TL;DR: We chatted to Chris Riley from Chris’s Basement to find out what he’s all about.
Meet Chris Riley
For some years now, popular YouTuber Chris Riley has been offering high quality walkthroughs and tutorials to help you upgrade your 3D printer – including a lot of E3D upgrades!
We love to work with our community, so we talked to Chris to find out more about the man behind the basement.
It’s Chris Riley from Chris’s Basement!
Welcome Chris! Your basement looks like an awesome working space. How did you get it? Is there a story behind it?
Hi! I’ve lived in the same house for a long time, and the basement has been through many transformations. The first conversion was into a recording studio where for many years I made recordings for my rock band and for others. It then became an apartment for a while. Then I turned it into my hobby space. From there 3D printing slowly took over.
3D printing can do that! How long have you been working with 3D printers? What got you started?
Back in 2016 a friend of mine bought a 3D printer and he was telling me all about it. At first, I really didn’t think anything of it. One day I had the need for a part I couldn’t purchase. I drew the part in CAD and then sent it to my friend to 3D print. When I held the part in my hand, I was hooked! Within a couple of weeks, I had my own 3D printer kit. It was all downhill from there!
Where the 3D printing magic happens. Oh look, a ToolChanger!
“One day I had the need for a part I couldn’t purchase. I drew the part in CAD and then sent it to my friend to 3D print. When I held the part in my hand, I was hooked!”
When did you start making instructional videos? What drove you to do it?
I first got started on YouTube doing OpenStack cloud video tutorials. I was learning about cloud computing and had assembled a server farm in my basement. I enjoy learning new things and sharing with others. So, when I got started 3D printing, it was a no brainer, I just started doing 3D printing content instead of cloud content. My first 3D printing video was released in June 2017.
What other projects do you like to do besides 3D printing?
I work a full-time job and do my YouTube content nights and weekends, so I don’t have a lot of free time to get into other things. I do enjoy playing music, doing household projects, and pretty much anything that involves technology.
What’s your favourite E3D product?
That’s a hard question. I REALLY like the Hemera, it works really well and it’s a game changer as an all in HotEnd/extruder setup. On the other hand, you don’t get much cooler than the ToolChanger. It was a challenge to get the ToolChanger set up and working correctly, but the endless possibilities of it still blows my mind.
Which Revo HotEnd are you most interested in getting your hands on?
Well, I have a LOT of V6’s around the basement. So, I guess I would say Revo Six. I'm looking forward to doing a side by side with the V6 and getting some of my machines upgraded.
We’re doing our best to get them out soon! What’s your go-to 3D printer when you need a part quickly?
I have a handful of Prusa MK2s and MK3s that never let me down. I send them files, prints complete and they very rarely complain.
Chris’s fleet of Prusa 3D printers, each with a E3D V6 inside!
What’s the best 3D printer you’ve ever used?
I wish I could say I have used a really high end super-fast 3D printer that was awesome, but I can’t. The phrase ‘best 3D printer’ to me means one I don’t have to mess with constantly. My Prusas work just fine for me.
“I REALLY like the Hemera, it works really well and it’s a game changer as an all in HotEnd/extruder setup. On the other hand, you don’t get much cooler than the ToolChanger.”
How many times have you compiled Marlin so far?
Oh, now that is a great question! I would say somewhere around a thousand times! Probably almost as many times as I’ve printed a 3D Benchy. Haha!
Chris’s fleet of 3D Benchys
Attending any industry events this year?
I hope to, RepRap festivals are pretty much my favourite place to be. I really want to go back to MRRF and ERRF as soon as possible. I really miss seeing all the 3D printing people in person.
Finally, the most important question: When can we all meet up for a beer?
As soon as it is humanly possible haha! I hope to see all you wonderful folks at E3D at events later this year.
Thanks Chris!
It’s always a pleasure to meet some of the key contributors in the 3D printing community. Check out the Chris’s Basement YouTube channel for some of the most helpful guides and walkthroughs out there.
You can find plenty more HotEnd-related help in the E3D Help Centre, ask us questions in real-time on the E3D Discord, and customer service are on hand if you need any extra help. Not all manufacturers in our field offer this much support 😉
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