velocipede WIP

I installed my Work In Progress Velocipede in the Staystack residency exhibition at the start of the week. I also made some renderings that shoe some possible finishes. I don't think I'm actually going to do an anodized like finish in all one color like the rendering above, but it was cool to play around and start to think about this. I still have a lot to do, but I spent some time thinking about what this object represents to me. Again, I still don't have this all fleshed out, but the text below is the start of some ideas I have at the moment.

This work-in-progress jeweler’s saw is a reinterpretation and evolution of an 1870s pedal-powered velocipede scroll saw made by W. F. & J. Barnes in Rockford, Illinois; my home state. My fascination with tools is rooted in the agrarian landscape of my youth, where tractors and farm implements first sparked a deep appreciation for mechanical purpose and physical labor. Part functional tool, part kinetic sculpture, this jeweler’s saw is created to be equal parts utility and art. It stands as a living archive of the places I’ve called home, weaving together my roots in Illinois farm machinery, Milwaukee metalwork and heavy industry, and Appalachian craft traditions into a human-powered machine that celebrates the empowering act of making your own tools to create something new. This project is a direct continuation of my early reverence for how things work and the meaning of labor.

The physical creation of this object spans distinct geographies and eras of my life. I began the piece by casting its initial aluminum frame in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where I was heavily influenced by the city's rich history of manufacturing and machine tools. Now, living and working in the rural Appalachian mountains of Boone, North Carolina, the project has taken on a new resonance by tapping into the region's deep traditions of craft, self-sufficiency, and the empowering act of making purposeful tools for personal use, independent of outside systems.

What you see here at the culmination of the Staystack residency is not a polished, finished product, but a vital stage in my creative process: the physical mock-up. While I design my work in CAD, my brain inherently resists finalizing details in a digital space. Digital modeling lacks the visceral connection; the ability to touch, handle, and physically interact with the weight and mechanics of a piece. During these two weeks, I designed new components for the tool, including the drive wheels, cranks, pedals, saw arms, and necessary functional mechanisms. I also smoothed the initial aluminum frame castings, created the mold pattern for the large drive wheel to cast it in bronze, machined the cranks, and began bringing all these pieces together.

To truly evaluate the design, function, and aesthetics of an object like this, I have to bring it into the physical world. A machine with dozens of interdependent parts requires full assembly to understand. Reaching this stage, where the cast bronze wheel, custom-machined components, and stand-in shafts are joined as a complete unit, allows me to step back and observe the object as a whole. It is only in this raw, assembled state that I can begin making the instinctual refinements that complete the piece.

The intensive two weeks of the Staystack residency have allowed me to bridge the gap between digital concept and physical reality, converging my history in Woodbury, Illinois; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Boone, North Carolina into a tangible, working draft ready for its next evolution.

velocipede in action

 

This is the kind of saw that my velocipede jewelers saw is based on.

velocipede big wheel bore

Yesterday afternoon I was able to get the velocipede legs bored, a 3D printed bushing designed and made (that will be made in bronze), and the big cast wheel bored to the shaft size. I also made a "stand in/mock up" shaft that I could use to put things together. The bronze wheel is a hefty beast but the big diameter shaft supports it well. I think the big wheel should still be mounted on the rotary table on the Bridgeport and the outside trued slightly. I think it would just help the piece to function a bit more smoothly. I'd like to machine the small wheel this weekend if I can finalize the design.

It's interesting how an object like this requires so many different parts that have to come together for the object to function. For some reason, when I make things I need the piece to be capable of mock up stage, so I can see everything and then evaluate the design and "look" of things. I have the entire model in CAD, but my brain requires to be able to see the parts all fixed together to then make changes or additions to. This is the area where I think a piece gets better. This is why I just need to see the piece together regardless of everything being resolved. I also think this is why I like modifying existing objects so much. I'm not sure why, but I have had that desire from the time I was a kid. I always had this desire to stick an engine from one motorcycle into a different frame, or I wanted to combine different bicycle parts to build a completely unique bike. Where does that impulse come from? I need to think about this more...

It's like I need to see something as a complete unit so I can then modify it. This mock up stage is critical for me and I need to see this piece come together as a whole with all it's parts, regardless if they are going to be the final design or not. I just need to see this together as a whole as soon as possible. As I build things I feel like I get to a point where I have built all of these parts, I assemble them, and then I tear it all apart and restore it to final finish. This is the part of making that I enjoy and always have. 

Why can't CAD suffice for this "mock up" stage and then I'm just building parts and assembling them? I hate having to figure out details in CAD I guess. I want to do that part in the physical world instead. Seeing something, touching it, handling it, having a visceral response feels necessary to me. I would love to be a fly on the wall when iconic things were being built to see how the ideas developed. Have all of these iconic things been built from engineering plans/drawings on paper and then just emerged as a direct one to one of that object or did people have a chance to respond to the physical parts and let the object evolve as more parts were created? It's probably not really all that important, but I think about the call and response to making a lot more these days. This piece is reminding me of how I like to work and that IS important...to me. It's not fast nor is it efficient, but it's just the time it takes for me to be happy with what I'm making.

 

velocipede cranks

I got up early this morning and walked down to the shop. Yesterday I had programmed the CAM file for the crank design for my velocipede so I wanted to get an early start on cutting them out. I had made a 3D printed model of the crank a week ago, but there's always something special about seeing a design in metal. I used some leftover aluminum plate from when we were cutting parts for Austin's electric motorcycle. The first crank was looking good right up to the point where my parallel finishing op was almost done and then there was a weird toolpath that caused the ball endmill to get pulled out of the collet and it screwed up the z location. Live and learn. I ran the file a second time and this time was ready for the issue. Then I turned around and ran the second finished crank. I was able to clean and do a little organization in the shop while this was running. I have a few more pieces to program like the pedals that will connect to the cranks and a small drive wheel. Hopefully I can cut the small drivewheel tomorrow. The pedals are double sides and I'm doing some texture on these so they will take a bit more set-up and time. I still need to decide on the table design and the saw frame arms, pivots and tensioner so there's still a lot to do.

I ran into town with the girls in the afternoon to stop in and check on a student (who is doing some work for me in the campus studio; painting exhaust hoods) on campus, and to take the girls to the library. We got some groceries afterwards and then we came home and I made dinner for us. We'll watch a movie tonight and chill out on the couch.

 

bronze wheel mold opening

 

pouring bronze wheel

 

gratitude: bronze wheel casting

The theme for the week is gratitude. Last week I made a resin bonded sand mold from the pattern I made earlier in the week. I was thinking about how fortunate I was to spend time with Chuck Kraus while I was in Milwaukee. He was so generous with his time and knowledge at a time when I was just trying to figure out how to teach. He welcomed me into the Sculpture community and made certain that I had exposure to all sorts of things that he had been doing for years in his personal work. He was exceptional at sharing everything he knew. 

As I look back on the time I spent with him, it's like I had an entire second graduate school experience while I was working at UWM with Chuck. It's interesting to look back through life and realize that there are hundreds of people that move in and out of one's life, but there are other people that come into your life and make such a strong and indelible mark that it seems like a supernatural experience. As I've grown older I realize that God seems to orchestrate these encounters, events and especially relationships. 

I am deeply grateful for the time I spent with Chuck when I lived in Milwaukee. He most likely doesn't know the impact that he has made on me and on my teaching and the extent to which a value him and the things he taught me. But it's moments like this, when I am ramming a mold, or pouring metal that he comes to mind and I think of how I wouldn't know ANY of this if it weren't for him. Thank you, Chuck.

velocipede jeweler's saw

I mentioned in a previous post that a few folks from the AppState DigFab group have been getting together each day this past week to work in the studio at school and make some work over the span of two weeks. We meet for breakfast and lunch and work in between. It's been fun to dedicate some time to making some work for an upcoming exhibition. I have a few things in the works this week, but the main big project has been my velocipede jewelers saw. I cast the parts for this in Milwaukee in July of 2010 and this piece has moved across the country with me in an unfinished state for the last sixteen years. You can read and see pictures of me casting it back then in the foundry with Chuck.

https://frankieflood.blogspot.com/2010/07/velocipede.html

https://frankieflood.blogspot.com/2010/07/velocipede-progress.html
https://frankieflood.blogspot.com/2010/07/fragmented-day.html

https://frankieflood.blogspot.com/2010/07/day-of-work.html

https://frankieflood.blogspot.com/2010/07/open-molds.html

https://frankieflood.blogspot.com/2010/07/hot-tear-weld.html

I also cast a bunch of bicycle seats in aluminum around the same time. 

https://frankieflood.blogspot.com/2010/07/aluminum-bicycle-seat.html

https://frankieflood.blogspot.com/2010/07/in-progress.html

https://frankieflood.blogspot.com/2010/07/seat-shells.html

https://frankieflood.blogspot.com/2010/07/broken-seat-shells.html

https://frankieflood.blogspot.com/2010/07/cut-seat-sprues.html

I had mocked up the piece a while ago in my studio next to Spice Bottom Creek and it was sitting there a few weeks ago when I was cleaning and organizing my studio and I figured it was time to drag it out and attempt to finish it. This past week, I brought it to campus and set up a workspace in the Sculpture studio. I 3D scanned the piece in it's current state and then I got to work making a few prototype wheel designs for it. I think I've come to a final design that will work for this. I have some mdf glued up that I'll use to make some foundry patterns for making a mold in resin bonded sand. I spent most of the week cleaning up the cast texture from all of the parts since I want this to be fairly sleek. I'm trying to accentuate the various curves and facets of the cast pieces and I'm pleased with how they are coming out. I'm not moving as fast as I would like on this, but I need to take my time and do things right. I hope I can CNC mill the wheel pattern first thing tomorrow. I still have a long list of things that need to be made and figured out. I also have a few smaller projects that I'm also currently working on.

The tool aspect of this piece is something that I'm enjoying. I had gotten away from making tools for a while and this feels right to me. It also hits a part of my soul since I cast this in Milwaukee and it gives me the midwest feels since the original Barnes velocipede was designed and made in Rockford, IL.  There is also something about this that hits the mark and reminds me of bare metal hotrods from Rodder's Journal and hand built cars and motorcycles and furniture. I can't yet put my finger on it yet, but it is starting to have some of the vibes that I was hoping for, but had not taken the time to get it far enough along to start feeling good about it. It's funny how you have to get past this certain point with a piece to feel like you can continue. I think I'm there now, just too bad it took sixteen years to get there.

Getting back into the blog this week is making me think about some things that I've been discussing with Jill. Eric's visit has me thinking about these things too. I took a break from social media last Spring. I got back on at the start of the summer and now I've had to leave it again a few weeks ago. I felt good the first time I left it and I feel even better this time. What is it about that stuff. On one hand I want to know what's going on with friends and people I know, but it's a curse at the same time. I'm realizing that I haven't done any real introspective thinking about what I'm doing or making since i stopped blogging. I don't write enough in my sketchbook or even sketch for that matter. 

Scrolling other people's content has a numbing effect and leaves me empty with no ability for self reflection. Maybe that's the point. Rewire our brains to look at others; compare and then render us unable to formulate a real sincere and unique thought of our own. Bombard us with content so we don't have to tackle the important quiet moments that we NEED to have with ourselves. Steal every quiet moment from us, and make us a part of a perpetual machine that accomplishes nothing but to brainwash us by segregating us into our own echo chambers. Make it so we don't really connect with people where we might hear other people's points of view and tackle hard conversations and topics. Steal the time we would normally have, loving the people that we live with, sharing our thoughts and feelings, and being creative.  

Well, I'm going to try and work on these things and myself and make an attempt to think about things I feel and see; and use this space to do it all again. We'll see how long it lasts.