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CNC question

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Steve B

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Feb 25, 2010, 2:30:58 AM2/25/10
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Along I 15 in Las Vegas, there are some fake ocotillo plants. They are made
out of common rebar, and have an orange flower made of a piece of sheet
metal about 2" x 6", cut in a squiggly pattern. Is there anyone in this
group who has a CNC laser or plasma torch that might be up to making me a
couple hundred?

Steve


Ignoramus2215

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Feb 25, 2010, 8:15:22 AM2/25/10
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Steve, I thought that you had plans to buy one?

i

Steve B

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Feb 25, 2010, 10:33:20 AM2/25/10
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"Ignoramus2215" <ignora...@NOSPAM.2215.invalid> wrote in message
news:j7CdnXpI9OV36hvW...@giganews.com...

Reality set in.

Steve


Pete C.

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Feb 25, 2010, 11:10:06 AM2/25/10
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I could cut them as long as they are say 22ga or thicker. I'm still
working on fine tuning (well, avoiding since the shop is cold) my
machine to handle really thin 30ga stuff, but no problem on stuff a bit
thicker.

Steve B

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Feb 25, 2010, 4:07:59 PM2/25/10
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22 would be fine. I shall put a pic on flickr. Very simple.

Steve

"Pete C." <aux3....@snet.net> wrote in message
news:4b869ee9$0$20208$ec3e...@unlimited.usenetmonster.com...

Larry Jaques

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Feb 25, 2010, 7:34:31 PM2/25/10
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On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:30:58 -0800, the infamous "Steve B"
<desert...@fishmail.net> scrawled the following:

Ocotillos are cool plants. What does the artist make the thorns from
if he's using rebar?

I miss the Sonoran desert plants from LoCal every once in awhile. I
love the Palo Verdes and California Pepper Trees, too.
http://www.hotgardens.net/leafy_trees.htm


(for you desert-deprived souls who are now under all that snow, here
are some pics of HOT desert plants. ;)

http://www.banana-tree.com/fouquiera-splendens-ocotillo.html Look
closely. It's rare to see flowering ocotillo trees. Under EACH of
those thousands of pretty little green leaves are 1-2" long spikes
which will flatten a tire with ease.

http://www.sonoranway.com/images/ocotillo_plant.jpg

http://plants.usda.gov/gallery/pubs/fosp2_001_php.jpg Some spikes
showing here.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/424757/ocotillo Strange web
interaction here, at least in Firefox 3.6. You can see spikes in
clear view here, under the leaves.

--
"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it
exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong
remedy." -- Ernest Benn

Martin H. Eastburn

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Feb 25, 2010, 10:39:16 PM2/25/10
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We have Palo Verdes in Texas - had one near an office in Austin
in an empty lot. I liked it myself and captured some seed :-)
Someday I'll drill a hole and soak a seed to start a sprout.
I wonder about a bonsi :-) Flowering green bark, yellow flower tree.

I do remember fond years in Az and west Texas.

If you can't get them cut - let me know. I have cnc plasma.

Martin

Steve B

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Feb 25, 2010, 10:35:13 PM2/25/10
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Steve B

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Feb 25, 2010, 10:44:24 PM2/25/10
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pictures of an ocotillo up close

http://www.flickr.com/photos/deserttraveler/


Pete C.

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Feb 26, 2010, 9:44:02 AM2/26/10
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Steve B wrote:
>
> pictures of an ocotillo up close
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/deserttraveler/

Looks simple enough.

Larry Jaques

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Feb 26, 2010, 10:29:42 AM2/26/10
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On Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:35:13 -0800, the infamous "Steve B"
<desert...@fishmail.net> scrawled the following:

>Here's a closer look.
>
>http://www.flickr.com/photos/deserttraveler/

"Oh." he replied. I guess they serve their purpose from a _distance_,
eh?

Steve B

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Feb 26, 2010, 10:39:51 AM2/26/10
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"Larry Jaques" <lja...@diversify.invalid> wrote in message
news:u3qfo5djqk279fubd...@4ax.com...

> On Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:35:13 -0800, the infamous "Steve B"
> <desert...@fishmail.net> scrawled the following:
>
>>Here's a closer look.
>>
>>http://www.flickr.com/photos/deserttraveler/
>
> "Oh." he replied. I guess they serve their purpose from a _distance_,
> eh?

I'm sorry. Was that a question? Could you rewrite it in the form of a
coherent question?

Steve


Larry Jaques

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Feb 27, 2010, 7:38:42 AM2/27/10
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On Fri, 26 Feb 2010 07:39:51 -0800, the infamous "Steve B"
<desert...@fishmail.net> scrawled the following:

>
>"Larry Jaques" <lja...@diversify.invalid> wrote in message
>news:u3qfo5djqk279fubd...@4ax.com...
>> On Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:35:13 -0800, the infamous "Steve B"
>> <desert...@fishmail.net> scrawled the following:
>>
>>>Here's a closer look.
>>>
>>>http://www.flickr.com/photos/deserttraveler/
>>
>> "Oh." he replied. I guess they serve their purpose from a _distance_,
>> eh?
>
>I'm sorry. Was that a question? Could you rewrite it in the form of a
>coherent question?

No real question. I was saying they don't look like much close-up, and
that they're made to be viewed from a distance. Ambiance art.

Steve B

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Feb 27, 2010, 2:43:38 PM2/27/10
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"Larry Jaques" <lja...@diversify.invalid> wrote

> No real question. I was saying they don't look like much close-up, and
> that they're made to be viewed from a distance. Ambiance art.

Ah, thanks. I can reply to that. From a distance, they look a bit like an
ocotillo. They do look okay, but a little more attention to detail would
have made them look a lot better in mho, plus gradual bends would have been
a LOT more realistic. I don't know what the right angles in the rebar are
all about. Plus, the flowers are not anything like an ocotillo flower. I'm
going to go to the nursery of Google and get a better idea of what a real
flower looks like, and then use that even if I have to pound them from the
flat pieces that are cut out, or combine several.

Steve


Larry Jaques

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Feb 28, 2010, 10:46:31 AM2/28/10
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On Sat, 27 Feb 2010 11:43:38 -0800, the infamous "Steve B"
<desert...@fishmail.net> scrawled the following:

>


>"Larry Jaques" <lja...@diversify.invalid> wrote
>
>> No real question. I was saying they don't look like much close-up, and
>> that they're made to be viewed from a distance. Ambiance art.
>
>Ah, thanks. I can reply to that. From a distance, they look a bit like an
>ocotillo. They do look okay, but a little more attention to detail would
>have made them look a lot better in mho, plus gradual bends would have been
>a LOT more realistic. I don't know what the right angles in the rebar are

Yeah, real ocotillos don't have sharp bends. Poetic license or a
touch of the cubist overcame the poor sot, I guess.


>all about. Plus, the flowers are not anything like an ocotillo flower. I'm
>going to go to the nursery of Google and get a better idea of what a real
>flower looks like, and then use that even if I have to pound them from the
>flat pieces that are cut out, or combine several.

I hadn't seen his style until I went to Wiki. There is one which looks
something like his after all.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Ocotillo02262006.JPG


http://www.banana-tree.com/fouquiera-splendens-ocotillo.html
This is the type I saw in Ocotillo Wells, CA (the Anza-Borrego Desert
section of North America's Sonoran Desert) the closest desert to Vista
when I lived there. The same type is in the xeriscape gardens in the
San Diego Wild Animal Park, my favorite hiking spot. I walked around
while listening to African wild animal noises, smelling exotic poo,
then stumbling upon a Sumatran tiger or two, and then hiked past an
African lion and his mate. I miss that place and bikinis on the beach
in LoCal.

I would have thought they popped onto the end like an xmas tree angel
(ouch!) or a spear point. I think he used all the same shape, too,
where I'd use at least half a dozen different shaped flowers and/or
paint schemes for a bit more realistic look.

Hey, if you make a gazillion leaves and paint 'em green, it'll stay in
spring bloom all year round! It wouldn't take more than a couple
years to do, either. <vbg>

--
Pessimist: One who, when he has the choice of two evils, chooses both.
--Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

Martin H. Eastburn

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Feb 28, 2010, 10:05:56 PM2/28/10
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The one on Wiki is a sad looking maybe dead plant.

Noting like driving in the outbacks and find an old plant
that is trained into a shelter. blooming in arcs.

Martin

Larry Jaques

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Mar 1, 2010, 11:40:54 AM3/1/10
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On Sun, 28 Feb 2010 21:05:56 -0600, the infamous "Martin H. Eastburn"
<lion...@consolidated.net> scrawled the following:

>The one on Wiki is a sad looking maybe dead plant.

It's at the end of the bloom season, with all the leaves gone but
still sportin' fleurs. I most often have seen ocotillos in the
off-season, with no noticeable growth except the thorns, and I've
found them beautiful in that state, too. <shrug>

>Noting like driving in the outbacks and find an old plant
>that is trained into a shelter. blooming in arcs.

Cool.

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