Category

Wood Stuff

Wood Stuff
Oscar, Sophia, and Space Defender
10.27.11 | Permalink | Comment?

Here’s a sign I made for Lisa months ago. It’s not as impressive once you realize that’s just a toy and not an actual gigantic space defending robot holding it, but it’s still decent. I stained it with the same coulour I used on her yarn racks, but I wiped it off right after applying it so that it didn’t set too dark and the burning disappear.

One thing I realized while doing this is that cobra cursive is crap. My day to day hand writing for the last 20 years has been all caps, all printed. When it came time to do the small writing on this I was having a real rough time. Small text doesn’t seem to work out well for me at all.
Wood Stuff
My Three Spocks
10.27.11 | Permalink | Comment?

I made this a couple months ago but haven’t bothered to do anything with it yet, or even post about it here. If you followed my link in a previous post to my Carbon Made profile you might have already seen this. I designed it in Photoshop, then Holly printed it for me and I transferred it onto some basswood which I then burned. I originally intended to sell it for some extra cash, but since I’m working now I’m far less eager to try and profit from my little hobby. I have much less time to do these things lately, and I was thinking I might miss them if I were to sell them.

This is definitely my favourite so far, and more than one person has already expressed an interest in buying one if possible. Someone else said it would be a great shirt design, and I might have to agree. If I saw this on a shirt somewhere, I’d buy it.
Book stuff, Life, Sketchup, Timber framing, Wood Stuff
Cobra Concepts
09.18.11 | Permalink | Comment?

So here’s the just of what’s taken place recently…

The book is finally done! I finished it last week really, but was apprehensive to say anything about it for fear that this was yet another false finish line. For the record, the end was the most painful part, and I am greatly relieved it’s over. Because the book will be printing soon (apparently it takes a month or so to setup, then a month or so to print), and I will be credited for layout and illustrations, I needed to secure a domain I could list in case someone feels like recruiting me for more of this type of work in the future. Fortunately for me, my good friend Jon is fast acting and always willing to help me out. He secured cobraconcepts.ca for me, which will soon be directly linked to my CarbonMade.com portfolio you see in the screenshot above.

On top of finishing the book and setting up my portfolio, I’ve been attending multiple job interviews, doing orientation with ManPower and even working a few days at a shitty job. One would think I was a highly motivated go-getter, but that isn’t the case. In fact, Holly is the one to thank for all the opportunities that have come my way. She’s the one who found the jobs, wrote the cover letters and did her best to keep me positive through the whole process. Although I was incredibly stressed last week, I think things are about to change.

I start a new job on Monday, which in all honesty the only thing I’m looking forward to is the paycheque. I will still do my best, and I’m going to try to stay positive, but I really just want to be swinging a hammer all day. That being said, I need to make money so I’m taking what I can get.

If it wasn’t for Holly I’d only be starting my search this week, and still stressing about not knowing when my next paycheque will come. Now, thanks to her kindness and willingness to help others (especially me), I not only have my last cheque from James coming soon who knows when, I will also have regular weekly paycheques to look forward to.

Money? Lack of Sunday night phone calls?

Twilight Zone!
Wood Stuff
Pyrographic cards
08.23.11 | Permalink | Comment?

When I was a kid both me and my brother had all kinds of neat things we never played with. One of those things was our wood burners. I kind of regret that now, but I can see how when I was Roan’s age I would have rather played hockey or video games. As I mentioned earlier, my mum recently got me a new wood burner, which I then promised to make her something nice with. Although I still haven’t done what I’d like to, I at least got a start on “paying” her back the other day.

It was her birthday on Saturday just passed, and I decided a while ago that I’d like to make her a card out of wood. I originally planned to make her something and frame it, but I liked the idea of a card. I made her the card you see above. It’s made from bass wood and has some copper jump rings for hinges. I messed up the first attempt, but I’m pleased with how this one turned out. I think my mum really liked it too.

Just a week before was Geoff’s birthday, so I asked Holly if I should make him a Green Lantern card (which I thought was his favourite superhero), and she said a Robin card would be even better. I found the above image, and got to work right away. I was excited to be part of the gift (as it’s usually Holly doing all the shopping and card writing), and to have a chance to test my card idea. Unfortunately at the time I was broke, so instead of nice bass wood, Geoff’s card is made from scrap plywood Roan found in his grandpa’s workshop.

It also has homemade hinges I fashioned out of aircraft-grade stainless steel wire, so it should be good up until about 35,000 vertical feet! I also didn’t have time to stain it before I gave it to Geoff, but he brought it over the other day so I could finish it. Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of it before I gave it back, but it basically looked the same colour as my mum’s above.

Holly has suggested that not only should I list my magnets and other things on Etsy, I should also offer a custom wooden card service for people who want something similar. I don’t know if anyone would be interested, or if they were, what I would even charge.

Want your own Custom Cobra Card™ ?

cobrachronic@gmail.com
Animals, Wood Stuff
Pyrographic plaques
08.23.11 | Permalink | Comment?

When I cleaned up the laundromat with my parents and brother, I brought home a bunch of tools my father kept in the office and back room there. Among them was a soldering gun that once belonged to my grandfather. I have soldered maybe a half dozen things in my life, and only twice was I trying to fix or create something. The rest of the time I was just playing.

I decided to use my newly inherited soldering gun to attempt some wood burnings. It was a fairly bad idea. I found it hard to be accurate at all, and impossible to do any fine details with, not to mention its stupid duty cycle of – 1 minute on : 4 minutes off. I managed to make a clock for my shed, but that was about it. I called my mum one day and asked if she still had either mine or my brother’s old wood burning kits. She looked but couldn’t find them, so being the awesome mother she is, she went out and found me one. I promised to get good with it, then make her something nice with it.

I started messing around with it immediately after she left. All I had was scrap wood, so I just made some cartoon-y dudes killing each other with axes and chainsaws (I may post photos of these later… I’m not sure). Once I felt I had the hang of it I decided to try transferring a drawing onto wood, then burning it. I used some designs from Roan’s drawing book, and they turned out so well I wanted to do more. I asked Holly to take me to Michael’s to get some wood and magnetic tape, and then got busy making all the things you see in the top photo.

At first I mostly made insects, but then I had the urge to try some different things. The idea was for me to post all these things on Etsy and see if I could have a self sustaining hobby, but I’ve been too lazy to look into setting that up. It would be cool though, as I really enjoy making things. It’s even better when they are things people like.

I’m not saying I know people are going to like my stuff, but I do have a pretty good feeling some will. I’ve been surprised thus far with the reaction of my friends that have seen them. Most want one, or say they would definitely buy one if they saw them somewhere. But if you know me, you know I think everyone is only ever saying nice things about me or my stuff because they are being polite, and not because they mean it – I have issues.

I took lots of photos of all of these (for when/if I get around to posting them on Etsy), but rather than have this post be a mile long and take six hours to load, I’ve decided to post only the ones that I no longer have (minus the moth, which I’m considering keeping).

The camel above was given to Tony Mike after he saw my little display out in the shed. He thought it was awesome, and although I was supposed to be selling them, trying to recoup material costs, I was so pleased to hear that someone liked it I told him he could have it.

This turtle was given to our friend Laura for her birthday a few weeks ago. She also claimed to love it, and seemed to think I could be doing decent business at craft shows and things like that, or on Etsy. I was just relieved that she didn’t look at it and go “What the fuck is this?… a magnet?… why?”.

And finally, this great white shark was a gift to my friend Dave. He’s obsessed with sharks, and was one of the first people to tell me he thought the stuff I was making was cool. I asked him if he wanted a shark magnet, he said “Fuck ya, I do.”, so I made this specifically for him. Before Dave got out of the driveway his 9 year old son claimed the magnet as his. Luckily they share the same fridge, so they have a few years before they have to settle the ownership dispute.

Expect a lot more wood burning (pyrography) related posts. I’m having a lot of fun with it right now.
Wood Stuff
Stool trek
08.22.11 | Permalink | Comment?

There was a time when I would rest my feet on anything I could reach with my impressively skinny long legs, but that time has come to an end… dead is the legacy of Drill-Press-Foot-Rest, an industrial machine intended for destruction, torn from it’s roots and thrust into the position of comfort administering apparatus…

Thanks to a revolutionary material called: Freedepotwood, and my inability to just sit and relax, I now have a new stool for my ever so important feet. I even went the extra mile and included a sweet pyrographic Starfleet insignia for additional comfort and warp capabilities. Now if I could just sit and relax, I could test it out instead of using it as something to hold my drink and telephone.
The Mighty One, Wood Stuff
Footstool for Felix
08.22.11 | Permalink | Comment?

Recently I discovered the gold mine that is the back of Home Depot. They put all kinds of stuff out there that is mainly scrap, but some things are still very usable. A couple weeks ago I found a large pile of 2″ x 6″ x 42″ pieces of pine, so I grabbed a bunch. First I made a bench which has thus far been used in the shed, but was intended for the yard, then I made this footstool for the newest version of my nephew – Mighty Mobile Felix. He’s started walking on his own recently, and has even taken up sprinting at times.

A while ago, my brother and I discussed how cool it would be if I made Felix a turtle shaped footstool akin to the ones our grandfather had made years ago. I still plan to do so, but the one day I had free Depot wood, and an urge to play with my router so I did this.

I wish I had an enormous workshop.
Roanisms, Wood Stuff
Elast-O-Blast
08.22.11 | Permalink | Comment?

Roan is fairly obsessed with guns and weapons (as most young boys are I think), and I’m fairly obsessed with making things. Sometimes this results in some pretty neat creations. The image above is a perfect example of one. I dubbed it the Elast-O-Blast©. I got the urge to make him one a while ago, but until just the other day I hadn’t seen a wooden clothespin in years. I can’t remember where I found it, but the minute I did, I put it in my pocket and then set it aside in the shed for the next time Roan asked if we could build something.

That ended up being the next morning. I got to work and ten minutes later he was blasting everything in sight. He must have liked it because not only did he show it off to everyone who came by over the next few days, he also left it behind when he went to his dad’s just to make sure it didn’t get ruined. That’s pretty amazing. I also overheard him bragging to his friends “Yea, it’s awesome, and it took us like less than ten minutes to make. We’re going to make a huge one next, and then a bunch more little ones.”. For the record, I’m game for both.

Before any girls start flooding my inbox with naked pictures of themselves because they think I’m amazing, I feel it’s only fair I point out that I didn’t design the Elast-O-Blast©. I borrowed the idea from a very similar design my grandfather came up with when I was a little pain in the ass kid.

Want your very own Elast-O-Blast©?

cobrachronic@gmail.com
Photos, Wood Stuff
Completed Cobrail
07.13.11 | Permalink | Comment?

I’m really behind in my blogging, so today I’m attempting to catch up. I’ve been super busy doing anything I can besides spend time on the computer, but I like keeping track of what I do, so despite it being a nice day out I’m going to sit here for a few hours. So here’s the first of a bunch of posts that I wrote a month ago, then never got around to posting.

The railing got its finishing touches a couple weeks back. As planned, I used the chainsaw to trim the posts, then screwed on some solar light post caps. A few days later, I bought a wood plug making bit an after spending an hour or so making and sanding wood plugs at Holly’s mom’s house, I had to cut some rabbets into the top rails to accommodate the incorrect hangers provided in the kits we bought at Home Depot, then counter-bore some screw holes, screw the rails down, plug the holes, and trim the plugs. It didn’t take long, and it looks great. It’s still not as sturdy as I would like, but it’s so much better than it was before.