24 hours to go/1,023 backers/$116K -- High Fives and a Sneak Peak!
about 11 years ago – Thu, Apr 11, 2013 at 11:30:59 PM

Dear Backers,

I just wanted to thank you for being awesome! This is crazy. You would not believe what is sitting on my shop floor right now! What I can't believe is that so many people have gotten behind this project, and I'm honored and humbled to have your support. 

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*Official High Five!* 

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Things are already incredibly busy. I'm dealing with about a dozen different vendors just to get the machine to the point where I can start cutting parts. 

• The ST10-Y arrived day before yesterday. The barfeed arrived yesterday. The electrician finished wiring the machine today. Monday the Haas technician will be on site to get the machine set up, leveled, and tested. 
• Tooling is in various stages of ordering/shipping/sitting on my desk. I'll be posting photos of all this stuff as it comes in. 
• The drill bit I'll be using to drill the primary bore in the body of the pen is $350 for a single drill bit...just to give you an idea where the money is going :) 
• I'm having a set of custom thread taps made to order
• I already have a set of "test" drills sitting on my desk that I'll use to prove out the program before I put in the really expensive tools that can handle titanium. 
• Tool holders will be ordered any day now, I just need to get the number and type of holders firmed up
• Material suppliers are lined up and I'm ready to order the bar stock once the KS funds hit my bank account :) 
• I've already had some sample pocket clips waterjet just to verify the dimensions
• I'm about 90% done with my CAD drawings that I'll use to program the machine
• Enough chit chat, let's see photos! 

Sneak Peek! 

I've also been working with my video guys this week on a couple of video updates so this won't be too much of a spoiler but I know some of you want to see the machine, so here ya go :) It's killing me that I haven't even been able to turn it on yet. However, I have opened and closed the front door about 50 times. 

Yes, it's as big as a car...and this is just the barfeed.

Is that the coolest thing you've ever seen?! For scale, that's a 50 gallon drum on the right

A lot less floor space in the shop now. Overall length: 19 feet  :) 

All the credit for awesome video work goes to my friends Chris and Adam

Just in case you are under the impression this machine is a toy...

Hitting 100K and next steps!
about 11 years ago – Sun, Mar 31, 2013 at 11:48:54 AM

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! 

Well Backers, you did it and pushed this project over the 100K mark! That is totally amazing and I wanted to thank you all for your incredible support for me, the project, the analog, and awesome! 

No good news from Montblanc on refills: 

After several emails and calls with Montblanc I received a "no" on selling me refills at wholesale. Someone once told me not to take "no" for an answer, so several more calls and emails later, I have not heard back. I even offered to buy all of the refills at retail. There is no other supplier on earth (that I know of) who can deliver (at this time) more than 1000 refills...besides Montblanc. So, I'm equal measures sorry and disappointed to say it looks like everyone will have to fend for themselves on getting refills. 

I would also point out that Rollerball refills come in quite a few colors...but they are only readily available from the Montblanc online store (liked below). 

SOURCES FOR Fineliner and Rollerball REFILLS: 

• Amazon
• Some office supply and pen retail stores carry refills
• Directly from Montblanc. I think this is the most reliable option and generally the same price as everywhere else. 

Next Steps:

So you might be wondering what happens now. The short answer is A LOT :) Here is what my schedule for the next couple of weeks is looking like. 

COMPLETED

• Ordering the Haas Servobar 300: Already done. However, the lead time for this equipment has exploded to 6 weeks, from the original 2 weeks I was quoted. I'll post another update on the expected impact in the next week or so. 
• Meet with my SECO tooling rep: So funny story, the guy I met with is the same rep I met about 8 years ago when I was in machining school. He's helping me pick out (and order) the best tools for the job. 
• Speak with a Haas application engineer: I was lucky enough to speak directly with one of the extremely knowledgeable application engineers at the Haas headquarters down in Oxnard, CA. We spent quite a bit of time discussing the most efficient and effective manufacturing strategies. Maybe the subject of another update, but this gets tremendously complex in a very short amount of time. 

TO-DO

New Reward Level: One Aluminum + one Ti Pen!
about 11 years ago – Mon, Mar 25, 2013 at 02:45:05 PM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

Broke $75K and got a great review today!
about 11 years ago – Thu, Mar 21, 2013 at 10:04:57 PM

Well, today was...pretty awesome. We broke the $75K barrier and high pressure coolant is officially on the way! I'd like to extend a sincere and humble thank you to everyone who has taken the leap to support this project. 

If you could use a dose of third party opinion on the Alpha Pen, my first significant review landed today. I sent Tony, over at Everyday Commentary, one of each pen prototype and started wringing my hands, hoping that it wouldn't be too terrible. I'll have to say I'm stunned by the result, and it's a good thing you can't see me through the computer monitor right now because I think I'm still blushing.  

Score: Titainum Alpha Pen: 19 out of 20; Aluminum Alpha Pen: 20 out of 20

Here is a teaser (below) but please visit the blog for the full content of the review: 

"Jason's aesthetic is cohesive, clean, and when electroplated, as gleaming an example of the new craftsman gear movement as I can imagine. You want people to ask about your gear? You want to introduce people to stuff made by talented, small batch craftsmen? Carry the Alpha. It is all you'll talk about...If you are the jobsite type, the tumbled Ti should be your weapon of choice. If you are the suit type, trust me on this one, the electroplated Al will be a showstopper. Truly an elegant weapon for a more civilized age. " --Everyday Commentary

I had to back a couple of current projects!
about 11 years ago – Sun, Mar 17, 2013 at 04:06:05 PM

Hi folks,

Well, inevitably I've been on KS a lot more as of late and I stumbled across a couple of live projects that I backed. In the spirit of Kickstarter, I'm sharing them with you in hopes that you might find them interesting as well and mosey on over there. 

WTF (Wrench That Fits) is a cool little pocket tool. It's got some very cool graphic/sculptural qualities and would be nice to have around even if you never wrench anything with is. I don't think wrench is a verb. The project is from another "one man show" and I think that's cool. 

MuzaMoto bar end turn signals for motorcycles. I've actually been noodling a "decent" LED turn signal for years, so I'm glad this guy finally went ahead and saved me the trouble. I'll probably mount mine on the normal turn signal stalks, since I don't want my bars to be any wider, but I think the fact they are versatile like that is great. Looks like this one is a little slow until some press picks it up, but please forward to any biker friends you may have. You do have biker friends don't you? :) 

Cheers,

Jason