Rob Johnsey - Broomhill Sculpture Prize

The story continues:

Wednesday 23 April – Friday 24 April
Began bolting the slices together in pairs by laying one on top of the other and drilling through. Each bolt was then eased into position. This was problematic in that the access holes were not very clean so often the screw missed its destination and came out an a different place. In one instance the screw point came through the outside of the lower slice! I’m using large 32 mm washers which means that I loose sight of the screw point. On the other hand the washers are essential for spreading the load on the wood.

Once the slices are fixed as a pair I was able to use the belt sander to shape each outer surface to fit its neighbour. The sanding was going well until I realised that linseed oiling the surface meant that the sanding belt became clogged and greasy. This reduced its effectiveness sometimes down to zero. I resorted to cleaning the belts with a rag and white spirit but this was not that effective. I therefore struggled to shape the 6 or so slices that I had oiled over a period of 3 days!

Sunday 27 April
Made the decision to space each slice from its neighbour by inserting plywood “washers” between each pair. This would result in longitudinal stripes down the surface of the whole sculpture from each star point as well as allow the drainage of rainwater through the whole piece. (If the slices were fixed flush to each other, water would get in and not dry out.)

At the same time I realised that the access holes for each screw could potentially fill with rain water and that this would have to be dealt with or up to a quarter of a pint of water could sit in each hole. After some consideration I decided to make a circular cover for each access hole which could be panel pinned down once each screw had been inserted. These would be made out of marine plywood. These covers would also act as the spacers between each slice. If I put a smear of bathroom sealant on the underside of each disc and also paint it then this should stop rainwater getting in or rotting the wood. The covers could easily be levered up with a screwdriver to gain access to each screw on dismantling the sculpture.

Monday 28 April
Completed preparations for constructing the sculpture. Made a frame to support the structure as it is built. Decided to build not at an angle but with the model horizontal on the workshop floor.

Tuesday 29 April


Bolted all slices together to make the sculpture. Found it difficult to locate all the screws correctly. Often the screw hole was obscured and in a few instances the screw went out at the surface of the wood. Had to red-drill a few times. Have left all the screws in their holes ready to screw into place at the site.

Found that only 12 pieces were needed! Top piece would need to be narrowed to fit. Noticed one or two slices not screwed together securely.

Wednesday 30 April
Decided to half dismantle and tighten screws. The result was that the 12th slice did not need narrowing. Very fortunate! So we have a 12 pointed star after all. Clearly all the slices were at approximately 30 degree angles and not the 27degrees I had hoped for. I should have checked this angle at the beginning and saved myself the time in making the 13th slice!

Thursday 31 April
Dismantled the sculpture and sanded ready for painting.

Friday 1 May
Applied first coat of undercoat to each slice. Used Blakes marine grade undercoat and gloss. Just about dry enough by the end of the day to load into car and take home to continue the process over the bank holiday weekend.

Saturday 2 May
Applied second coat of undercoat in garage. Very difficult due to lack of space. Lots of moving around.

Sunday 3 May
Applied first coat of gloss – Blakes Pillar box red boat paint. OK above the waterline!

Monday 4 May
Applied second coat of gloss paint.

Tuesday 5 May
Carried all slices back to workshop 3 at a time in the car. Got all slices outside in the sun outside workshop to encourage the paint to harden up. Began sanding the outer surfaces with a belt sander and then the orbital finisher.
Wednesday 6 May
Continued in the sunshine to sand and prepare the surfaces.

Applied 3 coats of Varnol in succession, wet on wet.

Thursday 7 May
Fitted bracket to the base of the sculpture by taking slices 1/2 and 25/26, fixing them together then measuring up for the bracket. This turned out to be quite complicated because there was no flat surface or straight lines to work from. With John’s help I succeeded in fitting the base to the brackets with long bolts and nuts. Hopefully this will come together at the site but I cannot be sure!

Gave the outer surface two more coats of Varnol in quick succession. Finished off by wiping with a turps-soaked rag to get a “lovely mat sheen” as it said on the tin. All slices are now ready to transport to the site.

Friday 8 May
After the 2 hour lecture I took the ground spike to the site and began to knock it in with a sledge hammer. Needed help to keep it upright! Was concerned that the top plate might fracture under the hammer blows. Eventually got it to about 8 inches from its final position but was disappointed to see that it had tilted backwards.

Spent the rest of the day in the workshop loading the slices into the car with protective spacers. Paint still not hard enough for these not to stick together under their own weight. Cut the plugs to fill the final holes in the top slice which has to be screwed from the outside. Pity I need these as they will be very prominent on the top of the sculpture.

With the supportive frame on the roof rack and a kit of special tools the car was completely full and would now be left on the roadside until Sunday.



Saturday 9 May
In the middle of the night I decided the sloping ground spike would not do. I was concerned that the sculpture would appear to be tilted up too much. (When I had tried out the angle of tilt with the ply pattern earlier, the angle was quite important to the overall appearance of the thing.) Decided to dig the spike out and realign it.

After an hour’s work with spade and trowel I lifted the spike and whacked it in all over again. This time with more success. The tilt was in a sideways direction this time, which was acceptable.

Cut turf away to gain access to the bolt holes.

Sunday 10 May
Construction of the sculpture on site.

Started early and collected relevant tools. Quite difficult to think of all the necessary implements and expected to return home for some of these. Lucky I live so close to the campus.

Wheelbarrowed all the parts and tools from the parked car, down to the site and laid out the slices on protective polythene sheet. Barbara helped me lift the double, bracketed slice into place. Got the first bolt in but the holes for the second were mis-aligned. This was almost predictable so should have cut larger holes in one of the brackets to allow for this. Used a large round file that once belonged to my father to enlarge one of the holes in situ. Thanks dad.

Greased bolts and lock-nutted them into place. High security measure!

Began to build the sculpture as I had done in the workshop but immediately ran into difficulties when slice no. 3/4 did not match the first one. I always fall foul of sloppy numbering. The numbers get sanded off or painted over and I am not careful enough to replace them. Had to walk down to Tragos to buy a set of drill bits that would allow me to re-drill the screw holes.

Started to make progress by adding slices alternatively on either side. Got the wooden frame I had used in the workshop in place to support the weight of the structure as it grew. Barbara and her mum came to offer support and sat on the grass for about 2 hours watching. Barbara helped me manoevre some of the last pieces into place. These were in danger of falling off before they were fixed.

Tea and cucumber sandwiches in the lovely setting of the garden. Real feeling of responsibility for not spoiling the beauty and tranquillity of this place.

There were problems that I had expected when it came to fitting the last piece. The two sides of the sculpture had come together with a slight twist despite all the efforts to align things carefully. I had to return after Sunday dinner at 6.30 pm to resolve the situation. With a combination of large luggage strap on the outside and thick wooden wedges on the inside I managed to align the last piece reasonably well. (It will never be perfect.) Finished off by using external screws at 45 degrees and then plugging the holes with the plugs I had already cut. These were all left proud while the glue set. Finished at 8.00pm.

Monday 11 May
Friends came to help “launch” the sculpture with a picnic and a bottle of wine. I’m very happy with the outcome. It’s as good if not better than I had imagined. The natural setting really makes a difference.
Tuesday 12 MayReturned to plane off the protruding plugs and excess glue and to give the top slice an extra coat of Varnol. Took lots of photographs in the sunshine.