the time you reach the end of it. Had an experience with that today.
A lady on the radio warbled “write your story” repetitively. I heard “Rightous Tory.” Righteous Tory sounds like a she’d be a bitch.
Rexicorn 