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Hilton Dier III

@hilton3rd

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I make things. This account exists to encourage others to make things. I wasn’t born with skills, I just kept trying. You can do this.

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I needed to spray some sealant on a skylight but I hate heights and ladders. I bought one of those aerosol can grips and modified it into a remote spray-o-matic that mounted on the end of an extendable painters pole. It worked well and was easily controllable even with a full can in it. Just pulled the string and spshhh. By the way, I hand forged the bend in the lever. by @hilton3rd

We bought some new tools for the hydroelectric plant and I thought the drill and impact drivers needed a home. I had a piece of one by birch and some 3/4” dowel lying around. I made a jig/trough to hold the one by at an angle to drill the 3/4” holes. Bolted it to the wall at the plant. Tools at hand, ready to engage in rotary motion.

#toolracks by @hilton3rd

After months of (intermittent) work, the rifle is done. It’s a copy of a 1580s era snapping matchlock of a type from northern Germany and Denmark. My friend Brian, who has been building muzzle loading firearms for literally 65 years, was my instructor.

I bought the barrel and the screws but made everything else myself. I copied the lock from one Brian loaned me. It’s my first rifle build and full of mistakes, but a man on a galloping horse wouldn’t notice. I managed, by chance, to make the grain of the patch box lid match the stock fairly well.

The barrel is a 50 caliber Rice B-weight, which is lightweight, so even though it is a cheek stock it balances well.

#muzzleloader
#blackpowder
#matchlock by @hilton3rd

A friend of mine wanted a hanger for a bird feeder to fit a 4x4 post on his porch. He had a unique design idea; have it hook around the post and curve back in. I think it worked out reasonably well.

#blacksmithing
#birdfeeder by @hilton3rd

My keys dropped out of my pocket and I locked myself out of my house. Luckily, I had forgotten to lock the back door of my shop. I took an old hacksaw blade and made a lock picking hook and a turning tool. Then I picked the lock on my front door. I’ve decided to do two things: hide a key and replace my front door lock. It was too easy to pick.

#lockpicking
#lockpicks by @hilton3rd

I was working with a scraper to put a groove in the bottom of this stock, but I was struggling. I built a 5/16” wide molding plane out of some scrap maple flooring and a piece of 1074 steel. The blade snagged in the curly maple, so I remade the plane as a scraper. I also had to undercut the sides of the groove, so I cut another piece of 1074 and made an in-cannel gouge. The groove came out flat and uniform.

#woodworkingtools
#blacksmithing
#gunsmithing by @hilton3rd

I made this thing out of an antique brass doorknob, a piece of 1/2” square steel tubing, and a couple of 2” U-bolts. It clamps to the corner leg of the couch and comes up to just below the level of the cushion.

My 95 year old mother was having trouble standing up from her couch. She had to push down on the cushion, which sank. This gives her a solid handhold in all directions. It actually works. It’s much easier for her to stand up. It also looks cool.

#assistivetechnology #assistivetech #welding by @hilton3rd

This is the lock for a 1580s era matchlock rifle. The serpentine (snake shaped part) holds slow match, which is rope treated so that when lit it glows on the end like a cigar. The spring pushes the head of the serpentine (a stylized medieval dolphin) down into the pan of gunpowder, which then sets off the main charge.

Aside from the screws, I made it from scrap pieces of steel and brass I had in my shop. It’s a copy of one made by Brian Anderson.

Eventually I’ll make the rest of the rifle to go with it.

#matchlock
#blackpowder
#muzzleloader
#blacksmithing
#gunsmithing by @hilton3rd

A copper coffee scoop with a dragon handle for my sister’s birthday.

#blacksmithing #copperutensils #dragonhead
#coffeeutensil by @hilton3rd

I replaced my well pump. That involved pulling 80 feet of 1” plastic pipe out of a 6” steel well casing. In order to prevent scraping or kinking the pipe I built a roller out of a donated bicycle wheel and some scrap steel. It clamps to the well casing. To see it in use, visit The Project Based Lifestyle, my friend Robby’s YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/26Rtd6y4Kmo?si=OZ4dniVz5rVKmutp

I ended up having to get an excavator to dig an 8’ deep trench to replace a broken pipe fitting. Another removal and return of the pump. I had accidentally dropped a chunk of wood down the well casing and had to remove it because it jammed the well pump in place. The second photo shows the screw I welded to a pipe cap as a removal tool on the end of 20’ of pipe. Jabbed the wood, turned the screw in, and pulled it.

#wellpump
#improvisedtools by @hilton3rd

Friends of mine are building a super insulated addition on their house and had a problem. The BX armored cable they are using sometimes needs to go in between strapping and dense pack cellulose behind a high tech membrane. The cable would abrade the membrane so I made them a couple of hollow fids out of steel pipe and scrap steel rod to get the cable through without damage. A little cutting, a bit of forging, and a weld. Works perfectly.

#fid
#electricaltools
#blacksmithing by @hilton3rd

Merry Christmas! This is a sheet copper ornament I made a few years ago. It was like hammered origami. by @hilton3rd