Metal Sculpture Project

Question: Another entry! What is this one about?
Cruz: Hello again! This entry will be about a cool metal sculpting project we did in Mr. Grosinger's class.

Inscribed is "Will you go to Prom with Me" Picture: Cruz Flores

Question: So what was the goal of the project? What did you do?
Cruz: The main goal was for us to use our metal working skills to create a holiday gift no bigger than our hands. I made two things; A small promposal (term used when asking someone out to prom) plaque, and a small snowflake. The snowflake was done for fun, since I didn't want to be in class with nothing to do.

Question: Cool. So what was your plan in making the metal plaque?
Cruz: So I made a drawing of how I wanted the plaque to look, and it was a simple template.

Created via Google Drawings

Afterwards I drew the template on paper and made a cutout pattern.

Question: After making a cutout, what happened next?

Cruz: I traced the cutout on a small sheet of aluminum, since it's easy to cut and shape

The shapes are somewhat visible, but I decided to only cut out the flower shape, and to only trace the heart, but to not cut it out. I wanted to make the heart part of the metal, so I just gave it volume for a lack of a better word.

Question: What did you do to the flower after cutting it out? What was the reason behind cutting it out?
Cruz:

 I cut out the flower to make the plaque look nicer and to give the flower more pop. If i had not cutout the flower and had left it like I had first left it when I started cutting, it wouldn't look like a flower at all. It would look like a shagged edge that was done on purpose. You can't ask out a girl by handing her a sharp piece of metal.

Digressing. After cutting out the flower, I attached it to the plaque with a rivet.

Question: You said that you didn't want to cutout the heart shape entirely, but wanted to give it depth instead. What did you mean by that?
Cruz: Well I didn't take a picture of the specific area, but this picture shows the heart kind of sinking in the plaque

It gives the plaque a nicer shape. I gave depth to the heart by using a chasing hammer. A chasing hammer is a hammer with a flat face on side and a curved ball face on the other. I used the ball side to make the heart as it is.

Question: After shaping the plaque and attaching the flower, what came next?
Cruz: Next came the paint. The plaque with the words carved into them without color would look dull, wouldn't you agree?

Like any other heart, I decided to color the one on the plaque red, and decided to color the flower blue for the petals and green for the stem. A standard color scheme.

Ta-da!

Question: After the paint, what did you do next?
Cruz: I should've done this before painting the plaque for a nicer touch, but I forgot. After the paint dried out, I went ahead and inscribed my message onto the plaque. I used these shaped metal stamps to engrave the letters. I would line up a single letter, and hammer the stamp to make sure the mark goes through

Question: What were the finishing touches?
Cruz: After engraving and painting, I just had to sand any edges that seemed sharp. I sanded along the way after every cutout, so it was a small checkup.

Question: So why a plaque to ask somebody out? And who is it?
Cruz: Some may see it as something silly, but it was fun making a plaque for a date. And it'll be a nice memory to look back at in the future. Girls like creativity.
As for who I'm going to ask, I'll keep that information private.

Thanks for reading, and another post will come as soon as possible!

How to Make a Penny Battery

Question: What is a penny battery?

This photo was taken by me...  Cruz Flores

Cruz: The name says it all! It's a battery made completely out of pennies. It may be hard to construct for only a small amount of power, but it is still cool and nifty to see what simple components make up a manufactured battery.

Question: What materials do you need?

Cruz: You would need:
-8 pennies (shaven on one side; 1985 and newer)
-LED light
-switch (optional)
-Cardboard
-Vinegar (Salt water mix and soy sauce can also be used)
-File (sandpaper works too)

Question: Why do the pennies have to be shaven off on one side?

Cruz: Well the battery has two main components: electrode and electrolyte. The copper acts as the positive side of the battery, and the zinc acts as the negative side of the battery. So if you did not scratch off one side of a penny to reveal the zinc, your battery would have no negative end and the electrolyte can pass through. The electrolyte in this case is your cardboard+ your acidic liquid.

Question: Okay, so how do I start making my battery?
Cruz: You can start off by cutting the cardboard into small squares slightly smaller than the penny.
Then get the pieces of cardboard soaked in vinegar. As the cardboard absorbs the vinegar, place one penny, shaven side up.
Place one of the wet cardboard pieces on top of the penny. This is one cell. Continue stacking the pennies in the same manner; copper, zinc, cardboard.

Question: What do I do next?

Cruz: Now it's time to see how much power it has! Grab your LED light and place the wires onto the battery. The wire that is slight longer is the positive side, so that will be touching the top of the battery. and the slightly shorter wire will touch the, if you decided to do so, aluminum foil. If not, then it will be touching the bottom of the battery.

Question: How do I show this on paper?

Cruz: Draw a schematic! A schematic is a diagram showing how the circuit runs.

Question: Can I keep the light on forever?
Cruz: Well, not forever. The battery will dry up, and power will stop running to the LED light, but you can seal the battery to slow down the evaporation process by using electrical tape to connect both the battery and the LED light.

Question: What else can I do with the battery?

Cruz: You can create a switch and wire together the battery and the LED light, that way you can turn the light on and off manually.

Question: Is the battery only useful for powering LED lights?
Cruz: Of course not! You can also power a small fan, so you can also make a hand held fan to use on the go!

Question: Was it fun to do this?

Cruz: Definitely! It was a small science lesson and a small life tip to use when there is no power. You can use your spare change to charge your phone! But that requires much more copper and zinc, so start saving up!