Our fundraiser is doing well! We have raised over 50% of the money we need already which is great news. We are already starting to plan for our stretch goal of making the project a bit more green by using solar power instead of a generator.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/rem-cafe-and-croquet#/
As for the project itself, we are making progress!! This was the busiest weekend in the blacksmith shop yet, with a total of 11 people there at one time. We made some adjustments to our teeter totters, and worked on the handlebars that will be on those to help people maintain their balance while up in the air. We also worked on an iron weave that will be used as decorative supports on some parts of the project. Work on the lanterns has also progressed and we are getting close the point of being able to assemble some of those.
This type of metal weave is done to create decorative pieces that can support a load, such as the legs for stools or benches.
We also added the plywood base for our labyrinth coffee table, and tested it a bit more.
Hare are some of the photos of the work on the lanterns that will be part of our fundraiser as well. The current process with the lanterns is a bit slow and tedious, but we are getting better and faster as we practice and get used to doing it. In the end we will have a bunch of really cool lanterns made. They seem to be our most popular fundraiser item right now.
I takes several people to get a nice straight bend, that has the proper angle, for the sides of the lanterns. After the bend is added, there is also a bit of work that I did with a hammer on an anvil that was not photographed by me, because I was doing it. Part of the joy of making things like this, is each item is a unique piece of art made by hand with an eye for detail. It's a lot of fun, and I really hope people enjoy the lanterns as much as we are enjoying making them!
And as mentioned above, some photos of the process of making the handlebars for the teeter totters. They start out as several pieces of 5/8 inch square bar. Using a grinding wheel a line is cut down the sides. Then, after that the edges of the square are "broken" by hitting them with a hammer on the anvil to flatten them out some. After that is done the bar is heated up one section at a time and a twist is added. The breaking of the edges helps keeps them from getting too sharp after they are twisted, and the line down the side adds some extra detail to the twist so it looks cooler. I actually forgot to take pictures of the finished item, but I will share a time lapse video of the process of twisting it in another post.
