Tusken metal parts experiment

[oota goota]

amazing work blax! Hey is that a wood working lathe you're using? Looks like it turns up ali nicely. well done make very tasty

[Blaxmyth]

Thanks Oot!

Yep, wood lathe, although a very heavy duty one. Just using some old wood chisels plus a few custom gouges. Aluminium turns nicely so long as you don't force the cut. Plus making stuff by hand is so much fun and super cheap.

[badges2nz]

Wow, very nice work there blaxmyth, i like your finishing techniques

[Blaxmyth]

Today was very satisfying.

I cast a large piece for the snout, using extra metal so that its weight would cause it to fill the mould cavity properly. Then a rough sanding on the linisher, cutting the teeth with the bandsaw and polishing on the buffing wheel. Next step is to cut the snout to length and tap a couple of holes for mounting to the mask.

I was reluctant to use the bandsaw, but the blade is very blunt and needs replacing anyway. It worked well enough that I might be able to cut the slots in the eye stalks with it.

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[MattG]

Great metal pieces! (...and awesome photography too, BTW).

[Blaxmyth]

Thanks for those kind words, Matt. The photography is just the iPad and the kitchen bench!

Well, the bandsaw proved to be a real cracker today. I made a jig to hold the eye stalks and was able to cut the slots and file them clean with no trouble at all. Really pleased with the results.

Next step is to fibreglass the mask and screw the metal parts onto it before covering it with the strips of cloth, etc.

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[badges2nz]

Wow, that is coming along very nicely, might have to put an order in for one

[Blaxmyth]

Cheers, badges, thanks for that.

Test fitting of the spikes, etc. The eyes are just held in place with zip ties, but will probably wire them in place when I've flattened the face plate to prevent that cross-eyed appearance.

Next step is to beg some leather from Evan so I can wrap the mouth part, and then some thicker leather for wrapping the snout.

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[Blaxmyth]

Update on recent work.

I had some leather in a drawer, sourced from an op shop, probably. It was very thin, possibly goat skin. I glued a few darts in to bunch it up to get the proper bunching up in the mouth.

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Glued the leather around the outside of the snout, leaving enough to tuck inside.

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Not sure what's going on - keep getting asked to log in. Must be Friday gremlins. More to come.

[Blaxmyth]

The string was added to allow me to pull the leather into the mouth opening and adjust the various wrinkles and bulges.

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Pulling the strings tight prior to clamping them while the glue sets.

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Teeth (?) attached with a cable tie through a hole drilled diagonally. Some more goat skin added around the eyes and tusks.

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