Makin' it

So, between writing and publishing yesterday's post, I got going on the making. Turns out my pal Bucci was right: forget the art stores and even the hardware stores: for old-school soldering goodness, Radio Shack came through with the whole kit and kaboodle:

Well, the whole kit, anwyay - I'm not really sure what a kaboodle is.  In any case, I sub-let some space in Coco's art studio and got all set up with my tools and consumables, including this sweet temperature-controlled soldering iron:

So, we're ready to Make! But make what? Well, I'm not really sure yet... most of the videos on YouTube talk either about soldering electronics or soldering jewelry, neither of which appeal to me much. I have half a mind to start crafting some D&D minis, but I will probably start out with some generic doodads and geegaws as I experiment with materials and techniques. In that vein, here's the first artifact:

It's a... well, it's four picture-hangers soldered together on three seams, but beyond that, I'm not sure. Coco said it looked like a guy standing akimbo.And it will stand up by itself, so maybe she is on to something.

After the roaring success of Sloppy-Seam Sam, the Soldering Stooge, I tried heftier materials: a few washers I had hanging around. This looked messy again, but cool:

Of course, it couldn't hold up to any stress and one of the washers broke off pretty quick, but it was pretty while it lasted.

I think I'll head down to Archie McPhee and get some more, lighter components to work with, at least as I learn. But we've certainly got traction!

Update: Between writing that and publishing, I did get down to Archie's, and tried two more experiments.

Just a pretty good bond between two wires.

I made a quadruped, but couldn't get the head on. I think I might be using too much flux? Too little? I don't know... back to YouTube.