One in the eye for the God of Soldering

We usually say a prayer, or if its a difficult piece make an offering, to the soldering god before applying heat to solder... But, even then, the God of Soldering is capricious...

So, I wondered if there might be an alternative and as part of my new piece, I've been experimenting with 'mechanical silver'. I found a Watchmakers Tap and Die set on eBay which has allowed me to connect silver tubing together without the need to solder.
There's something very satisfying about turning silver tube into a threaded screw, especially when you can spin the die off it at the end... That being said, watch our for enthusiasm, I've already broken a tap...make sure you match the right hole size to the tap.

Here are a couple of pictures of some of the early detail of my new, mechanical, piece.

Astrolabe

I'm posting about another project I've been working on. This one has been on the go for some time and was something I started around the middle of last year. It stemmed from the work I did on the Organo-Box and the Leaf Box which you can find on some of my previous posts. This project was intended as more of a challenge to create something a bit more interesting.

The picture below shows the box; I photographed it in my hand to give you a sense of scale.

 The lid is fabricated from four separate copper elements with the three segments partitioned by silver struts and brought together in the middle by a silver ring. I made a silver stone setting for the center of the lid and set a small piece of amber in it.

 The box is opens to revel its contents. An Astrolabe, is is an elaborate inclinometer historically used by astronomers, navigators and astrologers. Its many uses include locating and predicting the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets and stars, determining local time given local latitude and vice-versa, surveying, triangulation and to cast horoscopes.

 This photograph shows the astrolabe removed from the box and allows you to see the wooden inlay I made for the base. Its made from a piece of Beech which I sourced from a local hardwood timber farmer.

 And finally, here's a photograph of the astrolabe itself in more detail. I calculated the marking and gradations for the copper disc and corrected them to be correct for where I live. I then took the data file to a local engraver and had the copper disc engraved on both sides. This turned out to be a bit of a nightmare as my software and his were not fully compatible and this resulted in the need ror me to go back in and modify most of the lettering and the major lines to allow the engraving machine to correctly lay it out.

Almost There..

I think at long last, I can begin to see the end of this project. It's taken a little longer than I had planned, but that's really because the real world keeps interrupting SmithingWorld...

Today, I managed to solder the mushroom to the lid and refine the join between the lid and the pod features.
I've taken a few photos to give you an impression of how the pot looks now. I've decided to rivet the bug to the pot rather than risk any soldering accidents at this late stage. The God of Soldering is very capricious and it is best not to tempt favour...

But,  before I can attach the bug, I'll need to finish the pot so there is no polishing 'halo' around it once I've finished. I'm planning to have a white silver finish internally but have yet to decide on a matt or shiny finish externally - over to you for suggestions.

                      

The Revised Lid

Well, your comments cam in like a tsunami and I've taken a lot of time to wade through them all and decide on which advice to take AND using this advice, I've modified the pot lid to make it look less flat and rigid and to try to make it fit in with the rest of the piece.

Using repousse techniques, I've put a few 'dents' into the lid. The impression I'm going for is that something has got inside and has started to undermine or overwhelm the pot from within. Ideally something a bit damp and mouldy which has provided a good medium for the mushroom.

I've also continued the nibbling theme from the pot onto the lid to convey the impression of a small bug nibbling and wriggling in and out of the pot.

So this is how the pot looks now, awaiting assembly and polishing. The next step is fixing the mushroom to the top...

More Changes

I've been working on adding the 'nibbles' that need to go into the top of the main pot to complete the eaten effect and before I move onto 'stressing' the lid to reflect the internal decay and external bug attack;

 I've also added another picture of the new version of the mushroom which gives a better view of some of the details on this bit...

A Smaller Mushroom

I've taken onboard the advice I received after the last post and here is the resulting 'smaller' mushroom. It's clumsily 'Blue-Tac-ed' down for the moment...

The Mushroom Pot

I finally managed to get back into the workshop this weekend, despite the 6 Nations, Superbowl and being a 'Belay Bunny' at the climbing center.

This is a quick test assembly of what I'm starting to call the mushroom pot. The only thing missing is the little copper bug which will be on the front nibbling another hole.

I'm not sure about the length of the stalk and would welcome feedback from my faithful followers... Should it be a little shorter?