Cool Stuff William and Alex Are Doing

This week we have been in a making riptide! The strong current of overpowering creativity and project immersion has come from William and Alex, but the tide takes us all in, one way or another. Geoff and I have both been pulled in, helping with sewing, programming, welding, and devising a means to extract air from vacuum molding. What's in the mix? William finished his pirate breeches {britches?}... a sewing project that has had us both at our wits end, and were we ever elated to sew the last button on that one! Simultaneously, he is making a sword, a flintlock pistol, two scabbards (one for Alex,) a waistcoat, modifying shoes, and organizing a Halloween party. The weapons are reproductions (leaving out the functioning component... not a sharp sword, not a firing pistol.) He is creating molds and formulating compounds to make his own parts, like the trigger, the frizzen, the flint. He models parts and patterns for sewing, for wood working and for molding, on the computer, and then comes up with ways to make his ideas in fabric, wood, plastic, epoxy, or vinyl. He's gotten quite expert with his painting methods, too. Many of his wood pieces look just like brass, or steel parts. Alex was invited to a Viking Festival, and decided to go suitably attired and armed: He made a Viking shield and sword, then he hammered steel plates into a Viking helmet, riveting and welding the parts together. Geoff assisted on the TIG welding, and I applied myself to making a Viking tunic, and belt bag.

Our poor neighbors have endured some long {late} hours of workshop frenzy, and the house looks like a... {searching for a poetic phrase}. The house looks like a ginormo mess! Those are the less dignified admissions, and I only mention these to be honest, transparent. I am not a great housekeeper, but I try. I cannot "do it all," but this time, I let go of worry and shame and just enjoyed the ride. I sewed tunics, britches, bags, and hats, and I found glue, buttons, and new ideas, and ordered pizza, and washed enough dishes to get through the day, then went back to braiding hair, modifying loafers into pirate shoes, sharing goats, making hat shields. I watched Geoff direct lessons in TIG welding, and filing steal, then reading Full Metal Alchemist comics with Max and Maria, before unraveling the mysteries and deficiencies of MasterCam. We were all in the current, together, and it was a great feeling. The creativity was an overpowering tide and we all took it for an exhilarating ride!

Now, would you like to see some cool stuff? Here we have some works in progress, second-tries, do-overs, and successes, too...

William's blade and the start of the first hand guard, which partially failed, and he had to start over with a new approach.

Apoxie Sculpt flintlock hammer, ready to be drilled and sanded into shape.

Rough cut of flintlock pistol. African mahogany.

Measuring the fitting of the trigger guard.

Trigger mold... "the finished master for the trigger guard."

The chopsticks are called sprues.

The rebuilt sword guard, glued back together, this time with biscuits.

Max and Mister Foo, checking out the anvil.

With an anvil, the children are another step closer to completing their forge!


Trying the hammer.

Measuring seams on the britches.

Details on the sword Alex made. Ask him about aluminum backed plumbing tape! Stuff is amazing!

How many hits to turn steel plates into a helmet?

Helmet panels.


A lot going on. As usual. {By the way, this is our "dining" table.}

William designs things on the computer, then takes his patterns to either wood, fabric, or metal. In this case wood... shaped, and sanded, then painted to look like metal.

He made flaps and I sewed them to the thrift shop loafers, and with the buckle he has a whole new look!

William continues to work on the sword.

*Steel Aluminum blade and the wooden guard {hilt?} that he began in the first image.

*Correction. William was flattered that I thought it looked like steel.

Viking Festival time! Gauntlet time!

I added a pouch, and Maria and I added the pocketful of posies. Alex is a Viking with a cell phone, and wallet.

The medallion is Appoxy Sculpted, the armor is home-hammered!

Alex and Sarah bear their shields.

Okay, that's all, for now.

I am going to fold laundry!