swest rectifier resto

My old Swest rectifier has taken a beating from all the years of work anodizing and etching, etc. This past week I decided to strip it and repaint the sheetmetal housing for it. Adam told me I couldn't paint it red, so I had to find something kind of close to the original paint. After getting it painted, I reassembled and made some 3d printed bushings to isolate the terminals from the case. Then I made some stencils so I could paint the text with some sign paint I have had sitting around for years. I still need to pull out the stencil sections inside the letters but it turned out ok. I probably should have taken time getting things lined up and a bit more level, but it's probably just going to get abused by my students anyway. It gets harder and harder to keep the studio nice. If they don't pay for it, then they usually don't care about taking care of it. I'm starting to sound like an old curmudgeon...

 

intro project etching

I've been teaching two Intro Metals courses this semester. I've really enjoyed the classes lately. The students are working on some small and super large projects. Two examples of each above. The aluminum etch above is 24"x 24" and for an aluminum sombrero and the nickel etch just above will be die formed and then pierced in some of the areas of the aerial map design. I'm looking forward to seeing these pieces develop.

bryan cera workshop

Yesterday I had some grad meetings in the morning, but in the afternoon I worked in the DCRL and then went up to the PComp lab to attend a workshop taught by Bryan Cera. DSP's student organization, DECODE, brought Bryan in for the event. It was so good to see Bryan and to see the things he shared with us all. He covered vinyl cutter usage as well as numerous tricks and tips on using a vinyl cutter in unconventional ways.  Bryan brought his super cool ferric acid etching agitator machine, or as I like to call it the "Acid Wave Pool Machine". He also covered circuit design, but I had to leave before he completed that demo. I'm so proud of Bryan's accomplishments as an artist and especially as a teacher. You can tell that he has really grown during his time at Cardinal Stritch. So cool to see.