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"Swiss-Army" 1-2-3 Block: The Multi-Purpose Machining Tool!

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DIYProjectKits

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Dec 18, 2020
Link to our fully-funded Kickstarter, only ~8 hours left!

Original post on the r/machinists subreddit

Swiss-Army 1-2-3 Block.jpg

Hopefully this is allowed! My wife and I are excited to say that our first product design has reached and even exceeded our funding goal on Kickstarter! Not a huge accomplishment, because we set a relatively attainable goal of $1,000, but we learned a lot and had to put in a lot more effort than we thought in order to even reach that small amount! This was a great learning experience, as will be the production & delivery phase. As of this posting, there are roughly 8 hours left to back it, so if any of y'all want one for yourself/someone else, please feel free to back the product at whatever level suits you best.

What exactly is a "Swiss-Army" 1-2-3 Block?:

It is a multi-purpose Machinist/Metalworking tool for all ages! This all-in-one tool contains the functionality of at least 6 distinct tools:

1. 1-2-3 Block. Blocks are accurate to 1.0000" x 2.0000" x 3.0000", +/- 0.0002"

2. Drill/Tap Guide. Use one of 8 precision-reamed holes as a tap guide on flat, round, or oddly shaped stock. Holes are sized to work with 16 of the most common Metric & SAE tap sizes, interchangeably.

3. V-Block. Use one of two V-Grooves on the block to securely clamp round pieces of stock in a vise for manual or machine operations. Two perpendicular V-Grooves allow for quick & easy horizontal or vertical part orientation. Groove are ideally located for use with standard 4- & 6-inch machine vise jaws.

4. Bench Block. Use the block as an anvil when driving pins in or out. Additionally, the holes can be used as a drill guide for both flat & round pieces of stock.

5. 1/4" Hex Driver. The magnetically-retained 1/4" Hex Drive turns this block into a venerable arsenal of tools, by allowing you to use a myriad of standard-sized tool bits, including: screwdrivers, drills, chamfer bits, deburring tools, socket adaptors, & more!

...and last but not least...

6. Bottle Opener. Bottlecaps removed using this tool suffer from ZERO deformation, due to the wide 1" contact surface of the block, which disperses the opening forces over the entire face of the bottlecap - a handy addition for bottlecap collectors!

Several backers have suggested custom blocks, matched sets, etc., so if you want something slightly different, let me know and we'll make it happen!
 

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So you have an egg laying wool milk pig. At what cost? The bottle opener addition is stupid.
 
So you have an egg laying wool milk pig. At what cost? The bottle opener addition is stupid.

Just something fun that can be pretty handy for a lot of simple things. I came up with the design in my last quarter of school, decided to make this instead of just a regular 'ole 1-2-3 block. Not trying to re-invent the wheel or create the next-big-thing - just came up with an idea, and some people seemed to like it!
 
So you have an egg laying wool milk pig. At what cost? The bottle opener addition is stupid.


I was thinking that any machinist who use a precision tool for machining related activity is never going to use it for pedestrial activities like opening a bottle.
 
Link to our fully-funded Kickstarter, only ~8 hours left!

Original post on the r/machinists subreddit

View attachment 310755

Hopefully this is allowed! My wife and I are excited to say that our first product design has reached and even exceeded our funding goal on Kickstarter! Not a huge accomplishment, because we set a relatively attainable goal of $1,000, but we learned a lot and had to put in a lot more effort than we thought in order to even reach that small amount! This was a great learning experience, as will be the production & delivery phase. As of this posting, there are roughly 8 hours left to back it, so if any of y'all want one for yourself/someone else, please feel free to back the product at whatever level suits you best.

What exactly is a "Swiss-Army" 1-2-3 Block?:

It is a multi-purpose Machinist/Metalworking tool for all ages! This all-in-one tool contains the functionality of at least 6 distinct tools:

1. 1-2-3 Block. Blocks are accurate to 1.0000" x 2.0000" x 3.0000", +/- 0.0002"

2. Drill/Tap Guide. Use one of 8 precision-reamed holes as a tap guide on flat, round, or oddly shaped stock. Holes are sized to work with 16 of the most common Metric & SAE tap sizes, interchangeably.

3. V-Block. Use one of two V-Grooves on the block to securely clamp round pieces of stock in a vise for manual or machine operations. Two perpendicular V-Grooves allow for quick & easy horizontal or vertical part orientation. Groove are ideally located for use with standard 4- & 6-inch machine vise jaws.

4. Bench Block. Use the block as an anvil when driving pins in or out. Additionally, the holes can be used as a drill guide for both flat & round pieces of stock.

5. 1/4" Hex Driver. The magnetically-retained 1/4" Hex Drive turns this block into a venerable arsenal of tools, by allowing you to use a myriad of standard-sized tool bits, including: screwdrivers, drills, chamfer bits, deburring tools, socket adaptors, & more!

...and last but not least...

6. Bottle Opener. Bottlecaps removed using this tool suffer from ZERO deformation, due to the wide 1" contact surface of the block, which disperses the opening forces over the entire face of the bottlecap - a handy addition for bottlecap collectors!

Several backers have suggested custom blocks, matched sets, etc., so if you want something slightly different, let me know and we'll make it happen!

Just something fun that can be pretty handy for a lot of simple things. I came up with the design in my last quarter of school, decided to make this instead of just a regular 'ole 1-2-3 block. Not trying to re-invent the wheel or create the next-big-thing - just came up with an idea, and some people seemed to like it!

Why would We take the time to read all thru your kickstarter panhandling request ?

When you can't take 15 minutes to look around the place first.

You would have seen:
1. Your stuff is "DIY harry Homeshop" better to post over at the homeshop forums.
2. People here are very turned off by kickstarter begging, have had 3-4 separate requests,
and members here got burnt on a couple of them.
3. Your cross posting this spam. Following the "Guerilla Marketing book" to the letter.
 
Why would We take the time to read all thru your kickstarter panhandling request ?

When you can't take 15 minutes to look around the place first.

You would have seen:
1. Your stuff is "DIY harry Homeshop" better to post over at the homeshop forums.
2. People here are very turned off by kickstarter begging, have had 3-4 separate requests,
and members here got burnt on a couple of them.
3. Your cross posting this spam. Following the "Guerilla Marketing book" to the letter.

You're right, I did not know much about this forum before posting here. I absolutely apologize for offending/annoying anyone - that was not my intention!
 
You block is a piece of shit. All those corners are just waiting to get nicked so it won’t sit flat on a machine table. All those holes are just there to collect chips. The bottle opener is just stupid. If you work in a machine shop and can’t open a bottle with anyone of the pieces of metal laying around in a shop you need to go back to work at the mall. As for the tapping feature anyone that willing to learn can in a couple of hours ago learn to tap a hole square to the surface.
 
I was thinking that any machinist who use a precision tool for machining related activity is never going to use it for pedestrial activities like opening a bottle.

So drop the bottle opener - what would you put in the remaining void, or would you just leave it solid?
 
You block is a piece of shit. All those corners are just waiting to get nicked so it won’t sit flat on a machine table. All those holes are just there to collect chips. The bottle opener is just stupid. If you work in a machine shop and can’t open a bottle with anyone of the pieces of metal laying around a shop you need to go back to work at the mall.

I appreciate the feedback! How could the corners be done differently to avoid nicking/not sitting flat? So no holes to collect chips? Don't most 1-2-3 blocks have holes? Drop the bottle opener seems to be the consensus - what would you put there instead? Or would you just leave that space solid material?
 
You block is a piece of shit. All those corners are just waiting to get nicked so it won’t sit flat on a machine table. All those holes are just there to collect chips. The bottle opener is just stupid. If you work in a machine shop and can’t open a bottle with anyone of the pieces of metal laying around a shop you need to go back to work at the mall.

The edges look bevelled. Maybe he intends this as a tool for hobbyists woodworking or metalworking that does not require tight tolerances, juding by the use of a hand drill ? In which case the .0002" is not necessary.
 
So you have an egg laying wool milk pig. At what cost? The bottle opener addition is stupid.

Nah. Bottle opener is the sanest feature, given all the other shit trips over itself.

But WTF? ISTR the TEN PAIR of meant to be cheap enuf to be modified, abused, lost, lent, or stolen 1-2-3 blocks cost me all of 60 bucks.

6 bucks a pair.

3 bucks a block.

This item is for the "backpack machinist". You know the one. Carries his lathe on a pack-frame, leads a mule with the mini-mill, runs the climbing-gear repair shop, upper base camp, Mount Everest.

:D
 
It's a cute toy, or conversation piece...a regular old 123 block with the tapping guide, and maybe the hex interface would be more useful to a machinist or tool maker. I use 123 blocks every week, maybe not every day though. I have home made solids and shop bought holey ones. I'd like to remake my solid blocks as I didn't harden them so I have to be careful as to what I do with them.

What material are yours? What hardness?
 
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It's worth it to check out the KS site just to watch how the vee block is not being used in list item 3. #clueless
 
Neat devise.

But why open a bottle of Snot beer ..nobody drinks that stuff.

You might add a couple of 3/8 holes with set screws to make it also a diamond holding surface grinder wheel dresser

*Good to tell us about your first contact and experience with Kick Start.

Wait you want PM guys to back it.

I guess a method, time study, expected cost, target selling price and market venue would be in order.

You might try to sell it on ebay to see some market potential

It looks patent-able but that likely $6K or so.
 
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