A Gentle Rain

In all honesty, I try to be witty about the title of these posts. However, there's a nice gentle and somewhat relaxing rain outside my place right now. So...I guess it's somewhat appropriate. Now...for the update.

Before I get into the main project, the side project of the two mangers are now complete. The only thing they need now is hay. However, the Christ child is not yet here...we still have a few more days of Advent left before Christmas.

My Manger

My Friends Manger

The Reason for the Season

Now...as far as the main project, some progress has been made. I bought material for the cabinet itself. However, I soon realized I didn't buy enough. So, the rest of the cutting will have to be left for another day. If it has not been said, pine has been chosen for the case.

As for the pipes, I drilled holes in the top for the positioning dowel. Silly me, I figured propping up the pipe to the drill press would be the solution...badda bing badda boom! Goes to show I've got much to learn. With my dad's wisdom and guidance, a quick fixture was made to keep the pipe secure while I hand drill the hole at the top.

Let's be honest, I'm still quite an armature. After drilling the holes, I realize they are not all at a depth of one inch as I designed in the computer model. Most importantly, the are not 100% straight into the wood. However, there is always a solution to these matters. When it comes time to secure the pipes in place, and the dowel is jutting out way under 90º from the base of the pipe, I can always decrease the dowel diameter and add a shim. This will most likely be the case. However, as of now, I'm happy the holes have been drilled.

Throughout the week, I prepped a test piece for how I am to paint and finish the pipes. I was very please with the results and learned a few things in the process. Most importantly, I know the steps I will take once I start painting the pipes. This includes the step with the gold leaf, or gilding the mouth of the pipe. I outlined a diamond on the test piece. In reality, the gilding will cover the egg shape around the pipe mouth

Yes, the picture is rotated the wrong way....but you get the idea, right?!

This now leads up to what I have been doing for the past few hours in the dark clouds and gentle rain...sanding and cleaning the pipes! (I know...so exciting!) After I sanded the first one, I looked at the metal ears of the pipe mouth, which were quite dirty as well. I used a brillo-type attachment for my Dremel sander. The results were very pleasing! However, after two pipes, there was no more brillo on the attachment. Still, since I'm so pleased with cleaning up the metal, I plan to find a few more attachments I can do that with and NOT paint those ears. Remember - and this sort of blows my mind - these pipes were made wither IN THE 1920's OR 1930's!!! Yes, I have the honor (one might say) to bring these very old wooden pipes back to life!

Compare and Contrast the Ears of the Center Pipe with the other Ears. Nice, huh?

All Sanded

After sanding all the pipes, I went ahead and placed some wood filler in some of the nicks and gashes of these pipes. This was followed by some more sanding and will be followed by a little more sanding next week before I start the painting process.

Well, I'm going to go enjoy the rest of the evening, listening to the gentle rain. Oh, I have to give a shout out to the Ibis (or what I think is an Ibis) who stopped by to say HI when I was working.

Until next time...

Advent

Though the secular world already considers it Christmas, we are still in the Advent season. We, as Christians, await for the coming of the Christ child. Advent is an awaiting, the preparation for an important person, place or thing. There is a reason I stress a more "liturgical" theme for this post because I have a little tangent project.

I have a life sized baby Jesus statues that has been passed down through my family. When I first received the statues, the manger that belonged to it was in complete shambles. So, I didn't take the original manger. This was about a year ago. Now, as Christmas approaches and I bring out that beautiful statue, I deem it fitting I throw together a manger.

I am making two, the other is for a close friend who also finds his baby Jesus without a manger. The difference, which I didn't realize in the design phase, was that mine is much bigger than his. Therefore, my manger will be a little longer than my friends. I went ahead and cut all the pieces and am still currently gluing everything together.

I'm sure by next week...the last Sunday of Advent, the manger will be ready, filled with hay, awaiting the birth of the Savior, Christ the Lord.

Now, returning to the project at hand. This weekend, I went to look at material options as well as cut the pipes down to size. I noticed that I modeled the thickness of the frame pieces at 1/2 inch. In reality, there is not wood choices that have a thickness of 1/2 in, rather 3/4 in seems to be the standards throughout all options I'm considering. So, I went back to the drawing board and made the corrections to get the new dimensions of the project. So, the only material I purchased was for the grill, which is 1/4 in hard Birch. I will eventually purchase Pine for the frame.

First, the pipes. They are solid wood. So, very simply, I measured the desired length of each pipe and hacked off part of the pipe. Here are some pictures of this process and the result:

Original Pipes

Tops Hacked Off

Final Result

So, it looks like things are moving right along nicely with this project. Next step will now be to clean the pipes and get them ready to be painted the usual silver color like all the other pipes I've done. At the same time, material for the frame needs to be purchased and cut to size.

Until next time...

Grill Design

Well...after piecing various patterns into Photoshop, I finally came up with a good one for this project. It follows my usual "flower" patter as seen on my previous opus models. However, this one displays three fleur de lis symbols.

Fleur de lis is French for Lilly flower (Flower of Lilly). The symbol became closely synonymous in the early Middle Ages for the Blessed Virgin Mary. Their are various depictions of Mary holding a Lilly. As with the three leaf clover of St. Patrick, the three pedals of this symbol is also said to represent the Holy Trinity with the band at the bottom being Mary. The tradition says that without Mary you can not understand the Trinity since it was she who bore the Son. (Information gathered from Wikipedia...what a scholar!)

This pattern will be tough to produce and will take many hours just to produce one. I see myself using various tools, such as a scroll saw, jig saw, drill press and Dremel barrel sander. I will use 1/4" Red Oak for the material and most likely seal the wood instead of painting it. This is similar to the grills on Opus 3.

I may only be able to display one of these models in my apartment. However, I am going to build two. It seems only fitting that I make the project "symmetric" so as to one day place them one day in each corner of a room, similar to a divided facade use by organ builders due to the space and placement of a pipe organ in the specific room.

Well, I should really get to sleep. I plan on buying material and cutting them to size this weekend. Until next time...

And Now for Something Completely Different...

No, it's not Monty Python's Flying Circus. However, it is a new and completely different project than what was previously described as Opus 4. Let me explain...

Lots has happened since my last post. Most notably is that I have moved into my own apartment. After moving into a new space, and settling in, thoughts of decoration come to mind. Above my couch there is an empty canvas.

Couch

A friend of mine mentioned that he had 25 fake solid wood organ pipes that belong to a reed organ that he owns. They were meant to be a false facade for the reed organ, but he is not using them. So, my first thought...what if I used them in some arrangement above my couch?

Fake Organ Pipes from Reed Organ

I soon realized that the pipes are rather large, though still manageable, for the space. The center pipe just fits the length between the couch and the ceiling. So, after some more input and bouncing some more ideas around, Maybe there is another way to utilizing these pipes. Something more artistic maybe...

My previous opus' have been scaled models...obviously. However, now I'm working with 1:1 scale. The benefit is that these pipes are fake...solid wood. This means I can cut them down to size if I so choose. The problem with this is I cannot change the diameter. Since I cannot change the diameter, I can only decrease the length of each pipe so much that it doesn't look realistic anymore.

So, I have decided to use five pipes from the left hand group of the above photo and design a corner display. It will mimic one of those center displays in my previous models. However, the difference is that this is on a much larger proportion. It will be a corner display.

Corner Pipe Display

So, this may not solve the blank canvas above my couch...but there are 21 more pipes to have fun with. Be that as it may, this display stands three (3) feet tall. The pipes are decreased to an overall length (OAL) of 34 inches. The model, itself, is rough. The grill work will look a little more "ornate." I will need to sit down and make a more elegant, yet practical, template. Not exactly sure on the type of wood used, but the thickness will be 1/4 inch. Two (2) inch tall crown molding will be on the top and one (1) inch tall molding will be at the bottom. There will also be some sort of illumination inside.

Remaining Pipes from Original Set After Corner Model Completion

As far as the pipes are concerned, they are old. I will sand them down, prime and paint them a silver color unlike the wooden brown that they are now. I'm contemplating gold leaf or something for the mouth of the pipe. However, this is still up in the air.

Well, I think that's a good update...certainly well overdue. It might not be as adventurous as Opus 4, which I would still love come to fruition one day. However, this project is more feasible, both financial and practically, for me at the present moment. As with all my creations, my Opus', it will be a unique piece of art.

I now end with a performance on a reed organ. This is now the same model reed organ that these pipes have come from. Rather, it's a larger three manual organ. For those of you who do not know, or have not guessed, reed organs are not pipe organs. They utilize brass reeds to produce the note whereas a pipe organ uses air through a pipe to produce the note. That is why these pipes are fake. They are only there as a false facade. It's the same inspiration that prompted me for Opus 1...when someone sees an organ console, a PIPE organ, they expect to see pipes! Ergo, a false facade to appease the audience even thought the music is coming from the reeds inside the console! Enjoy!

Resurrexit!

Just like the mythical Phoenix, the blog as risen from its ashes - a Resurrection of sorts. Why you may ask? Well, life has its twists and turns. I knew at some point I'd return to this little unique hobby of mine. I didn't know it would be so soon. Be that as it may, I'm back at the design board and Opus 4 is going to be a BEAST! Let's start from the beginning, shall we...

When thoughts of designing and possibly building another model came to my head, it was going to revolve around a needle point work that my grandmother is about to finish. It is of a beautiful rose window like the great cathedrals of Europe. I thought to myself, "it would look cool to design a pipe facade to be displayed in front of the work like (you guessed it) the cathedrals of Europe!" Research and inspiration came from the great cathedral at Notre Dame, Paris. After drawing a design or two, I wasn't that pleased or inspired. That is, until, I started doing a little more research.