Let’s do this… // - I’ve got two Anodized “Bourbon” Titanium Hammers hanging out here with no place to go left over from a previous batch of DEDBLO’s. They’re up on the site NOW for the first lucky two to make haste. Link in profile. If you miss this, there will be a winter batch of 10 so don’t fret! - #hammertime

Full House // - If you’ve been following my story you’ve probably spotted these critters. We rescued a pair of kittens this past fall and just a little while ago we also rescued a pup. They’ve been a welcome joy and have been a treat to be their new parents. - First up is Poka. She’s a lab mix from Texas and from a litter of 6. She’s our little Poka-nut. Her name is a mash up of our previous pups name (Kaya) and nickname (Popo). So every time I call Poka, I’m remembering and honoring Kaya. - The kittens are actually from separate litters found as newborns. Jakey is the orange male tabby and was found in a wheelbarrow apparently. Zoey, the female gray tabby, came from the mean streets of Alabama. They’re best buds now. - Poka’s learning the ropes and is proving to be a bit of a smarty pants. At first she wasn’t quite sure about sub-twenty degree New England weather but she’s now starting to love being outside ripping around in the snow and discovering the world with that little nose. Although we miss Kaya, Miss Kali and Little Man Mr. Kito dearly, 44HQ feels more like home again. - #rescuedog

BACK AT IT // - Apologies for the radio silence this past month but if you’ve been following my story, you’ve been seeing some process solid modeling in Fusion 360 and a full redesign of the Snakedriver from the ground up. I’m really close to sending files off to print and to CNC. More on that shortly. So keep watching my story! - Got to it this afternoon on JD’s Huntsman Ti. This builds gonna be a ripper. Good to be back in the shop after all that computer time and getting my hands dirty! - #titaniumisreal

Brilliance // - About 3/4 of the way through my ride this evening the entire woods lit up in an orange tone. That quickly went into a pink purple crimson as the sun dipped behind a ridgeline as I came out onto some railroad tracks. Unexpectedly beautiful after a rather dull grey afternoon! - #lightbro

Electrification // - Opinions. Everyone’s got some. Including myself. It’s been a while since I’ve put my opinion down on the 44HQ Blog but today I waded into those waters. So grab a cup of coffee on your lazy Sunday and head on over to the 44HQ Blog to read all about the electrification of our industry. Mind you, I’m not of the opinion it’s all bad but the intensity that it’s been occurring has me wondering if this is the bicycle we really need or if this is the bicycle our industry wants us to own? I don’t know the answer to that question. And of course drop you opinions in the comments and let the discussion begin! - Editors Note: The above picture is NOT a comparison of Shimano vs SRAM nor is it meant to be a comparison of old vs new. What it is meant to do is visually compare the sheer size and complexity of two very different pieces of technology. - Link in Bio! - #electricity #lessismore

REFURB FRIDAY // - Scored this Hardinge D-119 Dividing Head a while ago and took this week to break it down, clean it, give it a fresh coat of paint and reassembled it this afternoon. I didn’t completely take apart the internals of the main assembly as everything still ran nice and smooth with pretty much zero backlash. This uses Hardinge’s 4° Taper Lock spindle nose so I’m on the hunt for a matching 5” or 6” chuck. In the meantime the ID is 5C collet compatible and the drawbar was with the dividing head luckily. Came out pretty sweet and should be useful for future projects that require divisions of sides to be machined (and I can think about design tooling with this in mind now too). - Refurbishment in reverse order. You can see what tough shape it was in on the last slide. But that’s nothing white vinegar, baking soda and a brass brush won’t cut right through. Paint was brush applied using Rustoleum’s “Smoke Grey” enamel paint. Went in real smooth. I also used a light coat of Penetrol on some of the metal parts. It’s typically used as s paint additive to eliminate brush strokes but you can use it as a rust inhibitor too. I use this on my Bridgeport handles & dials etc to good effect. Just apply a small amount with a rag, rub on thoroughly, let dry and buff. You can use butchers wax on top of that to bring it to an even high sheen surface and more rust protection (that’s what I did to my table saw table). Cool trick I picked up from my Dad. Next up is my Troyke U-9 Rotary Table. - #hardinge #oldiron