Serv-O-Matic as art?

[shane762]

Howdy all.  My modeling time is currently in short supply thanks to my three-month-old baby.  Even though I don’t have the time, energy or concentration to really dig into a model I’ve still had the urge to work on something.  ANYTHING.  I had recently purchased a Serv-O-Matic from Syren and the cherry it’s made of was so beautiful I decided to make it my project. 

I don’t think I need to do a review of the project as I see so many of them in use on various build logs, but I’ll just say to anyone debating about getting one – Get it!  The quality is terrific, and Chuck’s service can’t be beat.  Mine had a very minor issue when I received it and Chuck had it corrected wicked quick.

I followed Chuck’s instructions and spent a goodly amount of time removing all the char from the pieces.  Time consuming but worth it.  I used a true sander as much as possible to avoid rounding the edges too badly.  After sanding to 220 grit I assembled everything but did not affix the gears or end pieces.  Then I rubbed in by hand a coat of 100% pure Tung oil, wiped off the excess after an hour or so and then repeated the oil coat the next day. 

After that I allowed the unit and all the pieces to sit in the brightest window of the house for about a week turning the pieces each day to make sure they got even coverage.  As most of you probably know Cherry darkens and reddens naturally and that process can be sped up by exposing it to bright natural light.  Once I figured the Tung oil was as cured as it was going to get (not really at all but it’ll at least stop seeping) I applied two coats of semi-gloss water based polyurethane with a careful sanding between coats.  Lastly, after allowing the poly a week or so to cure I applied a coat of past wax to get that soft burnished look.

So below you see the result of me turning what most people would do in a few hours into a two or three week project.  In one of the pictures you can see an untreated piece of cherry which gives you an idea of just how much a little work will bring out the color and character of the wood. 

[Moab]

Wow!!! Looks fantastic!!!...Milo

[wefalck]

I would agree that our tools should be as aesthetic, as our products ...

[Chuck]

That does look wonderful.  Great job putting it together.  I hope you have a lot of fun with it.  I do agree with what you said as well.  These tools should be fun to use and hopefully fun and interesting to look at.

 

I am using the same style on my "Syren Rope-Rocket".   I just finished up some retooling of the design and have been subjecting it to rigorous testing for the last week or so.    I am hopeful that I will be able to get this on my site for sale by the end of the year.  I didnt bother cleaning the laser char off it but I should have in hindsight.   But this one was really the prototype to abuse for a few weeks.

 

This latest version is all cherry as well and will handle 3 strand and four strand rope.   You just need to switch out the wheel on the one end and switch and move the smaller gears on the other end to change the configuration.   This is easy to do and just requires the loosening of a set screw.  It was important to me that it look FUN to use.....but it also has to work well....which it has.  This particular rope walk has already made more rope than the usual model builder will make in ten years.    I will let everyone know when its available.   

 

 

 

 

 

[Gregory]

Hope you get it to market before it shows up on eBay as the Peking Rope Dragon...

 

It looks like it would be a nice upgrade from my home made version...

Edited November 17, 2017 by Gregory

[shane762]

4 hours ago, Chuck said:

That does look wonderful.  Great job putting it together.  I hope you have a lot of fun with it.  I do agree with what you said as well.  These tools should be fun to use and hopefully fun and interesting to look at.

 

I am using the same style on my "Syren Rope-Rocket".   I just finished up some retooling of the design and have been subjecting it to rigorous testing for the last week or so.    I am hopeful that I will be able to get this on my site for sale by the end of the year.  I didnt bother cleaning the laser char off it but I should have in hindsight.   But this one was really the prototype to abuse for a few weeks.

 

 

This latest version is all cherry as well and will handle 3 strand and four strand rope.   You just need to switch out the wheel on the one end and switch and move the smaller gears on the other end to change the configuration.   This is easy to do and just requires the loosening of a set screw.  It was important to me that it look FUN to use.....but it also has to work well....which it has.  This particular rope walk has already made more rope than the usual model builder will make in ten years.    I will let everyone know when its available.   

 

 

 

 

 

That looks great,  I bet I could make a five or six week project out of assembling it.  Maybe I'll have the only Syren Rope Walk featuring Marquetry.    Seriously though I'll definitely be picking one up.