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 My hard-to-photograph model of the Phoenix |
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 About to weld ring #7 at the base of the neck. By this point I'd decided to have the head looking downward rather than toward the sky. |
 I welded on a short piece of square tubing at the top of the main support to act as a socket for the neck that will now over hang too far to be towed on a trailer; it will need to be made to be removeable. I used a cutoff piece of the main and neck tubing to reserve the space needed to fit the ring over both. |
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 Took a pause for a day to can some batches of Persimmon Jams. Most of them also have hot peppers in the jams like Habanero and Ghost peppers. |
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 The finished ring #7. |
 By this point I realized I'd need an eigth ring because of the downward curve. |
 I just kinda like this fuzzy image |
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 Ring 7 seen from above with both square pipes. It is being redied for welding in place. |
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 I'd been working on the head for a little while but forgot to take photos till now. |
 The main beak is made from a post hole digger (shovel) that I cut with a hack saw and bent to shape. The red clay is the shape I want the beak to be. I'm thinking of using some sockets cut in half to make the shape I'm looking for. |
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 Building the spine of the neck. The 3 pipe wrenches at the top are connected to each other and the square pipe that slots into the neck hole. Note that those 3 are not welded to the rest of the body. |
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 Temporarily placing the head in place to check the pose. The Aluminum foil is in place to protect the ceramic cups I originally wanted to use as eyes from sparks and flying molten welding rod. |
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 Ring #8 that will be halfway between the body and the head. |
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 Some head shots of my Birdie |
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