Hey, all you Metal-Fabbers, here’s your October edition of the Metal-Fab newsletter.
Restoration of the Maypole Braider
We finished several projects as summer came to a close. One of the more notable is the Maypole braider that Andy Dupree restored to full operation. Donated earlier in the year, Catherine Camp championed the restoration of a circa 1910 braiding machine so it could be put to work in the Fiber Arts Studio.
What is a Maypole braider, you ask? Imagine how shoestrings or braided rope are made, and you’ll get a sense of the mechanical ballet bobbins wound with thread must weave about each other to produce near-endless lengths of useable cord.
When received, the machine was caked with 100-plus years of greasy lint and near-impervious grime. Andy tore down the machine, taking numerous photos and placing the parts in various containers to keep the 100-plus parts organized. Degreasing all the parts was a major challenge that required removing layer after layer of solids that looked to be part of the machine itself. After cleaning and ablating the parts in our blast cabinet, he applied a coat of primer and antique green paint to bring it back to how it would’ve looked coming off the factory floor. Here are some before, during, and after images of the braider restoration.
Prayer Wheel Reinstallation Complete!
We’ve previously discussed our repair work on the prayer wheel, which normally resides in the Halls Hill Lookout and Labyrinth Park overlooking Blakely Harbor. David Hays and Al Miller finished the repair work early in September. Al and Andy Dupree worked with Jon Crane to reinstall the prayer wheel onto its stone plinth on Friday, Sept. 27. It was grand bringing this fun project to a satisfying close. Here are a couple of images showing the reinstallation work.
Bronze Model of Sailboat
Finally, we have a sweet little project the foundry team pulled together for Bainbridge Island High School Sailing folks as prizes for regatta winners. Joseph Tappen asked the team to help with casting a model sailboat he’d cast previously. The team gathered to help Joseph with the project. Here are some images that show Joseph breaking his castings out of the molds and his original art.
Join us for Twice-Monthly Tidy Friday Meetups!
That’s all we have to report for the month, but as always, there’s more going on in Metal-Fab than can be squeezed into our newsletter. To hear more stories, drop by and pitch in at 10 AM on the second or fourth Fridays of the month and join us for Tidy Friday, our regular meetup for maintaining the shops.
Until next time, be safe and have fun!
Andy Dupree
Metal-Fab Lead
David Hays
Metal-Fab Programming Coordinator
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