A Butterfly Ice Pick from a Motorcycle Chain

Metalworking Workshop
A Butterfly Ice Pick from a Motorcycle Chain

“Inspired by Jimmy DiResta” seems to be stamped across a lot of makers’ YouTube projects these days. Jimmy’s shopcraft mojo really strikes a chord and inspires a lot of people to head to their garages in search of their own maker muse.

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In this video, the Tableft workshop was inspired by Jimmy’s now-iconic DiResta ice pick to build a really nifty butterfly pick and Phillips head driver using only an old screwdriver blade and a length of broken motorcycle chain.

butterflyPick_1The first thing that was needed was to weld the links of the chain that will form the two sides of the handle for the pick.

butterflyPick_2To create the pick, the screwdriver blade was chucked into a drill and the former handle-end of the blade was ground into a pick using an angle grinder secured in a vise.

butterflyPick_3To remove the rubber O-rings in the links of the chain, a blow torch was used to burn them out and then the remnants were picked out.

butterflyPick_4Now it’s time to weld the pick/driver to the handle.

butterflyPick_5The last thing that was done (after some heat treating) was to add a belt ring to one side of the handle. The ring has the added function of locking the handle in place when in use.

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Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. His free weekly-ish maker tips newsletter can be found at garstipsandtools.com.

View more articles by Gareth Branwyn
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