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.

 

appstate solar car

I went to the unveiling of the school's new solar car yesterday. A lot of folks I know on campus assisted with the making of parts for the car. I saw one of the alum, Patrick, who I helped many years ago with the older car they used to race. I'm glad to see them be able to build a more aerodynamic and lighter car than the last car. Needless to say they had a lot of success with the other car and I'm sure they'll do well with this one.

After looking the car over, I start to think about the difference between an engineer and a designer. Many of the students talked about the upgrades to the new car and some of the parts they CNC machined in house as well as had made via outside services. Of course they wanted to talk about how much lighter all of the new components are and their use of different software and testing. The car is definitely a reflection of various components being worked on individually and being engineered to do a specific function. 

However it leaves me wondering about the role of design or beauty and how important "soul" and beauty are and yet it's the first thing that is eliminated when everything is designed in CAD by an engineer who is ONLY worried about function OR their idea of "cool" comes from an untrained engineering eye. In the end we get a collection of parts that create an assembly and eventually an entire car... but are all of the parts speaking to one another or do they have some relation to one another in terms of their design? Maybe I'm just a grumpy curmudgeon, or a think too highly about design, or maybe this is the result of a team of people building something vs. one person's vision. 

Regardless it has me wishing to build a car or a motorcycle from complete scratch (besides maybe the engine). Again, no shame to this team of students intended here, as this old man is still sitting on his couch typing on his computer, waxing on about beauty and aura and there's no handmade wheeled objects to show for all of his lofty talk. Shoot he can't even finish half the projects he starts...

Bucket list for certain...

 

paul jaray

Paul Jaray (March 1889 – 22 September 1974) was a Vienna-born engineer, designer, and a pioneer of automotive streamlining.

Paul Jaray came from one of the oldest Prague-born Jewish families of scholars and artists called the Jeitteles, later his family moving to the Hungarian part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Jaray, of Hungarian-Jewish descent, was born in Vienna. Jaray studied at Maschinenbauschule in Vienna and worked at the Prague Technical University as an assistant to Professor Rudolf Dörfl.

Later he became the chief design engineer for the aircraft building firm Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen, designing seaplanes. From 1914 Jaray worked at Luftschiffbau Zeppelin, located in the same town, concentrating on streamlining airships. Jaray designed the airship LZ 120 Bodensee on which airships such as the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin, the LZ 129 Hindenburg and the LZ-130 were later based. Further experiments in LZ's wind tunnel led to his establishment of streamlining principles for car designs. In 1923 he moved permanently to Switzerland, opening an office in Brunnen.

In 1923 Jaray founded the Stromlinien Karosserie Gesellschaft, which presented numerous designs for streamlined car body work. It issued licences to major vehicle manufacturers including Tatra Works in Kopřivnice, Czechoslovakia. Tatra was the only manufacturer that used Jaray's streamlining principles purchasing his licences for their car production. Jaray designed car bodies for other manufacturers starting with the 1922 Ley and followed on with designs for Chrysler, Mercedes-Benz, Maybach, Apollo, Dixi, Audi, Adler, Jawa, Ford, Steyr and others.

His own 1934 car was built on an Audi 2-litre Front chassis with a body by Huber and Brühwiler of Lucerne. Jaray also designed the body for the streamlined Auto Union Typ B Lucca Rennlimousine in 1934. Jaray was also interested in radio and television technology. In 1941 he worked for Farner AG in Grenchen on nosewheel undercarriage design. In 1944 he set up as an independent engineer working on wind-driven power station. He was the author of a large number of technical patents relating to streamlining, air compressors for railway, and devices for handling gases in silencers. Later he lectured at the Eidgenoessische Technische Hochschule (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), Zürich, which now holds Paul Jaray's archive.

Jaray died in 1974 in St. Gallen impoverished and forgotten by the automobile industry.

The exhibition focuses on the biography of the Vienna-born inventor Paul Jaray (1889-1974), who came from one of Prague's oldest Jewish families of scholars: his role in the development of the Silver Arrows (Silberpfeile) and the Volkswagen was largely purged from engineering/design history and public consciousness through the propaganda policies of the Nazi regime. For the first time, the research for this exhibition provides documentary evidence of the connections between economic interests, competition in early modernist automobile design, and systemic racism under German fascism. Another focal point is the previously unexplored influence that Jaray's rigorous designs had on avant-garde art.

Yet in 1974 he died anonymously and in poverty in Switzerland, while the town where he lived, St. Gallen on Lake Constance, did not even publish an obituary. None of his neighbors knew who he was, nor that his scientific breakthroughs would spawn an artificial mode of product design around the world, counter to his intentions and without his consent. The circumstances behind his eventual anonymity require explanation. This is of particular importance, since he was an extremely productive inventor who developed fundamental innovations that are still omnipresent in common technical products today––without his authorship having ever been recognized or respected.

His scientific research on fluid mechanics for landbased vehicles was exploited by the fascist Nazi regime in Germany, primarily for the massive propaganda exercises of the grand automobile spectacles. The most important components of this were the record-breaking racing cars, the so-called Silver Arrows (Silberpfeile), especially those of the Auto-Union, and the concept of the “Kraft-durch-Freude” Volkswagen, later called the Beetle. For all of these vehicles, the body designs optimized to reduce drag can be traced back to Jaray’s discoveries and patents.

Since the Nazi political regime in Germany could not bear to credit a Jew for developing these futuristic car bodies associated with nationalistic mythologizing, Jaray’s name was purged from public consciousness, and largely from the history of engineering as well. At the same time, many automobile manufacturers took advantage of the political implementation of systemic, institutionalized racism, by ignoring his patent rights and assuming control of his inventions without acknowledging him. Jaray’s rationally and mathematically derived forms were on the one hand rejected by popular taste, and on the other, ignored the automakers’ need for a recognizable brand identity. Despite this, due to the increasing focus on aerodynamics these proliferated, and took on a generic, commonplace character.

One of the most beautiful and logical body forms among these, which still seems like a utopian vision, is that of the fully-enclosed Auto-Union Type-B of 1935, the so-called “racing sedan” (Rennlimousine). It was only used once for a successful attempt at breaking the record, on the Firenze-Mare freeway near Lucca, on February 15th, 1935, which is why it is also called the “Lucca Car.” Driven by Hans Stuck, it was the first automobile to reach a speed of almost 300 km/h on a normal road, thus setting two world records.

peter brock and design and fabrication

 

You might think that I'm posting this because of the VW bus. I was really interested to hear all of Pete Brock's discussion of design and fabrication. There is so much history here.

copper toy masks for painting

 

Eric and Chung sent these videos to me. I had no idea that this was how masks and spray painting on toys were done. It's fascinating. It also provides a real world application of copper sheetmetal forms. Eric and I discussed the fact that these are most likely die formed copper sections made from the original design of the toy. It makes me want to explore more involving 3D printed (full infill) dies like we have been doing in my classes. I just want to create a more complex form than what we have doing. For the moment, we have just been doing shallow sinking forms that are similar to spoon or bowl shapes. I need to work on this during the summer.

casting with I.D. students

I'm doing an independent study with two Industrial Design students this semester. Last semester Austin asked me last semester if I would do the independent study as a class and then Casey asked me over winter break if I would be her mentor. They are both working on their Senior capstone course so they have a show at the the end of the semester where they present their work and research. Casey is doing a lighting project and Austin is doing the electric motorcycle. I'm really enjoying the interactions with them both We have great conversations about design and process and I've found myself engaged in some philosophical conversations about what it means to be a maker of things. They are both hungry to learn things and last week asked for a casting demo. They also showed me their timeline for creating their work. It's interesting working with them as some parts of the teaching is similar to my art students and other parts are radically different. It's not the first time I've encountered this during my years of teaching, but I would generalize that the majority of the design students from industrial design and architecture have been more engaged with their own work than the art students as a whole. Don't get me wrong, I have had some amazing art students who were super engaged, but it's just not the case with the majority of art students I've taught. I walk away from these interactions and wonder what the difference is between the student groups that causes this phenomenon. 

This semester I do know... that teaching motorcycle design just happens to be of extreme interest to me. I feel like I am drawing from close to thirty years of obsessing about, reading, and looking at motorcycles so I find the conversations to be easy to facilitate. I went back and looked at some of the pictures of building my triumph chopper when I was in school and I feel like I've learned a lot since then and I've been telling the Austin how lucky he is to live in a time where so many things can be manufactured via a desktop/laptop and some low price CNC machines.

I wish I could do classes like this all the time. I'm not getting paid or getting any credit for teaching this course, but that's ok. It's just fun to know that I'm helping to facilitate something that Austin and Casey are into and I hope the experience helps them get a good job in the future.

oliver by wilbur henry adams

Wilbur Henry Adams

At just twenty six, however, Adams was ready to strike out on his own, opening a studio in Cleveland and working with his wife, Arleen, a talented artist and interior designer. Adams found instant success with his 1934 transition to the burgeoning field of industrial design, and the couple returned to Erie, settling in the country on Wolf Road where Adams worked from a studio in the barn on the old Metcalf estate.

Erie was a hub of industrial activity and an important part of the industrial corridor bridging the Midwest and the Northeast—Adams’ clients readily followed him to this now seemingly removed location. Adams designed, styled, and streamlined everything from toilets to tractors to the SkyWay Drive-In, all while raising prize chickens, four children and living the life of a country gentleman. Alexa D. Potter, curator of Styled by Adams, places Adams in his rightful role as a major figure in early American industrial design.

on the topic of craft: preach on brother ive

... I was particularly intrigued that it [Manus x Machina] would stimulate a conversation exploring the relationship between what is made by hand, and what is made by machine. That it would challenge the preconception held by some, that the former is somehow inherently more valuable than the latter. In the design team at Apple, we do share similar preoccupations and goals with the designers whose work you will see here today. Many of us I think believe in the poetic possibilities of the machine, while in equal measure, we have tremendous respect and admiration for what is made by hand.

Our goal has always been to try to create objects that are as beautiful as they are functional; as elegant as they are useful. Our physical designs are informed by our passion for materials and processes, based on an experience gained from making things actually ourselves.

Surprisingly fewer and fewer designers, regardless of their particular design discipline, seem to be interested in the detail of how something is actually made. With a father who is a fabulous craftsman, I was raised with the fundamental belief that it is only when you personally work with a material with your hands, that you come to understand its true nature, its characteristics, its attributes, and I think – very importantly – its potential.

As I have watched the exhibition's narrative evolve, it has been exciting to see craftsmanship considered not only in the context of today, but also the future. The Chanel dress that Tom [Campbell, Met director] mentioned, which was Andrew's inspiration for the exhibition, is a wonderful example of artisan-like craft executed with the deepest consideration, yet enabled with the every latest technology.

Most breakthroughs in craft were once, of course, perceived as truly innovative. Often shockingly so. Once, even the simple metal needle challenged the conventional thinking of a time. I'm humbled by the innovations of the past, in the same way that I'm humbled by the work that we can see here today.

It's easy to think that craft can't change, but important to remember that all craft process was at some point new; at some point challenged convention – not to be contrary, but enabled by some breakthrough; some newly discovered principle, or sometimes some wonderful accident.

Fundamentally though, the most critical of all for me in this discussion is the notion of care. When something's made in the smallest volume, as a one-off couture piece, or in large quantities, deep care is critical to determine authentic, successful design and ultimately manufacture.

It is extraordinary care and resulting beauty that I recognise in every object here today. Regardless of whether is has been made by hand or by machine, it is creation led by great consideration, rather than driven by a preoccupation with schedule or price.

I believe this will resonate with visitors to the exhibition. Ultimately, it is the amount of care invested – whether machine-made or handmade – that transforms ordinary, modest materials into something extraordinary.

I would like to sincerely thank Anna, Andrew, Tom and the team here at The Met on behalf of all of us at Apple, for the opportunity to be a part of this beautiful and thought-provoking show. I know that it will be an inspiration to many, and challenge us to recognise that far from being mutual exclusive notions, technology are craft are of course not at odds. And much like beauty and utility, go hand in hand – all the more powerful in combination.

-Jonathon Ive

matchbox

applied design

paper

craftsman: m magazine

I have several people that I know who were featured in the new copy of M magazine. Matt Mabee is a current colleague and former student, Jared Kramer is a former student, and Christof Sander, a former student, designs and fabricates at Scathain, all of which who were featured in this craftsman issue. Good to see their talents getting some press. Congrats guys; well deserved!

kyle from IDEO

I love the internet. So many cool people to find and so many cool things to discover. Kyle Doerksen sent me an email today. He is a design engineer at IDEO. You have to check out the stuff that he's worked on or is working on. Maybe I can go visit IDEO sometime this year. Noah saw the images above and now he thinks he needs a onewheel. Anyway check out Kyle's stuff. Thanks for the email Kyle!

ideo/ david kelley

My Mother-In-Law called to see if I had watched the video above on 60 Minutes tonight. I had missed it because I was out in the garage working on the Splitty, but I pulled it up on CBS's website. This video really hit home with me and touched my soul. Thanks Kim!