There are just some things in life that you have to file away and never, ever touch again.
It has been two weeks since the last ENGI homework was due, and I, as usual, walked into the OEDK on Sunday, bu this time feeling quite confident that I can have a good night’s sleep– I’d already drawn and plasma cut my diamond.
Yeah let’s go back a bit. Somewhat proficient in Illustrator by now, I found an owl image and traced it using the curve tool in no time. Then I sat back in my chair, looked at my owl in my diamond, and wondered, how on earth is this going to plasma cut?
Unless you want an owl and 3/4 of a diamond…
Changes were in order. With the scissors and join tools in my hand, I set about creating an outline of my entire design so that it would plasma cut as one single piece.
There’s my diamond owl
And, after running to and fro and to and fro a couple between the computer lab and the Machine Shop (sorry Joe), I finally managed to make a path on Torchmate that reflects my actual design. (Kids, remember to join each and every one of your segments!) Then, CUT!!!
Out of the murky depths of the gigantic cookie cutter…
Owl need post-processing
So yup, we’re up to date. Sunday night, I picked up my lil’ owls, and got down to the real grind.
Hearing that the angle grinder is amazing but also creates scratches, I opted to file and sand my piece the old-fashioned way. So I spent the next 4 hours laboring away over those diamonds. What can I say? Creating a gem takes work.
I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves…
Testing filing and sanding (from 50 to 220 to 400 to 1000 grit)
File away, file away
It makes a difference!
It makes too much of a difference! (aka the owl’s chest curvature is filed down too short so I had to process the third piece I was kind of hoping to avoid)
Owl be happy if this turns out
In life, some things just come up short, so always have a plan B. My fingers still ache as I type.
With a combination of filing and sanding and flossing (essentially poking into every corner with a flat/triangular/cylindrical file or folded strip of sandpaper), I finally smoothed out both outer and inner edges as well as the surface.
Next comes the fun part: spray paint. I covered the uncolored areas with tape and spray painted over the pieces. Then I looked at the clock. Maybe it’s time to head back and sleep. I’m no night owl.
Hello beautiful
Let’s see, the cost of this thing would be… $5 materials + $5 machining + $20/hr * 6 hr = $130. Three for $130, I suppose, which is like 40 bucks per piece. Would anyone buy it? Well I’m keeping it, and hopefully owl not be doing this again. Limited edition. Hmm… how about we double the price?
