First, for the information of the moderators, this is not a solicitation to sell a product. I won't be selling these or getting a finders fee from whoever ends up making them.
I don't think I'm violating any rules, but if I am please let me know and I'll correct whatever the issue is.
Thanks.
Now, on to the topic.
As anyone who owns one (and others) knows the unique baseplates for those guns are getting hard to find. I called S&W Customer Service a while back to enquire about baseplates for the pre rail 4513TSW. The rep was a bit vague in his reply. He didn't say that they didn't have, but he said that they were not available to the public. Which gave me the impression that there was a limited stock and it would be limited to preferred customers.
I haven't made any follow up calls, so maybe he was incorrect.
Since they don't seem to be making any more of those, I decided to look into having some made. The best way to do that is by having someone 3D print them.
I found someone who was willing to give it a try, but he needed either a Computer Aided Design (CAD) drawing or 3D scan. I had a friend do a CAD drawing, but it was not detailed enough for the maker to use.
That brought the project to a standstill around Thanksgiving of last year. Commercial 3D scanning prices start at about $100.00/hour in my area. That made it unfeasible for me to get the done.
Then, luck stepped in. Someone with a shop about half an hour from where I lived needed to scan a suspension part for project he's working on. As it happens, I own the exact truck he was looking for and it's in near new condition so rust is not an issue in the scan.
I contacted him and we made arrangements for me to go to his shop and have him do the suspension scan. In exchange he agreed to scan the 4513TSW and 3913TSW baseplates.
That was done this morning and I have to the scan files in hand.
The next step will be to send them to the 3D printer guy and ask him to make a couple of prototypes.
If that works out, I'll test them out and if THAT works out, I'll let those interested know. They can then contact him directly about buying them. We can do that via PM not to clutter up the forum. In fact, I think that's what the management would require.
I won't have an idea of cost until I communicate with the 3D printer. I would guess 10-15 dollars each, but it's a guess.
Note also that these will not have the S&W logo or name printed on them as the OEM ones do. Smith is appropriately vigilant about that sort of thing.
Last, and I know this is a long post, if anyone knows of someone who does 3D printing and would like a copy of the files, PM me.
Since I'm not doing this as a money making proposition I'll share the files with anyone who wants to utilize them.
That's it for now.
I don't think I'm violating any rules, but if I am please let me know and I'll correct whatever the issue is.
Thanks.
Now, on to the topic.
As anyone who owns one (and others) knows the unique baseplates for those guns are getting hard to find. I called S&W Customer Service a while back to enquire about baseplates for the pre rail 4513TSW. The rep was a bit vague in his reply. He didn't say that they didn't have, but he said that they were not available to the public. Which gave me the impression that there was a limited stock and it would be limited to preferred customers.
I haven't made any follow up calls, so maybe he was incorrect.
Since they don't seem to be making any more of those, I decided to look into having some made. The best way to do that is by having someone 3D print them.
I found someone who was willing to give it a try, but he needed either a Computer Aided Design (CAD) drawing or 3D scan. I had a friend do a CAD drawing, but it was not detailed enough for the maker to use.
That brought the project to a standstill around Thanksgiving of last year. Commercial 3D scanning prices start at about $100.00/hour in my area. That made it unfeasible for me to get the done.
Then, luck stepped in. Someone with a shop about half an hour from where I lived needed to scan a suspension part for project he's working on. As it happens, I own the exact truck he was looking for and it's in near new condition so rust is not an issue in the scan.
I contacted him and we made arrangements for me to go to his shop and have him do the suspension scan. In exchange he agreed to scan the 4513TSW and 3913TSW baseplates.
That was done this morning and I have to the scan files in hand.
The next step will be to send them to the 3D printer guy and ask him to make a couple of prototypes.
If that works out, I'll test them out and if THAT works out, I'll let those interested know. They can then contact him directly about buying them. We can do that via PM not to clutter up the forum. In fact, I think that's what the management would require.
I won't have an idea of cost until I communicate with the 3D printer. I would guess 10-15 dollars each, but it's a guess.
Note also that these will not have the S&W logo or name printed on them as the OEM ones do. Smith is appropriately vigilant about that sort of thing.
Last, and I know this is a long post, if anyone knows of someone who does 3D printing and would like a copy of the files, PM me.
Since I'm not doing this as a money making proposition I'll share the files with anyone who wants to utilize them.
That's it for now.
