March 2010 Archives

Below is my first beginner project that I created on my lathe. It's a little picture heavy, but some of you might like the process. I start off with a 0.375" diameter steel bar stock. Using a parting tool and a live center (the thing that's holding the steel bar stock on the right), I cut my stock down to a manageable level.

After cutting down to size, I use a compound slide to orient the cutting head to allow me to cut a 45 degree taper into the steel.

Here's the finished taper.

I then knurl it for about 0.4". Here's the finished knurl.

I then reverse the grip on the steel stock and lathe the other side. The result is below! The diameter of the smaller portion is 0.112".  My lathe can create parts that have a tolerance of a thousandths of an inch, 0.001".

I then thread this portion, and the result is below, my first completed project, a thumbscrew! From left to right: The original screw, only accessible by a flathead. Boo. Next, a test fit made out of 6061-T6 aluminum. Basic, no knurling. And on the right, my final steel thumbscrew, with knurling! Final dimensions on the right screw: width = 0.112", length of threaded portion = 0.142", thumbscrew width = 0.374" 

Well, I finally had some time to sit down and do some turning on my lathe. Check out these pictures below! We start off with 0.25" diameter 6061-T6 aluminum bar stock.

Check out this interview with some of the crew from Percy Jackson to see what we did on the show! Hydra, water works, and lightning!

I received a nice addition to the Aruna Hobby Collection yesterday.

Can you believe it's March already? Wow.  Two exciting months into 2010. I had a small number of donations for the month of February, and am sending out The Art and Science of Digital Compositing to Marc L., from PA!  Thank you, and the three other donations for the month of February.  I've decided to keep the donations open, but I won't be prize giving until the end of the year, I think.The month of February was an experiment!

Work is progressing slowly on my current show. This is a summer release, so I'll be working for a while up to its release in August (I think?). Slow and steady, for now!  Did you all catch Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, in theatres now! It was a decent kids flick, a little more sunshine than a Harry Potter film, since that franchise has taken a turn towards the dark side.  Percy is a little more sunny. Who knows if it will have a sequel, but that's the hope, I hear. VFX were good. Everything seemed to tie together well.  The shots that I worked on include a couple of the Hydra breathing fire shots directed at Percy (but not the waterwall stuff), as well as a decent chunk of sky replacements while the crew is up on the Empire State Building. Trivia: NY is all CG projection for a majority of the shots. The big stuff that I worked on was the water exploding sequence on the rooftop with Luke and Percy.  One was the initial water explosion and the subsequent helicopter pan of the water around its environs. Environments were, again, projection within Nuke.There's a lot of detail that I put in that you can't see on one viewing, which is a shame!  Once the BluRay comes out, I'll be putting those shots up for your scrutiny. The interns that we had last year are credited in the final roll at the end, which was great to see!