My name is Jason Kihl, and I've been making a living creating metal artwork for over sixteen years. During that time, I've made many different styles of art - from abstract to Southwest - using a waterjet cutting machine.
One of the most fun and enjoyable things I've done is a line of whimsical decorative steel signs under my business name of "Zed's Zombie Ranch". They aren't exclusively zombie related, and include Bigfoot, fairies, gnomes, and many other mythical creatures. They also run the gamut of fun, clever and sometimes snarky humor that I enjoy. I've been making these signs for a few years now and selling them online in my Etsy shop. I love the process of making them from concept to completion. However, there is a catch!
Every sign I make has to be prepped for rusting by cleaning the steel before the acid can be applied. This is generally done with a flap disc on a hand held grinder. If you've ever held a grinder for extended periods of time you know how tiring this can be and how sore your body can get doing it. I've discovered that there is a machine available that will make this process MUCH less taxing on my body and much quicker too. It's called a rotary brush sander. Here's what it looks like:
The basic model starts at about $7000, which is why I put that as my funding goal. It has a feed roll in the front that pulls the steel piece through to the brush (spinning at over 1700 RPM) and another on the back that grabs it and helps pull it out the back safely without the item being thrown across the room! When it comes out the other side it is cleaned and deburred and ready for the acid treatment finishing process. This machine will help my process become easier and more efficient, allowing me to expand the quantity of signs I make available to you!
I have so many more ideas for fun signs to make! I just need to make the process more efficient so I can spend more time designing new patterns and less time grinding! I hope that you enjoy what you see here and will help fund this campaign. Please tell your friends and family who you know will appreciate my work! Here are the fantastic rewards I am offering for the campaign:
Shipping within the US is INCLUDED in the reward price.
If you want to get a sign AND a magnet or two, just use the "Add On" price shown here to figure out your total pledge amount. You will be sent a survey after the successful completion of the campaign to designate exactly which reward(s) you chose.
Exact sizes for signs can be found by clicking the Sign Options image. However, please purchase through Kickstarter to help fund this campaign!
Risks and challenges
As with any project there can be delays. However, I have been doing metalwork for over sixteen years and once I see the project has been funded (fingers crossed!) I can begin to start production of the rewards before completion of the campaign. This will give me a leg up on the timeline to be sure the Early Birds get their rewards before Halloween and everyone else gets their rewards well before Christmas!
Questions or to make a pledge. click here!
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