New Doc Project
Day 1
Ventuckey, Calif.
Summer/ Fall 2011
Cool thing #107 about being unemployed; having the free time to develop personal projects. Its been way too long since I have been able to develop a long term personal project. In fact while working for the man that was my biggest complaint. I spent so much time chained up in the office I never had the time to work on any of my own ideas. I get laid off and voila, free time galore!
Just a few miles from Patagonia's Old Iron Works headquarters another climbing visionary Jacob Tester is working on a revolutionary new climbing device. Like Chouinard out in the now famous woodshed, Tester spends hours working and reworking aluminum casts to get the perfect lines for his idea. Smoke pours from his backyard when he is working. The air is full of buzzing saws and ringing hammers. The smell of charcoal and burnt metal greats each curious visitor.
I cant say too much without giving it all away though suffice to say if successful this new device could easily change the climbing community for the better. Tester has spent close to 10 years developing his idea to get to this point. Now it is time to actually build the prototype and test out his design theories.
The first step Tester combed through local thrift stores to find the necessary elements to build a back yard furnace. For about $20 he was able to find the necessary parts to piece together the furnace with which to melt aluminum. The first day we met up he was putting the final touches on the furnace. When everything was ready he lit it up and attempted to melt test ingots. These test ingots are made of scrap aluminum. the firing process will burn off much of the impurities and collected dirt of the low grade aluminum. Later these ingots will be re-melted and used to cast the first prototype.
Though I can't show the entire development process until after the prototype has been fully developed, tested, and patented I will try to post a few shots here and there outlining Tester's progress.
Day 1
Ventuckey, Calif.
Summer/ Fall 2011
Cool thing #107 about being unemployed; having the free time to develop personal projects. Its been way too long since I have been able to develop a long term personal project. In fact while working for the man that was my biggest complaint. I spent so much time chained up in the office I never had the time to work on any of my own ideas. I get laid off and voila, free time galore!
Just a few miles from Patagonia's Old Iron Works headquarters another climbing visionary Jacob Tester is working on a revolutionary new climbing device. Like Chouinard out in the now famous woodshed, Tester spends hours working and reworking aluminum casts to get the perfect lines for his idea. Smoke pours from his backyard when he is working. The air is full of buzzing saws and ringing hammers. The smell of charcoal and burnt metal greats each curious visitor.
I cant say too much without giving it all away though suffice to say if successful this new device could easily change the climbing community for the better. Tester has spent close to 10 years developing his idea to get to this point. Now it is time to actually build the prototype and test out his design theories.
The first step Tester combed through local thrift stores to find the necessary elements to build a back yard furnace. For about $20 he was able to find the necessary parts to piece together the furnace with which to melt aluminum. The first day we met up he was putting the final touches on the furnace. When everything was ready he lit it up and attempted to melt test ingots. These test ingots are made of scrap aluminum. the firing process will burn off much of the impurities and collected dirt of the low grade aluminum. Later these ingots will be re-melted and used to cast the first prototype.
Though I can't show the entire development process until after the prototype has been fully developed, tested, and patented I will try to post a few shots here and there outlining Tester's progress.
Plans.
Furnace.
First Pour.
Ingot Success.
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