Clever checkmaker

[Bret4207]

"Checkmatic"? Maybe go for an exotic foreign flavor and change it to "Czechomatic"? How about "Disc-o-check"? Or maybe something Norse, as in "Tarrkista Kone"? Maybe Gaelic? "Seic Inneal"?

 

[Brad]

Oh, until I have one made it will remain unnamed. During manufacture it will likely be called many, many things. Most of those are not words I will use on the open forum but I’m sure we all know them well.

 

[Gary]

With the tooling and skill set you have Brad, it's going to be a cake walk.

 

[Spindrift]

The check mate?

 

[KeithB]

The name of some things I make also evolves as the bruises and cuts pile up...

 

[Ian]

...and the scrap pile gets bigger.

 

[Sandspider500]

After I drill holes in my Lee molds I mess around with this thing

 

[fiver]

is that a modified Dillon powder funnel?

 

[Brad]

Made a 30 cal punch tonight. Used some 1144 I had on hand. Should work well enough for proof of concept and to identify problem areas.
I did drill out the top of the thru hole a little larger to let the checks move upward easier once thru the forming section.

 

[Gary]

Excellent work Brad.

 

[Ian]

The back-bore works like a check-valve (no pun intended) so the finished checks can pull off of the forming mandrel.

 

[Spindrift]

Very nice work, Brad and Sandspider!

 

[L Ross]

So if I buy a few thousand dollars worth of equipment, take a course at the local technical college on operating said equipment, buy a bunch of material, waste some with failures, I can avoid paying some guy who has this all worked out the outrageous fee of $135 he wants?

 

[Ian]

So if I buy a few thousand dollars worth of equipment, take a course at the local technical college on operating said equipment, buy a bunch of material, waste some with failures, I can avoid paying some guy who has this all worked out the outrageous fee of $135 he wants?

Absolutely! That's basically what several of us here have already done and look at all the money we're saving.

 

[Gary]

Plus you can always buy when the equipment/supplies are on sale.

 

[462]

And you become more independent and self-sufficient, and gain another hobby.

 

[Brad]

Take a course? YouTube and trial and error are my teachers.

Here is a completed 30 cal check maker. Checks are rough because they are made from pop can which is thinner than this is designed for. Need to get some .012-.014 flashing to see what it can do.
Cut the slot with a hacksaw.

 

[Spindrift]

Wow! I'm impressed, Brad- that was fast!
That's how my "Pat Marlin"- checks look like with pop-cans. And you're right, they'll look better with a little thicker material.
I use 0.012 alu for .30-cal checks. Still a little bottle-cap wrinkles, but they really bite the shank!

 

[Brad]

Was overall a far easier project than I expected.
I have maybe 5 bucks of material invested but about 4 hours of my time.
No way I would make them to sell for under 80 bucks. I have no intention do do that because I want my hobby to stay a hobby.

 

[Ian]

Looks like you bored the ID of the bottom piece rather than drilling. I assume you used a 3/8" drill and bored up to 13/32"?

I've been planning to use a cut-off wheel to make the slot because the sawn cut will have striations that make a ragged edge on the disc.