medieval Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 I got a job to make a buffalo skull to fit over a harley horn cover. It took me three tries to develop a pattern. Lots of fiddling. Of course I underbid the thing, but I'm happy with the results. More to the point the customer is happy with it. I have welded it to the stock horn cover, and painted it since these pics. Sheet metal work is as much fun as blacksmithing. :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Einhorn Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 Very nice. You might consider making a bunch and selling them in American Iron Magazine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Ameling Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 Great little project. And that sheet iron pattern for the skull is the really tricky part. It reminds me of the Longhorn Steer head I forged up and Jay Hisel then fabricated/blended into a sissy-bar for the one guy's bike. I was kind of concerned about those SOLID iron horns sticking out the sides, but the owner of the bike didn't care. He loved it. And then there was that larger than life sized deer skull/anters that Jay and I made. I forged up the antler tines from solid bars. Jay worked out a sheet iron pattern to form the skull out of. Then we blended and welded it all together. I had brought in a deer skull to help get the curves and sizing worked out more realistically. After sandblasting to clean, we gave it a baked on powder-coat CLEAR finish. It really catches the eye and light/sun hanging in the peak of the guy's house over the front door/porch. Fun projects. Mikey p.s. And guys love their bikes! We did a number of custom accessories for them - pegs, stands, sissy bars, light brackets, etc. Jay even designed and built a mini-chopper - powered by a 16 horse B/S engine that could do 90+ (before the sweat no longer evaporated from Jay's forehead). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 Nicely done! I agree it looks marketable to me. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yance Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Too cool! That's a great job on the skull. I'm pretty sure you'll be making several more of those in the near future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medieval Posted August 7, 2009 Author Share Posted August 7, 2009 I guess I"ll have to make another one......But I don't think that I can cut it, shape it, fit it, weld it, grind it and paint it in less than a day. What is your shop rate??? :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragons lair Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 8 hr day Hmmm. $60 an hour for production work. Up to double that for exotic or design work. Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beth Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 love the skull medieval - you got to charge for that stuff... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welder19 Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Very cool! You'll get faster the more you do. Could always send it out to get chrome plated if your gonna make a few, alot of guys just gotta have chrome everything. Me personally, I would paint it to look natural, bone white. welder19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Ameling Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 There are some projects you just do ... for the love of it. And it's sooooo hard to come up with a price for that work. Jay used a type of powdercoat paint on the bike parts we made. When baked on, it looked like the parts had been Chrome Plated. Interesting stuff. Mikey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 I guess I"ll have to make another one......But I don't think that I can cut it, shape it, fit it, weld it, grind it and paint it in less than a day. What is your shop rate??? It won't take you a full day even for the second one let alone the 50th. You have your patterns yes? A few specialty dies to speed shaping and a jig for welding and they'll be finished in prifitable time. If you want to that is. Often making something you've put so much time and care into making into a production item takes the desire out of it. Then again having a paying craft where you can call the shots is it's own reward. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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