tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85670500720177879292024-03-18T23:06:38.452-04:00MATERIALOGYnotes from the material worldnielscosmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09182654158167904964noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8567050072017787929.post-68224345236485576942015-04-23T14:33:00.004-04:002015-04-23T20:39:54.815-04:00Round, round, get around. I get around.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7sn46YQk_24Gk-7zp5Q2syQsHvJPsdnXNgDhN0nSHCm4moTG9UNVGPuHFx4Cs70hH-5TdD9tRVpkisbTSP5CqmWGvrbErnm7B8HCC95cP-dM1i5uZ_y7TGSzbNo_8MyjOmvmNz26DU68/s1600/woodrings2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7sn46YQk_24Gk-7zp5Q2syQsHvJPsdnXNgDhN0nSHCm4moTG9UNVGPuHFx4Cs70hH-5TdD9tRVpkisbTSP5CqmWGvrbErnm7B8HCC95cP-dM1i5uZ_y7TGSzbNo_8MyjOmvmNz26DU68/s1600/woodrings2.jpg" height="378" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Dear Internet, </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">So this is awkward.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">It would appear as though I haven't updated this blog in just under three years. I suppose, we're going to have to do something about that. The past three years have been very interesting. While I was away, there have been many twists and turns in the story and plenty of relevant happenings left unblogged. Perhaps I'll circle back and unpack some of that, but then again, perhaps not. So is life. <br />I have missed this blog and I plan on updating it more frequently. <br /><br />Stay hungry, stay foolish, and stay tuned. <br /><br />Niels</span>nielscosmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09182654158167904964noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8567050072017787929.post-30278149867915923162012-06-02T05:50:00.001-04:002013-06-25T02:50:20.128-04:00Long live the Queen!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='525' height='450' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/NZU1B8kb8EQ?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
Last week I went to see Tom Sachs's<a href="http://tomsachs.org/exhibition/space-program-mars"> Space Program: Mars </a>at the Park Avenue Armory. The show was amazing. Here are three of the films that were being screened as a part of the indoctrination process: Love Letter to Plywood, Color (not Colors), and 10 Bullets.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://2.gvt0.com/vi/eBM_9W_e_D4/0.jpg" height="425" width="525"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eBM_9W_e_D4&fs=1&source=uds" />
<param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" />
<embed width="525" height="425" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eBM_9W_e_D4&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='525' height='450' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/49p1JVLHUos?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />nielscosmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09182654158167904964noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8567050072017787929.post-56970775040770072882012-05-21T16:57:00.000-04:002012-12-09T19:44:35.840-05:00Exhale<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizyDTYT_PJh0-aWS3OqIanYGwVMZtynBY3Jcc0kV21FrlHsh47MnQkXpSQrz1SDBVoTQB2x00y4efsbnxxKGO1EW6hE0p0YemwKHK2a2tE7Z9Thb0vpObtRHTzmMc2cu_YVT09jSKhb7s/s1600/model_citizens.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizyDTYT_PJh0-aWS3OqIanYGwVMZtynBY3Jcc0kV21FrlHsh47MnQkXpSQrz1SDBVoTQB2x00y4efsbnxxKGO1EW6hE0p0YemwKHK2a2tE7Z9Thb0vpObtRHTzmMc2cu_YVT09jSKhb7s/s640/model_citizens.jpg" width="525" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
It's been a long week.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
A couple of days ago, I was having my last dinner in the middle of a 15,000 acre tree farm having finished a wildly successful two weeks of production at <a href="http://pilchuck.com/events/auction_gala.aspx">Pilchuck Glass School</a>. Now, I am sitting on the 4th floor or a SoHo loft in Manhattan the last day of the <a href="http://www.modelcitizensnyc.com/">Model Citizens NYC</a> offsite show. I get back to Boston later this week, and after a couple of days decompression and hibernation in my own bed, I'll have a lot to write about. At the moment, I don't have the language to describe all of the amazingness, so I'll just post some pictures!</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLBsu2kH7l6y-J6kT4J57Nsas8SWMMlwRvP4-2LRiG9P11A5Dh4I77WxJQmUpanKHLjjuXW4ldtvMNoi2gm8CT5PZhJpn8srumT5mGP8xYmBvebV1eVCjzuBux0aV7WcVRZ1_8kEsuy0E/s1600/rainny.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLBsu2kH7l6y-J6kT4J57Nsas8SWMMlwRvP4-2LRiG9P11A5Dh4I77WxJQmUpanKHLjjuXW4ldtvMNoi2gm8CT5PZhJpn8srumT5mGP8xYmBvebV1eVCjzuBux0aV7WcVRZ1_8kEsuy0E/s640/rainny.jpg" width="525" /> </a><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBvQZE31qHQoquDJjjqIGWSIquVCfUS1jNWzgnlKY8IQPK0bje0i3ul7Tn1Woc1mvYKVOVqTQaNEjtTS7Uzzl3n41DVKvwikX7HOZDSS7HNeIk6f6LVn9WsRqaeHdhCSqd-e-GGto-snE/s1600/thegaffers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBvQZE31qHQoquDJjjqIGWSIquVCfUS1jNWzgnlKY8IQPK0bje0i3ul7Tn1Woc1mvYKVOVqTQaNEjtTS7Uzzl3n41DVKvwikX7HOZDSS7HNeIk6f6LVn9WsRqaeHdhCSqd-e-GGto-snE/s1600/thegaffers.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBvQZE31qHQoquDJjjqIGWSIquVCfUS1jNWzgnlKY8IQPK0bje0i3ul7Tn1Woc1mvYKVOVqTQaNEjtTS7Uzzl3n41DVKvwikX7HOZDSS7HNeIk6f6LVn9WsRqaeHdhCSqd-e-GGto-snE/s640/thegaffers.jpg" width="525" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhag7YYZhEjucV2Pq2a45fWlcX4ztEczjTXCwOh77nKUv3l3IV-8gs_3wVuo3jZ_LUr8cnqf15OXzublZrksTMf5EuP5-Dbn1_-i7e3Tv7JzpRQ_bwLRLcFQtxCrZM5BWmYi1ijRgBKZv4/s1600/lastdayflatshop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhag7YYZhEjucV2Pq2a45fWlcX4ztEczjTXCwOh77nKUv3l3IV-8gs_3wVuo3jZ_LUr8cnqf15OXzublZrksTMf5EuP5-Dbn1_-i7e3Tv7JzpRQ_bwLRLcFQtxCrZM5BWmYi1ijRgBKZv4/s640/lastdayflatshop.jpg" width="525" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBZQH6DzZqggTnQpW87kmhiFVohjd8VwDznMUUPRBkZrcxFDC9B5j_ZQdgSwMgqWdAa9nciKwUdt25hApqr2k1_-GyU-dHskt8hpcfwZ8GeUT651BVKgLxmjm1AXF0K2-nFC73u6vkm_Q/s1600/pole1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBZQH6DzZqggTnQpW87kmhiFVohjd8VwDznMUUPRBkZrcxFDC9B5j_ZQdgSwMgqWdAa9nciKwUdt25hApqr2k1_-GyU-dHskt8hpcfwZ8GeUT651BVKgLxmjm1AXF0K2-nFC73u6vkm_Q/s640/pole1.jpg" width="525" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7N73w6wER4u3d1Lk4xBMsTpsapAFUEhcTYc-aaaXO-8PNjmTQVFnZD1lnppFoN6fq77fB_vz6pchov-7Qr-kRIw2tIMuyOwU0xn0RMKW_BCxSvuQAuOiilXuDxv80eA6umEVMyQBuD8U/s1600/boxes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7N73w6wER4u3d1Lk4xBMsTpsapAFUEhcTYc-aaaXO-8PNjmTQVFnZD1lnppFoN6fq77fB_vz6pchov-7Qr-kRIw2tIMuyOwU0xn0RMKW_BCxSvuQAuOiilXuDxv80eA6umEVMyQBuD8U/s640/boxes.jpg" width="525" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBZQH6DzZqggTnQpW87kmhiFVohjd8VwDznMUUPRBkZrcxFDC9B5j_ZQdgSwMgqWdAa9nciKwUdt25hApqr2k1_-GyU-dHskt8hpcfwZ8GeUT651BVKgLxmjm1AXF0K2-nFC73u6vkm_Q/s1600/pole1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjayae5qLfergzhnuk94mghqeTHtpsaswBNS3HIbCb7EmcJJAncUOPa11XBD9yxm6Y-XNAhWzmILCuMhj7PmHA5kpAw8GZ1IgwI0xgAGUKTGY0a8Ld_515gNYQZO6YpR1o4KzcnbTraBks/s1600/flatshopweds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjayae5qLfergzhnuk94mghqeTHtpsaswBNS3HIbCb7EmcJJAncUOPa11XBD9yxm6Y-XNAhWzmILCuMhj7PmHA5kpAw8GZ1IgwI0xgAGUKTGY0a8Ld_515gNYQZO6YpR1o4KzcnbTraBks/s640/flatshopweds.jpg" width="525" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGCatJ6ktK0P1Ju2JrurOZRY5yAkwrDIxe58bImjJ33b9D-ifMq3dj1WBfH98Il1EXLSL1D3LUAb5OLB640vSp7gRkibTt0Tg3GtsneQleBixbtIkdXQHSUQZzSIY7Y_pQ1DTq082aJiw/s1600/sunrise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGCatJ6ktK0P1Ju2JrurOZRY5yAkwrDIxe58bImjJ33b9D-ifMq3dj1WBfH98Il1EXLSL1D3LUAb5OLB640vSp7gRkibTt0Tg3GtsneQleBixbtIkdXQHSUQZzSIY7Y_pQ1DTq082aJiw/s640/sunrise.jpg" width="525" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkK0fp6WMJ4wni31g5ihhXgqklABKc9ZY6YullA33FJ2N1PvO5Y1a3-z3PY9NIb_ahfyhpCqUKVRJ7EcbzEGrKDMRlsPX8OAUn9Dn8mkm8SH05US4KJemH3IvIFjjRioGbwSXI2g8ZLkA/s1600/pre_studio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkK0fp6WMJ4wni31g5ihhXgqklABKc9ZY6YullA33FJ2N1PvO5Y1a3-z3PY9NIb_ahfyhpCqUKVRJ7EcbzEGrKDMRlsPX8OAUn9Dn8mkm8SH05US4KJemH3IvIFjjRioGbwSXI2g8ZLkA/s640/pre_studio.jpg" width="525" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
nielscosmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09182654158167904964noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8567050072017787929.post-87065407070832439902012-04-28T15:47:00.001-04:002012-12-09T19:48:01.425-05:00And now for something completely different...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjB2E-RaGVihtuAeSv328pGImlYI8n1vaEzn4SyElwhy2FeNSYir3YstaWqZTPL7zJQWVhcmvARgaAXEQXHrNOnBJmoTS3hR9a5S2C2qwhLA1AHRJ7WoqUku1ZOQAbf7C10S73PEk7-3M/s1600/kilnobyl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpX-DWgGaWWTLcCbkYHxkVZIUdVpr3MGbbfj4HIfnmDyYSgfP4Go2s3UQS8UQM1lxwk5D2rzlcWP5bMgX5b2Ky93dzyQ3GBwy7Bx4K5yHd0SSqAj557cirgbSpmx0m-A-B-5FBjNY_pZs/s1600/kilnobyl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpX-DWgGaWWTLcCbkYHxkVZIUdVpr3MGbbfj4HIfnmDyYSgfP4Go2s3UQS8UQM1lxwk5D2rzlcWP5bMgX5b2Ky93dzyQ3GBwy7Bx4K5yHd0SSqAj557cirgbSpmx0m-A-B-5FBjNY_pZs/s640/kilnobyl.jpg" width="525" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjB2E-RaGVihtuAeSv328pGImlYI8n1vaEzn4SyElwhy2FeNSYir3YstaWqZTPL7zJQWVhcmvARgaAXEQXHrNOnBJmoTS3hR9a5S2C2qwhLA1AHRJ7WoqUku1ZOQAbf7C10S73PEk7-3M/s1600/kilnobyl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
</div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
The best laid schemes of mice and men<br />
Go often awry,<br />
And leave us nothing but grief and pain,<br />
For promised joy!</div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Burns" title="Robert Burns">-Robert Burns</a> </div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
Sometimes things don't go the way you planned. Above is the scene I found having opened the kiln containing my <a href="http://materialogy.blogspot.com/2012/04/waiting-is-hardest-part.html">furnace-glass chunks</a> on Wednesday afternoon. I can't entirely say I didn't see this coming. When closed I latches on the kiln doors two weeks ago, I felt a distinct wave of dread wash over me. It also didn't help that two days later, I got a voicemail on saturday morning letting me know that there was the very real possibility that the kiln may have been off for 12 hours the previous evening (the three surrounding kilns had all malfunction. I knew, deep in my cockles and sub-cockles, my glass was doomed.</div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
It happens, glass breaks.. You shed a single tear and move on to what next. Hopefully you can maintain some perspective and realize that failure can be a constructive mode of learning. In this case, I was reminded that somethings are simply out of my hands.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
But I have to say, this one still smarts.</div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<br /></div>
nielscosmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09182654158167904964noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8567050072017787929.post-60878210171994333052012-04-21T21:12:00.000-04:002012-04-21T21:35:08.222-04:00Hitting my stride<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU1MgSgnCh98DnWyqBJRcqNGe1pje3ybTQg2cQSNzvIyhaCSM-upP_amT6QI5DFFCAbRDZ5edwG28M6Le-CU61WI6UGln09xt9tpU3AGQDLqwO92xnd9MDsSqo1z_U5lnGZuZpRw5cqu0/s1600/back_table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU1MgSgnCh98DnWyqBJRcqNGe1pje3ybTQg2cQSNzvIyhaCSM-upP_amT6QI5DFFCAbRDZ5edwG28M6Le-CU61WI6UGln09xt9tpU3AGQDLqwO92xnd9MDsSqo1z_U5lnGZuZpRw5cqu0/s640/back_table.jpg" width="525" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="grid_8" style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
</div>
<div class="grid_8" style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
</div>
<div class="grid_8" style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<span class="huge">"If you're going through hell, keep going."</span></div>
<div class="grid_8" style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<span class="huge">Winston Churchill</span><br />
<span class="huge"> </span></div>
<div class="grid_8" style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
</div>
<div class="grid_8" style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<span class="huge">I second weekend in a row that I have been going full-tilt in the studio getting things ready for NYC design week. This is the last two days, i'll be in the making things in Brooklyn. I am making good progress, but I still have miles to go before I sleep. Here are a couple of teaser images of what I am working on.</span><br />
<span class="huge"><br /></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1sciyOqXPn3i9Foz5mV-fNlhnfQ8SgQJblRzYRgQA_jk5iBQz_qWu2F3hVD5Ab0Nm7WcH7QKJY8RG8aPFQhaWdJusJJ6RL9tiN3FGLLwUl66e0BXPFus_Akk0HoKI-T3yjgZcD8BINtc/s1600/geodesicals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1sciyOqXPn3i9Foz5mV-fNlhnfQ8SgQJblRzYRgQA_jk5iBQz_qWu2F3hVD5Ab0Nm7WcH7QKJY8RG8aPFQhaWdJusJJ6RL9tiN3FGLLwUl66e0BXPFus_Akk0HoKI-T3yjgZcD8BINtc/s640/geodesicals.jpg" width="525" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz90eUX-Ty__sVFTrjBOXTlsYWZFDzqw-VhXvt9lXKErXZ201ymwgiVH6iQBrudr2S1XxeVkJrTblA6JIY3Ysk8SbhJRpZXgJ15nJckDuRxUdec37TWg_vFktIRWYN7FDT0AwAnQszuv4/s1600/brass_pair_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz90eUX-Ty__sVFTrjBOXTlsYWZFDzqw-VhXvt9lXKErXZ201ymwgiVH6iQBrudr2S1XxeVkJrTblA6JIY3Ysk8SbhJRpZXgJ15nJckDuRxUdec37TWg_vFktIRWYN7FDT0AwAnQszuv4/s640/brass_pair_web.jpg" width="525" /></a></div>
<span class="huge"><br /></span></div>nielscosmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09182654158167904964noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8567050072017787929.post-9661801999675032612012-04-13T16:33:00.001-04:002012-12-09T19:48:56.584-05:00The waiting is the hardest part.<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
</div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHDlwYsXpJ4IGeDe4eopZqOX2RumwzCKD3vm-Wi6cZaTQkQP-kZtAeGCy5zeFReTRKBNLN4FxQkbCz48htkIAxZvVsc1g8IZbAKZBPjjjDlr9woqFGOLC4Muq_09H5tEZ20l6_c0sLdwU/s1600/glass_in_kiln+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHDlwYsXpJ4IGeDe4eopZqOX2RumwzCKD3vm-Wi6cZaTQkQP-kZtAeGCy5zeFReTRKBNLN4FxQkbCz48htkIAxZvVsc1g8IZbAKZBPjjjDlr9woqFGOLC4Muq_09H5tEZ20l6_c0sLdwU/s1600/glass_in_kiln+copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHDlwYsXpJ4IGeDe4eopZqOX2RumwzCKD3vm-Wi6cZaTQkQP-kZtAeGCy5zeFReTRKBNLN4FxQkbCz48htkIAxZvVsc1g8IZbAKZBPjjjDlr9woqFGOLC4Muq_09H5tEZ20l6_c0sLdwU/s640/glass_in_kiln+copy.jpg" width="525" /></a><br />
<br />
“Via con Dios”<br />
Johnny Utah, <i><a href="http://youtu.be/HLS5t0NdtRI">Point Break</a></i><br />
<br />
On Wednesday night, crossed my fingers and I closed the door on a kiln at RISD containing three large chunks of beautifully fractured glass. The glass came from the glassblowing furnace rebuild two years ago. The glass was left in the furnace and the gas was shut off. Without annealing, as the glass cooled it self-destructed producing hundreds of pounds of amazing glass chunks. I found these chunks by the loading dock at school where waiting to be trashed. Well, not if I had anything to do with it! I grabbed a couple of boxed, picked through the pile to find the choice-chunks and saved as much as I could fit in my trunk (which was already full). The chunks sat on a shelf in my studio for the past two years. Every time someone came to the studio and saw them what followed was some string of ooh’s, ahh’s and general lusting.<br />
<br />
Several months ago, I reckoned it was time to do something with these big honking jewels and I always thought that they would somehow make an amazing component for lighting. Instead of building something around them I decided I would build something that went directly into the chunks, which would mean I would have to core drill into the chunks. Below is a mockup of what I am thinking:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpbJ9NulNR1etiPWrUF1eRWq7kFD4krgbw3xtIX6-UhJIjq5AT4LLiLMgIibtY3FtiEKtD3RahaCWweF479CUOGICK446M_M3XlzRDow5F4UfJNvyw8FB5zZ56KV2uBsRqci1v_kpAoig/s1600/fracture_lamp2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpbJ9NulNR1etiPWrUF1eRWq7kFD4krgbw3xtIX6-UhJIjq5AT4LLiLMgIibtY3FtiEKtD3RahaCWweF479CUOGICK446M_M3XlzRDow5F4UfJNvyw8FB5zZ56KV2uBsRqci1v_kpAoig/s640/fracture_lamp2.jpg" width="525" /></a></div>
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Just in case you missed it, these chunks were <u><i>not annealed</i></u> which means that they still could (do) have lots and lots of residual stress within them. They could blow at any minute and the thought of drilling a 1” diameter hole into them doesn’t really appeal to me. Even if by the grace of god they survived the drilling, I doubt they would last long after installing a heat source (an led-bulb) inside them.<br />
<br />
After much consideration, expert advice, and deep soul searching, I decided that I would risk it all and attempt to relieve the stress inside the glass. This involves placing my preciouses in a kiln, bringing them up to the softening point of the glass and then slowly cooling them over the course of 12 days. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiP9_MZRzf8L_YFXFLPECuW2mgV3F10mTOleSIZyQ3UNDRLsRRZOisnKSGnh6jM7_PTu3j-S1jOj7qYo_iHIPfsp1vc3IOTG0sxa7Xwxru7oJStdyxdnrNiJ15DCf0qnG9jxfVUV82DOo/s1600/GB4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiP9_MZRzf8L_YFXFLPECuW2mgV3F10mTOleSIZyQ3UNDRLsRRZOisnKSGnh6jM7_PTu3j-S1jOj7qYo_iHIPfsp1vc3IOTG0sxa7Xwxru7oJStdyxdnrNiJ15DCf0qnG9jxfVUV82DOo/s640/GB4.jpg" width="525" /></a></div>
<br />
I am not really much of casting/kiln sort of a guy, and this is something I’ve never attempted. The best part of making is the hand-on intimacy of the process; using hand and eye to guide a process and making millions of little micro-corrections to get the result you want. Fudging and botching. In this case, I have put my faith in the experience of others to plan a course of action and I rely on a digital controller and a kiln in providence to do the work for me. Set it and forget it like a Ronco chicken rotisserie-oven. Again, not my style.<br />
<br />
Over the next two weeks the kiln will do it’s thing and when I open the door I’ll have what I have. In the meantime, I’ll be 200 miles away in Brooklyn working on the brass hardware for the lamps. <a href="http://youtu.be/uMyCa35_mOg">All I can do now is wait…</a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSoU3Xrs0wLuQaeIfOyu_QDi-_R4IcEh12lX9f_iv2idIfPX63e6QKhQ88sMuz8ZLmSefEJrgvl9czLOcx0WmQT9cItxAumFHe-Br09k4cZkisyx6t2a5NxVaRBxHmjmR3-kIM9HfCDT4/s1600/Red4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSoU3Xrs0wLuQaeIfOyu_QDi-_R4IcEh12lX9f_iv2idIfPX63e6QKhQ88sMuz8ZLmSefEJrgvl9czLOcx0WmQT9cItxAumFHe-Br09k4cZkisyx6t2a5NxVaRBxHmjmR3-kIM9HfCDT4/s640/Red4.jpg" width="525" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpbJ9NulNR1etiPWrUF1eRWq7kFD4krgbw3xtIX6-UhJIjq5AT4LLiLMgIibtY3FtiEKtD3RahaCWweF479CUOGICK446M_M3XlzRDow5F4UfJNvyw8FB5zZ56KV2uBsRqci1v_kpAoig/s1600/fracture_lamp2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
</div>
nielscosmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09182654158167904964noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8567050072017787929.post-37389906806782643042012-04-07T17:01:00.001-04:002012-04-07T17:04:56.917-04:00Knock, knock...<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="297" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LdZHvWhiNG4" width="525"></iframe><br />
<br />
Who's there?<br />
Orange.<br />
Orange who?<br />
Orange you glad you children jump on your crappy knock off designer chair?<br />
<br />
Here's by little video by Fritz Hanson USA of a little comparison testing for their Series 7 Chairs designed by Arne Jacobsen. This chair has probably been knocked off directly or indirectly more than any other chair I can think of.<br />
<br />
This video is proof that all plywood chairs are not created equal.<br />
<br />
Via <a href="http://www.dwell.com/articles/fritz-hansen-stomps-on-knockoffs.html">Dwell</a><br />
<br />nielscosmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09182654158167904964noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8567050072017787929.post-17925458085423787942012-04-06T15:09:00.000-04:002012-04-06T20:59:01.997-04:00Like sands through the hourglass...<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://youtu.be/azldMtSJbfw"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbVeunnMu3sIyIt3dKoOt2wa79xY7nkAsIPiR98E3IVcZj14J166siXlbU2cjkg8bsbjU3a4lggfFVD1epuJ-uzVnfC6oDa9IFuRd6BT4O3SL5IsRy64mGgL_d6GgJCK96ARW-mMPRstc/s640/kenny_shifting_sands.jpg" width="525" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://youtu.be/azldMtSJbfw"><br /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
This video of my friend <a href="http://web.mit.edu/kkamrin/www/index.html">Prof. Ken Karmin</a> was recently posted on the <a href="http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/sand-modeling-0406.html">MIT News webpage</a> and it describes some of the issues of modeling granular material flow. It's amazing to me that this simple, ubiquitous, essential type of material is still largely misunderstood and handled so poorly. I also can't help but draw the comparison to the intuitive contradictions and seemingly multi-state nature of glass.</div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="305" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/azldMtSJbfw" width="525"></iframe></div>nielscosmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09182654158167904964noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8567050072017787929.post-19357053630313140822012-04-05T14:56:00.000-04:002012-04-06T18:58:51.594-04:00Polymathematics<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj30BJgjHXJKM2EDT18wYqpZ6xehONIWLyGzo1em0WGcRssv89TxaXRTM9dB3AcpQx2LgZokKTwqy6Gm_9MUO_HpnzvD04Y64ojov9sw_pHQ0YyPrNF4s99s4AD0nAithETAv9bZV7_UZc/s1600/geodesical.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj30BJgjHXJKM2EDT18wYqpZ6xehONIWLyGzo1em0WGcRssv89TxaXRTM9dB3AcpQx2LgZokKTwqy6Gm_9MUO_HpnzvD04Y64ojov9sw_pHQ0YyPrNF4s99s4AD0nAithETAv9bZV7_UZc/s640/geodesical.jpg" width="525" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
“If you want to teach people a new way of thinking, don't bother trying
to teach them. Instead, give them a tool, the use of which will lead to
new ways of thinking.”<br />
―
R. Buckminster Fuller</div>nielscosmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09182654158167904964noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8567050072017787929.post-79872500805878817322012-03-17T02:04:00.000-04:002012-12-09T19:50:06.830-05:00Seeking Sphericity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://youtu.be/NvfV-0PjVGE"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXyvyev-kmR9CA9KRD6GBik0XyUx4G9qgr_4j3z68jihn37hHNqCyyRnnnV-SovY8eA9lJliZmsHsaWoGO2gB_IQnRRRcYhHPtLmzDWRsmnuJqYmOS-IMTdjV_yoW39QdDUxSBE36wZ9c/s640/glass_sphere_blowing.jpg" width="525" /><span id="goog_1962866964"></span></a><span id="goog_1962866965"></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
Did you know that the most perfectly smooth and accurate spherical object ever created by human kind was a 1.5" diamter piece of fused quartz (glass)? </div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
I did, and so did <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fused_quartz">Wikipedia</a> (This round is a draw, Internet)! </div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
It's true, this little marvel of <a href="http://einstein.stanford.edu/content/education/lithos/litho-gyro.pdf">modern material engineering</a> was made by NASA for use in "<a href="http://einstein.stanford.edu/TECH/technology-index.html">Gravity Probe B</a>". Gravity Probe B was one of the most remarkable, elaborate, and ultimately triumphant examples of experimental physics that confirmed Einstein's assertions about effects of gravity on space-time. It also has nothing to do with rest of the content of this blog post, except for the part about glass spheres. </div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
This past Monday, just before becoming horribly ill (again), I spent the evening in the hot shop making a whole bunch of little glass spheres. At the end of the night, just before 1:00am, I thought that the process might make some good internet. So, I propped my camera on a brick and shot this video outlining the process of making a "perfect" glass sphere out of hot glass, by hand. In this case, "perfect" is being used quite subjectively, but you get the point (You win this round, NASA)!<br />
<a href="http://youtu.be/NvfV-0PjVGE">Check it out: </a></div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="297" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/NvfV-0PjVGE" width="525"></iframe>nielscosmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09182654158167904964noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8567050072017787929.post-61365222691344664382012-03-02T13:18:00.003-05:002012-04-06T18:54:52.763-04:00Personal Material<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1GbLHwt2cfOtebop6D3j9pWljPhxx24IJWhhQGjr_X6fOeRpdAt2ke4PmeRPJmqk36PssjlF2qPX_GxMGpynaHo8IprEwxszFjgRV3KxtysIy3efQmM4Dhyx_-6rfdfb7e2QydkoiI08/s1600/DNA_video_still.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1GbLHwt2cfOtebop6D3j9pWljPhxx24IJWhhQGjr_X6fOeRpdAt2ke4PmeRPJmqk36PssjlF2qPX_GxMGpynaHo8IprEwxszFjgRV3KxtysIy3efQmM4Dhyx_-6rfdfb7e2QydkoiI08/s640/DNA_video_still.jpg" width="525" /></a></div>
<br />
Every wonder: what does my DNA looks like?<br />
Or think: Man, I wonder if I could be extracting DNA in my kitchen right now?<br />
<br />
Well I do, probably more than I should.<br />
<br />
So, when I came across this video this morning, I just had to share. Enjoy.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='525' height='425' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/DaaRrR-ZHP4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div>nielscosmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09182654158167904964noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8567050072017787929.post-55082311778894678102012-03-01T23:05:00.000-05:002012-04-06T18:54:19.968-04:00Set-up Breakdown<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
</div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxwhPRXn7yA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBczx7DkwhGXRN75NNVFco55m8vP0dzefbr3QmoOC7K_-ogbgZd83KrMi7EzdFUY02VluyGnOxy-7jUZgKDtp7W2gKk3sbp-5bowkhS3npS6HcOwRheNeTWKBC1tcjpLJ9-GqKsuXBd_o/s640/Set_up_still.tiff" width="525" /></a> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I've been mostly home sick this week, so decided to edit a little video about setting the blade of a wooden plane. Yes, this will explain the jump in posts over the next couple of days. The process isn’t overly complicated, but that’s not to say that it isn’t entirely simple. After a little practice, I can almost get the blade set without any test cuts. Anyway, the clip is after the jump.</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='525' height='425' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/nxwhPRXn7yA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>nielscosmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09182654158167904964noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8567050072017787929.post-34916241519131493522012-02-29T00:30:00.000-05:002012-04-06T18:48:51.658-04:00Present Perfect<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsapRmndqgHSeOpmXUgIvv0gqnePpEg4eXk-1YDuww7Juenlek4pBLqQBT0brgyL_iKZg9wrKM3oNhrqPEtzj6ONGSeaHKBXQ688gQ-X3aicWZH1mnedIvpqFv3S53QgPLtn_nMmqF7gc/s1600/old_street_smoother2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsapRmndqgHSeOpmXUgIvv0gqnePpEg4eXk-1YDuww7Juenlek4pBLqQBT0brgyL_iKZg9wrKM3oNhrqPEtzj6ONGSeaHKBXQ688gQ-X3aicWZH1mnedIvpqFv3S53QgPLtn_nMmqF7gc/s1600/old_street_smoother2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsapRmndqgHSeOpmXUgIvv0gqnePpEg4eXk-1YDuww7Juenlek4pBLqQBT0brgyL_iKZg9wrKM3oNhrqPEtzj6ONGSeaHKBXQ688gQ-X3aicWZH1mnedIvpqFv3S53QgPLtn_nMmqF7gc/s640/old_street_smoother2.jpg" width="525" /></a><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
If you know me, you know I have tool problem.<br />
<br />
Aside from the problem I have that tools seem to keep following me home, I have a problem with tools that try to do too much and don’t do anything well. You know what I am talking about, the tools that usually fit on a benchtop and claim to be the only tool you’ll need for every task. There’s usually some lasers or GPS involved.<br />
However, I am pleased to say I have absolutely no issues with the most recent member of my tool foster-family, a small wooden smooth plane made by <a href="http://www.planemaker.com/aboutus.html" target="_blank">Don McConnell</a> and <a href="http://www.planemaker.com/aboutus.html" target="_blank">Larry Williams</a> of <a href="http://www.planemaker.com/index.html" target="_blank">Old Street Tool</a>.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXBCoKkxSnJV-pD-ZRot7NVHkF3FXGWSynUB4rvMuVGsBqqXUFsaGOjLYnijRatNcafTyJ1EzMXRLUgvY9pOb6NqyH668z_PjH-Wk5MSmXSdSDxg8K2-3753buHXo8q2XRvOVKA839ac0/s1600/old_street2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXBCoKkxSnJV-pD-ZRot7NVHkF3FXGWSynUB4rvMuVGsBqqXUFsaGOjLYnijRatNcafTyJ1EzMXRLUgvY9pOb6NqyH668z_PjH-Wk5MSmXSdSDxg8K2-3753buHXo8q2XRvOVKA839ac0/s640/old_street2.jpg" width="525" /></a></div>
<br />
This little plane is a perfect synthesis of simplicity and performance. A traditional 18th century wooden smoother has only three parts: body, blade, wedge. There’s no glue, no dowels, no chipbreaker, or no adjustment mechanisms, just three parts are formed, fitted, and finished to perform one function, flawlessly. It’s an <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukbTFgQ4jxs" target="_blank">elegant weapon from a more civilized age</a>. <br />
<br />
The first time I used a plane like this, I had the feeling of sticking my finger in an electrical socket. The designer’s acronym K.I.S.S (Keep it simple, stupid) rang through my brain as the simple little plane palmed in my hands swooshed over the work. With a gentle amount of resistance, the tool obediently presented lace like shavings and a finished surface, which if not for the warm touch, could be mistaken for glass or marble. In that moment, all my metal planes looked bloated, clumsy and overly complicated (but don’t tell them I said that). The act was intimate and uncomplicated, approaching sublime.<br />
Like I said, I have a tool problem.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRnoaNUKzImgUyecnPjQH6_PNLDuP5u4lexeOY1_KwWjEqBKhZrg0IcS9vHJOwBckesAzDkJF4uz0cP6TqHF6KH03KZwPL7kJq1A0f73IMFp7cN6GPAmb4z_SA2Yj3TNI-tKPQ4gI2xxE/s1600/old_street5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRnoaNUKzImgUyecnPjQH6_PNLDuP5u4lexeOY1_KwWjEqBKhZrg0IcS9vHJOwBckesAzDkJF4uz0cP6TqHF6KH03KZwPL7kJq1A0f73IMFp7cN6GPAmb4z_SA2Yj3TNI-tKPQ4gI2xxE/s640/old_street5.jpg" width="525" /></a></div>
<br />
Admittedly, the smoothing plane is a bit of a one trick pony. For the amount of work done by the other bench planes ( jacks, fores, trying planes, block planes etc), it is almost joke. Where a fore plane might take dozens of meaty of 0.1” cuts truing a surface, the smooth plane might take several swipes of 0.001” or less. That being said, those little wispy shavings will ultimately reveal the final surface of a piece and therefore, could arguably be the most critical cuts of the piece. It might just be Jedi mind tricks, but I am glad to have this pony in my stable.<br />
<br />
This tool is special. I feel very privileged to have it in my keep and feel that it demands my best efforts in return.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikSmEg-fHvzyGwP2sdcY8XRaW-JigAWTkyw1q7bkjq5wcH7apIFSNQ1THcOIwfpKi0tAgqUTy7r4N18lr64NZgYWfomOvtPMb-RNQC08eoAbvvjTMMYVRj7T_8K9puw5QJWKXoTZjqmNQ/s1600/old_street4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikSmEg-fHvzyGwP2sdcY8XRaW-JigAWTkyw1q7bkjq5wcH7apIFSNQ1THcOIwfpKi0tAgqUTy7r4N18lr64NZgYWfomOvtPMb-RNQC08eoAbvvjTMMYVRj7T_8K9puw5QJWKXoTZjqmNQ/s640/old_street4.jpg" width="525" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>nielscosmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09182654158167904964noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8567050072017787929.post-48121272410971661992011-12-19T12:51:00.000-05:002012-04-06T18:47:53.933-04:00Magic<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiabdXKrkyExAeTiwLwmXyI0qaZ_Cib83ThjRcz6HgKX4tS9xRSXz8-j5BQvhAuS8F55H3gqBoCNGrM41h4SsEtMFpL90ail_NF_U776WzZnUsNkmIx0EYlt10TmqohnKdHiuncNrecRtk/s1600/quantum+locking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiabdXKrkyExAeTiwLwmXyI0qaZ_Cib83ThjRcz6HgKX4tS9xRSXz8-j5BQvhAuS8F55H3gqBoCNGrM41h4SsEtMFpL90ail_NF_U776WzZnUsNkmIx0EYlt10TmqohnKdHiuncNrecRtk/s320/quantum+locking.jpg" width="525" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.</div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">-Arthur C. Clarke </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br /><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='525' height='475' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ws6AAhTw7RA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='525' height='475' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/VyOtIsnG71U?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div>nielscosmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09182654158167904964noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8567050072017787929.post-14626159320742328652011-11-17T14:25:00.001-05:002012-04-06T18:47:14.438-04:00The Sword Maker<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPqIEx_2H2YyFL2O6746X07uqFRdnKXcu0Z5WQDdjO8XPhwbsNPjS2JPtBDxducReazgfHyDCUmL8liyuFF8BqWqusFwgB5zSrY_LooieOj2IYZjAWmSJhSVMnjavkTftytuIgoVWXKf4/s1600/swordmaker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPqIEx_2H2YyFL2O6746X07uqFRdnKXcu0Z5WQDdjO8XPhwbsNPjS2JPtBDxducReazgfHyDCUmL8liyuFF8BqWqusFwgB5zSrY_LooieOj2IYZjAWmSJhSVMnjavkTftytuIgoVWXKf4/s640/swordmaker.jpg" width="525" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
"Many traditional craftsmen respond to modern times when handing down his craft. But the essence of the tradition suffers in doing so."</div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
A lovely video from <a href="http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2011/handmade-portraits-the-sword-maker/" target="_blank">ETSY</a> via <a href="http://www.notcot.org/post/44445/" target="_blank">NOTCOT</a> featuring one of Japan's last traditional sword makers.</div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
Video after the jump >>><br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="394" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/32113233?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&color=ffffff" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="525"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/32113233">Handmade Portraits: The Sword Maker</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/etsy">Etsy</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.nielscosmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09182654158167904964noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8567050072017787929.post-82605010684428565952011-11-04T18:34:00.003-04:002011-11-04T22:14:25.041-04:00Return to Polish<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-qgkP4yGVUbyfZ11S3p3k-efJoaXJ4o92bWV_RHSQsLEMiwPD7XfWCgKkAiat6cXoQMSTkkHZQM7czq5VPvEysr_SF4uM6YO45PDuMEEwhx7TIXIHbSELDdVSHcYx5KXKC7caEULsnJk/s1600/fully_finshed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-qgkP4yGVUbyfZ11S3p3k-efJoaXJ4o92bWV_RHSQsLEMiwPD7XfWCgKkAiat6cXoQMSTkkHZQM7czq5VPvEysr_SF4uM6YO45PDuMEEwhx7TIXIHbSELDdVSHcYx5KXKC7caEULsnJk/s1600/fully_finshed.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-qgkP4yGVUbyfZ11S3p3k-efJoaXJ4o92bWV_RHSQsLEMiwPD7XfWCgKkAiat6cXoQMSTkkHZQM7czq5VPvEysr_SF4uM6YO45PDuMEEwhx7TIXIHbSELDdVSHcYx5KXKC7caEULsnJk/s640/fully_finshed.jpg" width="525" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I had been blowing glass for several years before I became vaguely aware of idea of coldworking glass. In the MIT Glass Lab there was old ~12”-14” flat lap at the off the shop which I’m fairly certain began it’s life as a battered potter's wheel. The grit in the tray underneath the lap was fill with some grade of “mystery grit” that was filled with bits of glass and whatever else fell in within the last year. I had used the wheel to flatten tippy pieces and make them less-tippy. To remove any amount of material took forever and, at best, the finish looked as if I had dragged the glass behind my car. One day, my friend Nick showed up with a little glass piece that he had cut in half with a diamond saw and had polished the cut surfaces. My mind was blown for two reasons:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">1. You can cut things in half</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">2. You can make rough surfaces smooth and glassy again</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">This might seem like no big deal, but having never seen the process it all seemed like magic. Last night, I was in the Cold Shop preparing a blank for next weeks demo for my coldworking class and I thought it might be interesting to go through the process of flattening and polishing a relatively large piece of glass. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Before I get into the how to, I should mention a bit about the process shaping and polishing. Polishing is a progression of actions from course, medium, to fine. This relates to the size of abrasive grits that move from larger particle sizes to smaller particle size, but also the nature of process, more specifically, the inversely proportional relationship of speed and control. </span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPefg4vzKLelBIUJWFji9Ue1hz7TmDspnZxxTsACd4Nzes9EYXTVwN0szaTtO7WxkjSehqTRHLCRPZAIgIlUUZikNLyWZ7w4geyvkuo6-ZRtF1zBIZabqxrpBqXNPTtTPvhYHRr38jxTQ/s1600/diamond_sawn.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPefg4vzKLelBIUJWFji9Ue1hz7TmDspnZxxTsACd4Nzes9EYXTVwN0szaTtO7WxkjSehqTRHLCRPZAIgIlUUZikNLyWZ7w4geyvkuo6-ZRtF1zBIZabqxrpBqXNPTtTPvhYHRr38jxTQ/s640/diamond_sawn.jpg" width="525" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">The first tools we use will be the coarsest and also the most aggressive. These tools will be used to quickly remove waste and save time in the process, but one must be careful not to get carried away, the rate of removable can also speed the process of making large errors in a hurry. The tools we will be medium and at this point we are still in to business of removing material, but are now concerned with refinement of the overall shape. At this stage we trade speed for control. We are now concerned with the refinement of shapes and the trying and truing of our surfaces. Also, we will begin to pay attention to the condition of the surface and are weary of scratches and defects that would be laborious to remove in later stages. At last, we find ourselves in the finally in fine phase where our only focus is the refinement of the quality of our surfaces.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpjx7_zOEkJr3fPFHw8dYYUg9nm3jdamu3PEoLn6CF98imOBR2jJRrh7_0j1L_ydiNKrJBL6L8lCPTQwcglAzMToaktWpmikhDWBout0qwLE9IDl_7HJZHcki38Y-SqkkwYp0ZIcx9ag0/s1600/coursest.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpjx7_zOEkJr3fPFHw8dYYUg9nm3jdamu3PEoLn6CF98imOBR2jJRrh7_0j1L_ydiNKrJBL6L8lCPTQwcglAzMToaktWpmikhDWBout0qwLE9IDl_7HJZHcki38Y-SqkkwYp0ZIcx9ag0/s640/coursest.jpg" width="525" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">First Course:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Now, it only occurred to me to start taking pictures of the process after I had already made the first cuts (sorry). So we find ourselves, at the diamond saw after having cut the checked and cracked edges off a hot-cast billet of glass. After the first straight cut was made, the other edges were roughly marked for square and cut without using the fence on the sliding tray (the fence is only square-ish). I’m not really concerned with squareness or cleanliness as we are just hogging off waste and saving time grinding downstream.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">The saw leaves the surfaces filled with deep saw marks and jagged edges. I always expect that I will have to remove at worst 1/8” of material beyond the kerf of the blade. Also I take the ragged edges to a very course 80 grit belt and “seam” the edge before I go any further. The seamed edge is more finger friendly and wont chip when you bring it to the flatlap. Seaming is a very important operation that must be repeated the entire process as your previous seams are ground away. I should mention that but as your surfaces get finer and finer, your seams too will get smaller and smaller (with the least aggressive grit that is still efficient). The flatlap is simply a very flat rotating steel plate in which a slurry of silicon carbide and water is fed. After we leave the 80 grit lap all marks of the saw should be removed and we should have relatively flat, squarish surfaces. This is mostly an eyeballing situation.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br /></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibMXTKevhd5NeRswfSU3MMwpcVxH1lyll8T7UA_olUx_A99e0gS3I5oFUiNYrUDIjk9NmvQjxihCsDCoO5r48uWBkNKktkzOtu_z3yQJqqdtfSj5KQ-MkStxnzLnnd_y8sCL7DBFGffGg/s1600/80_ground.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibMXTKevhd5NeRswfSU3MMwpcVxH1lyll8T7UA_olUx_A99e0gS3I5oFUiNYrUDIjk9NmvQjxihCsDCoO5r48uWBkNKktkzOtu_z3yQJqqdtfSj5KQ-MkStxnzLnnd_y8sCL7DBFGffGg/s320/80_ground.jpg" width="275" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2i2Q_48-UiEeRrFdck6FLWFS7gINfuWZkSm1fsyNEt_csNsJKAbqNrobFxCbfKje_J9e3cohtnrqD5a16DGFoqj6g3ZDHYdEJ6xeNRHgI2Bbje-o3iUUQe7jLh08SUCOMZgDLWB-hmPo/s1600/80_grit.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2i2Q_48-UiEeRrFdck6FLWFS7gINfuWZkSm1fsyNEt_csNsJKAbqNrobFxCbfKje_J9e3cohtnrqD5a16DGFoqj6g3ZDHYdEJ6xeNRHgI2Bbje-o3iUUQe7jLh08SUCOMZgDLWB-hmPo/s320/80_grit.jpg" width="275" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibMXTKevhd5NeRswfSU3MMwpcVxH1lyll8T7UA_olUx_A99e0gS3I5oFUiNYrUDIjk9NmvQjxihCsDCoO5r48uWBkNKktkzOtu_z3yQJqqdtfSj5KQ-MkStxnzLnnd_y8sCL7DBFGffGg/s1600/80_ground.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Middle Ground:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">At this stage we really paying attention to the refinement of shape and accuracy. For my blank I am shooting for surfaces mostly square and totally flat on five sides ( I am keeping the air side of the blank as is, and as a result it will have a gentle curve). At the 80 grit I used a combination square to get the sides square within about ~1/16”-1/8”, now at the 220 grit wheel I’ll be looking for squareness from ~0-1/32”. Also I will be looking for a surface that is completely flat without crowning (a concave curve) or faceting. Both are accomplished by placing the blank on the wheel and establishing a consistent flat and then adjusting the squareness with adjustment of downward pressure and the orientation of the piece relative to the rotation of the flatlap. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">To understand how to adjust pressure we first have to understand the dynamics of the grinding. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Here’s what’s happening on the surface of the wheel. Firstly the surface of the wheel is moving fast from middle to the edge, therefore the closer to the edge is more aggressive and will remove material faster. Secondly, the edge that is “upstream” will tend to be worn faster. This is partially hydrodynamic and partially human error. To keep the glass from flying away your natural tendency is to bear down on the front edge. There are two strategies to correct this error, one is to alternate is to regularly flip the piece back and forth working in equal amounts (always a good idea). The other is to angle the piece such that the piece is oriented to the rotation of the wheel at an angle (~45-60 depending on the size of the wheel) to balance the rates of removal from side to side. Also at this point you should be working away your seams just to the point removal and then adding them back with a very fine belt or pad. For curve surfaces I use a 600 grit SiC belt sander for flat I use a 325-600 prepolish resin pad on a magnetic flat lap Either of theses processes are smooth enough that they are ready for final polishing. Before going any further, the surfaces should be free of chips, scratches, checks, and should be perfectly uniform.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigLoxsoudPhe6oNaUNvhZHdVUulnlDpUhU0sTQA2-2Za9RmQyFKmMmZQQCWWhDypV_BOE82MCAeHB25kXFJL2NJwx3Ui7TMQ-F5mEfjdHLmdSm9PejPdxXKUBOcezaMArfZOJTUMq6C64/s1600/220_ground.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigLoxsoudPhe6oNaUNvhZHdVUulnlDpUhU0sTQA2-2Za9RmQyFKmMmZQQCWWhDypV_BOE82MCAeHB25kXFJL2NJwx3Ui7TMQ-F5mEfjdHLmdSm9PejPdxXKUBOcezaMArfZOJTUMq6C64/s640/220_ground.jpg" width="525" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Final Countdown</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Home stretch! At this stage we are fast approaching a crawl. We are trading our powered tools for the bacon powered one. Once you get finer than 220 grit, powered lapping (with a non-segmented plate) gets a bit dicey. Wheels tend to grip the glass and are usually less trouble than they are worth. Handlapping is simply the process of grinding with loose grit and a flat surface. In this case, a sheet of 3/8” flat glass (which is as flat as the curvature of the earth, which is flat enough for me). The grit is mixed with a bit of water and drop of soap (for lubrication and to break surface tension) and the glass is pushed over the surface in a random motion (circles, figure-eights, and zig-zags).</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyzR8WNjIOTmBflGwXbPtYqkkFd7rPyC2NMM87U4LGjkKinUN2RmWiNE_Tu5S4HLdfsLag7gUDdVpYGZw_wz55YG54_PqwbIVCDUSpo3EuHVISnqo-NFTlOX9qswCTZmDo8lJGzm2Yd_I/s1600/lapping.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyzR8WNjIOTmBflGwXbPtYqkkFd7rPyC2NMM87U4LGjkKinUN2RmWiNE_Tu5S4HLdfsLag7gUDdVpYGZw_wz55YG54_PqwbIVCDUSpo3EuHVISnqo-NFTlOX9qswCTZmDo8lJGzm2Yd_I/s640/lapping.jpg" width="525" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">At this point we are simply refining the surface of the glass, reducing the size of the highs and lows of a rough surface with successively finer grits. On a larger surface the quickest most consistent results are gained by adding more stages of grits. I use 400, 600 and 800. You’ll find that the benefits of less stages are outweighed by the inconsistency of the work and drastically increased amount of time in the finer stages. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQyvyXQifodkMX63t9CoOs1uG1ffskloi-iSH8GTBRIHrsBfb_OER-rclxn359bfxcEfPNeaZ7OphPXwFOgI65TVI9mIwmDsCj0GKjdBpbfcZSVsZR1l2sktg2C32XfycDwX3K6YzoAUI/s1600/prepolish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQyvyXQifodkMX63t9CoOs1uG1ffskloi-iSH8GTBRIHrsBfb_OER-rclxn359bfxcEfPNeaZ7OphPXwFOgI65TVI9mIwmDsCj0GKjdBpbfcZSVsZR1l2sktg2C32XfycDwX3K6YzoAUI/s640/prepolish.jpg" width="525" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">There is one more stage before final polishing is to create is to smooth out the soft grainy lapped surface with a glossy “pre-polish”. This can be accomplished with loose pumice on a cork or felt wheel, by my preferred method is to use the belt sander 1200 grit aluminum oxide 3M trizact belt. Since the amount of material that is being remove is so insignificant, flatness is no longer a concern. The last stage is to use a cerium oxide compound to bring the glass back to a pristine polish. At this point the dry surface should be indistinguishable from a wet surface.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsdNXE2P-9wOjDecfn8kBbzdBNgiCdYbSYzJpONBtBBGitqbhIJY_oEfFLF3M0LXg1GM7heXqZLx5SZ-vlQEcVbhQDn6FQU30QoszBtxeTE-1oQhYbLGo7nwCiajlGzA9S28o7RNQtM6E/s1600/cerium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsdNXE2P-9wOjDecfn8kBbzdBNgiCdYbSYzJpONBtBBGitqbhIJY_oEfFLF3M0LXg1GM7heXqZLx5SZ-vlQEcVbhQDn6FQU30QoszBtxeTE-1oQhYbLGo7nwCiajlGzA9S28o7RNQtM6E/s640/cerium.jpg" width="525" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">One the piece is polished and free of defects, once again the exterior surfaces of the object become almost immaterial allowing your gaze to enter the volume and look at glass itself- Magic!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdITjVpBb5GZFBgwdTYUDvwZp82kxtuaeyIjdT-2pLquTCaQnuQ5b9BctZU6nbAg6q2CJwgnLkTJugh8ecAoJpBGF0XerLxLqE4IebEkZbpm6my_Jt2RLpqi9svMJce6EtoR7E3CJ0Jmc/s1600/interior_surfaces.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdITjVpBb5GZFBgwdTYUDvwZp82kxtuaeyIjdT-2pLquTCaQnuQ5b9BctZU6nbAg6q2CJwgnLkTJugh8ecAoJpBGF0XerLxLqE4IebEkZbpm6my_Jt2RLpqi9svMJce6EtoR7E3CJ0Jmc/s640/interior_surfaces.jpg" width="525" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span id="goog_1889880569"></span><span id="goog_1889880570"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br /></span><br />
<br />nielscosmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09182654158167904964noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8567050072017787929.post-30911539237868826322011-10-11T23:00:00.001-04:002011-10-12T01:50:29.457-04:00HELL YEAH!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.goodfuckingdesignadvice.com/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoKbEm2zH7dUY6geQ28uL40UxQYVwivP8NXQW0KJrOTqlAE1CvrOwlnUw8dGtl7JIZOd_o-mxNjPCDZwz4mmrNwjd9Z-9JqI4Lw9666_isBuZt9tMqcWSWvCIuIKrsXcumMZURWQgicac/s640/f%2523*king_advice.jpg" width="525" /></a></div><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span id="goog_1094426551"></span><span id="goog_1094426552"></span></div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Some good F-ing advice from <a href="http://goodfuckingdesignadvice.com/">goodfuckingdesignadvice.com</a> via <a href="http://www.shavingsanddust.blogspot.com/">Prof Zeke</a> via facebook.<br />
<br />
You're welcome.</div>nielscosmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09182654158167904964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8567050072017787929.post-14677350436400724442011-10-10T23:26:00.000-04:002011-10-10T23:26:58.087-04:00A life's work<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="450" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/16435404?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="525"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/16435404">PROFESSIONal</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/vbf">VITA BREVIS FILMS</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.nielscosmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09182654158167904964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8567050072017787929.post-13422705510290615702011-10-05T20:42:00.000-04:002011-10-10T23:24:55.411-04:00Think Different.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge_uUErVvSZUiq273nqiCi3Sj0sLX19MYbKbkvhdeCF4jmoz4lFe_hSWC5cLqDKaizr93rEUXPjIDbPV5Ga3TWcO3A6KbWIXf-_nFCn4A-pgtCS_8KQm397YpvelVQnE8o2e50ut1xa7E/s1600/steve_jobs" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge_uUErVvSZUiq273nqiCi3Sj0sLX19MYbKbkvhdeCF4jmoz4lFe_hSWC5cLqDKaizr93rEUXPjIDbPV5Ga3TWcO3A6KbWIXf-_nFCn4A-pgtCS_8KQm397YpvelVQnE8o2e50ut1xa7E/s640/steve_jobs" width="525" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">R.I.P. Steve Jobs 1955-2011<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/xlgv4JeXCvs?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>nielscosmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09182654158167904964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8567050072017787929.post-4504252049093835842011-10-05T12:34:00.002-04:002011-10-05T14:16:29.260-04:00Virtuallust<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Yu6UbIPchxM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
Chris Schwarz just posted several videos on the <a href="http://lostartpress.wordpress.com/">Lost Art Press blog</a> of perhaps one of my favorite objects that I have never actually seen in person. The toolchest of H.O Studley is one of those things that has always captured my imagination and, until these videos were posted, I only knew it through the handful of images that are readily available and re-published prolifically. The piece, once on loan to the Smithsonian, now resides in a private personal collection (in an undisclosed location). My mental image of the piece was only reinforced several years ago when Norm Abram visited with the chest of an episode of "The New Yankee Workshop". It was then that I discovered that there was even more immaculate ingeniousness and a whole second layer of tools hidden under a series of swinging racks and doors. These new videos, just a sneak peak, introduce new mindboggling level of detail and refinement. Once again my excitement about the chest has been reignited, as well as my virtuallust to one day see it in the flesh.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/3Clg5RsRvnw?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>nielscosmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09182654158167904964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8567050072017787929.post-11335572894852620412011-09-24T13:49:00.001-04:002011-09-24T16:11:12.393-04:00Shameless Self-Promotion: Vote NOW for BB Rattles on Apartment Therapy<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8LrF18mhha7EbD-d8LHfBg_V5S1eV4nnvNXEX2OLflFGJnmsSoOGd1ac5HA_un4jva32T01Wwkuel7KGhyieoakXVpCdsrSIEb1NjD7JLdpZY580ZDtU_KW2swVWzmNywkFyLYWVcJM/s1600/BB_Rattles_2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8LrF18mhha7EbD-d8LHfBg_V5S1eV4nnvNXEX2OLflFGJnmsSoOGd1ac5HA_un4jva32T01Wwkuel7KGhyieoakXVpCdsrSIEb1NjD7JLdpZY580ZDtU_KW2swVWzmNywkFyLYWVcJM/s640/BB_Rattles_2.jpg" width="525" /></a></div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">My <a href="http://nielscosman.com/bb_rattles.html">BB Rattles</a> are up now in <a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/design-showcase/bb-rattle-by-niels-cosman-design-showcase-2011-156819">Apartment Therapy's Design Showcase 2011</a>. Voting is only open for four days (ending Tuesday 9/27) so head over there now and vote.</div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/design-showcase/bb-rattle-by-niels-cosman-design-showcase-2011-156819">>>>>>>>>> VOTE HERE <<<<<<<<<<</a></div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Please submit a vote or three!</div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Thanks! </div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br />
</div>nielscosmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09182654158167904964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8567050072017787929.post-7430983633514702422011-09-05T10:19:00.001-04:002011-09-05T10:21:57.113-04:00Parts & Labor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDL60XAeSYUcaCkvtEYNskc_zX7vYonhbMLQCOFbkfGYPb0_AV8PMVDvE_-anqxQle7v5b49mn7Sf0kUwyTp72dGzvWfMCvdFIA3BnZTIMC1AX2Qwn8tkw15aN4eROhVABpTldnW929Mc/s1600/mess.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDL60XAeSYUcaCkvtEYNskc_zX7vYonhbMLQCOFbkfGYPb0_AV8PMVDvE_-anqxQle7v5b49mn7Sf0kUwyTp72dGzvWfMCvdFIA3BnZTIMC1AX2Qwn8tkw15aN4eROhVABpTldnW929Mc/s640/mess.jpg" width="525" /></a></div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Here we have the latest images from the damage caused by hurricane Niels this past weekend. As you can see, several trees were damaged and workers are working round the the clock to clear the wreckage. </div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Go make a mess!</div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br />
</div>nielscosmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09182654158167904964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8567050072017787929.post-74790740166268834442011-08-30T11:09:00.001-04:002014-08-02T23:57:56.788-04:00Manual Arts Training: Splitting Hairs<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
</div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
</div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOYK1L0mwTLNuy6nds9NAtmbhFRmG__V47CwCFShHoeT0lI0gxauG4Qh1Osko7j6EP0oYAKZHwTCydfOSqUsWebKUeOslNtlYzBQO3NcBUAE4ShIMAuBzJCAgT8sHbWG9-97zz6OKwkK8/s1600/scissors+copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOYK1L0mwTLNuy6nds9NAtmbhFRmG__V47CwCFShHoeT0lI0gxauG4Qh1Osko7j6EP0oYAKZHwTCydfOSqUsWebKUeOslNtlYzBQO3NcBUAE4ShIMAuBzJCAgT8sHbWG9-97zz6OKwkK8/s640/scissors+copy.jpg" width="525" /></a> </div>
<br />
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
I am a pretty serious do it yourself kind of person. If it isn’t extraordinarily dangerous (home dentistry) or potentially costly, I am game for just about anything. There are plenty of things that if you are willing to spend some time in research, tools, and materials you can do yourself, save butt loads of cash, and learn interesting things. For instance, last week I learned how to hardwire a radar detector and install an ipod dock in my car (god bless youtube), saving at least 400 in labor cost. Now 400 bucks is pocket change compare to one basic DIY service that borderlines on criminal: Cutting your hair.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
To me it seems ridiculous to pay someone to cut your hair on a regular basis. Granted my standards are fairly low (a step above flowbie), but with a little practice and a wiliness to look a little silly from time-to-time, there’s no reason that anybody can’t cut their own hair. <br />
After four years of cutting my own hair, I'm fairly certain I can give Supercuts a run for it’s money (not hard). When you figure that one cuts their hair every 3-4 weeks and pays 15-60+ dollars per cut. No matter what end of the spectrum you are on that a lotta bucks over time. My dad has only paid for two haircuts in nearly 7 decades and those trims he strongly regrets. At some point, he ran the numbers and the total savings came out to 3% of the current U.S. dept. Well maybe not that much, but it was in the firmly in the butt-ton range.<br />
<br />
I stopped paying for haircuts in grad school (my girlfriend gave awesome haircuts), but before I was fiercely loyal to my <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJdVzc1Jhfc">hairdresser-on-fire</a>. So loyal that, I drove an hour to get my hair cut in Cambridge when I lived in providence) and I dropped more bucks than I care to mention. After I moved to NYC I was had to fend for myself so I grabbed the scissors that came with a electric hair trimmer I had bought years before and took the first snip into the great unknown. <br />
<br />
<br />
The first haircut was hilarious.<br />
After about 45 minutes of snipping in the first pass, I had managed to de-nude the circumference of my head, but left a healthy smiths-era pompadour. I looked silly, but not quite knit-cap-in-summer bad. It took a couple more passes over the next day or two and I ended up with a half-way decent *cough* very short *cough* haircut. <br />
<br />
Things I have learned so far:<br />
<br />
1. Wash your hair, hippy!<br />
If you cut your hair dirty it’s really hard to tell what’s actually going on. Also it may look OK at first, but you are in for a rude awakening after your first shower. <br />
My hair is dead straight and when it is freshly cleaned, I can fluff up the sides and back and even out all the high spots hands free. Also dry hair falls away freely after it’s cut and can be really easily swept up or VACUUMED (it took me 3 years to figure that one out).<br />
<br />
2. Get good scissors<br />
I got a pair nice of 5.5” (2.25” blade) <a href="http://www.dreiturm-solingen.de/scheren%20eng.htm">Dreiturm scissors</a> from Solingen at a cutlery store for about 100 dollars. Unless I loose them, they will be the only scissors I will every need (unless I get some schmantzy texturing scissors). They are comfortable, fit perfectly in my hand, durable, and cut beautifully. They are also stainless so they don’t rust where they live my travel bag.<br />
<br />
3. Take your time <br />
You can’t put your hair back on without looking silly, so don’t get carried away at when you start cutting. Of course, I am somewhat hypocritical in this regard, as I always seem to cut my hair when I am late or in a hurry. I am happy to say and have mastered the 20 minute hack-job.<br />
<br />
4. Divide and conquer<br />
Work in sections. I start from the sides and work back, trim the top, cut the front and blend. I think the transition from the sides to the back can make or break a haircut, so I leave it to last. The front is also to be cut with care. When I try to cut everywhere all at once, I end up with a haircut that looks like I have been attacked by a British beaver.<br />
<br />
5. Here be monsters (behind your ears).<br />
One day we’ll evolve transparent ears, but until then you wont be able to see the long hairs you will inevitably miss when you cut your hair a week before. Also I should mention ear lobes are soft targets for stray snips, so stock little band-aids.</div>
nielscosmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09182654158167904964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8567050072017787929.post-32151998842898299122011-08-19T18:29:00.010-04:002011-08-20T01:50:53.424-04:00The Last Wallet<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZbVN-pw4UAVvteqcZQI0jcvS6lbSjGmqmmfKRg7NOa-r_sedlozRN0Q3umBtSc1LHuRITWCXIM1k2jxPP95_40k-xRynAehp1t_XPGnhGR7qNGwjUxQ5xhp8y4dyWFA4EU5b78MVy4Wo/s1600/wallet.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZbVN-pw4UAVvteqcZQI0jcvS6lbSjGmqmmfKRg7NOa-r_sedlozRN0Q3umBtSc1LHuRITWCXIM1k2jxPP95_40k-xRynAehp1t_XPGnhGR7qNGwjUxQ5xhp8y4dyWFA4EU5b78MVy4Wo/s640/wallet.jpg" width="525" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">One of my favorite scenes from the book <i>Fight Club</i> by Chuck Palahniuk is when the main character is sitting on the curb outside his recently blown up apartment. Lamenting the loss of all of his stuff he says:</span><br />
<div style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">"You buy furniture. You tell yourself, this is the last sofa I will ever need in my life. Buy the sofa, then for a couple years you're satisfied that no matter what goes wrong, at least you've got your sofa issue handled."</span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">While I don’t think that I am ready to get rid of all my worldly possessions and start fighting underground, I am pleased to report that it appears that I've finally gotten a handle on my wallet issue.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw2RrWsyqQcTlxtWVVWX_LqQibUYBR1wVwHgMEg8sB4MlbjhpcieD-EoGWJtbbT1Rj27_vHCykMnu3yYbKBfNpgnoldfB5qQ0I7rJmmbBf_kYd6n2hgJPaya9QgnlWWJ1BuH-cB5mqJbs/s1600/leather_pos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw2RrWsyqQcTlxtWVVWX_LqQibUYBR1wVwHgMEg8sB4MlbjhpcieD-EoGWJtbbT1Rj27_vHCykMnu3yYbKBfNpgnoldfB5qQ0I7rJmmbBf_kYd6n2hgJPaya9QgnlWWJ1BuH-cB5mqJbs/s640/leather_pos.jpg" width="525" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">For the last 15 years my wallet has been some P.O.S. counter item that I purchased at Banana Republic</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> while still in high school. This little single-fold cardholder has served me well in the intervening years, but it has seen better days. Honestly for the last couple of years to call it a wallet would be fairly inaccurate, seeing as the two halves have long since disconnected. It could probably be more aptly described as a card-packed leather cash-sandwich. Surprisingly enough, despite the sorry sorry state of my leather pocket-wad, I haven’t been able to get rid of it due to some emotional compulsion (insanity?). It could be part sentimentality, part superstition, and part security blanket, but I haven’t been able to give the sucker up. To be perfectly honest, despite my psychological hang-ups, I haven’t really been able to find a suitable replacement either. All the wallets that I’ve seen in stores (or have been gifted) over the years were either too big, to elaborate, or too flimsy. I wanted something super simple and durable. I consider a wallet an intimate item and mine had to be just right. Up until two weeks ago nothing seemed to fit the bill (pun fully intended)!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Well, that all changed last month when I took a trip up to Maine to visit some friends and to attended the annual <a href="http://www.lie-nielsen.com/">Lie-Nielsen Toolworks</a> open house (more about that in the next post). For two nights I was the guest my friend Josie’s father, <a href="http://www.robinlawlorboots.com/bootmaker.html">Robin Lawlor</a>. As it turns out Robin is a master bootmaker and leatherworker with over 30 years experience in the craft. Robin’s work was incredibly impressive and he generously shared his shops and discussed his process. At some point, he caught sight of my pathetic little wallet and said he might be able to do something about it. On the last day, as I pack up to leave, he presented me with a brand new wallet made from leftovers from his various projects. He told me it was made from the finest harness leather and should hold up for a very very long time. I graciously accepted the lovely gift and instantly my attachment to my sweat-soaked billfold disappeared. This for certain was the perfect wallet! It was by someone I know, in this country, and using quality materials that were essentially pre-consumer waste. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipgNf0qCyPDNAAfMQyN7YV5hjcCMArqgDYzHCuP75wNjwFzvk1XV9dq48_tBtbKq8YcMQpNFfsrMdcoTQPCUlz40gaXaNKaAbUi8XJTA_my0ob-vOIG4WjE6jT9QUBs04ff4GXBvJ9AGI/s1600/tale_of_two_wallets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipgNf0qCyPDNAAfMQyN7YV5hjcCMArqgDYzHCuP75wNjwFzvk1XV9dq48_tBtbKq8YcMQpNFfsrMdcoTQPCUlz40gaXaNKaAbUi8XJTA_my0ob-vOIG4WjE6jT9QUBs04ff4GXBvJ9AGI/s640/tale_of_two_wallets.jpg" width="525" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">My new wallet took a little getting used to. It was slightly larger and thicker than my old wallet-shaped object and it was much more rigid. At first, getting cards in and out was a bit of a hassle and it felt a bit squarish in my pocket. But like the <a href="http://www.brooksengland.com/">Brooks</a> saddle on my bike, it would only get better and better with time and use. After only several weeks, the sturdy leather feels buttery soft and has contoured to both its contents and the shape of my butt. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwTrbhd7agAgfNK6fULwkRVj71at344iCObOeKjTgyPTkc0256v1EVo7WP1khD2uzILEUs1SW1lnKvnYsz3rE-v8fRU2S7QzUDYTudX05ZY0feL1N5DzWQ9ene8k5h3NwiJMKSqKpcPiE/s1600/leather_thickness.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwTrbhd7agAgfNK6fULwkRVj71at344iCObOeKjTgyPTkc0256v1EVo7WP1khD2uzILEUs1SW1lnKvnYsz3rE-v8fRU2S7QzUDYTudX05ZY0feL1N5DzWQ9ene8k5h3NwiJMKSqKpcPiE/s640/leather_thickness.jpg" width="525" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Comparing the new and the old, I think this wallet won't suffer the same fate as its predecessor. Looking at at the construction of my old wallet, I get the sense that this was designed to be cheap and disposable. The leather used is perhaps a quarter of the thickness of my new wallet, it's failure was inevitable and most likely intended. It has all the hallmarks of lack of quality that I have come to expect from our mass-manufactures globally-sourced goods. uggh.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">On the bright side, I have every confidence that unless it is lost or stolen, this might be the last wallet I ever will need. That’s a pretty satisfying feeling.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Now if I could only say the same for my sofa.</span><br />
<br />
nielscosmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09182654158167904964noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8567050072017787929.post-43204150759772709802011-08-15T16:33:00.007-04:002011-08-15T17:18:42.380-04:00Manual Arts Training: Shifting Gears<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJrkeiSUoZoZwk6NuYD7j4Lx8MVTm4WqgeHl-jr4kP7ESrIQik-LZKoMWaQDE7N6hCtWL7SIwKMf8hFS5g6fHRWNzST8uyltJYd6yXfi5YNLyZ6Z4A6jAuYhKmIManZoCuL5AUeAcIzO0/s1600/stick_shift.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJrkeiSUoZoZwk6NuYD7j4Lx8MVTm4WqgeHl-jr4kP7ESrIQik-LZKoMWaQDE7N6hCtWL7SIwKMf8hFS5g6fHRWNzST8uyltJYd6yXfi5YNLyZ6Z4A6jAuYhKmIManZoCuL5AUeAcIzO0/s640/stick_shift.jpg" width="525" /></a></div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Sorry for the recent lack of lack of bloggering, I blame the summer (and the government, ha!). Hopefully, I’ll get in to gear and catch up on a bunch of subjects that I have been thinking on for the past month. To get things started, I wanted to talk about my most recent foray into manual arts training: learning how to drive stick.<br />
<br />
I am frankly embarrassed that it has taken me this long to really learn how to operated a manual transmission. As a car-dude, my head has hung in shame for far to long. So this summer, I made the decision to buy a new (used) car with a manual transmission to force the issue.</div><a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">To my defense, before buying this car, I <i>could</i> drive stick, albeit miserably. When I was in high school, my cousin Dan took me out for a couple hours at a time with his million year old Audi and I would practice stalling the engine. The problem is that even after an hour or two of practice (less if you count waiting for the car cool down when it overheated), the whole thing doesn’t really sink in. It doesn’t become reflexive and that’s what I was going for. </div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">So what is it like driving stick after a month? Totally different!</div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">After a week, I learned to consistently start and stop without stalling or the car bucking like it was possessed by demons. After two weeks, I was shifting faster and (mostly) stopped shifting in to the wrong gears. And finally after three to four weeks, I am getting fancier and starting to get in the habit of doing things like double-clutching and braking with the engine. After a just month of driving stick all the mystery is gone and I don’t know how or why I hadn’t done this sooner.<br />
<br />
Driving is a lot more fun and a lot more interesting. Also, I find myself trying to do less while driving, or I should say <i>eating</i> less while driving. Long gone are the mornings of eating the breakfast sandwich with one hand and holding the coffee in the other (which is probably better for the interior of the car as well!) I hated talking on the phone driving before, but now I don’t even consider it an even a bad option. Last year, I read and interview with the head of Fiat Design, Lorenzo Ramaciotti,in <a href="http://www.autoweek.com/article/20101206/CARNEWS/101209942">Autoweek</a> where he basically said Americans were more interested in cupholders than driving. Well, what he actually said was:</div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><div style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: small;">"In Europe we joked many times on the relevance of cupholders for the U.S. But we were wrong, because the user profile is completely different. In Europe, we <i>drive</i> cars; thus I have never taken onboard a coffee mug in my life. In the States, you <i>live</i> in your cars, also because the commuting times and distances are longer; thus it is normal to take on board coffee and/or beverages."</span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;">Source: <a href="http://www.autoweek.com/article/20101206/CARNEWS/101209942">What Americans want, according to Fiat design boss Ramaciotti</a>, By: Luca Ciferri, Automotive News on 12/06/2010 </span><br />
<br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">After getting over a brief swell of national pride, I realized that he was absolutely right and the predominance of automatic cars in the U.S. is an extension of that logic. BTW, I've read that less than %7 of all new cars in the U.S. are manual and dropping.<br />
<br />
After moving back to Boston and spending more time in commuter traffic in the last two months than in the entire time I lived in NYC, I am convinced that <i>driving</i> (or getting somewhere in a timely fashion) is probably the last thing on most driver’s minds. If everybody was driving a stick shift, there is no way this whole start-stop-start-stop thing would fly. Like doing anything by hand, driving stick is a far more nuanced and engaged experience. It forces you to make many more decisions than simply: go and stop. As a result, I find myself driving with a greater consideration of what I am doing and what is going on around me. Unfortunately, everyone else is still driving exactly the same.</div><div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I drive a lot. Driving in between Boston, Providence and Brooklyn, I put miles on my car like it’s my job (and it sort of is). I really don’t mind driving for long periods, especially because I generally drive against or outside of high traffic period. However, after learning to drive stick (and getting a new car) I actually look forward to it.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiufzgm2oq5VpnqIdUjV1VwtzGqkn4-H_3whMSLqJu2QvyGa_THmCyt8zqW2fgLNc9bUG4fThQY7x-dwJvbqGSNnX6bU3dgA7eQ2uJ6FXvFgEERqPu_TE48Zk9UbijPl_9a_cAArBgAX7w/s1600/das_auto_bei_gropius_haus.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiufzgm2oq5VpnqIdUjV1VwtzGqkn4-H_3whMSLqJu2QvyGa_THmCyt8zqW2fgLNc9bUG4fThQY7x-dwJvbqGSNnX6bU3dgA7eQ2uJ6FXvFgEERqPu_TE48Zk9UbijPl_9a_cAArBgAX7w/s640/das_auto_bei_gropius_haus.jpg" width="525" /></a></div><br />
Above: Das Auto takes a pilgrimage to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Gropius">Walter Gropius</a>'s House in Lincoln, Mass.</div>nielscosmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09182654158167904964noreply@blogger.com3