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How it started. How it’s Going
Ten or so years ago, the thought occurred at Rescue Squad 2 in Wash DC that it would be really cool if we could anchor an Arizona Vortex to the side of the firetruck to be able to quickly use it without a bunch of setup time. Some motivated firemen with welding skills whipped up the very first version of what would eventually become the AHP. It was used several times on actual rescues.
While it worked, it was not “perfect”. And so the journey began. How does one end up with a practical, metal version of the idea they had in their head? What if you’ve never even worked with metal before? The answer is Youtube and Facebook marketplace.
After watching endless hours of machinist videos on YouTube, I decided to buy a small bench top milling machine off of FB marketplace for $350. With not a lot of precision, and even less capacity for bigger pieces, I started hacking out what would become the first attempt at the AHP.
Quickly realizing that the bench top mill was way too small, it was back to marketplace I go. The bench top mill was sold for twice what I paid for it and I found a big (3000 lb) Bridgeport clone (or dupe as the kids might say) milling machine. The logistics of lifting and transporting one is a whole other story unto itself. The cost of the big machine was only a little bit more than what I sold the small machine for. Seriously. The cost of the machine, I was soon to find out, was the small expense. Getting all of the tooling, clamps, vise, etc… to make it really sing is where the real cost lies. There’s also an associated cost with your wife accepting the fact that the house will have aluminum chips in it for the rest or eternity.
From there it was a series of designs, each with a different and improved thought, to test out, change, find a flaw you never anticipated, and keep on going until you get to a “close enough” version of perfect. Each step along the way represents a huge leap in learning and the ability to anticipate problems in future versions before they arise.
There are probably 8 or 9 markedly different versions of the AHP that came before the final version you see before you. Here is a picture of a few of them. The other versions not pictured all became cannibalized into some other project. Buying aluminum chunks isn’t super quick or cheap for the home gamer.
From top to bottom:
- Rapid change head was designed so I only had to machine a little bit, instead of the whole block of aluminum. Narrow slot for pinning in a raptor foot with the wings milled off.
- Pin goes through hole of the raptor foot. Needed an extra sleeve to take up the slop between the difference of pin size and the hole in the foot.
- Slot was much deeper and allowed for pinning a hole in the leg rather than the foot.
- The orange one is how Rock Thompson envisioned the final version of the design, after numerous conversations about what I would want improved if I had the talent and time. I have neither, Rock Exotica has both.
Eventually, a final version is born.
And that’s just the design of it all. Add in contracts to get it to market, figuring out a what color it’s going to be, writing the instruction manual for it (anticipating how people could potentially, accidentally mis-use it), etc… It’s quite a process. And it’s just a chunk of metal with no moving parts! It’s certainly been an extremely enjoyable process, filled with more learning than I ever could have hoped to experience when I set out on the journey.
Special thanks to everyone who has helped along the way in inspiring how to make the AHP a reality. Of extra special note is Brandon at Rock Exotica, who helped guide me from rough prototype to finished product. Thank you everyone!
How it started vs How it’s going:
