Today I continued on my sextant project by tracing the outline of the plywood pattern onto thin 1/8” plastic sheet that I brought from home. (I used this Menard’s plastic for a basement project and I had plenty left over.) I carved lettering into this plastic for one of my initial casting tests, and it cast the best. I picked up some hardly-used linocut carving tools at a garage sale over the summer and this is what I’m using to dig through the plastic. It’s very smooth cutting with these tools and it makes nice organic-looking grooves. It has the appearance of carved wood, but is much easier to work. I laid out my Latin text on the outlined sextant shape and began to carve the letterforms. It will take a few days to complete the carving, so I think I will be able to pour this shape by the end of next week if all goes well.
Forklift training Part Two: I learned to drive a forklift today! There is a whole different set of concerns when driving a forklift instead of, say, a car. First off, when you steer, the turning wheels are in the back and not the front. This gives the forklift much more agility but it takes some getting used to. You also have to get the hang of the shifting centers of gravity, whenever you have a load or not. I’d have to say it’s pretty cool machine. I can see why industry relies on them so heavily, because they work so well.
