Krummel Design

Music Video of the Time

2012-01-25T18:33:00.003-06:00

Thought I would post this Neil Young video. I stumbled upon the song while surfing the web and actually thought it was one of my friends bands song! Anyways, Young captures the pulse of the turbulent times here the U.S.A. in this blues riff driven song. He knows what's going on and he also makes use of the video with symbolic imagery. Nice job Neil. Hopefully this Canadian isn't brainwashed by the American Media engine. With this said, thanks Neil for the great song.

Ron Paul 2012 Posters

2011-09-22T14:24:00.002-05:00

Here a few more options I'd thought I would share. They all have the same color scheme with little variances and also the same Ron Paul illustration. I really like the Liberty one myself and the original Restore America Now. Hope you all enjoy.

Ron Paul Poster 2012

2011-09-22T10:39:00.005-05:00

RON PAUL 2012

I don't like to post anything political in nature on my blog but I had to design and draw up a poster for RON PAUL 2012. Vote Ron Paul and restore our great country. End the Fed, End the Wars and we can pave a new path for the U.S.A. which will lead to true liberty and freedom. Ok, I am done with my endorsement! haha

I used a wacom tablet and drew his profile out in Photoshop and tentatively inked it. Once I had something close to what I liked I saved the file. I then brought the drawing into Illustrator where I preceded to vectorize the art and ink in the colors. Add some text and wah lah.

Hopefully all enjoy and I don't get put on the governments terrorist list for supporting Dr. Paul!!!

New Illustrated T-Shirt Design: Valiant Wear

2011-05-20T14:02:00.005-05:00

I thought I would share some of my newest illustrated t-shirt designs. I actually have had these designed and ready to print for a couple of months but I have been busy with work and my house remodeling/yard work. My goal is to release my own clothing brand called Valiant Wear in the next year. I did a lot research and started to form my goals, marketing plan, budget and brand identity. Once I get the capital, I should be able to launch at lest 3-4 designed original t-shirts. I want to only offer 3-4 solid designed t-shirts. I don't want to spend all my money having 6-7 t-shirts that don't sell because of poor designs. Quality over Quantity.

The Red Baron design is my first design of the clothing line. I was designing this to work on some new hand skills and techniques. When I finished, I thought hell, that turned out pretty cool. Then I started design some more t-shirts and thought "what if I could sell these?"

After about 5-6 designs, the Norseman design is the most recent. It actually open up my customer base to MMA type of wear. I am not sure if I want to follow that customer line but if they right opportunities prevail, I could become a small time sponsor locally. I plan to get this design printed in 2 colors: Metallic gold and a spot gold.

As you can see I am keeping the number of colors limited for printing costs. Plus I like to work in only about 2-3 colors anyways. These designs are completely original and I drew all of them using a Wacom Tablet in Photoshop. I tend to work back in forth from Illustrator to photoshop to achieve certain effects. I design/draw to size in photoshop which is 300 dpi at actual print size (15" full chest). Depending on design, I do take the final art to Illustrator and convert to vector and setup a final printing file for silkscreening.

In the mean time, I will be working on more designs and start the printing process. Next goal is to get a website up to sell these bad boys. I hope all enjoy and don't rip of my designs. I'll hunt you down with my hammer and smash you into the next world!!!

Mid-Century Metal Lawn Chair

2011-03-23T10:19:00.014-05:00

This metal lawn chair was sitting in our garden and I felt the need to restore it to it's original condition (as well as I could). These chairs are durable and yet comfortable. My grandmother had a few of these at her place in the country and I remember my cousins and myself often sitting on them. Last time I visited my parents, my father actually repainted a pair in 1950's color schemes. I believe he picked his up at a resale shop. They looked pretty good and I thought why not refinish mine. I believe this chair has been with this house from the beginning, for the house was built in 1955. It's finally getting nice here in S.I., warm enough to spray paint. So I got started on this chair a couple of weeks ago.

This chair had two coats of paint on it, the original paint was a green with white arms/legs. The second coat was a really thick blue. It had surface rust and a few potmarks, but no serious holes or damage. There are a couple of dents but they aren't bad. It took a few nights of stripping the paint off because of the angles and curves in the chairs shape. I scraped and stripped until I was tired of it. I then busted out the wire brush and drill. A little bit of sanding and I was done.

Here is the chair bare metal, not too bad.

The progression, took a bit of time but worth it.

Finished Product.

I sat down in this beauty and enjoyed the evening dusk while peering across my land, thinking, I have a lot of yard work to do.

Illustrated T-Shirt Designs

2011-01-11T11:29:00.013-06:00

For the last couple of months, I have been working on my illustration skills in Photoshop using a Wacom Tablet. Here are a two shirts I finished last month and entered in two different design challenges from Threadless T's.

This was a quick freehand design that I drew pretty fast. I wanted a really different take on a shirt design based on love. I called it Hidden Love. At the time, I just had refinished hardwood floors in my new house. Just one room! I had the pattern of wood grain in my head and this is what came out.

This second illustration I call Tongue-Tied. I know kinda cheezy, but so is most of the designs on Threadless T's. I actually labeled the design Half Windsor. This one took a little while for me to get illustrated. I had trouble with the flowing movement of the tongue. I never said I was a proficient illustrator!

I really enjoy illustrating in Photoshop using the Wacom Tablet. I keep developing my style and hope to really advance my illustration skills. It's really addictive and tedious.

Krummel's Barbershop T-Shirt Design

2010-10-29T12:19:00.008-05:00

I thought I would post this design I did for my brother who is a barber. He was wanting a design made for t-shirts that would have 2-3 colors consisting of red black and possibly gray on white shirts. We were both on the same page as far style and feel. I don't know who influences who on this one! It seems my brother and myself are not to far off in styles we like.

He definitely wanted the shaving razor to be in the design so I made it clearly visible in the center. We also thought it would be cool to put it on the left chest for the front of the shirt too. I really dig this design since it came together quite easily. That's the best when a design comes out quick and painless!

First I developed the type, I chose a type face that matched the turn of the century typography and customized it's shape to have the look of signage used back in the day. I then built the main enclosing shape. I wanted it to have that shield look and the shape of it is from a double sided razor. I added the borders and heraldry frilly elements. The last piece I added was a German eagle to the background to give a little umph and it is fitting for our German heritage.

Here's a version of the design that I envision as signage. Maybe I can talk my brother into having this made into a huge sign!

Let me know what you think, feel free to comment. Just don't get on my bad side! haha!

Skateboard Deck Design Part I

2010-08-16T15:45:00.001-05:00

It's mid August and it has been scorching hot outside for the last couple of weeks. I tend to hide inside during these extreme deadly temperatures! It has literally been 110 degrees with the heat index on few days. So, I usually spend time in the garage or outside if I can working on my bike, working out and or anything else. I have been inside wondering what now? It's not winter where you adjust, it's summer and I look outside the window and see sunshine. What a confusing thing, but I know I could die out there! So I came up with a project for myself, putting together and designing my own board. I recently watched Dogtown & The Z-Boys Documentary and I really got inspired. I highly recommend watching this doc. and even the Hollywood movie Lords of Dogtown which is pretty entertaining. I used to be a skater punk in my misguided youth so this isn't something I picked out of the blue to occupy my time. I really felt the need to skate again. Now that I am old, it will help keep me in shape and hopefully get some leg muscles working.

Here on the left is a new issue of a Dogtown Original design full deck. Back in the time of the Z-boys, they made and designed their own boards. It was this way because the lack of new board manufactures and money. Anyways, watch the documentary! So, I really like the hand drawn/painted design on their boards. It expresses who they are, where they are from and it shows their skater attitude. Locals Only! I really dig the plain wood compared to the full blown graphics that you see now a days on modern boards. So this was my inspiration.

SM (top: Santa Monica)
P.O.P. (Pacific Ocean Pier)
DogTown (Santa Monica-Venice Beach)

I did some research and I also called up one of my friends who is a skater and he gave me advise on where to purchase cheap decks and all the extras. After looking at what I could get, I wasn't really impressed by the boards out there (graphic per say), plus I didn't which skater from which (signature boards). It's been a looooong time since I was up on all this. There are totally different brands than what I grew up with. I decided to design and paint my own deck.

After roughing out some sketches and laying out some designs in Illustrator, I pinned down what I liked and I had my color scheme. This allowed me to purchase white wheels, clear grip tape and the blank deck. Got it all in the mail and I was a happy camper.

Skateboard Deck Design Part II

2010-08-16T14:57:00.017-05:00

First I spray painted the top gloss black, then I used my stencil I made out of beer boxes to add the gray spray paint.

Here is what the top of the deck looked like before I applied the grip tape. I had this idea in my head that it would be a lot clearer and show under neath the grip tape....I was wrong. You can see it but the clear grip tape isn't that clear since it is like looking through sandpaper. Worth a try.

Above on the left is sketch that I ended up scanning. I did have a sketch with the full design but this is only what I needed to work off of in Illustrator. The pic on the right is the design being transferred to the bottom of the deck. I basically covered the back of the design with a graphite pencil to transfer the image to the deck. I taped down the design and traced over it and wha la, an image guide for hand painting the graphic.

The outline on the left in pencil and the beginning of painting on the right.
I used acrylic paints for the bottom design. I started out with white and then proceed to black. When I was completely finished,
I put a coat of crystal clear spray paint over the whole bottom.

The design has a ram, Thor's Hammer, stars, and Iron Cross on it. The ram is based off my tattoo I have with minor adjustments. Behind the ram is Thor's Hammer taken from my earlier icon art of weapons. I add stars, a burst, and diamonds to fancy it up. I added S.I.H.C. (Southern Illinois Hard Core) in the top of the hammer and WAR to the bottom part of the hammer. I used a white pen and mocked it up the text on the design and then I went over it with white acrylic paint.

SK8 or DIE

King Of The Valley

2010-05-28T14:00:00.005-05:00

I guess I am on a Saluki Art kick. This is my King of the Valley Playing Card and I just finished it. Hopefully it will come in handy for future work. The first thing I did was draw out the Saluki in Photoshop using the Wacom tablet. I decided I wanted the face of the dawg come out of the dark with little light. It wasn't as close as I wanted it to be but it still fits the design. From there, I took the face into Illustrator and live traced it. I then proceeded to develop the basic shapes and ornamental borders. I did use some stock vector art of the fancy ornamental artwork to save time. Little bit of this and a little bit of that and a K and pyramid....bam done. Now I have a playing card with no hands to play. I worked off and on this piece. I wasn't really sure if I was happy with it untill today. Hope all enjoy.

Killer CB550

2010-05-27T13:11:00.004-05:00

I wish I could credit this pic, but I don't have the info. It is a bad a$$ piece of machine. Only if I had the inclination, time, patience, and moola to build a bike like this.

Tribal Art Attempt

2010-05-26T14:35:00.004-05:00

The pic above is of a PSD Photoshop file that I started the tribal artwork in. I actually created this for my job and intend to make a few more for release. They will be free to the university public to use. This is one of my first attempts at this kind of art and I think it turned out pretty well.

Sometimes with design, you may be working on web design/building web pages or you might be designing for print. I had been working on web design for a few months and I needed some hands on artwork to level my brain out. I also needed to stir up some creativity, hence tribal artwork.

First I found a photo for reference and started from there. We had a photo shoot about a year ago of this Saluki and we purposely shot the dog straight on for the project. I had plenty of good options to choose from.

I pulled the photo into Photoshop and created a layer to draw my initial sketch of the tribal work. I use a Wacom 15" tablet for drawing when I can. I love using it and I highly recommend it. I also use it for more control of tools in Photoshop too such as the eraser and brushes.

I actually brought down opacity of the Saluki layer so I could see what I was drawing with the tablet. The first sketches took me awhile. I was playing around to get good flowing forms on the face. It is a trick of white and black space. Once I had one side of the face done, I would copy it and flip it over horizontally and line the centers. This is a good basic technique for symmetrical features, plus it saves time.

Once I was close to what I think I needed, I saved a flattened tiff of one side of the face drawing. I then opened Illustrator brought the tiff in and began pen tooling the shapes. I could have used the trace feature but I was correcting lines and shapes while I pen tooled. Plus, I wanted perfect forms.

Here is the finish product. Once I had one side pen tooled, I flipped it over and lined it up. I merged the shapes and now I have a nice clean vector Saluki Tribal Art piece.

I have never really been into Tribal Art such as one would see for tattoos but I do appreciate the more mature and evolved work of Celtic and Polynesian tribal work. It was fun to make and it was a nice exercise for skills. Hope ya all enjoy!

Cassette Tape Art

2010-02-04T15:42:00.012-06:00

Well, its the new year and times roll by fast. Sometimes creativity flows and other times it feels like squeezing blood out of a stone! It's been awhile since I have posted an entry, I have been working on a million projects(many not yet done) in the last month. I was hit with some inspiration that has consumed my evenings for the last two weeks and would like to share with you.

Every year I try to do a piece of art to enter in the silent art auction for the WDBX Ball fundraiser. I always try to design art off of the theme of the ball and have fun with it. This years is the House of Da Blooze. I had two cheesy ideas brewing in my head then it hit me! A cassette tape art of Tawl Paul! Well, actually I thought about imaging Stevie Ray Vaughan since I really am not into blues music and he is the closes artist to it that I like.

Awhile back I saw some artwork done by an artist that I thought was fairly neat. I kept it in the back of my mind as something that I might refer to or try the technique myself later on. He had used this cassette tape idea but his was very simple line work. Anyways, he had a link to another artist IRI5 which you should definitely check out! This guy is phenomenal. IRI5 really took this art to a new level and I thought I would try it out since it is so bad ass. He might have started this new technique?? I decided after starting a Stevie Ray Vaughan (test work) that I would use Tawl Paul since he is a local blues musician and is a legend down here in little ol' C-dale. He also pretty cool and a hell of a nice guy! I think the people bidding at the auction will get a kick out of this work. Oh, yeah, he is also playing at the ball! Double whammy!

Let's move on to the work involved here. First, I needed a pic of Tawl Paul for reference and this isn't as easy as it seems. The only thing I could get my hands on with the time I limited my self to was a newspaper pic. Yuck! But, confident in my skills, I proceeded. I actually started this project only 2 weeks ago and I need to have this piece entered by this Friday!! So I scanned the newspaper pic at high rez of 1000! Then in Photoshop, I used the pic as a template to draw the outline/silhouette of Tawl Paul. This is harder than one thinks! You must capture the essence of the subject in minimal shapes and lines. It should be recognizable but yet flow. Also it will be makes this project a lot easier that way!

Here is what I came up with.

I took the printout and used a light table to draw out the basic outline of Paul. This allowed me to clean up and smooth out the lines. I then taped this outline drawing onto the matte board I was going to use for gluing of the actual cassette tape to. I drew over the outline again pressing the image to the board. This way I didn't have pencil lines on the actual piece peaking threw the tape. Here's the beginning of the piece. I used rubber cement (a lot easier than glue stick which I found out on my SRV test print) outline brush (to apply the rubber cement), scissors, xacto knife, and patience!!!

This project came out pretty good for my first time, it required a lot of patience and skill. I had to glue, let it dry and cut every 10 mins. It was really time consuming. I think it paid off though. Hopefully I get high bids on it and bring the local radio station some money!! All I have left to do is mount it in the Shadow Box I purchased. Let me know what you think!!!
Nate

It's Alive! It's Alive

2009-12-11T14:14:00.003-06:00

Last Sunday I had everything in place on the old 750. New plugs, new oil, clean carbs, new filters, new battery and new gas. I pulled out a can of engine start and sprayed it into the carb filters. I adjusted the idle and tried the electric start. I think I only turned the key for about a minute to see if it would start. I am very impatient with electrical starts. I hate the sound and I'd rather kick it over because I can feel the rotor turning. I kicked the sucker only 5 times and it started right up. I then proceeded to rev the bike cautiously. It sounded freakin' great! Old oil burning off, smoke rolling out the garage, I was in my own sermon that morning! I adjusted the idle down, by the way that little idle screw is hard to get to. My little fingers barely could get back under the seat to reach the screw on carb. I then really revved the shit out of the bike! It was great. The only problems that I saw was that I needed to tighten the fuel line on one carb and the first carb was leaking some fuel out of the top of the bowl. The kick stand on this bike is really bent and the bike leans way to the left. So I think the bowl was at max fill. I am going to test this out though. It's not really that big of deal. So, it runs! Next I am going to get a bike jack and start taking apart that bike. I'll get the engine out and put it into the new frame. So if anyone wants to come over and help me lift this sucker out let me know! I need some muscle!

Here's a pic of the 750 which I haven't posted yet. This was before the carb work was done.

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The owner before me put little handle bars on it and cheap ass mirrors. They didn't adjust the brake line so the front break doesn't work since the line is crimped. When you put smaller bars on a bike, you must adjust the break line, in this case you would need to shorten the line. The seat is has a big rip in it but the frame is good. I might be able to get some money for it on ebay. The tank is actually in really great condition for a '72. No dents on little scratch and natural wear on the paint. It has some surface rust inside but it can be cleaned off and sealed. Most of the parts I'll get rid of but we'll see. You never know!
Next episode tearing apart bikes!

Carburator Rebuild

2009-12-09T14:48:00.006-06:00

One thing about design and engineering that are common is the essential planning and technical steps that are to be executed. I bought an old 72' Honda CB750 for a song and now I need to see if the engine runs OK, if not I am stuck with a killer frame but a crappy old bike. If the engine runs, I can start to design and build my chopper. First, I pulled the carbs off the bike and began to wonder what the hell did I get myself into. My first thoughts about the carbs were to tear them apart and clean them. I also needed to buy air filters to attach to the carbs for the olds ones rotted to dust. They literally fell apart in my hand. The original 750 had an air box which was attached but as you know, mine didn't come with that part. So I have these old dirty carbs that have sat with gas in them for god knows how long sitting on my workbench. I decided hell, I am going to tear them apart and clean them, might as well rebuild them. What a jaunting task I was thinking to myself, since I have never done this before. I began to ask fellow bikers and friends about doing this and I received statements such as "You should leave that to the professionals" "It's easy, everyone makes a big deal out of it", to "rebuilding those carbs and sinking them require a certain zen". Oh shit, back to square one. I trusted my instinct and did it myself. I have ridden a 550 for years now and I have a feel how these bikes run and with a lot reading, I had confidence. I downloaded a complete step by step guide on cleaning/rebuilding these carbs with pics from Hondachopper.com and it was actually quite easy to follow. This saved my arse. The pic above is a small portion of the parts from the carbs in tear down mode. I had to keep all these together in 1-4 corresponding respectively. Sometimes I would get turned around and have to go over my parts to make sure things were in order. I also took pics and labeled each carb. I wish I would have taken a pic of those carbs and their seized up, dirty bowls. It was crazy! So I meticulously cleaned and replaced the carb parts. I even took on part to the car wash and hosed off grime I coated with varnish remover! They turned out beautifully and I even bench sank them. I bought new filters and stuck those puppies on! Then I had to take them off. I couldn't get those dang carbs back on the engine!

The rubber boats that connected the carbs to the engine were so hard and old, it was an endless struggle to get them on! I ordered new ones, (Honda dealership told me they can't get those parts anymore) b.s, I found them on line at Biker Bandit! They have the schematics of all the old metric bikes so you can order everything from a nut to a bolt. Anyways, while waiting on those parts, I bought new spark plugs, battery, and changed the oil/filter. So after all this, I finally got the rubber boots on with the carbs and I was ready to crank her over. When I design either for print, web, or whatever, I always need to know technical elements (size, function, colors, etc.) before I can concentrate on a design solution. Same with this bike, I need to know if the technical elements are there (working) before I can begin my design. Form follows function. Next, a short post on the bike at its current stage.

The Beginning

2009-11-23T08:53:00.006-06:00

I traded my brother for this AMEN Savior frame thinking in the future I would build a new bike, and now it is the future. Pictured above is my garage turned into a spray booth which lasted about a week. It was pretty simple to set up and it saved all my junk in the garage from being covered with overspray of primer and paint. I first had to strip the old paint off the frame which was very little with the exception of around the back springs. Next was prep, clean and sand the putty fills, wipe down of the frame. I decided I wanted more a functional bike that would be on the verge of a rat bike and what I could afford so powder coating was out. In hind sight, I think I should have went with powder coating but it's a little late now. I was inspired by a bare bone, steel frame look and decided to use Hammered spray paint that looks like metal but without the rust. I wonder if there is powder coating that would look like that? Maybe next time. I know powder coating would have been tougher and taken the scratching and such when putting on parts and installing the engine. Since I spray painted the frame, it will be an easy touch up with squeeze of the trigger. I didn't put a final clear coat on because I know I will scratch the hell out of the frame. I haven't decided if I will actually do this yet, I'll have to see how the frame stands up to putting on parts and my desired tear down the bike for a re-coat.

Here is the frame with all painted and pretty, it turned out pretty nice but I know it will be only for awhile, at least I have this pic! These are really cool frames, I can't wait to see how the bike will sit and ride. Like I said, this frame is spray painted so when I weld on brackets and such, I'll have to scrape away paint and clean areas. So, it's a little backwards but I don't know were these brackets and such will be yet. It's not going to be a show bike with chrome and trinkets like what you see on the tube! I just hope the paint doesn't peel off and expose the frame to the elements. I'll just have to wait and see. Having the frame done for about a month, I have been working on getting the old 750 running to see if the engine is all right. The next blog will be about I what I have been doing in that time. Rubber Side Down!

CB750 Chopper Project!

2009-11-19T09:46:00.003-06:00

Long time a comin'! So it's been awhile since I posted and I feel a little shamed but with work, my fiance, and other obligations, my time on the computer is limited. I don't want to post just to post and when I do, I want it to be interesting and somewhat of value. I know, a couple of months is pretty lame. A blog worth following? Anyways, I finally am working on a project that I have been wanting to do for a couple of years now! It will be a project that my take a couple of years depending on luck, finance, and time! Back story please! I have been riding motorcycles for about 5 years or more now and I have a 1976 CB550 Honda that I molded into an old cafe racing bike. If you have no clue what I am talking about, google it. I have been ready to have bigger bike and ride something a little more layed back and with the option of taking my woman on rides. Chopper bike, yeah, that's the ticket! I have always wanted a 750 chopper because they are cheap and I can work on them since they are really close to the 550 bikes. 750 choppers were huge in the 70's and now it seems they are making a come back. Not everyone can afford HD bikes and I personally don't want one since they are all cookie cutter crap. Many of the HD riders I know are so into chrome and don't know how to turn a wrench. Lame oooo's! That's another discussion for later, plus I don't want to hurt their feelings. Building a bike from the ground up involves many processes and patience. Form follows Function which leads to designing a working mechanism (bike) that is roadworthy and reveals my personality and taste. It says, who I am. I know, we here this all the time but it's true. The pic posted above is from an old AMEN 70's add promoting a frame, (that's right the one I have in my garage) and some other parts that were sold specifically for 750 Honda choppers. I have had it for about 2 years now and it is finally going to have an engine in it! I bought an old 72 Honda cb750 for a song about a month ago and I have already began the initial steps to see if the engine is good. I have some more pics but I need to take one more of the frame and I'll post about my process, trials and tribulations of this build. I just wanted to get this going so expect more posts and excitement in the near future. Rubber side down!

Icons and Weapons

2009-07-09T13:13:00.009-05:00

Icons, fun to make and they can lead to other creative inspirations. When I made my header design for this blog, I wanted something that was legible (everyone tends to spell my with a C) and that portrayed my design sense. I really like what worked out and I started making a watermark icon. Once I began, one icon lead to another and then for some reason I was thinking about vikings. Then that lead to Thor, that lead to Thor's hammer Mjölner. I decided to make an icon of the hammer that reflected the style of my header. I was really happy with it and wanted incorporate it into my watermark. So I made a few icons with the elements from the hammer. I really didn't like any of those and ended up liking the first icon I made (the one circled in red). Sometimes your first inclination is right! I still wanted to use elements from my hammer and make other icons and I ended up hammering out more weapon icons.

Here are the weapon icons I progressed to. I had fun making these and they came to me really fast and easy! That was the best part! From left to right: hand and half sword, Scottish Claymore, Roman sword, double sided battle axe, tomahawk, battle axe, Scottish dirk, war hammer, and a couple of shields. I think I am going to make some better shields that have a little more line shape with different insignia. I hope all enjoy! Remember kids, one thing leads to another and the next thing you know is you'll have a bunch of weapons on your hands!

Tomahawk Tri-Pod Build

2009-07-07T11:05:00.013-05:00

Hope all had a happy 4th of July and everyone was safe! I had a long weekend and on this last Monday, I decided to finally finish my project on building a tri-Pod for tomahawk throwing! So this is my patriotic endeavor for this holiday. One might ask, what is the connection, well, back in the old days around the early to Mid 1800's, the frontier-mountain men would gather for rendezvous. At these rendezvous, they would trade goods, drink and catch up with old friends. While waiting for each other to arrive, they had time to have friendly competitions which included tomahawk and knife throwing. These frontier-mountain men showed the early signs of the American spirit (drinking & throwing stuff)! I pay homage and my respect to them by remembering their accomplishments and keeping alive old competitive games. I also shoot blackpowder rifles but that will be in another blog in the future.
So, when I am not on the computer all day designing or sketching out designs, I try to keep my physical body in some kinda shape. Building this tri-pod took a little bit of strength and problem solving! First of all, I tend to be very frugal and use materials that are on hand or from crap I need to get rid of that are taking up space in my garage! I didn't want to buy a lot of material to build this. I have been wanting to throw for awhile but I just never pursued to build or have a tri-pod with a cookie to throw.
Things seemed to really work out with this design and the timing was great. Back in early May, we had a horrible inland hurricane (straight winds over 100 mph) that devastated the counties here in Southern Illinios. A real disaster in which left many people without power for up to 2 weeks. Trees down everywhere! I thought to myself, free wood! I ended up getting two smaller soft maple cookies from a co-worker and I started from there. After researching on these tri-pods (call to dad, Youtube, friends advise) I drew up a doodle of the plans. I had a young elm tree that fell next to my house a couple of days later after the storm. Free poles! Perfect, keep it rustic! I cut down the three 5' poles from the elm to make the legs of the tri-pod and I already had extra chain/hooks, lumber for the rest of the design. I ended up buying only a large 5/8"x12" bolt/nut to connect the three poles. I also bought a flat wood bit to drill holes through the three poles for the bolt to slide into. I basically built this monster in about 2 hours in the garage and carried to the back yard which gave me a little work out.
Funny how things work out and with a little patience, foresight, and design, one can build a target to throw sharp objects at!

Check out the video below of me throwing for the first time.

Welcome

2009-07-01T14:43:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my blog about my creative endeavors. Here you will see my designs, artwork and whatever suits my fancy. Enjoy!