The Carrollton Fire Department was called to the Dallas Makerspace at 1:30 PM today (Friday). It was a false alarm. The contractors that are checking out our new Fire Alarm System accidentally triggered the alarm. All is good.
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What do you think about making something for the local firehouse to hang on the wall using laser or multicam.
Might be a fun community project.
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Interesting that you asked. The one Fireman was asking if we could fabricate a high strength light weight aluminum hook that he could easily carry in his pocket. The hooks he carries are made of cast iron and get very heavy to carry around all day. Looks like a great project for the Hass CNC Mill. Anything the Dallas Makerspace can do for the Fire Department would make for great PR. Is there any interest out there for this project? Come see me, I have all the contact information.
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Paging @TBJK…
Can you DM the contact info?
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Presumably for his bail out bag/Emergency escape hook?
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I’m guessing he’s talking about an Emergency Escape hook:
These are used as a part of last-ditch personal bailout system for firefighters:
https://www.rocknrescue.com/product/firefighter-bailout-systems-gt-hook-last-chance-rescue/
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They were “testing” the alarm…it works!
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FWIW, while I might make your-life-is-on-the-line gear for myself (and I have sewn my own climbing and rappelling gear for vertical caving), I would not take on the financial or moral responsibility of making such an item for someone else.
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So let’s convert the firefighter into a maker. 
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My concern is that they are tested per NFPA standards. An already made hook with cert’s is 106$
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Not that I’m really up on all the metallurgy stuff, but I’m not sure that “high-strength” is a phrase that you can attach to aluminum… There’s probably a really good reason his hook is made out of steel…
I mean – those cute little carabiners that you can get everywhere are aluminum, and they say specifically “not for load-bearing” (or words to that effect). And, I suppose that’s to differentiate them from the steel kind you use for mountain climbing and rappelling and such.
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Climbing carabineers have locking mechanisms so they don’t open when they aren’t supposed to. A lot of climbing rated ones are still aluminium (imagine hauling a set of steel anything up the side of a mountain).
You’re right that some alloys and cheaper production methods result in relatively weak aluminium parts. Alloys like 7075 can be stronger than standard steels.
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The picture I shared is made of 7000-series aluminum and costs around $91 for the hook. Probably not worth trying to make from scratch at that price point.
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Here is the one I saw.
We could make some out of stronger metals but I feel like the companies who specialize in it would make them bettet
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We could still make something else cool/useful for them, and maybe for the police since they’ve apparently been out more than a few times.
Creatively designed wall storage or signs? No liability there
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Let’s do Titanium!