Let there be light

I was blessed this Christmas with the company of my wife and Mom. We had a lovely day together.

And I got some really cool stuff.

Among my "ill-botten gootie", I received some underwear (boxers... I know... too much information), V-neck undershirts, a gorgeous cardigan sweater handmade by my power-knittin' wife Joyce, and a magnifier/lamp for my workbench.

Of course, I'm very excited about the lamp. I assembled it and attached it to my workbench. For about an hour I would sit back and admire it as I worked. My oh, my, what a wonderful tool!

And then it occurred to me.

Maybe I should actually turn it on!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I'd give my right arm for a third arm

No, it's not a puppet. It's called a Dog Groomers Third Arm. The attachment you see in the photo is a hair dryer blower. I attached the opposite... a ShopVac hose.

I was watching a video about a local myrtlewood factory. I noticed that the craftsman had a powerful vacuum nozzle mounted just above the piece he was sanding. The vacuum sucked away most of the debris.

As I've mentioned before, I build my dummies in a bedroom in the house. When I sand or grind, the particles fly around the room and I'm left with a lot of vacuuming. When I saw the aforementioned video, a light went on in my head. (ding!)

I visited the local tool store, but didn't find anything inexpensive that would do the trick. Then I got on the web and poked around. That's when I found the gizmo in the picture. It was only $20. The clamps are very strong. They clamp to my work bench and the ShopVac attachment quite securely. Now when I sand or grind, most of the debris will be sucked into my ShopVac. (Of course, along with my gas mask and eye protectors, I'll have to add earplugs. I'm looking more Hazmat everyday).

More Elmore

This week I received my first "Elmore" castings from Braylu Creations. I sculpted the model, then Buzz James (Braylu entrepreneur) made the mold and castings. I think the "Elmore" castings will be available for purchase soon on the Braylu Creations website. Meanwhile, I'm about to build my first figures from the "Elmore" castings. When completed, I'll forward the pics to Buzz so he can display them next to the raw cast so folks can see what a completed "Elmore" could look like.

Bonehead

I have been encouraged to try my hand at sculpting a head suitable for a 40" figure. I've been scratching my noggin over what to use as an armature. I've seen some built out of wood. I've seen others built out of Styrofoam or foam insulation. Some folks use mannequin heads.

None of those caught my fancy. So I asked myself... what is shaped like a human head... but is slightly smaller... is hollow... and has all of the anatomical features in the right place? Hmmmmmmm. What could I use?

I KNOW! A skull! God used it with some success. Maybe I can, too! Does Ebay sell skulls? Why, yes they do. And mine arrived today!

Not to put too fine a point on it... actually somebody else's skull arrived today. My skull is still in use. (I need it for scratching.)