"The Blades Are In Process"

Hi Folks,
Here's what was accomplished between Saturday, and yestarday.
The 1st. opp. was to mill 1/2 of the profile. (Saturday)
After a quick fixture adjustment the 2nd. opp was completed. (yesterday)
I'm at the shop now adding the rough blade grinds to both sides of the blades.

 
 
 
 
And here are the pics of todays mission.
The 1st. one shows the profiled blade in the fixture I made to add the grinds. To add the grinds to the opposite side I flip the blade to the left, and turn on the mirror image function in the machining center control for the "X" axis.
The 2nd. photo shows a blade all roughed out.
I hope you're enjoying the WIP on these,

"Thanks Folks"

Just a quick thank you to all who have signed on as followers.
Only a few weeks ago the Blog had around 9, and now were up to 21.
Very cool, and I hope to keep you all enthralled.
Yes Wes, you were the 1st....;)
Kenn

"Brass Lanterns"

Hi Folks,

Up for sale are a few Brass Self Lighting Gas Lanterns in a one time design.

These are fairly large, but I had several requests for ones along this line.

They are 2.281 long X .750 over the flats of the hex.

Weight is 3oz. according to my postal scale.

These come loaded with a Green 3mm X 23mm SLGV.

The vial can be removed by taking out the 1/4-20 ss socket set screw in the bottom of the Lantern. The set screw has been drilled to allow viewing of the SLGV as well.

I'm asking $135.00.

Please Email jordanmetalart@gmail.com if you'd like to make a purchase.
All have been SOLD!!

Thanks for looking,

"Machining Of The Frames Completed"

Here we are,
I finished up the final machining of the Frames yesterday.
That included adding the detent hole, milling of the frame lock bar, and adding my makers mark.

Next up, I'll be starting the blades.

Thanks for checking in,

Kenn

" And A Bit Further...."

Hey there Folks,
Here is another progress report for those of you that are following this project.
I was able to add the blade slots this past weekend on the 4th & 5th.
It took 18 passes on each frame with a .140 diameter carbide mill to reach the final slot depth. I had to alter the mill in the surface grinder by spinning the .1875 shank to under .140 to be able to achieve the final depth. With that much of the mill protruding from the tool holder, and the spun shank I was pleasantly surprised the one end mill made it through the entire lot of 20 pieces.

I'm not sure if you can see it in the pics, but these slots are cut along a radius, meaning the X, Y, and Z axis of the machine were moving simultaneously.

So here are a couple of pics...enjoy,

 

"Ahhh Progress"

Hi there folks,
Here are a couple of pictures of the 1st. run on the Ti Frames.
These still need the slot for the blade to fold into, as well as the frame lock cut out.
This was two and a half days or sawing, and run time.
I'm a gettin there;)

"So I've Been Slacking"

Yeah,
I've been slacking a bit on the Jordan Metal Art front.
Other than a little fiddling with the Whistle Protos, I haven't been able to do much the last few weekends.
I needed to take the time to tend to my sorely neglected yard, fix my John Deere, and take care of several wind storm damaged trees.
I hope you all can forgive me...:)
To make up for my selfishness I'll be starting the 1st. run of the Ti Integral Folders on Saturday.
I'm hoping to take them from raw material to finished product within two months time.
There may be some one off items popping up in that time as well.
Thanks for your patience folks, Kenn

"Trying my hand at some Whistles"

Hey there folks,
So after much proding by a few people I've relented, and decided to make a Whistle.
Now I figured if I was going to do it I'd go all out, and visit the classic Pea whistle design.
These prototypes are 6061-T6 Aluminum.
They are 1.625 long X 1.000 high, and .625 thick.
I'm still working on the optimum venturi slot placement, and will be looking for a suitable "pea" to add the trill effect.
I believe these will be nice with a type 3 hard anodize in black.
So, what do you think?

"Ti Drives Available"

Hi folks,
Up for sale are a few of my 6AL4V Titanium Flash Drives.
For the innards I used a SANDISK 16GB Micro Cruzer.
The overall dimensions are .375 X .1.000 X 2.375.
The two halves are held together using six #2-56 SS socket head cap screws.
The back has a slot with a 2mm X 12mm Self Lighting Gas vial installed.

All of the drives pictured have Blue SLGV's, except the Pink one which has a Pink SLGV.

Price is $265.00.

Please Email jordanmetalart@gmail.com stating  "I'll take the  **** colored one". First come first served.

Pink, and Blue are available.
The Green, Raw Ti & Rainbow have been SOLD.
Thanks for looking,

"Additional Knife Progress"

Hey there folks,

I stayed late today at the shop to finish up the blades for heat treat.
First I surface ground them to within .005 of finish thickness.

Next I wrote a program in MasterCam to do a 3D sweeping contour profile using a .125 diameter carbide ball mill. I manipulated the amount of step over, and across step in the program parameters to achieve the rippled/fluted effect on the blade. I was able to use the same program for the opposite side after turning on the mirror image function on the CNC control.

I don't know about you, but I'm digging them...:)

Thanks for looking,  Kenn

        

"Got A Bit Further Today"

Hi all,

Had a few minutes today and was able to press the 1/16 detent ball into the frame lock mechanism.

I also milled a notch in the blade, drilled and taped a hole #2-56 to accept the thumb wheel.

I'm sitting here now flipping it open and closed, great fun....:)

Next I need to finish surface grind the blade to the final thickness to allow for 2 phosphor bronze washers to be fitted on each side of the blade. After that I'll need to add the blade angles, and send it off to be heat treated.

Enjoy, Kenn

"Progress Report"

Well Folks,
I made it to the shop today, and roughed out the Prototype blades.

I think it's looking pretty good so far.

Whatcha think?

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

"Ti Lights"

Hey there Folks,
Here is a fresh lot of  "Ti Lights".
These are made from .500 diameter 6AL4V Titanium, and are 1.270 in length. There are four viewing portals featuring five .093 diameter holes with a 45 degree counter sunk slot. These have a nice satin Scotch Brite finish on them, which I then anodized. Inside is a 3mm x 23mm Self Lighting Gas Vial. Once again the Vial is captivated by the para cord lanyard.

Price on these is $95.00 each.

The Green anodized  have a Green SLGV. !!SOLD!!
The Purple anodized  has an Ice Blue SLGV. !!SOLD!! 
The Blue anodized have an Ice Blue SLGV. !!SOLD!!

If you're interested please Email jordanmetalart@gmail.com with your color choice as well as your payment preference.

As always thanks fo looking folks, Kenn

"Colors"

Hey there folks,

Just wanted to share a photo of some newly anodized Titanium.
I was gifted a sample of a product called Multi Etch.
It apparently cleans impurities while slightly etching the Titanium, making the surface accept the anodizing process with greater success.
This is an amazing product, just look at these colors.
I'm able to achieve much more brilliant results in a wider spectrum now.
Sorry, no new Knife progress this week...:(
Kenn

"Knife Handle Protos"

As promised, here are the 1st. photos of the Integral Knife Project.

These are the one piece Titanium handle prototypes.

3/8" thick, 1" wide, and 2 1/2" in length.

The machining went surprisingly well.

I'm really excited about these, and hope you all like them so far.

Kenn

"New project info"

Hi all,
 I see several of you have been reading the comments in the previous post, and have come to the conclusion that I'm in the process of creating a new item.
I'm going to try my luck at making a Folding Frame Lock Knife. (There I said it....whew)
I did the design in MasterCam, and will be starting a few prototypes as soon as possible.
The Knife will be on the small side, 4" to 4 1/2" over all length which will make for a great EDC.
The handle will be integral, and machined from solid Titanium.
The blades on the protos will be in S30V as that's what I was able to secure for free.
I'm quite excited about this, and hope I can produce a quality product that folks will be proud to carry.
Stay tuned, as I'll be posting pictures of the process.
Kenn

"Ti Lights"

Hey there Folks,
Here is the latest edition in my series of Lanterns "The Ti Light".
These are made from .486 diameter 6AL4V Titanium, and are 1.270 in length. There are four viewing portals featuring five .093 diameter holes with a 45 degree counter sunk slot each. These have a nice satin Scotch Brite finish on them, which I then anodized. Inside is a 3mm x 23mm Self Lighting Gas Vial in Orange or Blue. Once again the Vial is captivated by the para cord lanyard.
Price on these is $95.00 each.
!!These are all SOLD, thanks folks!!
As always thanks for checking in, Kenn

Titanium Flash Drive Housing

Hi folks,
Take a look at this Titanium Flash Drive housing I finished up today.
For the innards I used a SANDISK 2GB Micro Cruzer.
The overall dimensions are .375 X .972 X 2.375.
The back has a slot with a 2mm X 12mm Purple Self Lighting Gas vial installed.
To hold it together I used 6 #2-56 SS socket head cap screws.

I had thought of anodizing this, but it's too cool the way sits now.

It only took 9 hours to make

Thanks for checking this out, Kenn
(This is already spoken for, sorry)

"How about an update?"

Well folks,
I figured it's time for an update here.
For those of  you that aren't aware of it, I had Lumbar Spinal surgery (7 hours on the table) back on 8/25/09.
I've been recuperating since then. This Monday I returned to work, 1/2 days for the next 2 weeks then back to full time. I feel well, and am excited to get back into the swing of things again.
 Stay tuned as I'm going to try my damnedest to put some items new and old up here just as soon as possible.
Thanks for stopping by, Kenn
!!Teaser Picture!!

SLGV* One Off Lantern

I thought I'd share my latest Self Lighting Gas Lantern, I have no plans to make others quite like this. It was just a little project to keep me sane.

Specifications:

Material 360 Naval Brass, 1.875 over all length by .750 hex.

All six side have a viewing slot, and the bottom employs a 1/4-20 ss socket set screw modified with a viewing hole as well. I made a Lucite tube to protect the Self Lighting Gas Vial. At the top I added some fancy ball mill divots for aesthetics.

I purposely used the Brass so this will show wear, tear, and tarnishing over time. The goal is to have this look like something out of a futuristic Sci-Fi movie.

Thanks for checking in folks, Kenn

"PLEXI CUBES with SLGV's"

Well I got ambitious the last two days, and finished up these three new Plexi Cubes. As you can see in my really poor pictures, only one has a self lighting gas vial inserted. This is only because I haven't done the complete install with the Norland 61 epoxy yet. I know, I'm lazy.
So here are the specifics,

1.000" square Plexiglass, with .750 diameter X .125 wide slots milled on all six sides leaving a .500 diameter boss in each. This leaves us with two separate pieces, the outside square and the inside six bosses being the other. In addition I milled my makers mark on one boss, drilled, and reamed another to accept a 2 mm X 12. 5 mm self lighting gas vial. I also added a 45 degree chamfer to all of the sharp edges.

Whew, is that a detailed enough description for ya?

Once again the pics don't do these justice.

Thanks for looking, Kenn

"Lanyard Spur"

I had a small piece left from a bar end the last time I made some Cubes, so I put it aside for awhile.
Finally got an idea as to what to do with it, and here it is.

I'm calling it a "Lanyard Spur"

It's 1.00 across the star points X .201 thick, with a .250 diameter thru hole.

Let me know what you all think, should I make more?
Red Brass?

Stainless?

Titanium? Oh yeah I got Titanium....hehehe.

Thanks for looking,

"RED BRASS CUBE" 2ND. GENERATION

This is "The Cube" 2nd. generation machined from 1" square Red Brass stock. Finish size is .9375 square featuring a .750 dia. inner ball, and eight.3125 square satellites. Thru holes are .281 and .1875 in dia. One satellite cube is drilled .118 dia. thru to accept a small included split ring for use as a key fob, zipper pull or what have you. They also make neat desk curios.
!!!ALL SOLD!!!
The price on these is $65.00 each.
Sorry for the poor pics, but I had trouble w/ reflections in the polished Red Brass.
Thanks for looking, Kenn

"LANYARD FOB PROTO"

  I made this little Aluminum diamond shaped piece a while back and it just kept calling to me to do something with it. So after seeing all the great and varied lanyard beads available it came to me. I added two holes in the side to accept Para Cord, polished it up and tied it to one of my Encapsulators using Matthew Walker knots.
 I think it's cool looking as well as utilitarian.
 Also in the picture is one of my Red Brass Triple Cubes and a fine tip Sharpie for size comparison.
Just thought I'd share, I have to keep posting stuff so all you Folks stay interested. 
Kenn

"ADVENTURES IN GLOW EPOXY'

Well I bought some glow powder and epoxy a while back and today I finally got around to doing something with it. I have to say I'm quite pleased with the results, considering these were charged by overcast sunlight.
 The 1st. picture is of a Porto Span with .140 diameter glow dots.
The second picture is of a prototype Lantern filled with the epoxy/glow powder mixture.
Let me know what you think of these, Kenn