Hello my friends!
I hope this post finds you and your families healthy and safe. We are in very good shape here and like you have been staying on top of every bit of news that we can find, from a wide variety of sources. This is obviously a disaster of epic proportions in which we find ourselves and we're all trying to navigate it to safety. I am taking many precautions here and just this past weekend finally broke a 3 week isolation to go to the grocery store. We could have held out for another week or more, but I figured early on a rainy Friday morning the store would be less crowded, and it was. I wore a mask the entire trip and was super careful to sanitize everything that I brought home.
I don't know about you guys but I REALLY don't want to catch this awful thing and we have had quite a few cases in Western MA, although relatively few deaths. I think having everyone stay home and on heightened alert has greatly slowed the spread already, but it is heart breaking to see the daily deaths piling up all over the country, including 25 so far at the local veteran's home. Still, I am hopeful that we will get a grip on this, but it's going to take many stressful months.We'll get through it though!
I've been using my recent down time to get some work done. I just sent a huge batch of steel Metric Mini Prybabies to heat treat last week. Luckily heat treat is still running for now. We'll see if that lasts... Anyhow, a nifty little batch of newly redesigned Mini LockNut Monsters has also been sent out, and another captive bit tool in the Superbug series, called the PopWroach, just went out to heat treat yesterday. So that's three batches of steel tools that are finally approaching the finish line.
Titanium projects are also moving along briskly. I have a new Tiny Tim design that is very cute and those are on the bench awaiting stamping and anodizing. I have a super cool mini angle checking/ruler scale/drawing tool called the QuickDraw that is close to complete as well. There's a small opener/pry tool design based on the very limited stubby MiniBar batch that is sitting on the grinding bench right now, and I'm almost done with the grinds. A steel version of the same tool is also cut and awaiting milling... Also on the stamping bench is a tray of top secret items liberated from an old storage shed in Nevada...So lots of super cool items are coming this year despite the sorry state of the world.
Today I have a batch of Zirconium Hangman hooks done. These are plain, without stamps, and they have the usual heat colored and hand rubbed dark gray finish. I have a second group of these coming soon with stamps, and I have some interesting brand new finishes for Zr that I will be offering for those. At any rate, these guys today are plain vanilla, and are a little thinner than the past batches of Hangman hooks so are very light in weight. They will run $55 each plus shipping and the pp link is below, no limit on them.
Thanks so much for stopping in today. I hope everyone has a safe and healthy week ahead and best wishes to you and your families during this difficult time!
Tuesday, April 07, 2020
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
Stamped Tommyknockers
Hi Everyone,
I think my calendar must be wrong this week. It says that it's early March, but it sure does feel like late April outside. I have never seen such an early spring here in New England and I simply don't believe it yet. It wouldn't surprise me at all if we had a big snowstorm in a week or two...
Despite all the recent and ongoing uproar in the world, the projects in my little shop continue to chug along. I just completed the next generation of Twisted Tims and am almost done with Zr Hangmen, so those two projects will be coming up next. Some nifty brand new designs are in the planning stages too, so the spring and summer are going to be getting very busy here.
Today I have the second half of the Armor Plate Titanium Tommyknocker batch done. These are all stamped, and also anodized with a wide range of colors. I also have a handful without ano for those who want to email and request plain ones. And there are a couple of lefties here too.
Stamped and anodized Tommyknockers will run $75 plus shipping and the link is below, no limit on them. Thank you so much for stopping in today and hope you all are staying safe and healthy.
I think my calendar must be wrong this week. It says that it's early March, but it sure does feel like late April outside. I have never seen such an early spring here in New England and I simply don't believe it yet. It wouldn't surprise me at all if we had a big snowstorm in a week or two...
Despite all the recent and ongoing uproar in the world, the projects in my little shop continue to chug along. I just completed the next generation of Twisted Tims and am almost done with Zr Hangmen, so those two projects will be coming up next. Some nifty brand new designs are in the planning stages too, so the spring and summer are going to be getting very busy here.
Today I have the second half of the Armor Plate Titanium Tommyknocker batch done. These are all stamped, and also anodized with a wide range of colors. I also have a handful without ano for those who want to email and request plain ones. And there are a couple of lefties here too.
Stamped and anodized Tommyknockers will run $75 plus shipping and the link is below, no limit on them. Thank you so much for stopping in today and hope you all are staying safe and healthy.
Monday, March 02, 2020
Titanium Tommyknockers
Hi Folks, and Happy Monday!
Whew, there's certainly some crazy stuff going on right now and I know everyone is watching the situation closely. It would not be the dumbest thing we ever did to stock up on a few weeks' worth of necessities, just in case, and keep washing our hands constantly. I have actually been gearing up and slowly preparing our household for this crisis for the past several weeks because there were obviously potential problems coming and I have little faith in anyone's ability to contain it. My efforts still may not be enough of course, but I'm a big believer in preparedness, and pandemic outbreaks of new viruses that we don't really know much about yet make me quite nervous.
The projects are rolling right along. I'm almost done with the next twisted tool batch but haven't gotten to finish much else these past couple of days. I did do some prep work on the next two captive bit tool batches though and did more grinding on steel metric Prybabies... But my shop is now a whole lot cleaner and I can actually see some work benches again. I figure every 5 or 6 years it doesn't hurt to get out the broom and throw some junk away, whether it needs it or not, haha...
Today I have some new tools for you. These new Tommyknockers are made of the upcycled Armor Plate titanium, and I have to say, this is some of the worst grinding material I have ever encountered. Ugh! There is a reason it's being used to build armored vehicles, because this stuff is ridiculously tough, and it eats expensive grinding belts like candy.
The new Tommyknocker design is identical to the recent steel Atwrenches, with the exception that the butt end is angled rather than round. Same exact footprint otherwise though, a little thicker at .200", with aggressive grip areas, SAE wrench set and 5/16 wrench and bottle opener area. These have a plain stonewashed finish, although I do have a few color anodized ones which are available upon request, and I may do a small sale for those if enough of these are left over...there are a couple of lefties here today as well. No stamps with these, and no extra grinds, it was bad enough just grinding the standard forward grinds, although I did make a few variations and conbinations on the forward grind styles.
Titanium Tommyknockers will run $70 plus shipping and the link is below to purchase, no limit on them. Thanks for dropping by today and please stay healthy my friends!
All gone for today, thank you everyone!
Whew, there's certainly some crazy stuff going on right now and I know everyone is watching the situation closely. It would not be the dumbest thing we ever did to stock up on a few weeks' worth of necessities, just in case, and keep washing our hands constantly. I have actually been gearing up and slowly preparing our household for this crisis for the past several weeks because there were obviously potential problems coming and I have little faith in anyone's ability to contain it. My efforts still may not be enough of course, but I'm a big believer in preparedness, and pandemic outbreaks of new viruses that we don't really know much about yet make me quite nervous.
The projects are rolling right along. I'm almost done with the next twisted tool batch but haven't gotten to finish much else these past couple of days. I did do some prep work on the next two captive bit tool batches though and did more grinding on steel metric Prybabies... But my shop is now a whole lot cleaner and I can actually see some work benches again. I figure every 5 or 6 years it doesn't hurt to get out the broom and throw some junk away, whether it needs it or not, haha...
Today I have some new tools for you. These new Tommyknockers are made of the upcycled Armor Plate titanium, and I have to say, this is some of the worst grinding material I have ever encountered. Ugh! There is a reason it's being used to build armored vehicles, because this stuff is ridiculously tough, and it eats expensive grinding belts like candy.
The new Tommyknocker design is identical to the recent steel Atwrenches, with the exception that the butt end is angled rather than round. Same exact footprint otherwise though, a little thicker at .200", with aggressive grip areas, SAE wrench set and 5/16 wrench and bottle opener area. These have a plain stonewashed finish, although I do have a few color anodized ones which are available upon request, and I may do a small sale for those if enough of these are left over...there are a couple of lefties here today as well. No stamps with these, and no extra grinds, it was bad enough just grinding the standard forward grinds, although I did make a few variations and conbinations on the forward grind styles.
Titanium Tommyknockers will run $70 plus shipping and the link is below to purchase, no limit on them. Thanks for dropping by today and please stay healthy my friends!
All gone for today, thank you everyone!
Friday, February 21, 2020
Brass Son of BeadThings
Hi Everyone,
Winter is certainly still here, but it really hasn't been too bad so far, and spring is now only a few weeks away. I can't wait!
Well, I'm finally back. I've been grinding my brains out for the past two weeks, cleaning and reorganizing the shop, and trying to get some projects to the finish line. I made a lot of progress and am very happy to report that steel metric Mini Prybabies are only a couple of days away from sending out to heat treat. Of course that means I need to spend a couple of whole work days more to get to that point, but they are indeed much closer than they were last week...I also began twisting some of the new ti twisted tools, but once again, several more days in the shop are needed to get those finished up. Also in the wings are two batches of new steel captive bit tools, which are both awaiting grinding. I just ordered abrasives for the new TightWad batches that are coming up. Several older projects are also getting dusted off and will be finally getting some grinding, stamping and other operations in order to get them further along through the finishing processes...all this stuff takes time, but I am steadily plugging away at it.
What I did manage to complete are a portion of the Zr Hangmen and most of the updated titanium Tommyknocker batches. Those are sizable batches so I divided them up into more manageable groups which will allow for a greater variety of finishes. Both of these new tools are coming up next.
In the meantime, I have just completed the rest of the Son of BeadThings. These are made of lead free brass and will run $75 each plus shipping, limit of one please, since it's a tiny batch. I also have a dozen of the steel SOBTHings left too for anyone who wishes to email me and I'll be happy to hook you up. Thanks for your patience and for dropping by today. Hope your weekend is a great one!
All gone, thank you so much!
Winter is certainly still here, but it really hasn't been too bad so far, and spring is now only a few weeks away. I can't wait!
Well, I'm finally back. I've been grinding my brains out for the past two weeks, cleaning and reorganizing the shop, and trying to get some projects to the finish line. I made a lot of progress and am very happy to report that steel metric Mini Prybabies are only a couple of days away from sending out to heat treat. Of course that means I need to spend a couple of whole work days more to get to that point, but they are indeed much closer than they were last week...I also began twisting some of the new ti twisted tools, but once again, several more days in the shop are needed to get those finished up. Also in the wings are two batches of new steel captive bit tools, which are both awaiting grinding. I just ordered abrasives for the new TightWad batches that are coming up. Several older projects are also getting dusted off and will be finally getting some grinding, stamping and other operations in order to get them further along through the finishing processes...all this stuff takes time, but I am steadily plugging away at it.
What I did manage to complete are a portion of the Zr Hangmen and most of the updated titanium Tommyknocker batches. Those are sizable batches so I divided them up into more manageable groups which will allow for a greater variety of finishes. Both of these new tools are coming up next.
In the meantime, I have just completed the rest of the Son of BeadThings. These are made of lead free brass and will run $75 each plus shipping, limit of one please, since it's a tiny batch. I also have a dozen of the steel SOBTHings left too for anyone who wishes to email me and I'll be happy to hook you up. Thanks for your patience and for dropping by today. Hope your weekend is a great one!
All gone, thank you so much!
Wednesday, January 29, 2020
Stubby MiniBars
Hi Everyone,
It's a bright and sunny day here in the Northeast. I love the light this time of year because it's getting a little bit stronger finally, and we're on the right side of the solstice.
Today I have a tiny little tool for you, a stubby version of the steel MiniBar tools. I only have 10 of these so I expect they will be gone in a flash. I may make more up the road though because it's just too darned cute!
Stubby MiniBars will be $55 plus shipping and obviously just one per customer on them please due to the very limited number. Thanks as always and hope your week is going well.
It's a bright and sunny day here in the Northeast. I love the light this time of year because it's getting a little bit stronger finally, and we're on the right side of the solstice.
Today I have a tiny little tool for you, a stubby version of the steel MiniBar tools. I only have 10 of these so I expect they will be gone in a flash. I may make more up the road though because it's just too darned cute!
Stubby MiniBars will be $55 plus shipping and obviously just one per customer on them please due to the very limited number. Thanks as always and hope your week is going well.
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
Son of BeadThings!
Hi Everyone,
It's looking a little cloudy today, but mostly it's been a fairly reasonable and mild winter so far, with just a few super cold stretches. I will take it.
Not too much to report project wise. I'm not sure yet what I will tackle next, but there is a ton of stuff to choose from and I need to get through some tool batches soon. Maybe I will make most of next week a grinding week...
Anyhow, today I have something unusual for you. This is an object that I have wanted to make for a long time. It's a Do It Yourself key fob project, called Son of BeadThing. These hefty little beauties are turned and milled from solid bars of 303 stainless steel and are a wild mashup of past and present bead shapes and concepts. They have a 5 flute element combined with the 3 rib shape from the old whistles and the recent 3 rib beads. Also, a small Terminator style "bell" shaped end which can be used to hide the knot.
The through hole for these is not as big as regular beads though so you would need to use either 550 cord with inner strings removed, or some smaller diameter cord stock. These will come simply by themselves and you can supply whatever you want to create your own personalized piece. A pictorial example of how I did one of mine is below. But I leave it totally up to you and YOUR creative imagination as to how you want to finish, assemble and use these, after all, that's the whole point of DIY! It will be cool to see what you all come up with. :)
This is a first run in steel and a smaller batch in lead free brass will come soon...but this may very well be the first and only batch of these as the production costs were just too crazy high for them. I made the cards for them when I was in the middle of turning them, and I listed aluminum and titanium as possible future runs, but now that is looking unlikely. So in other words, there is a good chance that I won't be making these again.
Son of BeadThings will run $75 each plus shipping and I'll make it a two per customer limit on them please. Thanks for swinging by this week and hope everyone is staying warm.
All gone, thank you so much everyone!
It's looking a little cloudy today, but mostly it's been a fairly reasonable and mild winter so far, with just a few super cold stretches. I will take it.
Not too much to report project wise. I'm not sure yet what I will tackle next, but there is a ton of stuff to choose from and I need to get through some tool batches soon. Maybe I will make most of next week a grinding week...
Anyhow, today I have something unusual for you. This is an object that I have wanted to make for a long time. It's a Do It Yourself key fob project, called Son of BeadThing. These hefty little beauties are turned and milled from solid bars of 303 stainless steel and are a wild mashup of past and present bead shapes and concepts. They have a 5 flute element combined with the 3 rib shape from the old whistles and the recent 3 rib beads. Also, a small Terminator style "bell" shaped end which can be used to hide the knot.
The through hole for these is not as big as regular beads though so you would need to use either 550 cord with inner strings removed, or some smaller diameter cord stock. These will come simply by themselves and you can supply whatever you want to create your own personalized piece. A pictorial example of how I did one of mine is below. But I leave it totally up to you and YOUR creative imagination as to how you want to finish, assemble and use these, after all, that's the whole point of DIY! It will be cool to see what you all come up with. :)
This is a first run in steel and a smaller batch in lead free brass will come soon...but this may very well be the first and only batch of these as the production costs were just too crazy high for them. I made the cards for them when I was in the middle of turning them, and I listed aluminum and titanium as possible future runs, but now that is looking unlikely. So in other words, there is a good chance that I won't be making these again.
Son of BeadThings will run $75 each plus shipping and I'll make it a two per customer limit on them please. Thanks for swinging by this week and hope everyone is staying warm.
All gone, thank you so much everyone!
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Titanium 3 Rib Magnum Beads
Hi Everyone,
Brrr...it is freezing cold out there this morning, in the single digits F. Looks like it will warm up a bit in a couple of days though.
Well I'm back already with another fresh batch of goodies. For quite some time I've been aching to revisit the old ribbed bead designs from years ago. I finally got a chance to make a few this past fall but didn't have time to finish them up before the holidays. That's the great thing about playoff football though, because it's the perfect time to tie some lanyard strings, in between enjoying some beers and hitting mute on the remote every two minutes when the darned commercials come on. But I digress...
The new Titanium 3 Rib beads borrow from the old ribbed whistle design, but with slightly tapered ends, and they have a great sleek look to them. These are 5/8" diameter, so I would consider these to be Magnum sized beads. I will no doubt be looking into a 1/2" diameter batch at some point but this is a nice starting point for a new series. They have a smooth, bright tumbled finish, without anodizing, and feel great in the hand.
The Ti 3 Rib Magnum beads will run $35 each plus shipping, and there is no quantity limit on them. Thanks for stopping by and hope your week is going great!
Brrr...it is freezing cold out there this morning, in the single digits F. Looks like it will warm up a bit in a couple of days though.
Well I'm back already with another fresh batch of goodies. For quite some time I've been aching to revisit the old ribbed bead designs from years ago. I finally got a chance to make a few this past fall but didn't have time to finish them up before the holidays. That's the great thing about playoff football though, because it's the perfect time to tie some lanyard strings, in between enjoying some beers and hitting mute on the remote every two minutes when the darned commercials come on. But I digress...
The new Titanium 3 Rib beads borrow from the old ribbed whistle design, but with slightly tapered ends, and they have a great sleek look to them. These are 5/8" diameter, so I would consider these to be Magnum sized beads. I will no doubt be looking into a 1/2" diameter batch at some point but this is a nice starting point for a new series. They have a smooth, bright tumbled finish, without anodizing, and feel great in the hand.
The Ti 3 Rib Magnum beads will run $35 each plus shipping, and there is no quantity limit on them. Thanks for stopping by and hope your week is going great!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)