**Update**
Good morning everyone.
Just a quick update before weekend...
This week I've been working my way through the list of tasks. Darkening of steel is temporarily on hold though now while I await the arrival of some fresh blacking solution. It is reusable to a certain extent, but my current batch has now lost its potency and needs replacing.
All going well though in terms of making my way through the list.
As you all know, a large chunk of this week has also been taken up with invoicing and general admin/correspondence.
I'm now very happy to say that ALL invoices have been sent out ahead of time! As I mentioned when sending them out, there is no obligation to pay these until orders are ready to ship. Getting them all made up and sent out is a huge relief though and now one less thing to worry about later on.
A big THANK YOU to those who have chosen to pay ahead of time. It's obviously very much appreciated!
Now that much of the admin side of things is taken care of, and everyone's preferences are noted, I can concentrate on working my way through the "TO DO" list.
For "ThinNeckThursday" this week I took some beauty shots of a finished un-Weathered hilt next to my weathered build for comparison:
I did intend on swapping the clamp over on my weathered build in time for these, but didn't quite have one ready unfortunately. I've been experimenting this week with the final method for weathering my clamps and it's taken a little longer than I expected. The one in the above pictures has the rust painted on, as this third party replica is made from stainless steel and not plated.
I've finally settled on a method for selectively removing the plating and getting the underlying steel to rust.
After MUCH experimentation with chemicals and acids, I've decided the most controlled method is to grind off the plating by hand using a rotary tool.
The rust is then kicked off with white vinegar followed by several applications of water spray. The process is sped up using a heat gun:
Please bare in mind that this is freshly applied foil and doesn't yet have any additional dirt and grime. So it still looks VERY clean!
Please consider this a WIP.
The rust seen here is genuine rust though, and I'm really happy with how it's turned out in the end.
No change on the expected arrival time for the injection moulded parts. I'll keep you all informed as soon as I hear any news though.
There have been some developments on the foam packaging too.... I've been let down by the company I originally placed the order with. I've requested a refund and placed the order with a different (better) company. These are in production and will have arrived in time for shipping.
It's only a small thing, but I'm really excited to show these off! Even more excited to be able to ditch the bubble wrap!
Anyway, that's all for this week. I'll continue to keep you updated with any progress.
Have a great weekend everyone!
All the best and MTFBWY!
Dave
Good morning everyone.
Just a quick update before weekend...
This week I've been working my way through the list of tasks. Darkening of steel is temporarily on hold though now while I await the arrival of some fresh blacking solution. It is reusable to a certain extent, but my current batch has now lost its potency and needs replacing.
All going well though in terms of making my way through the list.
As you all know, a large chunk of this week has also been taken up with invoicing and general admin/correspondence.
I'm now very happy to say that ALL invoices have been sent out ahead of time! As I mentioned when sending them out, there is no obligation to pay these until orders are ready to ship. Getting them all made up and sent out is a huge relief though and now one less thing to worry about later on.
A big THANK YOU to those who have chosen to pay ahead of time. It's obviously very much appreciated!
Now that much of the admin side of things is taken care of, and everyone's preferences are noted, I can concentrate on working my way through the "TO DO" list.
For "ThinNeckThursday" this week I took some beauty shots of a finished un-Weathered hilt next to my weathered build for comparison:
I did intend on swapping the clamp over on my weathered build in time for these, but didn't quite have one ready unfortunately. I've been experimenting this week with the final method for weathering my clamps and it's taken a little longer than I expected. The one in the above pictures has the rust painted on, as this third party replica is made from stainless steel and not plated.
I've finally settled on a method for selectively removing the plating and getting the underlying steel to rust.
After MUCH experimentation with chemicals and acids, I've decided the most controlled method is to grind off the plating by hand using a rotary tool.
The rust is then kicked off with white vinegar followed by several applications of water spray. The process is sped up using a heat gun:
Please bare in mind that this is freshly applied foil and doesn't yet have any additional dirt and grime. So it still looks VERY clean!
Please consider this a WIP.
The rust seen here is genuine rust though, and I'm really happy with how it's turned out in the end.
No change on the expected arrival time for the injection moulded parts. I'll keep you all informed as soon as I hear any news though.
There have been some developments on the foam packaging too.... I've been let down by the company I originally placed the order with. I've requested a refund and placed the order with a different (better) company. These are in production and will have arrived in time for shipping.
It's only a small thing, but I'm really excited to show these off! Even more excited to be able to ditch the bubble wrap!
Anyway, that's all for this week. I'll continue to keep you updated with any progress.
Have a great weekend everyone!
All the best and MTFBWY!
Dave
