handverker

red nose

2012-01-27T15:04:00.001-06:00

zaeta

2012-01-24T23:33:00.002-06:00

nice frame...

medallion back

2012-01-20T23:59:00.001-06:00

Photo Services needed to reshoot the medallion today; I picked it up from the Chancellor's office so I could take it over to Sabin. The UWM Research Foundation wanted the medallion shot because the President of the Foundation wants two large scale photographs for his office. Peter from Photo Services worked on matching the shots he had previously shot and made the required adjustments that the Foundation wanted. I'll see if can eventually get some copies of those.

I decided to shoot some images for myself while I had it my possession again and since I never had a chance to shoot some proper images of it.

medallion back 2

2012-01-20T00:06:00.000-06:00

r60 jill's family

2012-01-19T22:50:00.000-06:00

Jill's Uncle gave these pics to me last time we were home. The shots show Jill's Grandfather and Uncle on the R60. I'm not sure what year the bike is, but probably a '61 or '62.

yo yo machined

2012-01-19T22:41:00.001-06:00

I machined the yo yo halves this week. I still need to round the bronze "flywheel" rings, make the axle, fit the bearing, and make the twisted string. Then I can take it for a spin, then start the clean-up, document it, and then ship it out.

I've been wanting to make a yo yo for a while. My Dad and I made a yo you when I was in grade school. It was a wood one and if I remember correctly Dad used the drill press as a lathe to make it. It seems that we always had to make due with what we had, but the coolest thing was there was nothing that we couldn't make with the limited tools we had. And then the pure enjoyment of taking my yo yo to school and knowing that there wouldn't be another one like it... priceless.

cnc router parts

2012-01-19T22:30:00.002-06:00

I received several packages for the Digital Craft Research Lab's 4x8 CNC router. The parts look great and well made. The controller is very neat and organized. I also received the new board for the 3D printer. Hoping to be up and running soon.

wrench

2012-01-19T22:09:00.001-06:00

yo yo

2012-01-15T23:30:00.000-06:00

good day...

2012-01-15T00:35:00.001-06:00

Today was a good day...I used my lathe today.

I'm not sure why, but that always puts me in a pleasant state of mind. Something about watching the metal rotate as it's pealed away by the tool-bit. The warm yellow glow of the bronze against the industrial grey made it that much better.

digital craft research output lab

2012-01-15T00:30:00.001-06:00

Chad started working for the Metals area last week. He's going to be filling in as area technician this semester, so he's helping with the output section of the Digital Craft Research Lab. We have a lot of projects planned and we're going to try and make the best of his time by working on building some new tools and getting things developed into a working lab. He is a welcome addition because I know he will keep things in tip top condition and he will be efficient with his time. It's good to have him around as he never stops working and thinking about ways to make things better. I think he is going to have a big impact on making this space a great place to work. He was able to get the new tables and chairs put together this past week and we arranged them and a few of the other tools. Our 8'x10' cnc router in on the way and hopefully the laser cutter will be soon as well. We still have a lot of things to move into the space, but I think it's going to be quite nice once we have everything operational. I'm still waiting to hear about another grant I applied for, so hopefully we'll have some more money coming in soon.

rhino winterim

2012-01-15T00:11:00.000-06:00

I've been busy teaching the WinteriM Rhino class the last few weeks. Things are going well and we have one more week; then the Spring semester starts. Things are flying by! The students are doing well and they just finished a chain project (some examples above). The new lab is working out well. We still need to get the cpu's off the tabletops and mounted to the sides of the tables, but we'll get that done soon. It's just nice to have a space where the students can access the software and work in the same space. The studio environment really helps to bring the students together to share what they are learning.

zcorp printer

2012-01-14T23:58:00.003-06:00

Michael dropped off an older Zcorp color printer for the Digital Craft Research Lab on Wednesday. He was kind enough to check out the printer and then retrieve and deliver it. I'm excited to mess around with it and see what we can do. There is some interesting stuff happening with people hacking these old printers. Such things as terra cotta printing, rice flour and saki binder, and ceramic shell mold printing, just to name a few. We also got the wax infiltration system and the excavation unit. These will be great additions to the lab.

parked...temporarily

2012-01-14T23:44:00.000-06:00

I was still riding up until three days ago (a shot from my studio). We got our first major snow of the year finally. Only 6 inches, but enough to have to park the bike for a while. This is the longest I've ever ridden into the new year while living in Milwaukee. With the dry spell that we've had, I'm thinking we may in trouble for the last part of the winter season. I'm afraid the Beemer won't see dry pavement again until May. Hopefully I'll be wrong; I'm missing the regular 2 wheel commute already.

fitness

2012-01-11T16:45:00.001-06:00

I bought Jill a new pair of kicks for her birthday. We went to the local running store and they helped us out so she could get ones that fit the shape of her foot; so she can run more comfortably. It's amazing to watch and listen to people who are passionate about what they're into. The folks there were so knowledgeable.

Anyway,... Jill has been running in the mornings and she's doing awesome getting back into the routine. It almost makes me want to exercise, but it would probably take a contraption like above to get me "into it". I'd have to get a proper suit too!

stance/works

2012-01-06T16:01:00.006-06:00

The weather has prevented me from getting my yearly splitty yearning (aka it's just too warm). BUT I feel it getting colder all of a sudden. Check out Stance/Works and Type2Detectives.

machinist

2012-01-02T19:04:00.002-06:00

cnc lathe

2012-01-02T10:30:00.000-06:00

I began work on my cnc lathe. I had to completely dismantle so I could drill and thread the various connection points for the z axis balls screw mount and the x axis mount. This seemed like a good time to clean off all of the thick cosmoline that was coating all of the exposed steel parts. The saddle had to be drilled and tapped on the back side to accept the x axis mount and then I decided to mill the slot so I could achieve more travel in the x. I followed that work up, by drilling and threading four holes in the end of the lathe bed for the z-axis mount. Once this was completed I started reassembly with the steppers and such. I have everything hooked up now and even cut some simple stuff using a Machturn wizard. I'll soon try to post some video of it moving and cutting and some more pics of the complete assembled lathe. I'm working on learning some CAM software for writing geode for the lathe. I've been playing with Virtual Turn and I'm going to try out SprutCAM for this in the near future. Stay tuned...

wrench set

2012-01-02T09:56:00.000-06:00

veedub speed shop

2012-01-02T09:49:00.001-06:00

My brother designed and screen-printed this t-shirt and gave it to me for Christmas.

legbreaker

2012-01-01T22:00:00.000-06:00

I love this bike right now. Something so simple and clean. Check out the maker's blog if you want to see more shots.

ford wires

2012-01-01T21:54:00.002-06:00

gloss black ford wires... this pic makes me wish I had garage...

chadwick's sink

2012-01-01T21:10:00.001-06:00

I helped Chad silver solder the trap on his sink last Thursday. He came by to discuss how to do and I told him we should just do it right then and there on the spot. It's easier to do it than talk about it! I just noticed on his blog that he has it all patinated and assembled. He also posted shots of the door knob/knocker. I hope he keeps posting his work on his blog. Go check out his work if you like what see here.

3d printed lugs

2012-01-01T11:21:00.002-06:00

bmw collection video

2011-12-30T02:31:00.000-06:00

WOW!

my time is free to myself

2011-12-24T19:19:00.000-06:00

montesa tank

2011-12-24T01:12:00.001-06:00

I put a little rubbing compound on the montesa fuel tank to see if I could rub out some of the haze that had accumulated over the years. It polished up pretty well. The fiberglass has some surface cracks on the outside, but nothing too deep. I'm sure that I am going to have to treat the inside even though it's in really great condition. Modern fuel eats away at these old fiberglass tanks, but Caswell sells a liner that is made specifically for fiberglass fuel tanks. I learned this the hard way with my cota 348 when it sprung a million leaks.

fab meth review

2011-12-24T01:10:00.000-06:00

My Architecture students had the opportunity to share their work with some guest reviewers last Monday during our final review. It was so great to see all of their work in one place and to feel the sense of accomplishment. We'll be having an exhibition of the work coming up in the new year. Also, look for updates on the Fab Meth blog soon. I'll try to get caught up in the near future.

king cota

2011-12-23T23:36:00.000-06:00

I worked on cleaning up my basement tonight. In addition to this, I finally was able to piece together a functional 247 engine for my montesa king-scorpian frame. I'm going to run a cota 247 engine in it. It has a massive brass flywheel that makes it lope along (you can see it on the left side of the extra 247 engine). I'm hoping to get a couple dirt bikes thrown together by the time Noah gets old enough to ride. Then maybe we can take some trips to the woods for some off road riding. Makes me yearn for the place I grew up at. I used to spend hours riding through the creek beds and up the hills. What a way to grow up!

storage racks

2011-12-23T23:26:00.001-06:00

I spent the last couple of days laid up at home after a medical test, so it was good to go in to the studio for a little bit today. I mainly tidied things up after the fab meth carnage. I whipped up these new storage racks for my various pieces of metal that were strewn about. I still have to make the top "handle" sections, sand and finish; but they're almost complete.

joe's skateboards

2011-12-21T22:27:00.000-06:00

These skateboards belong to Joe Miletta. He's an Architecture student at UWM.

mule

2011-12-21T17:52:00.000-06:00

alumisafe

2011-12-20T02:41:00.001-06:00

A couple of weeks ago I helped a graphic design student with a prototype for an Alumisafe iPhone case. Her info graphic is posted above.

the multiple

2011-12-20T02:17:00.003-06:00

I'll be teaching a couple sections of Jewelry Casting in the Spring semester. Should be a fun course....

intro to j&m fall 2011

2011-12-20T02:14:00.001-06:00

My Introduction to Jewelry and Metalsmithing course ended last week. I had a great group of students that really came together as a group during the semester. They made some great work and we had a lot of fun "making". I'm going to miss them; hopefully I will see many of them during my casting class. You can check out their work on our class Intro to J&M blog.

cutting corian

2011-12-20T01:00:00.001-06:00

image taken by Justin Doll (Fall 2011 Fabrication Methodologies student)

fab meth work ethic

2011-12-20T00:57:00.000-06:00

My Fabrication Methodologies students have been working really hard this semester. Our Metals studio closed last week, but our Architecture review wasn't until today. That meant that students still needed access to tools and such. I opened up the Kenilworth studio over the weekend so students could finish project three. Several students took advantage of this and worked into the early morning hours in order to get things completed. I didn't have much time to shoot images while they were working, but the above images are of the last group's panel components; they were the last group to leave the studio on Monday morning.

cnc lathe kit

2011-12-20T00:40:00.004-06:00

I know it's been a long time since my last post; semester was wrapping up so I just had too much going on.

I just received my cnc lathe kit; I can't wait to get it installed.

young jedi

2011-12-05T10:12:00.001-06:00

The young jedi had a seventh birthday a few weeks ago. He's getting so big; SO FAST!

corian/lithophane

2011-12-05T09:55:00.001-06:00

I've been playing with Corain the last few days. We're using this in the Architecture course and the students will be using it to construct their third artifact for the semester. It mills beautifully and can be cut like butter, but it is durable and strong. I thought it would be cool to make a texture and lithophane-like test. The textured piece was made by creating a surface from an image of the chemical structure of aluminum and the lithophane was created by using an image of Halle Berry. The lithophane surface is quite shallow, but when backlit, the surface comes to life.

snow is on the way

2011-12-04T21:47:00.001-06:00

base jump

2011-12-04T21:36:00.001-06:00

montesa

2011-12-03T21:42:00.001-06:00

persig

2011-12-02T19:59:00.001-06:00

timpani solo

2011-11-30T22:11:00.001-06:00

I used to play percussion, and I was recently thinking about concert band and playing the timpani. I used to really love playing them. Gorgeous objects too.

wall of death

2011-11-30T19:36:00.001-06:00

v-12 engine

2011-11-29T08:29:00.001-06:00

Derek sent this to me and it's absolutely unreal!

teamwork

2011-11-27T22:20:00.001-06:00

The boys are using the proprietary Volkswagen Beetle jack to lift the Beetle pictured here. The jacking point was built into the "pan" (or frame) of the car so it could be lifted without crushing or damaging the sheet metal frame of the car. The jack itself is an amazing design as well.

The last few weeks at school have been tough and I was hoping some time off would have made me feel better. It didn't though. Teaching is going well and I really enjoy my students this semester, but it's all of the other junk that has me down. I'm wondering if I can put up long term with all of the "high school student council stuff" combined with the "Survivor" (as in... reality tv) mentality of the people I work with? It seems a lot of people like to sit around and talk too much and point fingers at others. I guess the world just needs more people who will stop talking and who are willing to get their hands dirty so they can take their turn at the jack.

montesa/vw

2011-11-26T01:07:00.001-06:00

hand drill and shelf

2011-11-24T21:46:00.001-06:00

psoa video

2011-11-22T21:20:00.001-06:00

pizza cutter

2011-11-19T20:32:00.001-06:00

I got up super early today and anodized a cutter. I almost have it fully finished. I still need to clean-up some smudges and shorten the handle bolts, but it's almost there. This one is headed to Pennsylvania on Monday for an exhibition.

fab meth 2011: burning the midnight oil

2011-11-19T20:19:00.001-06:00

The fab meth kids have been burning the midnight oil here lately. They've been taking full advantage of the new computer lab and my studio (since the new Digital Craft Research Fabrication Lab is not set up yet). The other night we blew a fuse because had so many things running at the same time. It's good though, as they're all learning a lot and they can all write code for cutting their files now and I feel like I can trust several of them to set the CNC mills up and get things cutting on their own. They do an excellent job of cleaning up after themselves which makes me happy. I have to admit though, it will be good when my studio is private and they have their own place to work.

Oh, did I mention that the operable facades systems their designing are going to be the best we've seen from this class so far? I can't wait!

beetle front end 06

2011-11-19T20:08:00.001-06:00

I still need to replace the rear brake lines, but it's on the ground again. I have adjusted the beam since taking this photo as this was a bit low for my liking, but the front is still tucked a bit. The narrowed front end allows for full lock turns without rubbing. The headlight buckets are close though. Hopefully I can get those rear brake lines in before it gets crazy cold. I've been lucky this far!

beetle front end 05

2011-11-19T20:02:00.001-06:00

I mounted the beam in the car and put everything back together. Jill helped me with the brakes and we got the new shoes and wheel cylinders installed in the front along with new dual circuit master cylinder and brake lines. New bearings in the brake drums and steering box re installed. Almost there...

beetle front end 04

2011-11-19T19:50:00.001-06:00

I bought a special reamer to ream the bushings for the proper fit of the king pin. THe reamer worked like a charm; It's pretty cool too. It has cutters that ride in grooves that are tapered. This allows you to adjust the end nuts so that the cutters cut a range of hole sizes. The follower rides in the other bushing area so the hole is straight inline with the other bushing. Slick....

beetle front end 03

2011-11-19T19:32:00.001-06:00

I bought new dropped spindles and so I decided to get new bushings for the carriers so I could press them in.

beetle front end 02

2011-11-19T19:29:00.001-06:00

I worked on powder coating everything over the course a few weekends and then assembled all the tools and parts to complete the job.

beetle front end 01

2011-11-19T19:26:00.001-06:00

I have slowly been working on the Beetle in the last several weekends. I decided to clean up the front beam on the Beetle before I did a new brake job on it. The trailing arms were frozen in the old beam so they took some persuasion of the heated kind to get out. I sandblasted all the parts and welded up a 4" narrowed beam so I can get the wheels to tuck a bit.

milling vise

2011-11-19T19:11:00.001-06:00

I bought a new milling vise for the Tormach. I wanted a Glacern vise, but the Shars seems to be a pretty good compromise. I've been so busy here lately that I haven't been able to set on the table and give it a go. What a shame too, cause I think it's going to be a useful edition to the mill. I have a couple Bridgeport milling vises, but I figured I'd keep those on the Bridgeport. Besides, I'm sure that this one will be more accurate in comparison since the Bridgeport ones have been knocked around for so many years.

bmw r51/3

2011-11-19T18:21:00.001-06:00

king protea

2011-11-19T16:08:00.001-06:00

3d printing: photo initiated polymer / pt 2

2011-11-19T11:34:00.001-06:00

I had posted before about 3d printing using a photo initiated polymer. It seems there has been a more detailed article published about how to set this up and how to build a build table. You can also find powerpoint files on this site that you can use to print some objects of your own.

buddy holly

2011-11-19T01:39:00.000-06:00

I have always loved Buddy Holly's music. I think it was watching a documentary when I was a kid and the fact that my Mom used to stay up late and play his music on the living room stereo. Jill and I have always shared the love of his music as well. Great stuff...I thought this video was awesome too.

.

sword maker

2011-11-17T16:56:00.001-06:00

Arthur had this on his blog and was just too good not to repost. Thanks Arthur!

medallion

2011-11-16T15:02:00.001-06:00

paramotor

2011-11-16T14:48:00.001-06:00

magnabend

2011-11-13T18:18:00.001-06:00

Build your own magnabend.

salt flat speed

2011-11-11T21:43:00.001-06:00

pinstriper

2011-11-11T21:38:00.001-06:00

liberty tool

2011-11-08T22:35:00.001-06:00

Madeline had this on her blog and I agree that this is really good.

http://www.libertytoolco.com/

robot bird

2011-11-05T00:57:00.002-05:00

3d printed castings

2011-11-04T18:20:00.001-05:00

I cast some 3D printed parts. These are by far the best ones that I have ever attempted. These are in aluminum. The printed texture came out, but it looks even. I think these parts will be used for "top chef's" cutter.

mark's feather

2011-11-04T18:14:00.001-05:00

I cast Mark's feather in bronze today. I left the sprue on it so he can decided where to cut it. I think this is going to be a handle for a box.

backpack

2011-11-03T23:26:00.003-05:00

I need a bigger backpack...

veedub patina

2011-10-29T23:11:00.003-05:00

gus kuhn beemer

2011-10-29T09:22:00.001-05:00

porsche

2011-10-28T23:47:00.000-05:00

brooks bags/bmw

2011-10-28T23:19:00.003-05:00

glass blower

2011-10-28T14:46:00.003-05:00

firefly

2011-10-28T08:36:00.002-05:00

studley toolbox...empty

2011-10-27T10:32:00.003-05:00

studely

digital craft research lab

2011-10-24T21:53:00.001-05:00

I started work on our new Digital Craft Research Lab today. Yev and I received funding for a computer lab and an output lab from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. I'll be teaching a 3D modeling course during our Winter session, so I have to get the computer lab up to speed quickly. My tables and chairs came in over the weekend, so I started putting things together today. It's coming together nicely and I like the way the high workbenches and stools look. The computers, projector, and software will go in next. It'll be exciting to get started on the output lab.

new course

2011-10-24T21:47:00.003-05:00

hot rod honeymoon

2011-10-23T21:51:00.001-05:00

Eric managed to get his hot rod all wrapped up. He called today and said that he had washed it and spit shined the whitewalls. It looks good sitting there. He said it made it's maiden voyage to the grocery store and gas station today. All is legal, and now the honeymoon begins. The next few months will be filled with getting to know each other and undoubtably a few little spats. I'm sure the relationship will grow and trust will build in short order. He did a really good job building it and I know we both learned a ton from it. Now on to the next one... I think I see a bus parked inside his garage in the coming months...

five axis robotic motion

2011-10-20T22:42:00.001-05:00

Five-Axis Robotic Motion Controller For Designers

faculty exhibition 2011

2011-10-19T18:15:00.000-05:00

sean slemon

2011-10-19T17:52:00.000-05:00

Sean Slemon came into our studio today to conduct an aqua-resin casting workshop. The aqua-resin is interesting stuff as it's a non-toxic casting material, water based, ventilation is not necesary, and it cures super fast. We used fiberglass as an aggregate, but it can be used with several other materials. It's seems very flexible in terms of the types of uses that it could be applied to. Our students had a great time working with it. Sean is a super down-to-earth artist and I really enjoyed the time I spent with him. Thanks to him for sharing his knowledge with us!

pumpkin patch

2011-10-19T17:27:00.001-05:00

We took the kids to the pumpkin patch this past weekend. Maya had trouble walking through the field. Her little feet kept getting snagged in the vines. They both had fun though. Maya is copying everything she sees these days; anything Noah does, she can do too. She's taking a picture of me in the second picture from the top. Boy the kids are growing up fast!

tumbler

2011-10-19T17:20:00.000-05:00

I bought a vibratory tumbler this past weekend. It's huge! It seems like it works very quickly too. I tested out some machined parts and it de-burred them quite rapidly.

new windshield

2011-10-19T17:16:00.002-05:00

I put a new windshield in the Beetle this past weekend. The old one came out with a little force and I was able to preserve the gasket and use it on the new windshield. I still haven't had time to get to the brake job, but hopefully I'll be able to get to this soon. Jill was a huge help in getting the new one in and properly sealed; she's so talented.

falcon hatch

2011-10-18T22:46:00.000-05:00

Chad and I discussed how all things seem to lead back to the influences of our childhood. Check out "The Falcon" iris hatch. Thanks to Chad for thinking of this....

machine

2011-10-16T14:46:00.002-05:00

inauguration ceremony

2011-10-15T12:01:00.000-05:00

The medallion looks better on the Chancellor (maybe because he has the outfit on, to "pull it off").

The above picture is from JSOnline and shows the podium piece I made also. They wrote an article about the ceremony. The "making of.." video was shown and the Chancellor used the medallion as a talking point in his speech. It was a bit overwhelming to see this object taking on such a role in discussing the future of UWM. People were very kind to us after the ceremony and many people told us how meaningful our work on this project was to them. Though, I think our new Chancellor is what made the event so special. I was very impressed with what the people who spoke on his behalf said and how his character as a human being was the focus. It was a great day and a great end to such a cool project!

inauguration ceremony

2011-10-15T03:00:00.000-05:00

A few more shots from the inauguration.

making of the medallion

2011-10-14T13:25:00.001-05:00

Mary Rinzel made this video documenting the processes of making the Chancellor's medallion. It was a pleasure to work with Mary on this and I can't thank her enough for the work she put into this.

late night/ early morning medallion

2011-10-14T00:00:00.000-05:00

As I posted before, I wasn't happy with the map of campus, so I cast the new one and then decided to make a new base plate for the new map. The original design also called for rare earth magnets, but I ditched those in the final weeks as the ones I had were fragile. The intent was for the front map to rotate and the small gears would transfer the motion to the back side and the iris would open. This just wasn't working during the final assembly for the video shoots, so I decided that I would re-visit this. I decided to re-visit it last night (the day before the inauguration). It was really bothering me, that the piece was not functioning as planned. I ended up cutting a new base plate that is slotted to allow the linking of the two larger gears. I machined a new gear last night, as well as anodizing the map base and powder coating the new base plate. Needless to say, I didn't get any sleep last night and came home for a shower before assembling it before our graduate reviews this morning at 9:30am. It all works now as originally planned. It's still going to have to work in a bit as things are tight, but I think it's good. I dropped off the medallion at Brad's office at around noon and I'm off to the ceremony in about 30 minutes; I'm going strong for not having any sleep!

medallion 3d print cast

2011-10-12T22:43:00.001-05:00

I cast one of the waxes that we made from the 3D printed piece that Bryan made a mold of. It turned out really nice!

podium medallion finished

2011-10-12T22:40:00.002-05:00

I finished the podium medallion tonight. Anodized aluminum and powder coated aluminum, stainless steel hardware.

fab meth 2011

2011-10-10T22:44:00.003-05:00

I'm teaching a new section of Fabrication Methodologies this semester. We finished our first project, so I put up new images on the Fab Meth blog. Go check out the student work if you're interested in seeing more of the facade prototypes. Make sure to "follow" if you want to see regular updates this semester. I will be posting more work from the first assignment within the week. We're off to a great start!