What have you done to your square lately??

While i had a good long 5 day weekend i mainly worked on my s10
Seen here:
https://www.gmsquarebody.com/threads/1994-s10-1ton-sas.27427/


But also during that time, i remachined a spare tbi i had, bored it to 46mm, chopped the horn down, redid the throttle shaft bushings (my way), and in the next post, wire EDM'ed new butterflies for the 46mm bore.

Butterflies made here:

Also modded/machined my regulator to be adjustable so i can emulate the police 9c1 injectors that put out 65 lb/hr.
Just gotta get a new chip burned for the larger tbi, (well VBI now), and ill install and see whats up.

Basically going from a low factory 500cfm (actually 475 ish) to a 650cfm tbi.

That old tbi is intended for ****** flowing stock heads, which mine obviously no longer possesses.

"VBI" haha

82sbshortbed said:

Got the skip white distributor in and new plugs, wires and regapping of plugs to .045. Fired right up.

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Retarded timing as it was idling high. I'll dial it on tomorrow. Here's a pic of timing mark. Idk what degree it is as there's no numbers on the tab. Thinking that the big v is 0 and its at first point.

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The Deep V is 0 then the next notch Point out,where your timing mark is, is 4, then 8 then 12 then 16 and each valley would be 6,10,14 and 18 would be the end of the tab.
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Vbb199 said:

Butterflies made here:

Also modded/machined my regulator to be adjustable so i can emulate the police 9c1 injectors that put out 65 lb/hr.
Just gotta get a new chip burned for the larger tbi, (well VBI now), and ill install and see whats up.

Basically going from a low factory 500cfm (actually 475 ish) to a 650cfm tbi.

That old tbi is intended for ****** flowing stock heads, which mine obviously no longer possesses.

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Don't you just love being able to do all your own stuff like that?

Raybo135 said:

The Deep V is 0 then the next notch Point out,where your timing mark is, is 4, then 8 then 12 then 16 and each valley would be 6,10,14 and 18 would be the end of the tab.
.

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Thanks kinda what I thought but. Wasn't sure.

Hand engraved the trim around the front marker lights to match the other engraved parts on one of the project trucks. Next up in this series will be the side view mirrors

John Nes said:

Hand engraved the trim around the front marker lights to match the other engraved parts on one of the project trucks. Next up in this series will be the side view mirrors

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I had to zoom in to see that detail! You said you're a jeweler? (I think) regardless, the detail shows!
Suffice that to mean, it looks good!

Vbb199 said:

I had to zoom in to see that detail! You said you're a jeweler? (I think) regardless, the detail shows!
Suffice that to mean, it looks good!

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Hey man, I appreciate that. Yep, jeweler/hand engraver. Almost all my works done under a microscope, with a pneumatic engraving system / silent compressor. Attached pictures of the engraving system (GRS Tools, made and machined in the US), and the view from the engraving bench, engravers vise, the hand piece, plus a door lock cylinder i started cutting, and another door handle that’ll be engraved and set with Rubies lol.

John Nes said:

Hey man, I appreciate that. Yep, jeweler/hand engraver. Almost all my works done under a microscope, with a pneumatic engraving system / silent compressor. Attached pictures of the engraving system (GRS Tools, made and machined in the US), and the view from the engraving bench, engravers vise, the hand piece, plus a door lock cylinder i started cutting, and another door handle that’ll be engraved and set with Rubies lol.

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How does someone go about setting the rubies in something like a door handle?

I must add, (while this is NOT a flex), things like this can be easily done on a cnc machine (takes the life out of it, no personal touch) but for someone to be able to do the lines and marks in even sequence by hand, and to have the patience to do it, i must say, thats very impressive.
Very cool

Do you have pictures of jewelry you've crafted?
(I have a real admiration for hand crafted items)

@Vbb199 so those door handles are thick enough to accommodate smaller stones. So it’s the same process as setting stones in gold/silver. Basically use a center punch or a scribe to mark where they’ll go. • Drill a lil pilot hole, widen that hole with a Round bur. •You’ll then use a stone setting bur thats the same diameter as the gem to make the gems “seat”.
•Additional metal is then removed using different shaped gravers (think mini-chisels, of varying face/heel angles) to make what’s called ‘beads’ which act as prongs that hold the stones
•place the stones in their seats
•use beading tools, which have a concave hemispherical tip, to ‘round’ the prongs you’ve cut into clean little ‘beads’ which hold all the stones in

never had to write out the process before so idk if it makes sense, but what I described is what’s called Pavé setting, which you’ve almost def seen before (eternity wedding bands, or rappers pendants)
And yeah, cnc would def get the same end result as hand engraving, and way faster, but I don’t know if you’d get the same level of detail/depth. Plus it’s the whole “man vs machine” thing.
Attached are some examples of pieces Ive fabricated where I used those stone-setting methods

John Nes said:

@Vbb199 so those door handles are thick enough to accommodate smaller stones. So it’s the same process as setting stones in gold/silver. Basically use a center punch or a scribe to mark where they’ll go. • Drill a lil pilot hole, widen that hole with a Round bur. •You’ll then use a stone setting bur thats the same diameter as the gem to make the gems “seat”.
•Additional metal is then removed using different shaped gravers (think mini-chisels, of varying face/heel angles) to make what’s called ‘beads’ which act as prongs that hold the stones
•place the stones in their seats
•use beading tools, which have a concave hemispherical tip, to ‘round’ the prongs you’ve cut into clean little ‘beads’ which hold all the stones in

never had to write out the process before so idk if it makes sense, but what I described is what’s called Pavé setting, which you’ve almost def seen before (eternity wedding bands, or rappers pendants)
And yeah, cnc would def get the same end result as hand engraving, and way faster, but I don’t know if you’d get the same level of detail/depth. Plus it’s the whole “man vs machine” thing.
Attached are some examples of pieces Ive fabricated where I used those stone-setting methods

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That brief description of what im sure would be a very daunting task for me is understandable. Looking at the photos i see the "beads" youre referring to that hold the stones in place now, so it is much more clear to me how the process is done. I figured there was an indention, then a hole, then a punch or tool the same size as the stone that made a "seat" for it. Just wasnt sure how you added? Material for the prongs that hold it. Now i see. Very cool!

I agree, the personal touch is rather dead with cnc. Im not a standard operator, but rather a tool and die maker, using a variety of machinery (mills, lathes, wire edm, grinders, heat treat furnaces). Every workpiece (detail) to a die has its own personal touch. No 2 pieces are alike, ever.
While i dont get as fine into personal detail as you might would, there are still formulas and standard practice that must be implemented, such as, generally, for punch to die clearance, the formula goes as 10% of the material thickness is the clearance. (.008 steel = .0008 clearance), that said, attention to detail here goes as such. Just a different, less personal level.

Anyway! Those are some fine pieces you made. Do you create molds and cast the metals?

Also, do you sell your work somewhere i could view?

Yeah that simplified description makes it seem easy peasy but there’s so many steps and specific tools involved on each step that a lot of the complex stone setting processes will take hours upon hours just to complete a section that’s barely a square inch.
and just like your process, there’s always formulas, specific tools that just do one specific task etc. I prob got the same amount of tools n gear as a machine shop, but just on a much much smaller scale.

and thanks again dude, appreciate it. So I don’t use the casting method, each piece is a 1 of 1. I’ll start with silver or gold in the form of sheet or stock, cut/file shapes or components from that, then use my oxy-acetylene or propane-oxygen torch, depending on the size or connection I need to make, to solder (basically brazing) it all together. Then on to cleaning up the piece with variety of aluminum-oxide abrasive wheels, 3m abrasive/polishing discs, all the grits of sandpaper, do a rough polish, set stones and engrave, quick steam clean or ultrasonic bath, and then a final polish at the end. And that’s silveramithing/goldsmithing 101 lol.
I’d like to **** with casting more, but just hadn’t had the time n space for it. Anywho, if ya wanna peep more, I’ve cataloged and sold a lot of my work via my Instagram page (@nesdesigns)

John Nes said:

Yeah that simplified description makes it seem easy peasy but there’s so many steps and specific tools involved on each step that a lot of the complex stone setting processes will take hours upon hours just to complete a section that’s barely a square inch.
and just like your process, there’s always formulas, specific tools that just do one specific task etc. I prob got the same amount of tools n gear as a machine shop, but just on a much much smaller scale.

and thanks again dude, appreciate it. So I don’t use the casting method, each piece is a 1 of 1. I’ll start with silver or gold in the form of sheet or stock, cut/file shapes or components from that, then use my oxy-acetylene or propane-oxygen torch, depending on the size or connection I need to make, to solder (basically brazing) it all together. Then on to cleaning up the piece with variety of aluminum-oxide abrasive wheels, 3m abrasive/polishing discs, all the grits of sandpaper, do a rough polish, set stones and engrave, quick steam clean or ultrasonic bath, and then a final polish at the end. And that’s silveramithing/goldsmithing 101 lol.
I’d like to **** with casting more, but just hadn’t had the time n space for it. Anywho, if ya wanna peep more, I’ve cataloged and sold a lot of my work via my Instagram page (@nesdesigns)

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I must say, if you're cutting from sheets of gold you no doubt have alot of money tied up in materials.

I would imagine sitting on that much tooling and materials, you no doubt try to move your work as quickly as you can?

I dont have instagram, but ill give it a gander

Vbb199 said:

I must say, if you're cutting from sheets of gold you no doubt have alot of money tied up in materials.

I would imagine sitting on that much tooling and materials, you no doubt try to move your work as quickly as you can?

I dont have instagram, but ill give it a gander

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As for the tools, I’ve got quite an arsenal, ranging from stuff that I’ve made my self out of broken drill bits n **** like that to the highly specialized stuff like the microscope, Sil-Air compressor, etc.

for the materials, I’m constantly buying the tiny gemstones that get used as accent stones. And the bigger centerpieces, are bought less frequently, or on a stone by stone basis, or I’ll have em custom cut by my buddies who are pro stone-cutters/faceters/lapidary artists. In terms of the metals, usually keep a few pounds worth of sterling on hand in the form of wire or stock or sheet in basically all the gauges from 06-34, and to a lesser extent gold. Usually try to buy all my golds when there’s a dip on the spot(market) price. But thankfully both leftover gold n silver scrap can be melted down in a crucible, poured into an ingot, and rolled/milled/pulled back into wire, stock, or sheet.
and since both gems and metals are considered ‘materials’ by the taxman, they’re 100% deductible.



I know at this point that any investment I’ve made with the tools and gear has already paid for itself time n time again, Altho it was def a steep curve at first. As for the finished
pieces, the bulk of the work is all custom/commissioned stuff, and the pieces I’ll make on speculation generally won’t sit longer than a month or two, unless it’s like a 5 figure piece or something crazy