Bermuda Triangles Revisited

Hi Everyone,

Bitter cold here this week (-10F this morning!) and the snow has been unbelievable so far this year. The piles are getting higher and higher with no real melting in sight. I sink nearly to my crotch in the yard so this is about as deep as I've seen it in a long time. I would think that the flooding on the Connecticut River this spring will be spectacular.

Well, it's possible that the first ruler project might start moving forward again this week, we shall see. Once they finally get going with the CNC marking then the final finishing should go fairly quickly as I already have put many hours of preparation time into them.

The first wave of new Prybabies are moving along quickly and should be ready to go to heat treat in a week or so. I was able to put in two days on them this weekend and will be grinding them next on the schedule.

Hard Anodized AL Roll Bars are back from plating and I should have them ready shortly as well. They are feather light and look fantastic!

Well, I had mentioned that I was going to be revisiting some older designs this year and today I have the first of several of those designs ready to go. The Bermuda Triangles were first made probably 6 or 7 years ago or so, I really can't remember now. But I always loved the fiddle factor of them. Recently I was trying to find one of the old ones to play with amidst the chaos and clutter of the shop and office. I couldn't locate any after a brief search so I decided to simply take a look at the drawing and see about making an updated version. Sometimes it's really nice to be a maker!

Anyway, this is version 1 of the new Bermuda Triangle and a second version will also be forthcoming soon. These are cut from .160 titanium and feature a new edge treatment design I'm calling the Fractal Edge because it uses the same 120 degree angle as the main triangle shape, only smaller. I decided to ditch the cap lifter in favor of a closed edge shape and I think the design is much stronger now. The tool has 1/4 and 5/16 wrenches and O2 wrench in addition to the main 7/8 hex opening. The fiddle factor of these is off the charts...I tried to vary the anodizing on these as much as possible so they are as different as I can make them although there are a few repeats and some solid colors in the batch. I can't give a choice of colors, I will send you what I send you, but they are all really neat and the colors are vibrant.

The Bermuda Triangles will run $65 plus shipping, one per customer please, and the purchase link is below. Thanks for stopping by today folks, and stay warm this week!  


These are sold out for now, more on the way soon though. Thank you so much!


 

Zirconium 5 Flutes

Happy Friday Evening Everyone!

Today I have a teensy little batch of Lanslide beads to close out the week...these are made of the exotic and expensive material Zirconium. This was the first time I have worked with this metal and I gotta say, it's really weird stuff. Kind of reminds me of a very dense and heavy titanium in that you have to be careful sanding it because the dust is highly flammable. With Zr the fumes are also quite unhealthy and it requires heating with a torch to achieve the final blackened finish. So a good respirator and adequate ventilation are a must when working with it. It's interesting stuff and I'm glad I tried it finally after all these years of hearing about it, but not something I will probably bother with again. Cool finish and final look though.

Anyway, the Zirconium 5 Flute Beads are $45 plus shipping. It is a strict one per customer limit on them please since the batch is very small. Thanks for stopping in and have a great weekend!

Zr 5 Flutes are gone, thank you!

Plain Titanium Roll Bars

Howdy Folks,

It's been cold and just a little snowy here lately as winter grinds on. Not much relief in sight either.

As much as I hate being cooped up in this type of weather I have to admit that it is probably good in the long run. Being bored at home removes a certain amount of distractions and it gives me a chance to work on new drawings. And I have sooooo much new stuff on the horizon both for this winter and well into the spring. I feel like a kid in a candy store and am just frustrated that it all can't happen at once. Better that it doesn't though because slowing things down gives me a chance to make sure that the ideas are really fleshed out to be all they should be.

Update on the rulers: The first one will be a tiny one and if all goes well on it I may have some finished in about a week or so. I have another ti tool in progress that I think will appear before the end of the month. For steel tools the progress has been much slower and I need to squeeze in some time for grinding. But there will be four brand new tools coming over the next three months and at least two reprises/updates to older designs. And possibly a couple more too depending on whether they perfect that cloning technology and make a few more of me. Hehe...

Well, today I have the remainder of the Titanium Roll Bars done. These are plain with no anodizing. The batch is very small so it will be one per customer on them please. The link to order is below. Thanks for stopping by today everyone and I hope your week is a warm and toasty one!


These are sold out, thank you so much everyone!

Titanium Roll Bars!

Happy Sunday Everyone!

Well, no football games today so for the first Sunday in several months I'm not sitting in front of the TV watching sports and packaging up items, tying strings, etc. That's OK though, I'm anxiously looking forward to next weekend which should be quite the game. We'll see if my team prevails or if our hopes will be deflated. :p

In other news, they are calling for a huge snowstorm Monday night and into Tuesday with at least a foot or more coming our way. So I thought maybe I better get my butt in gear and get a sale in today so that everything can ship out tomorrow ahead of the weather.

Today I have a very special offering...brightly anodized titanium Roll Bars! These are so gorgeous that it's killing me to part with them but I guess I will have to.... Anyhow, these little beauties are anodized a variety of brilliant colors. Some are just one color such as UV, electric blue or bright green, but mostly they have various color fades, multi color effects, etc. I was having fun with them and trying to vary the batch as much as possible. Sorry, I cannot honor requests for specific colors, I will send you what I send you, but rest assured every single one of these is a keeper.

This is the first wave of the ti ones and probably I will have just enough for one more sale in a week or so. But the first batch is fairly small so I will make it one per customer on them please. They will run
$65 plus shipping and the link is below....thank you as always for stopping by and I hope your weekend has been a great one.

Ti ones are gone for now, thank you everyone!

Oh yeah, just one more thing...Go Pats! :)

Plain Ti Atwrenches

Happy Tuesday Folks!

Man, it's cold this week again, supposed to be below zero again tonight. At least we have the sun today. It's definitely not my favorite weather but it's good for getting some work done.

The Roll Bars are all on their way as of this morning. I'm not sure yet what I will be making next but I'll keep plugging away at it. The first of the little ruler tools will be at least 2-3 weeks away probably. A few more Roll Bars will be underway by next week...

Today I have the remaining titanium Atwrenches done. I decided to leave these with plain stonewashed finish for the folks who are seeking simpler user tools. If there is one thing I've learned over the years it's that for every guy who likes "Chocolate Fudge Brownie" there's always one who prefers "Vanilla", as I often do myself. :D

The plain ti Atwrenches will run $70 plus shipping and the link is below. The batch is small so I'll make it one per customer to give more folks a chance at them. Thanks for stopping by today and have a terrific week ahead everyone!

Ti Atwrenches are pretty much gone, thank you everyone!

More Roll Bars with Rifle Knurl

Howdy Folks,

Today we're recovering from a somewhat nerve wracking but ultimately gratifying football weekend here in New England. The snow is falling steadily and I just heard the town plow go by...we're supposed to get at least 4 inches of the fluffy white stuff according to the weather forecast. Looks like a good day to stick around the house and do a little sale.
Today I have another wave of stainless steel Roll Bars with rifle knurl completed. They are $48 plus shipping and the link to purchase is below. Thanks for stopping by today and hope everyone has a great week ahead!

Roll Bars are gone for now, thank you everyone!

Rolling In 2015

Hello Everyone,

Well, the holidays are now behind us and I hope it was a great time for you all. I was contending with a nasty stomach bug for most of last week but am back to my old self again finally. Winter has truly arrived here in western MA and we are looking at a thin layer of snow and ice on everything. Temps are frigid right now and going down in the single digits or below 0F overnight most of this week. It's to be expected this time of year and honestly, aside from the Thanksgiving snow and power outage we are getting off relatively easy so far.

I have numerous projects underway or in the planning stages as I map out what I want to do for 2015. I have some stuff that I did not get to last year that I need to finish up such as the second round of Tombstones. There are still a handful of bead projects yet to get to and a few other odds and ends.

Some winter projects for 2015 will include a brand new ruler tool. The R25 (that's R-Two-Five) will be a tiny tool with 2 inch and 5cm scales. Following that, I will be doing a reprise of the original ruler tool with few minor changes (R37) and then perhaps a couple more new variations after those. We'll see how they go from the production standpoint but judging from initial tests I am confident that I can achieve the high quality that I am after, far better than my previous attempts with this genre.

Also coming will be some updates to a couple of older favorites, details coming soon. So far I do not have any knives planned but the year is very very young so we'll see how things unfold.

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Today I have the first wave of 2015 Roll Bars done. I decided to switch to my favorite rifle knurl and am absolutely thrilled with the results. These are just gorgeous... I find the rifle knurl to be very elegant and by far my favorite look.

Anyway, Roll Bars are turning all this week so this is just a first wave and more of them are on the way. I'm considering some other materials and/or variations, so there may be others coming this month as well.

The Roll Bars will run $48 each plus the shipping and I will put a limit of two per customer on them so that a few more folks will have a chance at them. The order link is below. Thanks for stopping in and I'm looking forward to a fun and productive 2015 ahead!

Roll Bars are gone today but more coming in a few days. Thank you!

With 1/2" neon "Spike" tape