Homebrew Hall of Fame!

[tacedeous]

i just got done read and looking at some of the most beautiful picks ive ever seen, truely artwork...
im inspired to start creating my own...

whats a good source for handle material... preferably stainless?

[ratyoke]

I usually use www.mcmaster.com for most metals I buy.

[tacedeous]

mcmaster, is awsome... over the years Ive ordered alot of hard to find things...thanks ratyoke... btw awsome... I mean really awsome picks bro... your an inspiration... now to anodize at home... hmmm

[Fisher711]

Well not near the quality of ratyoke's picks posted above, but thought I would share. Got my hands on some street sweeper bristles from LP101 member Clead the other day and this is the first of several picks. Sorry, the close-up of the picks didn’t turn out, so I didn’t post it. I need to work on my photography.
Mike

[raimundo]

I can see you read kaotics tension wrench tutorial, or somewhere you learned to grip that bristle in two locking pliers while bending it in its lateral plane, and then hammering it flat.

About the twist in the tensors, when you put the twist on close to the 90 degree bend, you get a flexy wrench, if you put the twist about and inch and a half from the 90 degree bend, you get a stiffer wrench with a conveniently flat place to put your tensor finger.

It is also possible to make picks out of bristle with a twist after the pickshaft that allows you to hold the pick by the flat sides rather than the thin edges, these handles can be finger loops for putting the second (bird) fingertip through while gripping the pick with thumb and forefinger in front of the loop. Anyway, it works for me, there is a lot of possiblity in makeing the handles differently.

[femurat]

... It is also possible to make picks out of bristle with a twist after the pickshaft that allows you to hold the pick by the flat sides rather than the thin edges, these handles can be finger loops for putting the second (bird) fingertip through while gripping the pick with thumb and forefinger in front of the loop. ...

Interesting point. Just a tip for beginners who choose to give this a try: make the bend BEFORE working on the pick tip. Breaking the just made pick could be a shame!

[raimundo]

To add to what femurat said, bend and twist and inspect before investing any more time in a piece.
You don't want to discover a fracture in either the twist or bend after youve put work into shaping the shaft and picktip

[bembel]

I always wanted a pick set that glows in the dark.
The handles are made of self-adhesive glowing tape, covered with transparent heat shrink tube. Same for the tensioners.
The labels allow to select picks in the dark. They're printed with a "Brother P-Touch" device on transparency tape, but a simple permanent marker will do it as well (maybe even better).
As always, I use gun-blue for rust protection. That's why they look black.

Unfortunately, the glowing effect lasts only a couple of minutes. After that, you'll have to recharge them with a flashlight.

P.S. I've got no internet connection at the moment, so I won't be able to answer any questions. Thanks for your attention.

[ToolyMcgee]

Bembel? I know you from pickset posts over 2 years old. Good posts. Hello! I see you are still making picks.

I use different color heatshrink to color code my pick handles through the partially transparent glow lanyard I wrap them with so I can pick them out in the dark. Mine are bright for about 45 seconds, and visible for about 5 mins. Looks like your tape holds a significantly brighter charge. Nice picks man. Glad to be able to see more of your tools.

-Tooly

[Mr_Bill]

Hello All!! Just made my first set yesterday...so far they seem to work ok

[femurat]

I went to the junk yard this saturday so I asked for some dipsticks... after one hour and a half (10' dremel with cut disc, 10' needle files, 1h sandpaper, 10' test it during the process) I got this beauty! The dark parts in the pictures are shadows: it's surface is like a mirror!
This is my first pick made with a dipstick. It was a lot harder than bristles to file and sand down. The pick is the stiffer pick I have ever tried. It's also the thicker, in fact it works only in less restrictive keyways.
The next project with this material is an half diamond, as soon as my fingers are back from their well deserved rest!

Cheers

[Sly_cooper]

i love when people make there owen its so beautifull. In the true spirit of the art it just makes me so...*teary eyed sniff*
happy

[ingoingo]

hey nice surface!

but why 10 disc wheels, needle files.......

If i made some picks i cut the raw design with the weel and the rest with a pen grinder on the dremel!
an after the procedure the tools are still good!

[femurat]

hey nice surface!

but why 10 disc wheels, needle files.......

If i made some picks i cut the raw design with the weel and the rest with a pen grinder on the dremel!
an after the procedure the tools are still good!

Hi ingoingo, by 10' I meant 10 minutes, not 10 discs! Cheers

[femurat]

This is a specially short hook I made to play with a very restrictive keyway.
It's very thin but the feedback is excellent!

Cheers