Working with an existing aluminum frame that is already structurally sound has a number of benefits, less time spend in beefing up the forks, less worry about the whole thing collapsing in the middle, but the biggest benefit is being able to concentrate on the adornments; the wood. In this Metro Made, I look at […]
Random gifts are the best. I got a call from Greyhound saying I had a package to pick up from a friend. Don’t know what wood it is, but it sure is a looker! Also in the video, a look at our newest Aluminum frames, how I treated them and some other materials I recently […]
Previously we had made the Flatland Flame for Prairie Fire‘s annual fundraiser, Speaking Volumes, and we promised to make two for them. In this short, but sweet post of Metro Made, we look at how we made the Wordsmith, a Scrabble™ themed slinger! Much like any other Metro Grade slinger, it starts with a core, […]
Shops that have skunkworks devisions will always try new things, one offs, tests and prototypes that often lead to very possible production ideas. In this ‘skunkworks’ post, I try to do a few things differently that will definitely make its way into some production slingshots. It’s much easier to test something when you have a […]
In this Metro Made post, I go through how I finished my first aluminum core slingshot: The Alugator. Very recently a shipment of 6061 Aluminum 1/4″ Capuchin design came into the shop. These were specially designed to be stand alone slingshots after some finishing or other scale materials could be laminated on it. Aluminum is […]
When I was commissioned by Prairie Fire magazine to make a few slingshots for their annual fundraiser, I gladly accepted the challenge. This Metro Made documents the creation of the first of the two, the Flatland Flame. I started with a familiar design, the Harlequin Capuchin. Laser cut some 1/16″ thick purple heart slabs. Since […]
Working with uniformly planed wood is often very nice, however the surprise of a natural fork is always welcome. True hand carved natural tree-fork slingshot are timeless, but they just don’t excite me as much. When a friend sent me a huge mesquite wood fork, I knew exactly what to do with it. I have […]
Having been an avid collector of mid-century modern furniture and a huge admirer of the Eame’s design manufacturing sensibility, I wanted to see if I could take the lessons I’ve learned from one of Industrial Design’s masters and apply it to something else besides famous chairs. I am never one to compare myself direclty to […]
Sometimes, a nice long, complicated project is all you need to really get over your creative slump. Carefully calculating how things go together, taking the time to properly do clamp things down and lovingly polishing your new creation, it’s all in the details. The Dark Horse is exactly that. After doing some tests, all the […]
It’s been far too long and it’s time for another Metro Made post, this time around, something familiar to you returning Metro Made readers. If you are tuning in for the first time, welcome! Metro Made is the blog of Metro Grade Goods and how I turn raw materials in the stuff you see on […]
Since February 2006, the humble blog Strobist fashioned by seasoned media photographer David Hobby, has spawned an army of photographers wielding small off camera strobes, producing stunning and technically challenging imagery. By using light weight equipment, smart thinking, public discourse, open-source education, and creative and often unconventional light modification sources, the Strobist movement has taught 1000’s of […]
Been a little while since I’ve posted a build log, a LOT of working going out the door. So, this is an older mod but one worth posting, it is a modification of one of my favourite budget knives, the hotly debated Sanrenmu 710. Sanrenmu is a knife and tool manufacturer based in China and […]
Been having a lot fun with the whole idea of compression tube/band attachment. In this post, we’ll go through a quick iteration and evolution of the mechanism. While the set screws are great for attaching bands, it still requires an Allen key. This new build method achieves a tool less adjustment. The Grivet slingshot is […]
Ding Dong. The Purolator rings my doorbell, hands me a HUGE box and a tube, asks me to sign on the dotted line on the screen. Done. What is it? Why…an overnight shipment of Tellurium Copper from McMaster! To the lathe! For the past week, I’ve been using the Delta Marker with great joy, but […]
Sometimes you just gotta. Made from over 60 individual parts, the Art Deco Loris follows the visual lines and definition of colour of the art in the 1930’s and 40’s. Made from a variety of exotic and local hardwoods, the Art Deco Loris PFS was a labor of love. Crafted from Rock Maple, Honduran Mahogany, […]
The hotly debated PFS (Pickle Fork Shooter) is a slingshot made popular by Youtube user pfshooter, whose skills with ANY slingshot let alone the one he prefers (PFS) are legendary. Abandoning the traditional concept of gap in the forks for the ammo to pass through, the PFS is a minimalist style slingshot that is shot […]
Back again with another instalment of Metro Made, this time dressing up our newest slingshot, the Sifaka BB, transforming it into the Hardwoods Sifaka BB. You wouldn’t believe how much work it was! When we laser cut our hardwoods for slingshots and products, we try and save the left over sprues (not true sprues […]
In my day to day, I carry a pen and a Sharpie marker. I don’t remember when I started doing this but as soon as I wake up in the morning and get my day started at the shop, I always put those two things my my left pocket. I feel weird not having them […]
I know don’t know who thought of this first but it was pretty neat. I recently bought a couple of these figure 8’s with the idea that I could do the same, but I just couldn’t bring myself to just wrap flat bands on it. I finally got to making my own figure 8 slinger, this […]
Our sister company Skinth Solutions cut yards and yards of CORDURA nylon fabric everyday, it was time to join forces and develop a stylish and ergonomic rotary cutter we could both use. The only way to cut Theraband well is to use a rotary cutter, ones commonly used for textiles and paper. Theraband is the same high […]
We love dressing up production models and this one is dressed to the nines! We took a Metro Grade Gibbon frame as a core, then laser cut alternating maple and purple heart slabs. The laser cutter we use give us a perfect kerf line thick enough for us to insert some real wood veneer to […]
The last time we posted about the Metro Grade Skeluchin, we showed off the amazing laser cut frames wrapped in paracord. We got to thinking and looked at our collection of Chinese style slingshots, some of which are recurved for a more ergonomic handle and shooting experience. Since we had another one of the Skeluchin […]
Ever since we got really obsessed about slingshots, we found there is a clear distinction between styles of slingshot designs and their band/tube attachment methods. Traditional Chinese style slingshot are typically manufactured from stainless steel and often have holes at the top of the forks for the ultra thin rubber tubing. Chinese slingshots are typically […]
Still don’t know how the bands stay magically attached to our slingshots? The best way to show you isn’t with photographs, it’s with a video. It won’t be a mystery for long….
Acrylic Plexiglass is one of materials that has so many uses and finishes that it’s hard to miss when used correctly. Often mistaken for polycarbonate (Lexan), Plexiglas isn’t the bullet proof plastic, it’s the hard, semi strong material that can be made completely clear again after being machined. Unlike Polycarbonate plastic, acrylic CAN be cut […]
Welcome to Metro Made, the companion blog to Metro Grade Goods. Here you’ll find videos and posts showing how we make things. You’ve come to the slice of the internet where we at Metro Grade Goods like to show off a bit. By show off, we don’t mean hot images of our stuff, but to show you how we go from […]