Crafting – Page 6

Workshop is Operational!

Yeaaaaaah! That feels good. First cut done on a couple new short swords. I had to use a hack-saw to shorten the long piece of plastic because it wouldn’t fit on the bandsaw’s table. Mo’ plastic mo’ problems? Meh.

These are my new babies. Belt sander and band saw respectively. They still need to be bolted to the table. And I’d REALLY like to get some sound proofing in the workshop before I fire these things up because they’re quite loud. I have some contoured foam incoming to attach to the wall so my neighbours will hate me a little less. Hopefully.

To give you an idea of how hard acrylic plastic is, this was a brand new hack saw. Was. So, for those of you wondering “could I possibly do this project without a band saw?” Yes. Yes you can. But you will need plenty of blades to switch in when they wear out.

I’m not kidding. This one is for cutting metal. So if you’re making one or two Seraph Blades for yourself, a hack saw will do for the rough cuts provided you have enough sheer stubbornness and elbow grease to get through it.

For those of you waiting on orders thank you for your patience. If my health will just continue to improve and my machines cooperate nicely, I should be back in the shop regularly soon.

Good news and bad news

Good news: My band saw and belt sander both arrived early! Now I have tools to work with. 🙂

Bad news: I’ve been sick for the past few days and it seems reluctant to go away. 😦

I don’t talk much about personal issues on this blog cause I know you’re all interested in my work and want to hear about that. I’m just letting you know that my health is currently slowing me down.

My goal for today is to get the band-saw put together correctly.

Fresh Batch Of Acrylic

Woo! It arrived!

Inside this violently yellow package is a tightly-wrapped bundle of ten acrylic slabs. Yes, it’s heavy. About 50lbs. The delivery fella wasn’t sure I could carry it but luckily I lift weights. All that exercise has gotta be good for something!

Will it be 10 longswords? Will it be 20 short swords? Or perhaps 30 daggers? It could be a mix of all three!

Stay tuned to find out what’s coming next from the Adamant Studio…

They’re Heeeeere

Woo! I ordered a small stock of my Blood of Midnight: The Broken Prophecy paperbacks from Createspace so I can sell them locally. I hadn’t even taken them out of the box yet and a friend told me to bring one to her house so she could buy it. It seems that most people are still very much attached to the paper-and-ink format of books despite the wonders of ebooks. I sell many more paperbacks than I do electronic copies even though the ebook retails for only 3.00CAD.

Well, I can’t argue. I like the feel and smell of a book in my hands as much as the next guy though if I’m travelling, it’s Kobo or no-go. Readers want what they want and I’m happy to provide.

I had a wonderful 30th birthday celebration. The house was packed with friends playing with Lego, eating pizza and candy, doodling in colouring books, and of course getting in touch with our inner child via alcohol. I like to take the opportunity to have fun and be silly on my birthday. We call them “kidless kid parties” in which we bring together the things that remind us of our youth and forget about responsibility for awhile.

I’d like to share one of the lovely presents I got from my friend Jocelyn.

This is a custom-made notebook just for me with a dragon eye on the front and my name on the spine. I didn’t know she had such a talent! It’s so cool. She even gave a tutorial afterwards on how to make one of our own. Soon, the Bonavista Writers’ Circle is going to be all blinged out with our own personal writing books. If this doesn’t inspire me to get writing, I don’t know what will.

How to Make Crystal Clear Shadowhunter Blades

So you wanna look like this? Well, bad news: there’s only one Jamie Bower in the world and chances are, you’re not him. But I can help you out with that sweet, sweet Seraph Blade.

You can commission a blade from me. Here’s my Etsy shop! Or you can email me at inkbladestudios@gmail.com to ask about custom orders. Each blade is made to order and is individually made by hand so please allow for a few weeks of crafting time.

But what if you want to make your own? Well, here’s a tutorial on how to carve one from solid acrylic. I make them out of liquid resin these days, but that is a huge expense for a single seraph blade which is probably what you want if you’re reading this.
Continue reading “How to Make Crystal Clear Shadowhunter Blades”

Chapter 3 Update (and some crafting!)

So my editor got back to me with a fixed-up chapter 3 for Blood of Midnight: The Broken Prophecy. Glad to see you feeling better Kal!

I had a bout of insomnia last night so I decided to make the best of the situation and worked on the chapter while the sun rose. So eerily quiet! But on the upside, I got most of the work I had scheduled to do today done before the alarm went off. Go me!

I also got most of the Book That Bleeds completed which is not actually a writing project. It’s a costume prop. I’m going to this year’s Montreal ComicCon and I’ve decided to cosplay as a Drow. I love elves of all sorts but this particular variety has got to be my favourite because of their interesting culture. And before you ask, no, I’m not a super-rare good Drow seeking to redeem himself from the evil ways of his people. Nope. I’m a standard run-of-the-mill evil Loth-worshipping Drow. Yay!

As you might have guessed, aside from writing, one of my passions is costuming. I usually make my own costumes and my wife’s as well. This year is no different except that the budget is a little tiny bit bigger than last year. Perhaps I’ll share some of my in-progress costume-creation shots!

But that can wait until after I finish this fresh-ground hazelnut coffee. Mmm.

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