3D printed damper handle

[jhagestad]

Just installed mine yesterday and did a reverse-sear ribeye. The new handle worked great with no heat transfer that I could feel. Will be doing a low-n-slow this weekend and continuing the testing! Thanks again @KP!

[KP]

Nice! Thanks for the update. Keep me posted with the longer cooks.

[JEBIV]

Wicked cool

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Walchit]

Yeah looks factory

[cookingjnj]

I have to echo everyone else KP.  Those look awesome!

[29tx]

Those look great, if you decide to sell them I'd be in for one!

[jhagestad]

UPDATE: Slow cook held up perfectly - after it snowed, we had a thaw so the handle loosened from the cold/hot change, but nothing I couldn't easily tighten down again.  No cracking or issues with heat transfer while cooking. Will be doing another reverse sear tonight with the bro-n-sear, so I'm hoping to get the temps up there towards the end.  So far so good!

[FuriousHobbit]

....bro-n-sear...

I don't know if that was on purpose or not, but I like it! HAHA

[jhagestad]

....bro-n-sear...

I don't know if that was on purpose or not, but I like it! HAHA

I wish I had made that up, but it's a term I learned on this forum!

[KP]

Thanks for testing updates jhagestad! I did notice some softening of the handle at really high temps (>500F) but nothing that would cause it to completely deform and fall off, but it got warm enough that mine fused to the rubber washer. It now one solid piece with the washer stuck  to it but it still works and looks fine.

I might print a small batch this weekend and sell them at cost. 3D printing is still a very slow process, it takes about an hour to 3D print each handle. Painting them with several coats of paint and drying in between takes a couple of days at least. The material cost is not much, less than $1 for the washers and mounting hardware, but mainly time consuming.

What do WKC members think is a fair price? The handles can also be customized by adding initials or other short text to it. That just requires some tinkering with the CAD program.

[jhagestad]

My pleasure! My buddy kept looking at the handle and asked where I got it. He couldn't believe someone made it themselves, so you've got interest outside the forum already!  Check your PMs - thx!

[ReanimatedRobot]

I would think that at a price point of $10 to $20 you might have a fair amount of interest.  I would charge more for custom prints.  While everyone here appreciates you trying to keep the price point low don't short change yourself. 

After all with every handle you are doing that is putting wear and tear on your machine and not allowing you to use it on other projects.  I would also avoid doing too many colors to make it easy on yourself.  That way you can paint several at a time.  Even better would be if you can just use a material that is already colored to save yourself some time and skip a step. 

I doubt you will make a huge killing, but if it paid for a nicer 3D printer or helped your kettle habit it would make me a fairly happy camper if I could run the machine without too much trouble. 

Thanks for testing updates jhagestad! I did notice some softening of the handle at really high temps (>500F) but nothing that would cause it to completely deform and fall off, but it got warm enough that mine fused to the rubber washer. It now one solid piece with the washer stuck  to it but it still works and looks fine.

I might print a small batch this weekend and sell them at cost. 3D printing is still a very slow process, it takes about an hour to 3D print each handle. Painting them with several coats of paint and drying in between takes a couple of days at least. The material cost is not much, less than $1 for the washers and mounting hardware, but mainly time consuming.

What do WKC members think is a fair price? The handles can also be customized by adding initials or other short text to it. That just requires some tinkering with the CAD program.

Sent from my SM-G925R4 using Weber Kettle Club mobile app

[KP]

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions. After some consideration I think I'm going to price the handles at  $10 each or $15 for a pair. The price includes shipping the handles will come with all the necessary hardware to mount. I will have a dozen or so available in the next few days (today is Sun 11/10). I just ran out of bolts and also want to wait a few days for the paint to fully cure.

Please be aware that these are 3D printed and spray painted by hand and so there will be minor imperfections such as tiny pits/bumps and print lines from the 3D printing process. The handles are given 3 coats of paint and a gloss clear coat for extra durability. They are available in gloss black or red.

PM me if interested with quantity,  paypal email and shipping address, and I will sent a payment request through PayPal.

[29tx]

I don't know what material you are using to 3d print, but have you looked into acetone vapor smoothing to help with the imperfections?

[KP]

I don't know what material you are using to 3d print, but have you looked into acetone vapor smoothing to help with the imperfections?

I use PLA,  acetone vapor only works with ABS. The 3 coats of paint and a clear coat eliminates most of the print artifact and also adds durability. I currently have a handful that are ready to go. PM me with quantity, paypal email, and shipping address and I'll get them out to you ASAP. Thanks.