While I am not always good at delegating tasks, I have never been afraid to ask for help when needed. My work on this cat has been no exception! I've been feeling a little out of my element as I've worked on the painting of the cat (after all, my concentration in college was photography, and I didn't even take painting), but I know I'll make it through. The fabrication of the paddle wheels and the smoke stack, on the other hand, is entirely out of my realm of experience, and certainly more than I thought I could muddle through.
That's where the having good friends comes in. I began to panic-- how am I going to do this! Who do I know who works with metal?!? Who welds? Could I ask the maintenance guys at work? (probably, but maybe not the best choice) My friend, the auto body repair person? (again, would probably work) Finally though, I had the answer-- my friend Corey Fong, who's concentration was in metal work!
I met with Corey on Monday, and he graciously agreed to help me with the wheels, and gave me some ideas to get started on the smokestack (as usual, my idea of how to do it was way more difficult than necessary!). We sat and bounced around ideas about how the wheels should be constructed, so they will look good, will not be too easily tampered with, they will be safe, and will not be too terribly difficult to build. Both Corey and his dad had great ideas about how to make the different parts and get them all together.
After we settled on a design, we drilled the holes for the wheels. This was important because now I can fix my design (which was slightly mis-aligned-- although surprisingly close given my measurement methods!) and really get painting.
On the way home from Corey's, I stopped to pick up a wooden dowel, which I will be using for the smoke stack. This was Corey's idea too-- as I said, I was thinking way more difficult that I needed to. My plan had been to use a copper pipe, which would somehow need to be closed off at the top (so rain wouldn't pour down in the cat). With the dowel, not only do I not need to worry about welding, but I can actually include the rivet detailing on the stack, which I thought I was going to need to leave out.
All said, I'm feeling a lot better now about how things will all go together. Thanks Corey!
I met with Corey on Monday, and he graciously agreed to help me with the wheels, and gave me some ideas to get started on the smokestack (as usual, my idea of how to do it was way more difficult than necessary!). We sat and bounced around ideas about how the wheels should be constructed, so they will look good, will not be too easily tampered with, they will be safe, and will not be too terribly difficult to build. Both Corey and his dad had great ideas about how to make the different parts and get them all together.
After we settled on a design, we drilled the holes for the wheels. This was important because now I can fix my design (which was slightly mis-aligned-- although surprisingly close given my measurement methods!) and really get painting.
On the way home from Corey's, I stopped to pick up a wooden dowel, which I will be using for the smoke stack. This was Corey's idea too-- as I said, I was thinking way more difficult that I needed to. My plan had been to use a copper pipe, which would somehow need to be closed off at the top (so rain wouldn't pour down in the cat). With the dowel, not only do I not need to worry about welding, but I can actually include the rivet detailing on the stack, which I thought I was going to need to leave out.
All said, I'm feeling a lot better now about how things will all go together. Thanks Corey!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment