Until last week, I still hadn’t consistently produced laser art good enough to make me happy. It has been three weeks of draw, test, trash, adjust and repeat. Although I’m sure there will be no end to the testing and learning, I’ve discovered which style of line art reproduces best as a laser print. I’ve tried all kinds of wood and every laser setting possible with a wide variety of results. I’m now working on how to hand-colour the laser work, so it is pleasing to my eye. All in all, it has been a challenging but fun learning curve.
In my free time, I’ve also been out exploring the local area, gathering more photos for inspiration. In the evenings, I have begun working on new artwork that is better suited for laser etching. I found this gorgeous old tractor only three blocks from our house. Last evening, I created the line work, and first thing this morning set up the laser and got it running before I began work in the shop. The result made me smile.
Productive day!
We spent the morning with our FastCut CNC and burned through another ten 4’ x 8’ sheets, creating the remaining pieces for the giant DOWNEYS letters. Then we switched gears to start the sculpting on the three signs. Laura (first day) was in the shop to give me a hand, and she did great, grinding all the edges of the steel pieces and mixing the sculpting epoxy I needed. It was a very productive day! Stay tuned…
DOWNEYS - day one
It is always exciting to begin a new project! We started by creating the CNC plasma cutting files for the giant DOWNEYS letters. Then I headed to our plate steel stock and, with the forklift, loaded up our FastCut CNC plasma machine. The backs of the letters are solid 10-gauge steel, and the front outlines are 1/4” steel plate, twenty sheets in all, easy work for our machine. The letters will be sixteen inches thick, and the edge pieces will be cut and formed from 10-gauge steel as we piece the letters together. We estimate the edges will require another four or five sheets of steel. Just as I loaded our last sheet of stock steel onto the plasma, our giant steel order arrived, so save for the time to unload, there was no delay. By today’s quitting time, we had finished cutting eleven sheets of steel, which is about halfway through the total required. Our Fastcut CNC plasma performed flawlessly, with every piece coming off the table perfectly. This will make the assembly much easier as everything fits without struggle. Stay tuned to watch these letters come together…
