Shorts, Machines, and Website (Patreon)

1st of 8 Posts in June.  As much as I like long-form, some tests just don't need to be 12 minutes long.  Making the short form has helped me make the long form better.  My main videos are at least 10-20% shorter without cutting out any information.  Shorts are a great way for me to say yes to more people for random break tests without feeling like I have to make a full story around that piece of gear.

Totem Cam Test: https://youtube.com/shorts/qJUZ6YUDrNM

Super Dirty Rope: https://youtube.com/shorts/pfTa3TQ04h8

Cam crusher: I have a pile of cams to test and a bunch of rock plates that Steve Glotfelty has made me.  Once I know that works well, we will test brands against each other and not just random cams sent to me.  

Drop tower: I put up a climbing route to get up to a ledge I built making it way easier to go up and down.  I added the max weight to the all thread and beefy eye bolt making my dummy 150lbs of steel weight which is enough to do most things.  I also figured out a way to lift it up in a sustainable way for one person without electric winch.  Personal anchors and screamers are first on the list.

Abrasion tester: Joe is coding more tomorrow.  Figured out how to attach weights to it.  Ordered a hardened "edge"  Still need to figure out how to lift that weight up after it falls.

Linear Actuator: I'm working with a team of seniors at an engineering university to make essentially an Instron knockoff.  $50k machine for $5k.  I'll be able to do cycles and control speed which opens up 100 other potential videos.  I may also see what is involved in getting my lab UIAA certified.  That would be nice to do someday but I'm not in a hurry for that.

Website: Blogging past episodes is obviously not going very quickly if I try to keep up with episodes as I post them.  Working with a few people to see if (1) I can learn how to delegate and (2) if they can keep the tone/vibe of the other blogs.  The blogs are just a stepping stone to writing "Breaking Gear Fear", a book that would summarize all the break tests I do so people would be able to learn in a few hours what has taken us years to do.  If I make another 500 episodes, that isn't very helpful for people with specific questions, especially with the clickbait titles.

Bolting Bible: We may have a solution to make it downloadable as a PDF again while keeping it easy for me to work on in the blog form.  I also can start releasing the 20 banked videos I've been waiting to do until that was done, once I have 3 more chapters written.  

Thank you for all your support, all of it goes back into the videos, lab or website!