Can I Make This Iconic Lighter? Part 2

[@Ezekielchar]

Hi, watchmaker tips here: I had to make one spring like this for one of my watch. If you want a spring that has regular space between the spires, it’s better to make it compact first, all the spires touching each other. You make your spring longer than needed, and once it’s done, you take it out of the lathe and stretch it until your reach the space needed between the spires. Remove the excess and « voilà ».

[@donovansuvanto5267]

Easy way as well is to use another wire with an O.D equal to the space you need butted up to the other while wrapping and wrap them tight. Grab the sacrificial wire and unwrap from your dowel and there you have it

[@nickcarophotography]

My father, a silversmith, removes the tarnishing after soldering by leaving the work piece in a bath of diluted hydrochloric acid for a few hours and then buffing with jeweller's rouge and a tough stitch mop . You may want to do a few test pieces first to ascertain the correct strength/time formula for the bath though obviously..

[@notamouse5630]

Any acid will do, and acetic acid is substantially greener. Metal chlorides, heat, and organics is a toxic combination. I am currently doing vinegar with copper for a different purpose. For a bit of extra shine, use a small amount of hydrogen peroxide in with it.

[@jdeluca6181]

Pickle

[@Pan_Borsuk]

I use diluted sulfuric acid (about 10% acid). Sometimes if I'm in a hurry, I dump pieces still hot in it.

[@jimmyaustin6087]

Citric acid, completely safe to use, plenty of model engineering site give you the ratio. Buy from shops that make home brew wine kits. Wilkos is a good source in Blighty

[@MisterRorschach90]

Don’t forget acid changes strength based on temperature too. You have to control the Temperature if you want the best results.

[@BluestedSRT4]

A Vietnam veteran told me that before they shipped out, they had to go through a talk about not leaving anything behind on the trail etc. because the enemy would use even our trash against us to make weapons and booby traps and things. He said they had a table with captured items and one item was a handmade Zippo, that at first glance looked genuine, but when opened and taken apart you could tell it was made from old C-Ration cans/tins.

[@Aikano9]

Caveman engineering is really cool stuff. Like those videos where people create a peloton turbine, generating tons of electricity from trash

[@Trac3r.]

It’s still taught to this day

[@VaguelySynthetic]

Thoroughly enjoying this build, Alec. Hope the kerfuffling goes well.

[@2H80vids]

Alec: Have you an electric/battery kerfuffler, or will you be kerfuffling the old-fashioned way?

[@damascuseverything]

4:30 "Bodge our way into accuracy" my life's mantra.

[@dpmakestuff]

Can we all just take a minute to appreciate Alec's sticktoitiveness? I'm enjoying this very much!

[@mrmunchkin2181]

It's called being British

[@christophersavignon4191]

Back in my day, we used proper words like "persistence" and "fortitude"...

[@dpmakestuff]

@@christophersavignon4191 neato.

[@mrmunchkin2181]

@@christophersavignon4191 I'm only 19 and you are making me feel old :/

[@miiigoreng]

Fun Fact: Zippo's flint tubes and top plates were indeed soldered to the insert, up through the 1990s.

[@schwig44]

Guessing the guy working the soldering station retired and they couldn't find a suitable replacement

[@miiigoreng]

@@schwig44 After this vid, Alec is needed for hire more than ever

[@bloodvue]

Question, how does regular glue handle lighter fluid?

[@miiigoreng]

@@bloodvue it aint regular glue. Epoxy

[@schwig44]

@@bloodvue there's no such thing as "regular glue". What kind of glue are you inquiring about?

[@Vikingwerk]

Superglue releases at a fairly low temperature, heat up the lighter enough and it’ll self-disassemble, and you can add the part. Sure, you’ll have to clean it up again, but such is life.

[@anthonyprokopie29]

yeah could probablvy do it in a tray in one of his many kilns

[@Demolishionist]

Most CA glues release at just over 300 F. You would have to leave it burning for quite a while for it to reach that temperature but it certainly could.

[@daniellingardsson7972]

More worried if the zippofuel will disolve the CA glue

[@jasincolegrove4798]

The glue isn't the issue. It's the rivet he already set to the top plate.

[@uyegidgg]

Also, when making springs, dont worry about getting the right spacing between the wraps, wind it tight and pull on it after and it will evenly spread out

[@nathandavis5021]

Clicked so fast 😩 i am intrigued by this project

[@mayo_moto]

lol. That Trevor Jacobs joke was perfectly delivered. Great project!

[@leviathan7477]

I was hoping for this comment. I love it when there are little hints that my favorite youtubers watch other youtubers that I love!

[@ant1985ish]

It was subtle and perfect. Lol

[@HonicBlue]

love that he poked that idiot mid video :)

[@Otie_Boy]

As a mini wargamer and model builder, I can tell you for sure that the baking soda + CA glue combo is pretty magical. It makes the glue harden almost instantly and admittedly seems to even make it harden slightly more than the glue by itself.

[@r-sole4872]

If you’re having problems with the bends you could cut a small grove into the inside of the fold. Like what people do with armour making

[@kassiog.6595]

the material he's working with is so thin that i think cutting a groove would make it too weak

[@r-sole4872]

@@kassiog.6595 it wouldn’t need to be deep. Since the material is so thin it could be like a micro channel that would just “encourage” the bend. But regardless old Alec made it work anyway

[@Robenbuilds]

On thin material I think it would work really well to use a ruler and a scribe to make a grove for the bend

[@Aaron_Hanson]

@@Robenbuilds as a carpenter I was just going to use my metalsmithing knowledge (zero) and suggest a scribe.

[@ulrichkalber9039]

now i know why Alec is doing the lighter: it is a step towards making larger sheetmetal objects, read: armor.

[@hutchmusician]

Loving this series. Watching Alec transition to making tiny things after a lifetime of hammering a whole sword’s worth of steel at a time is hilarious. ‘Great… it’s already not working.’

[@robertzachow]

What a awesome build! I believe that the reason the top is glued in is so that the fluid won't leak out in your pocket. The really old ones did and would leave you with a chemical burn.

[@professornuke7562]

I've had that happen. Big red stinging mark on my leg, because it was in my pocket at the time. Bit too close to certain other bits of anatomy for comfort, so I kept it in my shirt pocket after that.

[@TheZohan907]

Just recently found your channel and I’ve gotta say I’m absolutely enjoying your back catalogue of videos. You and Will have done some beautiful, excellent work

[@Nofxthepirate]

5:53 is one of the most oddly satisfying things I've ever seen. Drilling into something, but instead of turning the drill bit you are turning the object itself!

[@gamerzarroq4789]

Nobody has ever done a truly accurate forged replica of the movie sword Zar'roc from Eragon. Some do the book versions but the forged blade and incredible sculpting of the hilt and pommel would be amazing. I think it would make the perfect multi-part series for you channel

[@lazarusblack-smith1556]

I love this series, Zippos have been a favorite of mine for ages and my mom was born and raised in Bradford PA and worked in their factory for a while.

[@Atillathepun]

Love the channel. Love the projects. Here'a a challenge I'd love to see Alex take up. Craft the lightest functional steel longsword he possibly can. It should fall within the standard blade length and width, guard width, and hilt length parameters of a typical longsword and should be properly balanced, but can have all the fullering, tapers, cutouts, and materials (excepting the blade, which must be steel of some sort) Alex can think of to lighten the sword while it remains usable under typical (not abusive) conditions.

[@billparco8072]

Longswords are actually very lightweight considering their size already. We're talking 2.5 to 3 lbs. I don't think you can get much lighter without some serious performance hit.

[@Atillathepun]

@@billparco8072 That's exactly the challenge😁

[@saginawdan]

I find this series fascinating!!! I am an antique dealer and I've bought and sold hundreds of vintage Zippos. 🔥 THANKS!

[@307Gareth]

really enjoy watching your progress, it all about trial and fail till you found the solution. the spring part is pretty tough, what I figure to help the constant spacing is add another music wire for spacing and wind both at the same time and voila, I would keep the brass in the chuck close to the wire to keep the bar straight and avoiding bending from wire pulling the bar out of place

[@munzeryaser]

13:00 that lough is so good

[@Type_IIx_04]

Hey Alec! Just wanted to say I love the videos and you’ve inspired me to get out into the forge and I can’t thank you enough. I love the craft and now I can’t imagine life without it. Big love from N.C. my friend

[@MotoCat91]

Uh oh, the T 800 series terminator is learning how to self replicate!

[@Type_IIx_04]

@@MotoCat91 at the moment we’re a dozen strong but the newer ones all look like leaf shaped key rings. It’s a work in progress to say the least

[@spencerbaldwin]

when you have a messy brazed/soldered intricate part. the best way to clean it is soak in boiling deionized water till the flux has mostly removed, then GLASS BEADING. it works phenomenally. its common practice in aerospace manufacturing.

[@mastertyreshredder]

“That’s a soldered up HOT case” 😅😂 spat my tea across my table

[@steprockmedia]

This project is just nutty! Makes you respect Zippo all the more. I need to go find my lighter for no reason now

[@benjaminmacneill1955]

I am loving this series.

[@johnbradford9235]

Once again, your infectious enthusiasm in the face of adversity is hugely addictive dude. I feel like I'm standing there with you. The choice of build is challenging and interesting, but you my man, are the star for loving what you do 👉👉👉. Kudos for reff'ing TOT 👍, and don't forget to check with dog 😉😁. More please!!! And quickly!!! 😎

[@davincidamaster5311]

Ayyyy, gotta love the This Old Tony shout out!

[@Robenbuilds]

This is a super cool project and I'm always really impressed by the ingenuity!

[@baggaza]

Watching you learn to utilise bending setups has been incredibly enjoyable and a really nostalgic throwback to the early days of the channel. Great video/s and keep up the experimenting!

[@starbomber]

3:22 Oh hey! I know this stuff, it's also used on thermocouples (temperature sensing doo-dads in engines) and it is indeed, a pain to work with.

[@reimerironworks314]

Beautiful job

[@InfernoPhilM]

KZbin’s machining godfather is the og. This Old Tony’s amazing talking hands can make anything.

[@Leadvest]

He can even make children.

[@stretch668]

Honestly didn't think you could do this project alec (no offense) but now Im convinced and hooked. The way you made the spring was awesome

[@madengineer9072]

Such a fun build. Watching you make the little fiddly bits is very enjoyable.

[@anthonyprokopie29]

alec, spring is almost here i think you need to make your own push lawn mower to keep ms. steele happy. would be a fun practical build mechanisms and blades

[@davephillips7550]

Haven't watched you in a while but Zippos are iconic. I live 80 miles from the factory and have my grandads one from WW2

[@arewhyinoh8595]

A little help with springs/wire. You can wrap the springs with the wires touching and pull the ends apart a little at a time until you release and the spring has the spacing. That way the spacing will be even.

[@doxdoomsday4948]

I always enjoy watching you learn by doing. Thanks for sharing!

[@williamgray1236]

I love my Zippo so to watch you make one is so heart warming. Definitely worth the price

[@brockveilleux962]

Alec when you're back in the states you need to come to Bradford, Pennsylvania that's where both Zippo and Case Knives got their start. Got a really cool museum and I think you would enjoy it.

[@SchysCraftCo.]

Can't wait to see more videos soon. This is just a pretty exciting project. Keep up the great craftsmanship and hard work my friend. Forge on. Keep making. God bless.

[@JSAnstock]

Uri Tuckman is probably watching this and asking "Why haven't you engraved the flint follower, such a missed opportunity". Fantastic work Alec always a pleasure to watch

[@s1opp]

The cement in the Zippo serves as a heat shield between the flame and the fuel. The only thing I dislike about my Zippo is having to refill it too often. I imagine, without the heat shield the fuel will evaporate even quicker. Keep up the good work, can't wait to see the finished lighter.

[@jacksmith848]

series is lit

[@TheRealDToTsO]

You make me want to make this out of sterling. Love the work and time spent!! Wish I had more tools!!!

[@Leadvest]

You can remove thin film oxidation with a boiling dilute citric acid solution. I've only ever needed to do this with stainless steel, but I assume it works with steel too.

[@iiOverLord]

I am baffled that you have managed to fabricate these intricate pieces without having the proper tooling and making tooling for yourself!!! its amazing and you are the same age as me and doing it yourself. INCREDIBLE!!!!!

[@rossbrown6539]

Alec was so happy when the spring fit

[@davidsauter13]

Absolutely awesome build, my 6yr old granddaughter loves to watch your videos with me

[@g-rod5199]

Definitely one of my favorite builds of yours so far! Loving the troubleshooting and trying out alternative methods to achieve the same lighter.

[@fjholden3004]

Hey Alec to engage the thread cutting on the lathe you could of moved to carige across till the half nuts closed and then move the compound slide over to where you want the spring to start

[@saywhaatnow]

The intricacy on this project is amazing. Pretty baffling that you were able to make that spring!!

[@iccytwin2480]

Can’t wait for this to be in stores

[@paulus842000]

I'm loving this build, just like the way you dive into the project with no real plans and are able to do it. 😊

[@adelbert7162]

When you said you're going to make your own Zippo lighter I thought you would make a beautiful, engraved case... but you have exceeded my expectations! Also please do the case 🙏

[@jonathanlunger2775]

LOVE the TOT call out!

[@snakeyrob]

I’m curious if you ever cost up any of your builds. Of course it’s a prototype and does not reflect what a manufactured end product would cost; but materials, a realistic value of your labour, shop running costs- it may just be, you are currently holding the most expensive lighter in the world! Really enjoying watching the process. Thank you. Keep’em coming!

[@nunyabiznez8120]

A lot of old Zippos were nickle plated to help prevent rust. After buffing smooth, you could nickle plate it and no one would see the flux staining.

[@dahunter136]

Dawg, I've watched you make some of the most beautiful weapons and projects from scratch. You got this! Little things are just frustrating to make.

[@Exstaz]

The brushed finish looks professional!

[@jaimzmyers3699]

Gotta love the small dis at 3:00 something

[@kindijr6674]

This is AWESOME content. Come on, the photography of this channel is of the charts, is amazing to see the builds coming together and the narrative of the bullseye moves and the mistakes is so captivating. Great job guys! (Much love from you're brazilian fan over here)

[@justmutantjed]

12:17 - You've kind of come round to a setup for making chainmaille the hard way here, Alec. Several maillers I've known used a mandrel in a powerdrill chuck with a feeding arrangement like this. Only difference is they're trying to coil the wire together without any kind of gaps to make their jump-rings.

[@cornelius69]

"If you look in the mirror and say cup of tea three times Colin furze appears " LOL

[@leiladekwatro3147]

How cool would it be if he did show up and announces a collab

[@ZorellUnderhood]

Only Alec would try to make his own tiny spring! Great build. Looking forward to part 3

[@smashallpots1428]

i saw a cool 3d printable spring making jig the other day thats good for making tiny springs

[@beautifulsmall]

Was the new spring wound in the opposite direction to the origional, not something Ive ever thought of before. Great work. Its coming together . Tough luck on the silver soldering, it heeds to be at red heat.

[@jaye1967]

I'm curious if you thought about approaching this from a different angle and making stamping dies to do the bending.

[@ericwhite5655]

Impressive work. Not sure your availability there but we called it pickling paste. Was an acid paste used to take the bluish discoloration from welding stainless steel off. But is pretty good at doing a acid clean on a little intricate part like that to save some of the sanding on the tarnish.

[@J.C.73]

I wish I still had access to all the toys you have...their's absolutely no better a job than creating anything from metal. I never done these little tedious things but I absolutely want too.💯👍👍

[@secretsquirrel726]

The case hinge was soldered on in the early versions and has a press/spot weld in he later versions. The hinge number were called "barrels." They switched from 3 to 4 barrel hinges in the late 1940's early 1950's until all the models were 4 barrel hinges. I think later cases are completely formed by compressions punches with annealings between steps. The ones made from damascus steel and other materials on KZbin are mostly cut by machine milling and grinding. I know there are milling marks on the Marine corps 1942 cases, but I have never seen them on any others.

[@ilijavranjic]

11:00 the tool is called coil master 10 euros you nam make springs from 1.5mm to 4 mm, all included

[@Marss13z]

It is always a pleasure to watch when you have an interesting project like this. Well done.

[@mulgerbill]

Several thousand points out of ten for the Jacob shade!

[@WiredWorkshop]

I absolutely love this series! It's really cool to watch you work on bigger forging projects than to tackle a project like this amazing work

[@brendansokoluk2700]

It would be great if you could do a q&a session again some time soon.

[@frankierzucekjr]

This is so cool, I can't wait to see how this comes out and what you use for the outside case.

[@timkirk3736]

This is a great build! So much reminiscent of the old days.

[@jefferybilby378]

Some very nice fine work sir! Really enjoying this build !

[@bennyteichroeb9004]

You should make a copper Damascus knife

[@karievans6639]

This episode was great, especially since I've been in a machining class for about a year now. Keep up the good work!

[@bendingsands87]

Alec, when you're done you should look into gold damascene. You could really make the lighter pop🙂.

[@thefireseler4446]

I think this is my fave alec build

[@Personnenenparle]

The socket u use to fold it twice at the sametime, make it longer and drill guide holes to align it all properly. For the cheminey, pretty sure they would have carved a press die out of strong wood to make the weird shape.(for prototyping) If u do so, carve the bends sharper and tighter to compensate the wood compression

[@RATsnak3]

lol watching you fold this metal by hand is funny considering the real thing is stamped out of sheet metal in a matter of seconds but still really cool project and a great idea. working with such a small and delicate piece is really going to be putting your skills to the test.

[@mikestevens1126]

Couldn't wait for this to come out

[@dillonthomasson623]

I like that dig at Trevor Jacob's @ 3:30

[@Darksunbird]

best laugh at 13:03 it says to me " holy crap me dood eet!" and i enjoyed that.

[@elijahwiggins438]

Love your videos man

[@ltwade8522]

Ok, been watching your channel for a year now. I got a few suggestions. Next time you're stateside go to Bradford PA and take a walk thru the Zippo/ Case museum.. very interesting ( case makes knives) this will put you in my neck of the woods, so you can also come to the Corning museum of glass. The mrs. will love this. As a maker you will too.👍

[@JC-11111]

So.... You win the internet for 2022. Great job, Alec! You deserve a P.O.B.! 🤣👌

[@PeterKNoone]

Super cool. Nice job man.

[@avoirdupois1]

That music at the end reminds me of the theme from the movie "Last of the Mohicans." An intricate project.

[@kieren7763]

A bolt in a drill will make a decent spring also just alow for spring back and go abit smaller diameter than u need .chuck the wire in with the bolt to grip it aswell save u drilling a hole in the bolt to pass the wire through

[@Oerknalx]

I love this videos ! so many fun builds

[@lengmanl4807]

Sometimes videos like these remind me of the luxury of just buying pre made things

[@drakewolfe8359]

Have you tried using graphite powder to avoid oxidation? Jewelers usually coat silver smelting crucibles for this. Mask the solder area brush on a coat of graphite powder (9B)?