From Swap Meet to Show Bike

[Bunic]

Chris,

Man that is something! Beautiful artwork and amazing craftsmanship! You'd never know that beautiful finished product came from the first shot! Tnx! for sharing!

 

[Leonardo]

What beautiful and clean work you have done Chris!
Really great! Congratulations on both the design and craftsmanship.
All the best,
Leonardo.

 

[JBrandvik]

Chris,
That's stellar work. The before and after photos really highlight just how much time, care, and effort went into the project.
Best

 

[BrianPowley]

Nice work, Chris....

 

[CJ Tate]

Extraordinary! Thank you for sharing all the steps in pictures. I can only imagine how it will catch the light in motion.

 

[Joe]

Almost Heaven like!

 

[BES]

It simply fantasy!!!

Hi Chris!

It simply fantasy!!!
Magnificent study of details!
I think that any biker will go mad looking at this beauty,
When the project will be completely finished also a bike will thin along the street!

Successful end of the project!
And new interesting ideas!

BES Eric S. Brezhitsky

 

[jetta77]

Chris that is something else my friend. I have a hard time engraving things more than 5 or 6 inches long...:thumbs up:

 

[pilkguns]

Rideable Art! Yay! You gonna ride that thing to the Engrave-IN this year?

 

[Bama]

Chris that is great work man. Thanks for sharing the progression of what it takes to do this work.

 

[vanknife]

Hey Chris fantastic job just one thing wrong with it though "the cover is not on my bike" LOL

Cheers

"VAN"

 

[Ron Smith]

That is a flamin' knock out Chris. The combinations look good together. Very clean!!

I can invision a parking lot of bikes clustered around your engraving bunker waiting to be engraved. You won't be able to look up for a couple of years.

Rock on!!

Ron S

 

[Christopher Malouf]

Hey guys and gals .... I very much appreciate the kind words. I just had a much needed, 15 hour, power nap and it's great to read through this thread with my early afternoon coffee.

I still can't believe it's the same cover too. I stated earlier that this work is not as hard as it looks .... and it's not. Unlike working under the microscope with a lot of concentration, it is physically very demanding. It has to be worked into the week so that it doesn't render you literally "lifeless" for the other stuff. It's a test of endurance and these types of projects usually run 3-4 months. I gotta really be in the mood to do it I guess so having a few partially engraved parts laying around is not unusual.

-------


Scott ... this ain't my bike, it's for a customer. Been thinking seriously about selling my Softail and building a Shovelhead. I might even list it on Ebay to see what happens.


Hi Ron ... now if I could only get folks to line up with their knives for engraving This is the year.

 

[Yvan]

Beautiful work as usual Chris. I'm glad to see it chrome plated.

Yvan

 

[Christopher Malouf]

Thanks Yvan, I'm glad it came out as nice as it did.

After experimenting with some different approaches over the last year in the sequence of polishing in addition to the amount of copper used, I can finally guarantee a finish that makes the grade without sacrificing too much detail on the older parts. Balancing imperfections in the aluminum with engraving detail is frustrating to say the least. For awhile, I figured I would have to abandon the bead punching completely. It's something that I certainly am reserving for the higher end projects.

-----

Hey Jerry .... definitely in June man.

Hey Van, I know you were just here in the States .... but I hope you can make it to Scott's Engrave-In too.


Thanks again everyone for the kind words. Hope I didn't miss any questions .... I try not to.

Chris

 

[J Saville]

Chris,

That is fantastic. Flames and Skulls are Out...Scrolls are in!

 

[Mike Cirelli]

Very nice work Chris. It's hard to believe you did the sculpture with a 45 flat. That's some serious cutten. If the customer doesn't have you do the whole bike it's a shame.

 

[Christopher Malouf]

I hope you're right J .... but then again, like the cowboys and Colts mantra ... no matter how much the theme is played, the legend and mystique lives forever ... and folks love the re-runs

----

Mike, I probably wouldn't have done the job if I couldn't sign my name to the complete project. I like the long term commitment and the owner/builder has been very patient .... couldn't ask for a better customer.

This gear cover (for the same bike) had less material to remove .... a bit easier to use an angle grinder than set up for mill. I'll probably carve this one with a 180 degree square graver.

 

[monk]

if that weren't so heavy, i'd sooner wear that for a belt buckle. that's just too pretty for words !

 

[Ray Cover]

Chris,

After doing my first bike part I have a little more appreciation for the large scale work. Well done man the sculpting is really nice.

Ray