My new venture

Discussions about our lives, families, jobs... things may get a little personal
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Highspeed
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My new venture

Post by Highspeed »

Making ultra high end controllers for computer sim-racing, focussing on historic cars.
This is the prototype gearshift unit. The complexity is because the concept is that the gearshift should feel like you are engaging a gear in a real transmission rather than engaging a microswitch.
The production units won't be as fancy, this one is a showcase to demonstrate what I can do. The lever alone consists of four pieces of brass, silver soldered together to try and replicate a casting and took hours to make.

It'll all go horribly wrong of course, everything I do ends up failing :lol:

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Darrell
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Re: My new venture

Post by Darrell »

Nice work! :)
Eppur si muove--Galileo
Precision
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Re: My new venture

Post by Precision »

looks like a good fit for you. Enjoy the work.
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Highspeed
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Re: My new venture

Post by Highspeed »

There is a prize for anyone who can tell me what I converted the wooden shifter knob from... ;)
All my life I been in the dog house
I guess that just where I belong
That just the way the dice roll
Do my dog house song
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Kommander
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Re: My new venture

Post by Kommander »

Highspeed wrote:There is a prize for anyone who can tell me what I converted the wooden shifter knob from... ;)
A ball of wood!
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Netpackrat
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Re: My new venture

Post by Netpackrat »

Highspeed wrote:There is a prize for anyone who can tell me what I converted the wooden shifter knob from... ;)
It almost looks a little like an old ivory billiard ball.
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evan price
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Re: My new venture

Post by evan price »

Lee press handle?
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Aesop
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Re: My new venture

Post by Aesop »

1) Give serious thought to consider 3D plastic printing for prototyping as your friend.
2) Re: wood handle. I dunno. A tree?
Here, it would be a simple trip to Michael's craft store. 40 cents@.
But if you tell people they're carved from the hip joints of dismembered terrorists or Prius drivers, I'm cool with that. ;)
3) It looks like a cool thing. But I suspect the high-end gamer target audience is somewhat limited, and it will be hard to recoup your investment of time at a rate that's what it's worth. Unless you can find some ChiCom company who'll partner with you and hire 5 year old kids to make them for US$1@.
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Highspeed
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Re: My new venture

Post by Highspeed »

Yep, the gearshift knob is the handle off my Lee press :D

I know I won't have a large customer base for these gadgets but computer sim racing has become pretty big over the last decade. To the point where some people do it professionally :?

There isn't anything I can currently do that would have a large customer base anyway. Gunsmithing is currently out of the question for complex and boring bureaucratic\legal reasons.
As long as I don't think about costing my time it'll be OK. I have plenty of time on my hands...

3d printing is no go for a number of reasons :-

1) I have no experience of designing plastic parts
2) It's expensive in Europe unless you build your own printer, which ain't cheap either
3) I wouldn't gain too much because a high proportion of the parts need to be metal anyway, if it's going to feel right

This is just a stepping stone for now, I don't see myself doing this in a few years time.
Restoring classic bikes to export and sell would be pretty lucrative - there are certain Italian bikes available here in barn find condition which would be worth a LOT of money when restored and shipped to the UK ( or the US ). Classic cars too, they don't rust in this climate.
But to do that I need a bankroll and to build an outdoor workshop...so something has to come first
All my life I been in the dog house
I guess that just where I belong
That just the way the dice roll
Do my dog house song
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Darrell
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Re: My new venture

Post by Darrell »

Knife making?
Eppur si muove--Galileo
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