It's Nothing to do with Carving - But It's Cool!

This is the famous Doane Spencer Deuce roadster and considered the first hot rod - at least officially. It was born in 1944 out of the imaginations of two classmates at Hollywood High School in Los Angeles, Doane Spencer and Jack Dorn. In 1941, Dorn bought a maroon 1932 Ford roadster. He painted it black, filled the grille shell, removed the fenders and running boards, dropped the front axle, installed a stock 1937 Ford flathead V-8, and added a DuVall split windshield. This car has become the definitive answer to what a deuce roadster is.

This little honey is a '32 Deuce owned by Grip-All Jaws user Kathleen Robbins and her husband. We understand he did most of the work but if the Spencer Deuce is the definitive roadster, the definitive Deuce coupe might well look like this. Simple and elegant. However a 350 Chevy moves this one down the road.

It's made exclusively out of hand-formed and laminated Live Oak rubbed with carbon black and India ink and the engine is lubricated with a mixture of boiled linseed oil and beeswax.

Ok, we're kidding about that last bit but it's pretty cool anyway. BTW the Grip-All Jaws Orbital Holding System is a great way to hold say the body of a 4150 Holley carb while one installs a mod kit and drills jets and things like that. Just sayin'.

Coastal Carvers Show

Over MLK weekend we went to the Coastal Carvers' Show in Lincoln City, Oregon. It's held at the Chinook Winds Resort and Casino. The weather was cold and wet - well, it is the Oregon Coast.
This show is not a juried competition but a display of the art of carvers, sculptors and "ligno-artisans". It's free to the public so it's always well attended. We often had a crowd around the booth especially when R.P. would start talking about how the Grip-All Jaws system was invented.

The featured carver this year was wildlife carver Ron Wright from Coos Bay, Oregon. Here are some of his lifelike birds. The leaves on the branch on the right are made of scraps of copper gutter material.

Next to Ron was Jon "Andy" Anderson of Neotsu, a Lincoln city suburb. Andy is a master fish carver and if his fish were more lifelike, they would smell! His wife did the beautiful calligraphy on the signs - like the Ron Wright sign.



Not to be left out, the National Fish Carvers Guild had their own booth.

This life-sized Osprey was most impressive and here is a detail picture as well. No, I didn't get his name - sorry.

 

Speaking of not getting the name, I didn't get this fellow's name either but this Northwest Indian flatwork was georgous!

This large carving is for a carosel that is being built in Albany Oregon. It's a cerval cat and is in primer for now. Look close at his tail and there is a meerkat perched there. This is being done by volunteers and click the link to see the progress. It's an amazing undertaking!

There was a gourd artist as well, Garry Carr's work was very nice to behold. We apologize for the lousy picture so go to Garry's site and check it out.

 We had a good weekend at the Coastal Carvers Show despite the economy and thanks to the Chinook Winds Resort for the huge display room.

Make Your Own Special Pins

All Grip-All Jaws systems come with grip pins. Heck if they didn't, it would be like getting a guitar without strings.

But we have seen situations where you may need special pins that are shorter or longer or just different.

Here are some that we have used in the past.

The ones of the left are 1/4 inch bolts with the heads cut off then they're covered with 1/4 inch I.D. fuel hose. When inserted into the arms of an orbital, they are about 2" long. You should super glue the hose on to keep it from creeping off.

The middle ones are short threaded studs dipped in liquid rubber grip stuff.

The ones on the right are 1/4 by 3/4 bolts with the heads dipped in more of the rubber stuff.

You can also use long vaccuum caps that you can get at an auto supply store and glue them on to headless bolts or studs.

Here is a set we made for Don Avery at UCR Woods. This is a special rig for his band saw mill and these are 3/8 dia. nylon rod. They hold really well to a big burl. Don slices burls and logs on his band saw and the nylon won't hurt the saw blade. 

So remember, the Tilt-Top and Bench unit take 3/8 pins and the Orbital takes 1/4 inchers. Have at it!



Coastal Carvers Show

The Weekend of the 14th is the weekend for the Coastal Carver's in Lincoln City, Oregon. It's at the Chinook Winds Casino and Resort. They have rooms and eateries and all that stuff.

The club will host a show of art and craftsmanship that is open to the general public. This is just an exhibit and not a juried competition.

Grip-All Jaws will be there as well as lots of others. Pictures to follow......