Piano Player & Songstress

     This is a man playing his piano with his singing friend perched on top!
     The legs of the piano are pieces of old spindle.  It measures 14" long.

Parrot

     I've made parrots before using a lobster claw for the beak but thought this sea shell (some I got two years ago) - would make an even better beak.   For the base I just went upstairs over my studio to "Grandmas Attic" and found a few different styles.  The overall height is 18".

Below is a glimpse into Grandma's Attic - ya gotta come see it in person.

Folk Art Ferris Wheel

    About a month ago a dealer came to see me - in the back of his truck he had a folk at Ferris wheel made of plywood.  It got me thinking how I could do one.   

     I had the idea of using using bike rims for the wheel - they worked out great.  I used a hand drill for the turning mechanism and wrapped a bungy chord around the wheel.
     The carvings and basket sets are all carved from wood.

Check-out this video...

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvMWaVUeHRzDr-9mct40JeUGYvuzVh6gN0n6lDA_yEhpaG5lbizhfKfZs8FaygJ8MP6TxWJrzteNjVJHUxPhDrcPITZqDlKoT5aVt-S_6_KbMyPnbLen8WwkbzLH8IUX0ooVeUu4sE8shk/s1600/video-2014-08-16-09-10-18.mp4

     What about the Ferris Wheel?  The first "Ferris Wheel" was erected at the Worlds Columbian Exhibition in Chicago in 1893 - it weighed 71 tons and had a 45.5-foot axle and could carry as many as 2,160 people.  It was designed by George W.G. Ferris Jr. - a Pittsburgh bridge builder. 

Stepback Cupboard

    Here's another stepback cupboard I made it from an old dresser.

Cottage style Coffee Table

     I made this coffee table for a Nova Scotia customer - it's the longest coffee table I've made yet, measuring 32"x60".   I make them any size - large or small.  
     I always say I build these tables strong enough you can dance on them.

Coffee Tables made from sand casting wood molds

     I picked up these wood molds yesterday from a Nova Scotia dealer.  He said they are sand casting molds used in iron making from the Trenton Ironworks (now closed) in Trenton, Nova Scotia. 
     I made these coffee tables from the molds.  

    On the red coffee table I used a set of clawfoot bathtub feet; and on the yellow coffee table I used an old water tank stand that would have stood behind a wood stove.
     The tables measure 30" wide.

Here's information about Trenton Ironworks from Wikipedia.

     TrentonWorks is an industrial manufacturing facility located in the town of Trenton, Nova Scotia, Canada.  this collection of factories on the bank of the East River of Pictou has witnessed a large variety of industrial operations, ranging from steel making (the first steel plant in Canada), rolling mills, forging, shipbuilding, munitions manufacturing, rivets and bolts, and most recently (and longest lasting) rail cars.

The extensive plant is being converted to manufacture wind turbine components for South Korean industrial conglomerate Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in its first foray into North America; this is being made possible through corresponding investments by both the Government of Nova Scotia and the Government of Canada.

Below image cf.  www.doncoshhistoryoftrenton.blogspot.ca

 

Here’s some information about sand casting.

http://www.efunda.com/processes/metal_processing/sand_casting_intro.cfm

     Sand casting is used to make large parts (typically Iron, but also Bronze, Brass, Aluminum). Molten metal is poured into a mold cavity formed out of sand (natural or synthetic). The processes of sand casting are discussed in this section, include patterns, sprues and runners, design considerations, and casting allowance.  The cavity in the sand is formed by using a pattern (an approximate duplicate of the real part), which are typically made out of wood, sometimes metal. The cavity is contained in an aggregate housed in a box called the flask. Core is a sand shape inserted into the mold to produce the internal features of the part such as holes or internal passages. Cores are placed in the cavity to form holes of the desired shapes. Core print is the region added to the pattern, core, or mold that is used to locate and support the core within the mold. A riser is an extra void created in the mold to contain excessive molten material. The purpose of this is feed the molten metal to the mold cavity as the molten metal solidifies and shrinks, and thereby prevents voids in the main casting.

Typical Components of a Two-part Sand Casting Mold.