mobility chair plus shopping cart and 30minutes of well spent grinding cutting welding =

playing more with the vacuum former piqued my interests into thermoplastics.  got my hands on a scroll saw

then i actually happened upon kydex.  well well well.  just look what i've done now :)

tried my hand at more tactical shear holsters.  this worked nicely, but i had a ways to go. 

this was a knife my nephew had and i turned around a nice holster for it.  nice piece.  this was actually Holstex material...like kydex. nice finish

using the vacuum former i made previously i made this:

it's not very fancy and actually didn't work well at all as a sheath.  so i kept playing...

this was a fun process...and got me interested even more.  the plastic sheet used was 0.030" polystyrene.  a nice cheap thermoplastic sheet. but not very durable, and quite brittle.  was great to practice on and play with.  but not for anything tactical

i kept playing though :)

Paintballers!!!  Make your own paint grenades.  There are write ups on the internet on the filler and tubes.  i used silicone tubing from home depot in the plumbing section and fashioned my own pin and retainer from mechanic's wire.  here is the filler station

unscrew the top, add your fill.  attach pressure hose to top nipple at approx 30psi.  cap one end of your precut tubing and slip the open end over the bottom nipple.  hold tight, open the valve and fill to your desired capacity.  play with the size of the grenade and seek which is best for you to carry and throw.  works great.  pretty awesome station, especially when i can now make as many as i want, instead of cringing at the thought of $5 minimum per grenade at the field!!

craigslist = FREE pallets
and
Free pallets =

cushions will be made up at some point.  but right now, these things are quite convenient to have and use.  especially for FREE

Philly's Craiglist is a standard for my initial deal searching spots.  i've been looking and looking for a cheap media blaster.  this would compliment my powder coating gun nicely in prep of the pieces to be coated.  i already sourced a 13" oven on CL.  i found a super deal on this tin can

had pin holes in the bottom. was a food container for tomatoes...55 gallons of tomatoes is a lot of tomatoes.  spot welded the holes up w/ my Snap On FM140a.  not the best mig machine but im happy with it thus far.  another craigslist find.  anyway, thus is the beginning of my media blaster.  angle grinder to the sidewall making the opening.  took clear plexiglass on the side of the drum that wasn't cut open and heated w/ heat gun.  the plexiglass bent over and formed to the drum side.  drilled holes and sealed w/ silicone and screwed on the glass.  i have window screening on the inside to sort of protect the inside of the glass.  there's a 9$ undercabinet flourescent light inside.  i got gloves from ebay for $24 shipped, and i canibalized an oxygen tank holder for the rings and welded to the side for mounts.  they are a bit small but do the job for right now.  eventually i will be opening it up.

not bad at all i'd say.  powering with an OK sized 26 gallon 5 hp husky compressor.  with constant use will cycle constantly.  i'd say a larger compressor is necessary.  but at the moment, it is sufficient as i only use this thing periodically.  once i get more into the bike i'll be heavy on the compressor usage....we'll see how it goes

Harbor Freight is the mecca of cheap tools.  hand tools are typically lifetime warranty and they are really so cheap that you can just buy another and are still under the cost of most other brand tools.  picked up this powder coating gun

works pretty well.  i recommend that replacement plan however.  this houses some sensitive electronics that can go bad if not grounding appropriately.  

here's a sample piece, scrap steel square tube.  did NO prep and looks ok to me

I'll be looking to powder coat many pieces on my 79 xs650 special project...cafe/bobber/rat...i don't know yet

                                                                      here's a stock xs

and here's my muse