Topic: How to make something like Adam Savage

[Roman736]

I was wondering if there was a way to make something out of metal the way Adam Savage did. I know he took that Maltese Falcon prototype and created his own. I want to create a computer fan grill out of metal in my own design as well. How hard would it be to do so? I'm willing to take on a hobby 

Heres a similar fan grill that I want to build. These go for $60 bucks and I need four of them. Can't I just make my own??

[Skulker]

Look up the price of a computer controlled milling machine and then see if you still want to make your own.

[Citizen Skeptic]

Yeah, I agree. That's a fairly complex part.

I think shop rates are going to be in the $100 range for machine hour plus set-up. Buy the ready made parts if you really gotta have them.

[Hanes]

I think casting would be the way to go.  You'd be looking at sinking over $500 into a setup, though.  But once you payed the upfront cost, you could do all sorts of things with it.
Here's a website I found with a google search:
http://www.foundry101.com/
http://www.foundry101.com/search.htm
There are probably better deals out there, but it should give you an idea of what you would need.

MIG and oxy/acetylene welding would also be pretty cool to learn.  If you had that, a foundry setup, and a mill and a laithe, you could make pretty much anything.

And at some point you get to upgrade its title from Garage to Workshop.

[Caffiene]

Lots of ways you could do shapes similar to that.

CNC milling as Skulker says (although you can make your own CNC machine for cheaper than buying one... still in the hundreds of dollars, though). Casting, like Hanes linked (easy-melt metals like Pewter make it not too hard). You could use soft metal and hand tool it to shape with files etc. Or you can cheat and make it out of plastic or some other material and give it a metal finish.

To get that exact kind of finish youd need to mill it, though.

[Demosthenes]

You would want to CNC a shape like that, a dedicated shop should be able to make a duplicate for you. However expect it to cost substantially more then $60

Lost wax casting is another way to duplicate that part, but once again don’t expect to pay $60 to have it done. Your also going to need additional finish post cast to get it looking correct.

[Skulker]

Another thing you could do is get a 3D printer. The initial investment would be lower and the potential for future uses could be much higher. The parts wouldn't be metal but you could paint them to look like metal.

[Demosthenes]

There are companies that will actually infuse 3D print with metal for you.
Obviously not for under $60 though

How It's Made 3D Metal Printing

[Citizen Skeptic]

Here's another thought - if you have access to an oven that can create a vacuum - you could put the part in the oven with plastic on top of it. As the plastic melts, you pump the vacuum and the plastic forms to the part. You can then cut it out and spray paint it chrome.

Or apparently you can do it in your kitchen oven.

Vacuum Forming with your Kitchen Oven and Vacuum Cleaner

There used to be a kid's toy called the Vacuform back in the 60's that did this.

[ShadowSot]

...

 I totally thought this was going to be a thread about constructing a Adam Savage simulacrum in some manner, either via AI or genetic engineering.

[WC]

Heres a similar fan grill that I want to build. These go for $60 bucks and I need four of them. Can't I just make my own??

60 bucks for PC fan grills? Um, Adam Savage would just buy them.

A more inspiring project would elicit a more inspiring response from me. Like sculpting dodos, Maltese Falcons, and obsessions. Fan grills, eh, just order them.

MythBusters' Adam Savage - Dodos, Maltese Falcons, and the Art of Obsession

[MikeHz]

You can't make something like Adam Savage. It has to like him on it's own.

[khendar]

 

Making it out of metal would probably cost as much as buying them if you get them milled at a machine shop.

Does it need to be metal ? If not I would make them out of plastic. You can build a cheap vacuform for probably under $100. Or you could try casting it in resin.