My best friend just go married a few days ago. Her husband asked me before the wedding to make her this goat piece. (She really likes goats.

His specs were something 3-6 inches tall, two goats, one girl, one boy, facing each other, heart behind them, and a base plate with their names and the date of the wedding.

I put him on "stand-by" because I had no idea if I could even do it, but I was happy with the results I got.

The first thing I did was find a suitable picture......coloring book drawing, and had a friend downsize it to the correct dimensions. One smaller for the girl goat, and one larger for the boy goat.




Don't fret too much! I gave the girl goat horn and beard shave on the light table. For the process I used, I put these original prints on the light table and traced them out.




The next thing to do was to anneal the sheet steel blanks. I used approximately 16 gauge material.




After that I taped (instead of rubber glue because I don't have any,) the drawings onto the blanks. I used my reppousse hammer to chisel-cut the blanks out. After the blanks were cut out, I filed off all of the rough edges.




Then I used chasing and reppousse to raise and lower the goats to make them more real and 3D. I also added eye lashes to "MiLady Goat."





I left the tabs on the bottom of the feet so that I could rivet the goats to the base. Ohhh yes! The base! The base was 1/8-inch steel plate something like 5"x10" if I remember correctly. I cut off the corners, annealled, and chamfered the base. Here's a sneak peak!




Here is where I got enventive. The husband (Paul,) had told me to stamp his name and the bride's name (Nicole,) into the base. His plan was to put this piece on their reception table, covered, so that the bride would not see it until she came into the reception hall and uncovered it. So, I asked Paul how they would be sitting at the reception table. He said that Nicole would be on his right, and he on the left. I then emailed Nicole, and told her I was working on a surprise for Paul for the wedding, and asked her if she could send me a picture of her signature saying "Paul and Nicole." She complied without question! I used this signature on the base and then stamped the wedding date into the base.



Finally I had to forge the heart that would go behind the goats. I used 1/2-inch round for this, and emplemented mortise and tenon joinery.



I finished with thorough hand-sanding and clear coat. Oh yes, the base has three, 1-inch long pieces of 1/4-inch square migged to the bottom so that it always sits perfectly flat. And now for the final photo run!


















I was quite pleased with the results although there is always room for improvements. As an slight detail, I also used heavy copper rivets to fasten the goats to the plate. They are pretty much hidden from view, but do add a touch of detail.

Thoughts???

Ohhh wait! I do have a picture of the copper rivets!

looks like a fun project, nicely done. how did the bride like it?

Dave, you amaze me. Very nice and something that they will treasure for a long long time. Well done.

You de Man Dave! Very well done and I won't even quibble about does having horns and beards. This is an outstanding piece of work, they will treasure it as will their children and grandkids, it's an heirloom, no question.

Frosty The Lucky.

Dave you have skills, especially for a young'un. I don't think anything you do will surprise me, did you stamp it ?

That looks really sweet! I am sure they will love it!

Thanks guys! I really put some effort into this one, as it was a very special piece for me as well as for them.

It is stamped FFF in the back right hand corner. I thought stamping the front would throw off the ballance between the names and the date stamped front and center.

Well you have to know the bride! She's not the best at conveying feelings openly, but I think in her own way she was very pleased with it. She got a picture of the groom, herself, and me with her in the middle holding it.

You've done a great job there Mate, well done...

Very nice! I love seeing things come alive like this, going from rough cut outs to all the little finishing details.

by the way Dave its time to update the blog. I bet a new cement floor will make the shop look different.

looks great! good job :)

Really nice work ! I am sure they must love it!

Very nice. I have some friends who just had a sheep/agricultural themed wedding and they would have loved something like this.

Yeah Martin I've got to get back to the blog! The concrete is great! I'll try to get a picture of the pad before we move equipment back. I ordered a bunch of casters so I can just weld casters onto heavy things and roll them back into place.

Very well done indeed, though like Frosty I have some experience with goats and the difference between male and female is mainly based on the silhouette *below and aft* the belly.

The picture you used looks like a "sanitized" kids book.

HOWEVER it is an excellent version for what you were wanting to do!

Yeah! We've had goats and have been around them. I didn't figure an anotomically correct one was necesssary though! :D

I did just use a coloring book drawing as a simple silhouette was all I needed/wanted. I went through quite a few options but the one I chose was the only one that didn't look too "cartoonish," wasn't too "detailed," and wasn't too scary looking either.

"wasn't too scary" is the correct look in that particular case. I like how the slight 3-d effect really makes them "pop"!

ISTR my 1939 copy of "Geschmiedetes Eisen", Fritz Kühn, had a forged goat in it from a zodiac he did. I'll have to check tonight. It may be paginated differently than the more modern re-print.

(When I married my wife her best friend had a goat dairy and she was the "vacation milker" for them; for which I am so ever thankful as she since then she has *NEVER* wanted sheep or goats of her own!)

Nice!

That is utterly delightful!

This is an exceptional work of art. You are an artist my friend. Admirable in the way you used sheet steel blanks. :)

"Geschmiedetes Eisen", Fritz Kühn, and Schöne alte Wirtshausschilder (Beautiful old tavern Signs" both have a goat example in them but they are Steinbok: Mountain goats