Kaz's Random Projects

[kazlx]

It's been a crazy last week for me. So stoked though on how everything is coming out.

 

[1/2 Cup]

A picture says a thousand words.

 

[kazlx]

Picked up some 1/2" titanium the other day. Coming soon. Also have another little brainiac idea coming that's somewhat related. Should be fun.

 

[kazlx]

Still working on the wallets. Finished up a little copper topper for my black version that I've been carrying.

And a ti one. Done on the BP.

Plasma cutting some 1/4" aluminum on the CNC table. These are trim rings for a hand rail that a friend is building. 1.75" material goes through the hole and these will be powdercoated to match and will cover the coring holes.

Sawing 1/2" titanium plate.

Squaring it up on the ol' BP

 

[canbug]

So how do I get in line for a wallet. I know of Kickstarter but not how it all works.
Great work by the way.

Tim.

 

[kazlx]

So here's my other little niche thing. Some of you may follow Tactical Keychains on instagram. He makes a little knife called the TUKK. I revised my wallet and created a version with a perfect little magnet home for it. Sleek, simple and easy to always have a small utility knife.

Cerakote experiment.

 

[zkling]

That's slick, does the knife use an exacto style blade?

 

[kazlx]

Yea, I forget exactly what they are called, Hobby blade #10 or something. I think a 100 pack on Amazon is less than $10. He sells a ton of them, and is a Kickstarter veteran with a host of other things all made in his garage. I was flattered when he was stoked on it.

 

[kazlx]

Don't want to get all spammy, but just thought I'd let those that were interested know that the project is live on Kickstarter. You can search on there for Bux Box or TUKK Box. PM me if you need a direct link. Pretty stoked that it hit the minimum funding level in two hours and is almost 2x that now in the first day. Little bit of redemption for all the time I've spent on this. Feels pretty good to have something to produce that people are excited for.

 

[bullnerd]

Congrats Kaz. I follow you and Zodiak on IG. (525industries)

Can you give a super short explanation of how Kickstarter works?

 

[kazlx]

Thanks man. Basically you create a project and reward tiers for people backing the project. You set a minimum dollar amount for you to create that project. If you meet that minimum, the project is funded and all the backers are charged. You get the money and create and deliver your rewards. If it doesn't fund, nothing happens. You don't get any money or have any obligation to do anything. Creator sets the dollar amount. There is no ceiling. So you could have a $2500 minimum and make $500K

Most 'rewards' for hard goods are the product itself in some form, but there are all types of projects like films, etc. so rewards could be like a day on the set or something like that.

 

[fordgasm]

I could go for an OD green one

 

[bullnerd]

Thanks Kaz, I thought that was how it worked.

 

[kazlx]

I could go for an OD green one

Working on it. The cerakote is definitely more than ano, but not unreasonable if I do them in a batch. I can always add a tier specifically for that if you are interested, because I wouldn't mind doing more of them. The OD green is on the bottom of the orange and lime stack. I have a buddy that works for Orange County Sheriff and he was stoked on it.

 

[GRN96WS6]

So to get one of those wallets one has to back the kickstarter?

 

[kazlx]

So to get one of those wallets one has to back the kickstarter?

I plan on continuing to sell them after the Kickstarter. Working on a company name and website and all that stuff.

 

[GRN96WS6]

I plan on continuing to sell them after the Kickstarter. Working on a company name and website and all that stuff.

But to get one sooner the backers get them first?

 

[kazlx]

Correct. Anyone that backs the project will get theirs first. Then I will start making others available for sale. I plan on also doing some one off/small run combos.

 

[GRN96WS6]

Backed, March needs to hurry up!

 

[kazlx]

Thanks! They should hopefully actually start going out in Feb.

 

[kazlx]

Couple more projects. Finished another cannon for a dude at work.

Sign for my sister-in-law with my soon to be niece due in Feb.

 

[kbs2244]

My 2 cannon projects were sized for easy to find ammo sizes.
One was golf balls and one for marbles.

 

[kazlx]

I've been using 3/8 ball bearings. A bag of 250 is like $5 from McMaster.

 

[zkling]

I've been using 3/8 ball bearings. A bag of 250 is like $5 from McMaster.

Try using lead shot, with a patch if need be. A bit safer for rebound. Although if you aren't shooting against anything hard, that may not be a concern. 000 or 0000 buck is ~.375 IIRC.

 

[ovrrdrive]

Just looked at the kickstarter... Man that thing blew up didn't it?

Congrats on that. It really is an inspiration to those of us looking to just get into the hobby. Seems I have a long way to go though, but I certainly understand when you talk about being obsessed with metal. I just got my first welder 5 or 6 months ago and it's all I think about. I just need projects. Building a plasma table seems like a great way to get more projects.

 

[kazlx]

Just looked at the kickstarter... Man that thing blew up didn't it?

Congrats on that. It really is an inspiration to those of us looking to just get into the hobby. Seems I have a long way to go though, but I certainly understand when you talk about being obsessed with metal. I just got my first welder 5 or 6 months ago and it's all I think about. I just need projects. Building a plasma table seems like a great way to get more projects.

Doing pretty well so far. Can't help but want to do better though . We all started somewhere. I bought my first welder when I was about 19. Hobart 140 mig. I built a simple cart for it, which was basically a rectangular frame with wheels. It sucked. And looked even worse. But it was fun. Oh, and I learned to not weld casters on...

 

[kazlx]

A few gratuitous wallet shots and something different. First op on the first prototype titanium version.

Finished version for a friend. Brass buckle, hand machined.

 

[kazlx]

Now something else. My first knife. Decided to start with a fixed blade just to learn some basics. Per some friend's recommendations, decided to use CTS-XHP, which is a powdered stainless steel. Pretty awesome stuff. Haven't checked it, but should be around 62 HRc as well as hold a pretty wicked edge.

Drew a design I liked in Fusion360, then exported to 1:1 technical drawing. Deleted all the extra stuff to just get an outline to use as a template.

Profile cut and rough ground:

Heat treat following specs:

Coming out:

Close to final:

Almost there, just need to finish the scales:

 

[bullnerd]

Nice!
I saw a pic on IG but no details.
Did you plasma them out? I guess not since you make a template.
Was all this at your shop?
I made a few blanks for some guys way back in the early 90s out of really coarse old files, but never did the detail work.

Nice job dude, just the beginning!

 

[kazlx]

No plasma. Template, bandsaw, 2x72 belt grinder. At my friend's shop. All by hand with basic tools.

 

[bullnerd]

Cool.

Is there a fixture to keep the angle consistent or is that by hand also?

 

[kazlx]

If you look at 2x72 grinders they usually have an adjustable platen. That's what I used set at 6* with a (very simple) jig to keep the blade square to the table rest.

 

[bonneyman]

My wife was looking over my shoulder when I had your wallet page up. She asked what they were, so, I showed her some of your pics. She actually expressed interest in getting one - if they were RIFD shielded.

Is it possible to modify your design for those of us who have concerns about RIFD issues?

 

[kazlx]

It's actually easy, and something I will probably offer, even though it's not much of an issue anymore. Planning on getting blank 'cards' cut out of aluminum. If you place one on the bottom, it will block RFID from that side. You could sandwich your cards if you really wanted to. Here's a good article...as I read up on this quite a bit.

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/...d_are_special_blocking_wallets_necessary.html

 

[kazlx]

I do have something planned that will be a bit more useful though

 

[bonneyman]

Hmmm. Interested to see what you've come up with.

 

[kazlx]

Got this dude pretty much finished up. Need to do some small detail work just to make myself happy, but came out sweet overall.

 

[kazlx]

Plasma stuffs from this weekend. Most of it is pretty straightforward. The Siess family was a pain to draw for me.

 

[kazlx]

Plasma is dialed on .125 steel right now with fine cut consumables.

 

[kazlx]

A little off topic, but my other love. I got a smokin' deal on a new trail bike. Had to have. Brand new and cheaper than what the bare frames normally sell for. Absolutely love it so far.