chunkolini
celebrity artiste
- Messages
- 9,456
- Location
- Swansea
Hi Guys
A while back I was asking for info regards a job building a dome sculpture. Well Job is On.
A recap.
I was contacted by a man who's wife died a while back and he wants a sculpture to remember her by, I dont think he would mind being called an old hippy. he wants a 4m wide dome in steel with a metal Dodo to keep her ashes in, fantastic stuff. Flattering to be asked to make something as intimate and personal as this, loose definition and a serious scaling up for me. He had seen and liked my plankton sculptures and was after something linking in to this. Even better, I have been dying to have a go at this for ages. Scary but being a bit out of your depth is a good feeling.
I made a small model. About 300mm tall. Working at this scale is great fun, lots of tiny spot welds and a quick result. I could not draw this for the life of me, and a model lets me get inside the structure.
I did three versions of the final cover for the dome and we selected the version above.
Next up was a half scale model of one arch way.
This had to be done to get a feel for the thing and to see if it will fit out of my workshop door in sections. It does. I framed off half the door and tried to see if it would work.
Then it was tool up for the job, well into four figures!! but upgrading equipment is always worth while. I always ask for 50% up front so I can buy in materials etc. This cuts out the loonies as well, (there is a subset of people who love goig through the design process and then changing their minds or pulling out all together.) I had to buy a new pilar drill and a Metal Craft Power Bender, a fantastic device as you will see in the next pic.
The vertical elements of the frame were going to rolled out of strip in pairs by a local engineer, the bolted together to allow for dismantling. He pulled such a face at the idea the pulled out so I did it myself with said Power Bender. 30x5mm strip on edge, by hand. It almost killed me a whole day going munch munch with a lever, each curve is 3m long, with small bends every 50mm along the length. The round bars in the full size version are half inch.
But ******myface off (as Grandpa used to say) it worked. Aint they lovely. I am using coach bolts, then once assembled I chop the other side of the bolt off and puddle weld it in place and it looks like a huge rivet. Photo's to follow. It gives a nice Victorian look to the end result.
Today I got the top topp jigged up ready to weld the legs on on Friday.
I made the jig by eye, a length of tubing, three legs and a sliding tube to hold the frame. It even came out straight check out the plumbline. You cant the chock of wood that I didn't have to put under one of the legs.
Then we see if it works. My biggest concern is that with all the elements running vertically it might not be stiff enough lateraly. if this happens we have a plan for some bracing that will look part of the design.
Follow up on Friday.
Chunko'.
A while back I was asking for info regards a job building a dome sculpture. Well Job is On.
A recap.
I was contacted by a man who's wife died a while back and he wants a sculpture to remember her by, I dont think he would mind being called an old hippy. he wants a 4m wide dome in steel with a metal Dodo to keep her ashes in, fantastic stuff. Flattering to be asked to make something as intimate and personal as this, loose definition and a serious scaling up for me. He had seen and liked my plankton sculptures and was after something linking in to this. Even better, I have been dying to have a go at this for ages. Scary but being a bit out of your depth is a good feeling.
I made a small model. About 300mm tall. Working at this scale is great fun, lots of tiny spot welds and a quick result. I could not draw this for the life of me, and a model lets me get inside the structure.
I did three versions of the final cover for the dome and we selected the version above.
Next up was a half scale model of one arch way.
This had to be done to get a feel for the thing and to see if it will fit out of my workshop door in sections. It does. I framed off half the door and tried to see if it would work.
Then it was tool up for the job, well into four figures!! but upgrading equipment is always worth while. I always ask for 50% up front so I can buy in materials etc. This cuts out the loonies as well, (there is a subset of people who love goig through the design process and then changing their minds or pulling out all together.) I had to buy a new pilar drill and a Metal Craft Power Bender, a fantastic device as you will see in the next pic.
The vertical elements of the frame were going to rolled out of strip in pairs by a local engineer, the bolted together to allow for dismantling. He pulled such a face at the idea the pulled out so I did it myself with said Power Bender. 30x5mm strip on edge, by hand. It almost killed me a whole day going munch munch with a lever, each curve is 3m long, with small bends every 50mm along the length. The round bars in the full size version are half inch.
But ******myface off (as Grandpa used to say) it worked. Aint they lovely. I am using coach bolts, then once assembled I chop the other side of the bolt off and puddle weld it in place and it looks like a huge rivet. Photo's to follow. It gives a nice Victorian look to the end result.
Today I got the top topp jigged up ready to weld the legs on on Friday.
I made the jig by eye, a length of tubing, three legs and a sliding tube to hold the frame. It even came out straight check out the plumbline. You cant the chock of wood that I didn't have to put under one of the legs.
Then we see if it works. My biggest concern is that with all the elements running vertically it might not be stiff enough lateraly. if this happens we have a plan for some bracing that will look part of the design.
Follow up on Friday.
Chunko'.
Last edited:
How are you transporting the parts to their site ? It looks like you'll need a low loader.
