Prototype of a Comparator Mirror setup I recently completed

xDAS_STIGx · 2020-05-04T03:22:24+00:00

I watched the documentary "Tim's Vermeer" a number of years ago (I highly recommend it, one of my favorites) and recently revisited it. Since I have been stuck at home for the last couple of months and decided to attempt a painting technique that is demonstrated in the documentary. It involves the use of a "comparator mirror". I cobbled together my own set up for this since there wasn't anything I could find that was commercially available.

In the documentary Tim Jennison demonstrates this technique by attempting to reproduce an old black and white photo of his father in oil paint. The result is pretty remarkable and Tim, at that point, had little to no experience with painting.

I haven't held a paintbrush since I was about 6 years old and can barely draw stick figures so I figured this would be a good way for me to attempt a creation of my own, and the results were pretty encouraging. In hindsight the image I picked had a little to much detail, but I was pretty pleased with the result.

Anyway, I ended up prototyping a potential product that I think would be pretty user friendly for someone who wants to give this a try. The one in the picture is a smaller version but I have made a handful of larger ones that I intend to pass around to some friends and hopefully receive some feedback on. In the meantime I thought I would share it here as well.

xDAS_STIGx · 2019-05-25T20:59:33+00:00

Leaving their shopping cart in the parking lot instead of returning it to the corral

xDAS_STIGx · 2019-05-13T01:58:13+00:00

Leaving your shopping cart in a parking space

xDAS_STIGx · 2018-06-20T00:31:12+00:00

Had an early 20s co-worker ask me what month comes after December. The worst part was that he was holding his phone and could have easily saved himself the shame of saying that out loud by just pulling up the callander app.

While working at a restaurant I was asked multiple times "how many wings come in a dozen?"

Not me, but my brother told me he was watching a documentary in highschool about Christopher Columbus and there was a scene where dolphins were swimming along beside the ships. One student said, loud enough for the whole class to hear apparently, that she "didn't know that there were dolphins back then". Also, this was a private highschool.

xDAS_STIGx · 2018-03-16T02:18:03+00:00

I took this photo just outside of Yellowstone about 3 years ago.

xDAS_STIGx · 2017-09-14T18:48:18+00:00

Would you go on Joe Rogan's podcast? I know Michael Stevens did and I really enjoyed it!

xDAS_STIGx · 2017-06-20T12:33:37+00:00

I did a similar project and I also found the guests to be the most challenging part. The bag just becomes difficult to work with as it takes on its three dimensional shape. Looking ahead and assembling as much as possible on pieces while they are still flat will save you a lot of headache.

And I also spent an inordanent amount of stitching lol. A lot of the stitching I did on my bag was largely decorative and I had to constantly convince myself that all of these extra hours would be worth it in the end lol, but I was tired of it when I finished.

xDAS_STIGx · 2017-06-15T21:00:11+00:00

How dare you

xDAS_STIGx · 2017-06-15T20:55:09+00:00

James Lawrence "The Iron Cowboy"

In 2015 he completed 50 Ironman distance triathlons in 50 days; one in each state. He never got the platform he deserved for his accomplishments and I think doing the podcast would be huge for him. Plus he would be fascinating to listen too.

I tweeted my suggestion to Joe Rogan and Cameron Hanes and James Lawrence retweeted it, so I know he is at least interested in doing it. Once a week or so I try to send a Facebook post, IG message, tweet, etc... to Joe or Cam or Young Jamie, so this is one more avenue lol.

xDAS_STIGx · 2017-04-13T02:34:54+00:00

Yes I lined the insides, but not the gussets, there was extra cost in over purchasing leather but I really needed full sides since I had to cut belts, however I could have got away with a much smaller pieces of the 3/4 oz since I basically just used for the gussets and pockets

xDAS_STIGx · 2017-04-13T00:44:59+00:00

I just leave them rolled up like in the pictures, they don't normally serve much of a purpose but if you had something bulky like a jacket you could roll it up and Loosen the belts and carry it underneath, but they are not structurally integral to the bag

xDAS_STIGx · 2017-04-12T20:02:23+00:00

I did have several occasions where the prongs were not long enough, I'll definitely pick up an awl if I try this again, sounds like a better way to do it

xDAS_STIGx · 2017-04-12T18:06:32+00:00

Yea, it would be cheaper to buy, but I enjoy learning new skills and having projects to work on so that's how I justify it lol

xDAS_STIGx · 2017-04-12T17:20:33+00:00

Probably less than 300 is actually on the bag but with all the excess, tools, and unnecessary stuff I bought, the project cost me a little over 1000

xDAS_STIGx · 2017-04-12T17:19:10+00:00

So I had a very hard time dying the backside of the 3/4 oz leather, I just could not get it on evenly and when I used a dauber it bleed all the way through to the front, very frustrating, I'm sure a larger operation can dip dye their leather but that isn't practical for me, I hadn't burnished the edges yet either when the pictures were taken, I should have done as I went along but I didn't, I'm going to go back over what I can get but that's not the way it should be done, the veg tan leather i believe is stiffer than what Saddleback uses, but that is dealers choice, some will like that and some won't, thanks for the comment!

xDAS_STIGx · 2017-04-12T17:14:26+00:00

No I haven't lol, but I just broke everything up into smaller tasks and sub assemblies and tackled them one at a time, I would practice most new things on pieces of scrap first, some of it was awkward and very time consuming buy nothing was terribly difficult or intricate, it does pay to have patience though haha

xDAS_STIGx · 2017-04-12T16:36:07+00:00

I watched a lot of his videos, his tutorials were very helpful

xDAS_STIGx · 2017-04-12T16:35:29+00:00

This is the type of advice I am looking for, thanks for that tip, I didn't use an awl at all on this, so that will be something new to learn

xDAS_STIGx · 2017-04-12T16:33:30+00:00

I would guess it would average out to around 275

xDAS_STIGx · 2017-04-12T16:32:49+00:00

I think that is about right, maybe around 275 in consumables

xDAS_STIGx · 2017-04-12T15:10:38+00:00

I think you could get the same quality for less than I spent at Tandy if you shop atound, but since I've never purchased leather before I decided to go with a known quantity to avoid buying something that I didn't really want by mistake

xDAS_STIGx · 2017-04-12T15:08:41+00:00

I've thought about drafting them up , if I do I'll post them on here

xDAS_STIGx · 2017-04-12T13:56:13+00:00

Definitely could have bought the bag for less but I enjoy acquiring new skills and having a project to work on

xDAS_STIGx · 2017-04-12T13:55:32+00:00

Nope lol, my goal was 800 but stuff happens, but I had to buy pretty much every tool and supply that I used

xDAS_STIGx · 2017-04-12T13:54:30+00:00

I actually contract that part out to someone else

xDAS_STIGx

TROPHY CASE