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Trying to hire a custom metal fabricator for a project

Sat, 18 May 2013 14:48:29 +0000

Hello,

I am hoping someone here could point me in a good direction.

I am building a miniature golf course. The obstacles that I like and want to buy (metal loops, spirals, ramps, etc) seem to only be available in Europe. Shipping and lead time are very high.

I am looking for a US metal fabricator who can create several of these pieces in the next few weeks. I have contacted local sheet metal fabricators without much luck.

Any suggestions or assistance is appreciated.

For examples of what I am interested in , see page 3 of this pdf.

http://www.citygolf.se/images/stories/pdf/Accessories_brochure_City_Golf_Europe_2013_lr.pdf

Thanks

Eric Michaels

Battle Bot

Sat, 18 May 2013 00:25:56 +0000

Finished this guy up today. He's about 13 inches tall. Plenty of weapons to defend himself.

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New Sheriff In Town

Wed, 15 May 2013 23:24:27 +0000

Finished this guy the other day. He's about 16 inches tall.

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The making of a inlayed Hanukkah Lamp (menorah)

Wed, 15 May 2013 14:58:52 +0000

I just finished my last project- a Hanukkah lamp.
Crazy me, I have decided not to use any electrical tools (except for turned parts and drilling some holes) so all the cutting, carving and polishing were done manually.

I think that the photos explain most of the process so there will be minimum text explenations

The design is drawn on paper and glued to a 3.2mm brass sheet (1/8"). A jewelers saw was used to cut the design.

These are the leftovers

And this is the cut sheet

A V-groove is cut for the inlay with a chisel and a hammer

Close up

using a sharp, flat chisel, I made an undercut in the V-groove to hold the wire

And the pure silver wire is inlayed in the groove using a light hammer and a flat tool

The silver inlay is scraped

Now the polishing process starts. Starting with grit 100 hand stone, than I used the following hand polishing stone: grit 180.220, 320, 400,600.

After polishing with hand stones, I gave it a final wet polish with grit 600 and grit 800 waterproof emery paper, and it is ready for patination.

Problems with KBS Diamond Finish

Wed, 15 May 2013 14:52:05 +0000

I've been trying to use Diamond Finish over metal surfaces. The people at KBS said I need to use the Adhesion Promoter additive for the first coat. However, every time I mix the Adhesion Promoter into the Diamond Finish, the mixture immediately turns cloudy and precipitates begin to form and settle out. I sprayed some out on a test panel and found that it took almost 24 hours to dry to touch (compared to the 2 hours it took without the additive). Just for kicks, I mixed the Adhesion Promoter into their Thinner #1 and it turned cloudy, too!

I contacted KBS tech support, sent them pictures and even a video of what has been happening. They said they "could not replicate my results" and sent me a complimentary replacement order of both the Diamond finish and the Adhesion Promoter. However, the replacement product did exactly the same thing. I relayed this info back to them last week, but have yet to recieve a reply.

Has anyone else experienced this? My first assumption is always "I must have done something wrong", but I don't see anywhere I could have made a mistake on this one!

MAF problems??

Fri, 10 May 2013 20:02:10 +0000

Swordfish helmet

Fri, 10 May 2013 03:23:27 +0000

This helmet was made for the Empire of the Sun music video "Alive". Hand raised and polished out of aluminum. You can see the video here http://empireofthesun.com/tagged/Videos

Sorry for the bad photos, I didn't have time to get any good ones

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Looking for Metal Artist for Public Art Commission

Tue, 07 May 2013 19:20:21 +0000

Hi,

I am looking for a metal artist who is interested in designing/fabricating a public art sculpture in southwestern PA, about 60 miles south of Pittsburgh. A conceptual design has been bone, but would want artist/fabricator to further the design and develop final design.

Would need someone to begin ASAP.

Please email me at nrpartners@gmail.com if you are interested.
Brad

Coat Rack

Tue, 07 May 2013 14:22:50 +0000

I made this one for me, but I will be taking it to the farmers market along with some other pieces and see what happens. The door knobs are upcycled pieces I purchased off of EBAY for some other coat racks I was making, but it is hard to find ceramic knobs at a decent price. I paid a lot for these knobs, so they may not sell just because of the prices to cover the door knobs. No big deal if it sells or not, but I have also been asked to make other things, because of seeing this piece. And I am not a red lover, so I have no idea why I painted this one red.

The twisted wire is 24" long pieces that I do on my HF bender with the adapter to twist wire.

Hammerhead Shark

Tue, 07 May 2013 13:48:32 +0000

Just finished this guy today. Length is right at 16 inches, height is right at 10 inches.

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Furry

Tue, 07 May 2013 13:30:15 +0000

Well it has been a long time since I have posted anything here. I can't post much here of what I have been making because I make so much lately. Little things to big things. But here is what I am currently finishing up. Made from 18 gauge sheet metal.

Circle "F" Brewing

Tue, 07 May 2013 12:06:04 +0000

Here it is in raw the way I built it:

The way they will hang it:

This will probably be zinc plated and then painted in clear coat.

Rejected again

Mon, 06 May 2013 23:27:01 +0000

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I finally had some of my work in what was supposed to be a middle to high end art store in Shelburne Falls, Mass. It was a long winter and business was down. The sales were low and the owner decided to return the slow or no movers. My work was fairly priced but never had a chance to be seen due to the slow sales seasons. The peak time is now arriving, and because I was a no mover, my sculptures have been returned. I was to be the exclusive metal artist in the shop. Do I request another chance or do I say good riddance and move on. I'm getting very frustrated with the art world and am ready to sell off my whole damn shop.
I can't even get the damn smilies to work!

Looking for some help and feedback from everyone

Sat, 04 May 2013 04:33:40 +0000

Can you guys give me some help
Here’s my story. I have been designing CNC DXF metal art files for a water jet system at my work for several years now and really enjoy doing it. I have learned a lot on what works and what doesn’t. The company has grown and we are now only using our machine for in-house projects which has put the metal art designing to a halt. The problem is that I still have the bug. I have started a site selling metal art files a few years back and I am getting ready to re-vamp the site as I am wanting to take it to the next level. The feedback I need from everyone is what would help you most in your metal art endeavors, projects, or businesses. I know that there has got to be at least one problem that everyone has with the CNC DXF industry that I can help with. I have emailed several businesses to try to get some feedback, but I have to say that I haven’t really gotten any reply’s back. It is pretty disheartening because I know there is an industry out there for this and I have the talent to help many, but I don’t want to waste my resources developing a site for items that no one wants.

Let me know what you guys need as I want to help however I can. Even if it seems small let me know.
For your time and feedback, I will even email you any file you want from my site for free. If you need a file vectorized let me know and if I can do it I will, free of charge. I am very serious about getting some good feedback.

Thanks,
Moe Joe
MoeJoeStudios.com

Juried Art Show

Fri, 03 May 2013 12:50:34 +0000

I just received an email that they are asking me to bring the "outstanding ordinary" to the Iowa Bicycle Festival Juried are show. I am really suprised that this actually happened to me.

Tutorial #8: Adding definition by chasing and texturing

Thu, 02 May 2013 22:00:05 +0000

What's going on with MAF?

Thu, 02 May 2013 15:34:09 +0000

I am sure that the active MAFers have noticed the low activity lately, and I just want to ask what is going on. I am not sure if you are aware, but the last member joined MAF on Feb.14.2013, and if new members are willing to join, they get a notification that MAF is not accepting new members. Can somebody clarify what is going on? I care a lot about this wanderful community and I feel sorry for that.

Mushrooms

Thu, 02 May 2013 13:06:27 +0000

Been working on some garden pieces for the summer. Here's a couple of my latest, big mushrooms & toadstools.
The shrooms are about 3 feet tall, the toadstools a little over a foot tall.

Memorial Owl

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 22:23:17 +0000

Just finished this commissioned piece.
The man who passed loved to garden and work in the yard. The shovel belonged to him. I had the family write what they wanted on the back and I clear coated over it.
I'm glad I didn't toss the handle part that I cut off. It made a great base.
The small bird was a request of the lady who commissioned it. Not sure if there is a meaning to the small bird or not.

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Diacro # 3 bender

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 23:43:33 +0000

Industrial quality hand bender in perfect working order. Comes with cabinet/stand and some tooling.......$1250 FOB Denver......Send PM if interested, Bruce

MAX. RADIUS CAPACITY ---------------------- 12"
HT. OF STANDARD FORMING NOSE -------------- 1.5"
CENTER PIN HOLE DIAMETER ------------------ 1"
OPERATING LEVERAGE ------------------------ 40"
MATERIAL CAPACITIES
ROUND MILD STEEL BAR --------------------- .625"
SQUARE MILD STEEL BAR -------------------- .5"
STEEL TUBING (16 GA)---------------------- 1"
STANDARD IRON PIPE ----------------------- .5 IPS
FLAT STEEL BAR (EASY WAY) ---------------- .25" x 2"
FLAT STEEL BAR (HARD WAY) ---------------- .125" x 1"
WEIGHT ------------------------------------ 295 LBS
DIMENSIONS ----------------------------- 82"W x 82"L x 42.25"H

Capictys increase when doing hot work......Figure 500 lbs for shipping.