Proud of my Progress!

Proud of my progress, especially since I have worked 30 hours since Friday morning and Kevin has invited people over the last three nights since the hot tub is finally up and running.
Got the first row finished and thought about alternating the caps for the next row so that the twisted tea caps were upside down, but that would get tough to keep up. So I kept them the way they were and started on row two. Could have gone all day but my alarm telling me to get ready for work went off.

I haven't had a day off in 3 weeks, so I am very thankful for the 6 days off I will have around Thanksgiving. Might actually bring the Fish home to my parents to work on while I am there, but I'll have to leave it at home for when I am in Florida, don't know how I would get it on the plane...

When Cutting Sheet Metal Use Gloves

Added on the fins last night. They are cut from one of the pieces of copper my friend Dustin gave me. I learned a few things:
1) when cutting sheet metal use gloves, of course being me there I was cutting sheet metal on the kitchen floor still with my dress clothes on from the work day, to excited to put gloves on--until I cut myself, twice. Those edges can be sharp!
2) Kevin noticed that I was having a hard time hammering some of the nails in so he showed me that if there is a block of wood on either side of where you are hammering then the nail goes in easier. I grasped it immediately, that way when hammering the place where the majority of the force goes is onto the nail head because the two blocks damper and lessen any of the force escaping by vibrating off through the wood.
3) From now on I will attach the fins first, had a bit of a hard time getting the tail under the caps that I had already attached so I had to cut the edge so that it came flush with the already laid caps and not under it.
4) When hammering on the end point of a fin it is possible for the wood to split and splinter off, not ideal, but by bending the copper around the edge of the plywood it can be salvaged.
5) Hammering with the opposite hand is a bit difficult.

So here's the fish so far


As for my other bottle cap projects: coasters and Mara's gift I haven't started but have been brainstorming and have quite a few ideas. I'll be excited to start on those once I get a good chunk of the fish done, seeing as the other projects deadline is Christmas, and this one is New Years.

Ouch!

With the deadline of January 1st comming closer and closer I decided to jump in and start on actually attaching the bottle caps to the fish! I got a decent start with only hitting my index finger and thumb a few times -- the last thumb smash really hurt! May be loosing a nail here...
Here are some images of my progress.



I got 12 or so attached until the thumb incedent and I also had the issue that around certen knots in the wood it was extreamly hard to hammer the nail through. I think that putting the fins on first would be helpful, so before I get too far I will have to do that. Waiting for Kevin to get home to help me with the two nails I got hammered in 1/2 way. Then I can say he actually
helped me with it, besides drinking some of the beer to supply the caps.

Updated Mystery Caps

Know what any of these are? Help me out... they are mysteries to me...


From a Facebook Message I found out that this one: is Little Creatures, an Australian Pale Ale, thanks Katie!

Aussie Caps

First round of caps from Down Under:

From Left to Right: Crown Lager ~ Diet Coke ~ Mount Franklin ~ Unknown (1) ~ Chicago Blend ~ Unknown (2) ~ Hofbrauhaus ~ Unknown (3) ~ Coke Zero ~ Hahn Super Dry ~ Unknown (4) ~ Unknown (5) ~ Unknown (6) ~ Unknown (7) ~ Beck's ~ Unknown (8) ~ Smirnoff (1)~ UDL ~ Unknown (9) ~ Coke ~ Unknown (10) ~ Sprite ~ Smirnoff (2) ~ Unknown (11) ~ Corona

Newest of the New Caps

From Left to Right: McSorley's ~ Michelob Ultra Pomegranate Raspberry ~ Samuel Adams (4) ~ Labatt Blue ~ Beck's Non-Alcoholic