Overshadowed but not forgotten

This is a tribute to Henry our wire-haired fox terrier who has been slightly demoted since the arrival of Eliza. You would think he gets no attention sometimes when you see how he pouts.

The Life of Zoe and Henry

Here is a series of 5 images of our cat Zoe and Henry. The story starts with Zoe relaxing upstairs, then Henry joins... the pictures tell the rest of the story.

New Tool

I have recently been making small tools that can be carried on a key chain or in your pocket from O-1 tool steel. Here is a bottle opener/pry tool that I recently finished. The best thing is that it only takes one pry (as it should) to open your favorite brew! I really dislike bottle openers that slip off of the cap after it is part way lifted, only to have to pry yet again to finish the job. This tool is made from 1/8" thick O-1 tool steel and is 3" long. In addition to the obvious bottle opener, there are two pry edges and a medium flat-head screwdriver.

Hand Play?

Eliza has recently discovered her hands. She is now 4 months old and supposedly this discovery is fairly common at this age.  The funniest thing about this is that it is known as 'hand play' in parenting books. The accompanying images are a tribute to hand play.

Albuquerque Art Museum - Gate

Here is a series of images taken on Memorial Day weekend in Albuquerque at the art museum. These fused metal plaques are part of a metal gate to the courtyard on the south side of the museum. If you look closely at the individual plaques, you can see what recycled metal parts they are made of.

Eliza

Here are a couple of images of our new baby Eliza (born 2/17/10) taken with a Nikon D3000 and 18-55mm kit lens. The B & W images were converted to monochrome using in-camera editing features.

New Projects

Here is a progression of pictures through my most recent project. I have a basic knife/chisel tool design patterned after a Graham Knives Razel. I made this tool from flat ground O-1 tool steel in 1/8 inch by 3/4 inch dimension, here it is cut to length.
After cutting to length, I transferred the design to the metal and ground the knife's outline and then ground one side only on the bench grinder and belt sander. When I finished sanding, I heat treated it to around 1500 degrees and quenched in vegetable oil. I tempered it in the oven at 450 degrees for 1 hour. After tempering, I did the final sanding. The knife is now awaiting a handle and it will be finished.