Other projects
Nick's skills allow him to dip into many different fields and create superb products. Ranging from a full suspension mountain bike, to a skull shaped box for his son, the projects all have style and class which make them stand out in the market.
The Delta XCR (Cross Country Racing) mountain bike was the world's lightest full suspension bike when it was produced. The chassis and swinging arm are full monocoque carbon fibre mouldings. Titanium hardware allowed an all up weight of 25 Lbs. including the fitment of an internally stored pump. The quick release bottle mounting is an integral part of the styling. Tested by the team at “What Mountain Bike” magazine they lavished superlatives in their write-up and summarized their love of the machine by reporting “an amazing blend of form and function.”
The client had produced a prototype electric bass guitar but wanted to refine the styling and component layout. Using their prototype, a number of versions were created in Photoshop and a new prototype was subsequently created as a CAD model and taken through to manufacture. The gold plated spikes were actually charging terminals for an internal battery. The central spike was adjustable in length and served to alter the internal resonance of the instrument.
Having made several bespoke Christmas presents for my son it was inevitable that he would say, "What are you going to make me this year Dad?" With no suggestion forthcoming I eventually offered the suggestion that he would get "An empty box" And so the seed was sown. The materials were an easy choice as every modern school boy loves polished metal and carbon fibre. Completed in ten days just before Christmas I machined the "skull" from aluminium and moulded the carbon fibre eyes and nose from a CNC machined mould. The box base is machined from high density tooling board and painted in polished two pack black lacquer.
Kitchens with island units still need mains voltage sockets for appliances. But the available pop-up or below work surface sockets both presented un-acceptable issues. Designing and manufacturing an all new solution presented the opportunity to create an elegant swing-up module with a mechanism that maintains the correct orientation from fitting flush under the worksurface to ready to use on top.
A modern cinema room required a star ceiling with 760 fibre optic stars. Hiding the LED colour changing twinkling light generator was accomplished with a purpose made internally illuminated enclosure. The shelf unit completed the installation with specially designed and moulded carbon fibre “wings” supporting back lit toughened tinted glass shelves.
Another “themed” table; this time for the pet Crested Geckos just in time for Christmas. The red and black colour scheme lent itself to the use of mosaic glass tiles used for the shelves. Designed in CAD, CNC machined and finished in high gloss lacquer.
When my wife asked me for a bird table as a Christmas present a character from my childhood sped into my mind. Taking inspiration from the road running cartoon bird I modelled the body from Iroko hardwood and composites. Stainless steel "feathers", bird feeding table and hand formed aluminium wings completed the cheeky bird in less than four weeks.
