Plumber's nightmare

The whiteboard for the Multicam boardroom project needed a pen holder. It needed to fit in to the theme and attach to the wall. I thought about it and sketched a bunch of ideas in my book before coming up with one that I liked. It would resemble one of those vacuum tube deals where messages were sent through pipes... or perhaps a pipe system for carrying voices to the next compartment. What it really needed was pipes and rivets, some Victorian style cast brackets... and at least one pressure gage for good measure.  I dug through my bin of leftover plumbing (from past projects) and discovered I had enough pieces on hand to do the job. I measured everything up and then designed some flanges and bracket pieces to be routed out of MDF. The rivets I had already done using 30 lb Precision Board. I loaded everything into the truck and headed out to the worksite to put it together.

I measured and cut and glued the pieces together. Then I glued on the rivets and laid on a coat of  primer to add a little texture and age. It looks kind wild but should fit right in to the room and work like a charm. It is probably the most elaborate pen holder - at least in these parts. I've yet to add a LED light to the top of the penholder. (its the wide pipe with the side cut out of it)  The gage has to be fabricated. It too will have a LED light inside. This conglomeration of pipes and doodads will mount to the wall tomorrow after the glue and paint have set real good. It's the fanciest pen holder I have built to date.

-dan

Heavy lifting

The receptionist's desk has some pretty heavy duty robotic arms incorporated into the design. The concept called for a heavy hydraulic ram on each arm. Today I designed the cylinders and was pondering what to put on them in the form of a casting relief. As I thought about something witty to put on it I thought about the owner of the company... my good friend Sean. As with every owner of a private company, he is often still working long after everyone else goes home. In short they often do the heavy lifting required to make things work.  I decided I would incorporate Sean's name into the cylinders as SeanCo - a fictitious company.

I created the logo in Illustrator and then imported it into EnRoute. The cylinders were created using the revolve function of the program and the letters were added to the relief. The file only took minutes to create. Each cylinder will be machined in two pieces from 1.5" 30 lb Precision Board. Then they are glued together and lastly I'll add the hose detail and fasten them to the mounting hardware which was less expensive to buy than create from scratch.

The embossed logo is a fun way to personalize the project and also add some believable detail in a hurry. 

It's all about the details...  :)

-dan

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are always looking for new ways to use our MultiCam. We are also looking for creative ways to incorporate 'signs' into every aspect of our projects and in the process further our client's brand.. It is all about advertising in unexpected and unusual ways... 

As I designed the MultiCam technical center I looked around for every possible way to incorporate their brand. The big things were easy to think of. They were obvious. The little things we are still adding as we go. One subtle touch was to include an 'M' in every corner block on every window and door. It would make the finishing carpenter's job easier and faster, offsetting the extra money the painter would require. The end result is a custom touch all through the offices. The routing file took seconds to design in EnRoute. The pieces were routed from scrap pieces of 30 lb Precision Board we had laying around. It's a nice touch for little cost or effort.

The MultiCam facility also has windows in many of the offices on the hallway side. I designed a simple moulding that will be incorporated in between the double paned glass. There are five inserts which only took minutes to design and a few more minutes to route using 1/2" MDF. 

I also routed round medallions featuring the 'M' which will be set into the top molding of the wainscoting in the entry - just like in the boardroom.

In this case we are incorporating a letter of the alphabet. The pattern could easily be some other theme. A leaf , butterfly or some other simple motif could just as easily be inserted creating a one-of-a-kind theme through an office or house.

Imagine the possibilities...

-dan

Day two and three...

With the heavy lifting out of the way I could start to do the finer details. I wanted to do a section of the wall to a more finished state to make sure I liked it. These projects are done by eye and not so much from plans. I used Coastal Enterprises FSC 88-WB primer to introduce some texture to the large pipes and on the wall (like I had done on the beams). It was applied with a 1.5" brush in a random pattern. It was a tedious job but well worth the effort because of the subtle texture generated. I also tested the distance between rivets on the wainscoting. The Rapid Texture generated in EnRoute looked fabulous on the wall in full scale as did the small 'M' medallion which will repeat in every panel around the room.

 

The large sono tubes installed like a charm and immediately gave scale to the project. The finished project will be very hard to photograph as you simply can'y get back far enough to include more than three ribs. The room is best experienced in person. It will look far better when the curved ceiling is in place.

Day three saw the installation of the sono tube on the second side. I installed all the baseboards and got a good start on the wainscoting and more paint. Today I spent the day seismically anchoring the beams in place - five steel braces and three structural cables for each beam as per the engineer's instructions. There are no worries about these beams coming down! Then I taped off and masked the work I had done in preparation for the fellow who has to spray everything above with a fire proof flocking material as per the fire code. 

I'll be back on the project on Friday and hopefully make good progress on the wainscoting and other details. In the meantime it's time to do some more designing of routing files and then keep the MultiCam busy.

-dan

Day one of the build...

Every project begins with a before picture. This is what was there as we arrived. The painter was pulling his hoses out of the room as we walked in... the paint still wet on the walls. The ladder covers a large hole in the floor, cut to bring the electrical and electronic hookups to the table. It will be filled in later in the week we are told. In the left corner is a box built to go around a pipe - a surprise to us but easily fixed.  The ceiling beams are three inches lower than the plans indicated... another easy fix. I have no doubt we'll find a few more surprises as we go.

Peter and I first measured things out, then looked for the backing which was put in place to fasten our beams to. Once our layout was done it was time to start fastening in the uprights... after I cut two and a half inches off the bottoms of the themed uprights to account for the lower beams. Then we used a drywall lifter to hoist the beams into position. They weren't made of steel but they were almost that heavy! 

Since the air conditioning was not yet functional and the electrical far from complete we operated in warm temps and temporary lighting. Progress was relatively quick and smoother than I expected - especially for a first day on the job. We had enough time at the end of the day to install the end base board, one piece of wainscoting and the submarine door (white board).  I couldn't resist taking a few minutes more to install the 'M' medallions on the beams.

Because of the precision I can achieve when designing with EnRoute and of the cutting on the MultiCam everything fit perfectly as it should.  I was more than pleased when it was quitting time. The room had changed dramatically in only a few hours. The heavy beams went up without incident. And the heavy lifting is done for this room. Tomorrow I'll be doing lots of cutting and fitting, painstaking work, with lots of details to install. The room is going to look as cool as anything I dreamed!

-dan

First load out the door!

This week has been fun. Our son, Peter is on a break from university and he's helping out in the shop. Peter worked for us for more than 14 years. Awesomely talented he can do pretty much anything he puts his mind to. He decided to become an animator about 10 years ago and did well. Now he's changing gears again and wants to work with high school kids. To achieve this goal he is studying to become a math teach and is just finishing his third year of studies. Although much has changed in the ten years since Peter went on to other things he picked up the tools and it was like he never left. It's almost scary how much we think and work alike. There's been lots of laughs this past week and lots of work done too!

Although it looks like there is lots to do the receptionist's desk is coming along nicely. Both lamps are now ready for paint and many other pieces are cut and ready for assembly.

The end table/lamp for the waiting area is also well under way. The steel work is now finished and much of the assembly done. The cabinet folks will do the twin table tops to match the desk. It's a very fun piece that will add life to the corner of the room.

Today was also the day the first load of pieces were strapped to the trailer and we headed down the freeway to the job site. On the way we picked up the table top which looks fabulous! I figured the safest place to haul it was on the top of the table base. We arrived without incident.

Bright and early tomorrow we'll load up the trailer one more time with a whole bunch more pieces. In the afternoon we get possession of the boardroom at long last. Friday we'll be starting the assembly process...  I can hardly wait!!!

-dan

Happy day.

We made good progress today but rather than show that I wanted to share another photo which means a lot to me. My five year old grand daughter Phoebe often comes to my shop to 'help' me.  She's been a regular since she was days old.

I had saved a large bin of cutouts from routing the beams just for her. I had placed them near the door of her big blue and purple playhouse which lives in my shop. She discovered the big box last night, went to the tool box and got a felt pen, then disappeared for a while inside her house. She came out with a large stack of happy faces drawn on the circle pieces. She asked me to pick a favorite which she then placed on the beam 'for decoration.' Although it won't stay there permanently I do love it. I'll have to convince her that I don't want it to go away from my shop and instead we'll screw it to the wall to smile on me and all who come to my shop for years to come. 

The walls of my shop and studio have many such treasures dating back to when my kids were small. They make me smile.

-grampa dan