Honda Motor Company: 2013

Well, friends, despite the lack of posts, we have indeed, as always, been busy. Recently we had the pleasure of working with Honda of America in creating and pouring urethane molds for their new manufacturing and testing facility in  Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico. The urethane molds we made, are being used to cast concrete bumps and European cobble replicas for various testing procedures. As I type this, concrete is being poured and then set into the specially prepared sections of the facility. The following photos document the making of masters to the final concrete slabs made from the molds. Enjoy!

The Euro cobble before we put the grout in.

Tony applying grout to the Euro cobble.

Euro cobble grouted and ready for silicone.

Silicone mold of the Euro cobble.

Resin masters made from the silicone mold.

Euro cobble (far) and Bump (near) ready for urethane.

Urethane mold of the Euro cobble hanging out of the crate Mark built.

Urethane of the bump.

Concrete slab of the Euro cobble, poured from the urethane molds we made.

Our crates arriving at the manufacturing facility.

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It was super cool to have had the opportunity to work with such a large company, and the people we interacted with in regards to the job, especially their designer, Jon, were amazingly helpful and super down to earth.

Thanks for stopping by, The TORK Crew

Embassy Suites – Columbus,Ohio

Hey there, family and friends. Hope all is well with you this second month of the new year. We just finished installing 3 steel & resin panels for the Embassy Suites here in Columbus. The panels are made out of 4 sizes of steel rings, and a select few have colored resin inside,ranging from clear to opaque. These things were crazy heavy, just under approximately 400lbs each, and yes, all three of us moved them by hand….with much grunting, muscle straining,  and creaking of bones.  Enjoy the photos of the install and post install.

Panels being loaded into van.

Tony(front) Mark(backside) finishing the anchors on Panel #2

The final touches of panel #3

View from the bar area.

Another shot from the bar.

…and another from the bar.

View from the buffet/restaurant

View from behind the salad bar.

Thanks for stopping by, The TORK Crew

The Pearl

Well, well, friends at long,  last we have a new post, and our first of 2013.

Featured in this post, is The Pearl, a new Cameron Mitchell restaurant in Columbus’ Short North Arts District. TORK worked with a local design firm to make Cameron’s vision a reality. The Pearl is a restaurant, tavern, and oyster bar, focusing on made-from-scratch food.

The metal work that TORK fabricated, consisted of door frames, a butcher block table base, bakers rack, restroom implements (shelves, toilet tissue holders, mirror frames, etc.), a “green house”,  faux windows, dining table bases, and liquor cabinet doors. Lots of metal, and if we mill it over long enough, our bodies may just have a retroactive hernia thinking about all of the metal we had to sling by hand. Good times. Enjoy the images we have below.

Liquor cabinet: Steel frame and glass stop w/rivets.

Booth backer separating the bar from patrons: Steel w/glass

Door frame: Steel w/rivets

Butcher Block Base: Steel pipe components w/casters.

Shelf cap covering the front of storage cubicles in kitchen: Steel w/rivets

Doorway: Steel w/rivets

Baker’s rack: Steel w/rivets

Faux windows used as lighting: steel frame

Faux windows used as lighting: Steel

Steel door frame and shelf end-cap w/rivets.

Detail of “Greenhouse”: Steel and glass

Steel and glass architecture that covers the stairs to the basement.

Restroom (Mirror frame, handicap rails, shelves, toilet tissue holder, table base): Steel frames and pipe components.

Dining table: Steel w/rivets

Thanks for stopping by, The TORK Crew

Holly Morris visited the U.S. Botanic Garden for the new Savage – DC Breaking Local News Weather Sports FOX 5 WTTG

The Trumpet plant sculptures are featured in this opening bit for the morning show. Too cool!

 

Holly Morris visited the U.S. Botanic Garden for the new Savage – DC Breaking Local News Weather Sports FOX 5 WTTG.

 

Thanks, The TORK Crew

Holly Morris visited the U.S. Botanic Garden for the new Savage – DC Breaking Local News Weather Sports FOX 5 WTTG

Though the sculptures are actually featured in this clip, the Venus pulls a photobomb. LOL

 

Holly Morris visited the U.S. Botanic Garden for the new Savage – DC Breaking Local News Weather Sports FOX 5 WTTG.

 

Thanks, The TORK Crew

Savage Gardens Revisited

Just found out we were mentioned on this blog called Museum A Week in September 2010. Yes, it’s a year+ later, but it’s cool they mentioned us, no?

Thanks, The TORK Crew

Happy Holidays!!!

We here at TORK wish you and yours a happy and safe holiday.

Autumn Already?!

Yea, I know, we’re not the most up to date blog in the blogiverse(?), but we do try and update more than once a year, unlike our poor attempts before this year.

We are always doing something at TORK, even in our slow times. So, just what is it that our shop gremlins been up to since the last post? We we’ve been busy in the casting department, casting many resin bits. Among the castings, a football trophy, Jesus'(for our good friend John Mazzolini, of Mazzolini Artcraft), miniatures of Captain Nemo’s sub the ‘Nautilus’ which are being made into novelty fishing lures (pix to follow soon), some band figures (pix to follow soon), and more vintage Pontiac hood ornaments, which we’ve posted about before.

We have also been honored to make some reproductions of an Iowa state record deer rack, taken by Nick Skinner. See pics of the original and the repros (painted by our own Tony Ball) below.

In the metal shop we installed the Short North tree grates and flower planters. We also designed and hand crafted a metal and resin reproduction of a deer bust mount (which is for sale by the way and can be yours for $4000) See pics below.We also did a custom sign for a customer’s hunting cabin.

More is on the horizon and in the works. Stay Tuned.

Now for oodles of photos of much of the above mentioned stuffs.

Short North Flower Planter (Metal w/galvinizing & powder coating)

Short North Flower Planters and Tree Gtrates (Metal w/galvinizing & powder coating)

Short North Flower Planters and Tree Gtrates (Metal w/galvinizing & powder coating)Short North Flower Planters and Tree Gtrates (Metal w/galvinizing & powder coating)

Custom rusted steel sign designed by TORK (front view)Custom rusted steel sign designed by TORK (side view)

Deer Bust Mount designed and fabricated by TORK. Metal and resin (Mark holding it to show scale)

The original Skinner antlers

Reproductions of the Skinner antlers (Painted by our own Tony Ball)

Reading Nook : Children’s Hospital of Michigan

Better late than never, no?

Here are shots from an install of a reading nook for Children’s Hospital of Michigan we did way back in late May (can you believe it’s the middle of July? Neither can we). This piece was designed and executed by TORK. It’s powder coated aluminum with cast resin leaves, and stands about 15′ tall. Lots of work went into it’s creation, and the hospital folks were well pleased.  And yes, it is cool in pictures, but even cooler in person. So, if you’re in the Detroit metro area, check it out.

Photo credit gos to Grace Serra of Children’s Hospital of Detroit. c2011

These images are huge so please be patient. Thanks!

Children's Hospital of Michigan reading nook/gazebo. Sweet, huh?

Photo #1 from inside the nook (what a cool word...nook)

Photo #2 from inside the nook.

Now, this...this is an amazing shot. Credit goes to Grace Serra.

Thanks for stopping by, the TORK Crew

Children’s Hospital of Michigan -Detroit, MI (Update 3)

Hello! We here at TORK hope you all had a wonderful holiday, and will have a Happy New Years!

Here are a few progress pictures from the Children’s Hospital of Michigan sculpture. Pictures in this gallery are a sneak peek of the resin leaves, which are two color, come in 4 sizes, and cast in Smooth-On Crystal Clear. The metal/aluminum pieces, you’ve seen set up. These are now sanded and awaiting sandblasting, then finally powder coating.  Wooot!

Med size 2 color resin leaf.

Large size 2 color resin leaf.

XL size 2 color resin leaf.

Pile of panels all sanded, ready for sandblasting.

Pile of panels and legs/supports all sanded, ready for sandblasting.

Thanks for stopping by,

The TORK Crew