Copper and Iron Lamp

I had an idea for a sort of bedside lamp kicking around in my head for a while, and one day I found myself at the hardware store for another project and said what the hell lets get some material for this this too.  Stood in front of the plumbing section looking at connections and nipples for about an hour figuring stuff out in my head and got everything I needed (almost- only one return trip to get a different connector).  Also got a "make your own lamp" kit that had pretty much everything else I needed on the lighting side of things.  This is how it turned out.

Silver Ladle

I had some extra silver casting grain laying around from my silverware project so I decided to make a small ladle.  Hey why not.

Process shots after the jump

Polishing Booth

A little while ago I bought myself a polishing motor to step my game up and put that high finish on the work that deserves it, namely jewelry and silverware.  For a while I just had it exposed on a benchtop, but these things kick out a lot of dust, grim, and fine particulate that really just makes a mess everywhere.  Time to build a polishing booth.  Since I'm cheap and thrifty, I just bought a bunch of basic lumber and materials at the hardware store and put it together myself.  

Metalworking Hammers and Stakes

Let's talk hammers.  Hammers are one of the most important tools a metalsmith owns.  You've got forging hammers, raising hammers, riveting hammers, planishing hammers, plastic, wood, and rawhide hammers,  and all sorts of hammers for very specific functions.  You have to keep the faces at a mirror finish so they don't make weird marks of your work, fight rust if you have a lot of moisture in your workspace, and generally take very good care of these all important tools.  Here's a shot of my hammers in a rack I built to hold them.

Never enough hammers

More Raised Copper

Basement studio

I moved my studio from the Crane Old School to my basement after we moved into the new rowhouse.  It's pretty dry, sorta finished, and I gotta say it is so nice not having to leave the house to get some work done.  And no noise complaints from the neighbors so I think it's going to work out.  

Finishing up the buckles and backpack hardware.

I finally got my bronze buckles and square loop back from the casters after having been given the runaround by a different company.  I think they are going to look great on a backpack that is going in the Crafts Show at the BDDW showroom in New York.  The furniture company I work for is having a show of employees work at their showroom in New York.

Heres the pieces back from the casters, cleaned and pre-polished but still pretty rough.

These are some copies I made of the original wax carving by making a mold out of urethane and shooting wax into the cavity.  

 Patinated and the brass tongues for the buckles fixed in place. The buckles will be the adjusters on the arm straps and the square loop in for a leather strap that fastens the bag closed.