Weber Kettle Club Forums
Grill Talk => Weber Mods, Tables and Customs => Topic started by: KP on September 28, 2019, 09:38:43 AM
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3D printed, painted and installed a new handle for the damper. I'm going to need to see how well it holds up in the heat and elements. If it holds up I will start making them available for WKC members to purchase.
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Cool!
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Pretty neat how you’re using a 3D printer to make stuff for your webers. I’ve always wanted to tinker with a 3D printer.
Do you know if the filament is able to withstand high temps?
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I fired up the vortex yesterday and the lid thermometer was over 500 degrees, there was a little bit of softening of the plastic where it was in contact with a metal washer but nothing too bad. I am going to add a silicon or rubber washer between any metal and handle and I think it will hold up just fine.
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Maybe try an aluminum washer too, or an aluminum and a silicon.
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Those look tight! Can't wait to see how the testing turns out!
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The ones I have tested held up pretty well, and I've since added a nylon washer that was purchased from HD and that should even reduce the heat transfer even more.
I have a couple extra handles that I've made. I'll be more than happy to send them to WKC members to test. Just PM me your address and I'll ship it out to you, includes all hardware, you just need to drill a hole on the damper to install.
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Pm sent
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One left
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All gone....for now
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I'm already ready to buy!
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Thanks KP package arrived can't wait to give it a test burn. Looks awesome thanks again.
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Made a new handle design and color
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The bas-relief style logo looks sweet - nice work!
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Got mine this weekend, will get it installed soon.
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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!
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Nice! Thanks for the update. Keep me posted with the longer cooks.
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Wicked cool
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Yeah looks factory
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I have to echo everyone else KP. Those look awesome!
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Those look great, if you decide to sell them I'd be in for one!
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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!
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....bro-n-sear...
I don't know if that was on purpose or not, but I like it! HAHA
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....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!
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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PM sent!
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Thank you to those that ordered, you should be receiving them shortly. Meanwhile, I still have two more each of red and black handles ready to ship. I'll have a few more ready this weekend when I track down some more bolts for the remaining ones.
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Love the red! We also installed one on my buddy's kettle this past weekend.
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Thanks for posting the photo, glad you liked it. I’m working on a new design now, it will have the kettle logo instead of “Weber”, so far all have been fails.
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If you really want to blow people's minds, do the kettle logo that has a 3D printed handle on it! Although you'd probably have to travel to the quantum realm in order to get that level of detail.
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I've started making 3D printed ornaments for the holiday season. Here's one for the Weber Kettle enthusiast. It is approximately 3 1/2 x 2 x 1/4 inch inch. Price is $6.99 each which includes shipping and your choice of the following colors - black, red, green, yellow, blue, white.
I can also add some custom text for $2 more. If interested, PM me with your order and I should be able to get them out within a couple of days. Thanks.
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You wouldn't want to send out the print file would you?
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You wouldn't want to send out the print file would you?
Happy to share. Here's the link to the file
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4024985
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@KP . Thanks a bunch. Going to have the students fool around with the file and printer. Last year they designed me a replacement knob for an 1985 Black GA with wood handles. I will post when they finish.
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Happy Holiday and Merry Grilling WKC members!
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They look great, KP! Thanks for taking the time and effort to make these! Money well spent!
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They look great, KP! Thanks for taking the time and effort to make these! Money well spent!
My pleasure! Thanks for posting the photos.
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Took me a bit to decide which grill to apply it to but while the smoke performer was nice and hot I pulled on the damper handle and it slid off... That was when I decided it was this grill that was getting the new damper handle.
I added the red paint to match my rogue one themed ssp performer.
Worked great! Thanks
@KP
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Took me a bit to decide which grill to apply it to but while the smoke performer was nice and hot I pulled on the damper handle and it slid off... That was when I decided it was this grill that was getting the new damper handle.
I added the red paint to match my rogue one themed ssp performer.
Worked great! Thanks
@KP
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Thank you. Your setup looks great.
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Very nice handle!
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I have 6 newly made damper handle for sale. These are the last 6 that I will be making in this design. $10 each plus $3 for shipping. Working on a new design that should be ready in a couple of weeks of so. These would make a nice gift for father's day.
Only 6 available in red, so get them while they last. Thanks.