By hooker
#200166
Okay...another quick update. I had some time to work on the gun mount portion of the pack. Here are some pics of the top sections together on the mobo to make sure everything lines up like I want. I think it is starting to look like a pack...

Camera #1
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Camer #2 Little more sanding of the gun mount and some finishing touches on the gear box and booster and I will be ready to start the bottom portion of the pack.
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I will have more on the weekend...
By hooker
#208563
nick-a-tron wrote:any updates for us Tim? Would love to see more.

Thanks guys! I got a little wrapped up in some other projects as well as working some late hours so this took the side burner for a few weeks. With that said...I will have a nice update posted this weekend since I will have a few days to work on it. Stay tuned...
User avatar
By Syco54645
#208784
yes yes yes yes yes!
By hooker
#209848
gbrob wrote:Hey Tim, did you cover the seams with anything or did you just sand it smooth?

No filling has been done of any kind as of yet. Everything is tight fit and sanded smooth so far. I really put a lot of time into making sure my cuts were dead on and square. More pics coming soon!
By zombierepellent
#210316
Looks great as always Tim.

Another thing that's nice about styrene, is that the glue melts it together. If you use a little extra glue it seeps out of the seems a little and turns into plastic and can be sanded seamless with no filler at all.
By hooker
#210984
NeonMessiah wrote:Wow, never occured to me that the HGA and Booster Tube were the same diameter - duh. Watching this closely!

Actually by Stefans plans the OD for the HGA is 2.5" with a 2.375" ID and the booster has a 2.375" OD. Not much of a difference if you are looking to save money on material but I chose to do it to spec.
ProtonCharger wrote:are you making the gun too? or are you using a kit?
The whole idea for this WIP thread was do show a step by step scratch build of the pack right down to making a bumper. This project will include a scratch built gun once the pack is at an end. I should also note that I will be having a step by step for making things like the booster, HGA, PPD, and bumper using the standard pvc or similar items found at the hardware store. The metal items in the early pics are things I had done previous to this build.

Work has kept be busy so I apologize for not getting my update posted. I am working on the pack right at this very moment so it will be up very soon.
User avatar
By ProtonCharger
#210990
hooker wrote: The whole idea for this WIP thread was do show a step by step scratch build of the pack right down to making a bumper. This project will include a scratch built gun once the pack is at an end. I should also note that I will be having a step by step for making things like the booster, HGA, PPD, and bumper using the standard pvc or similar items found at the hardware store. The metal items in the early pics are things I had done previous to this build.

Work has kept be busy so I apologize for not getting my update posted. I am working on the pack right at this very moment so it will be up very soon.
if i had a uterus, i would totally give it to you. ive built a few of them, i just give up around the trigger box and the other box under the handle. so, seeing how to do that, would help me out immensely. im also using mdf, and trying out new things this time, so anything to help me along the way im down for.
User avatar
By pOOpTarT
#211110
Dude! I'm inspired to build another pack! Mine made of wood, PVC, and "for sale" signs just can't hold a candle to what yours is shaping up to be. I love it!
#228044
gbrob wrote:Any updates on this bad boy?
Yes there are. This thread is long overdue for an update so I will get it up to speed over the next week or so. Starting now.

The next area of my build was to take on the spacer and cosmetic plating. For those that have not built a pack yet I want to point out the importance of these two pieces. Being the largest section of the pack to build it is very important to check and re-check all your measurements when doing your lay out. Any errors on these pieces will result in other areas being off or the spacer itself not matching up with the motherboard.

There are many ways to take on these pieces but in keeping the theme of using only basic tools I have found this the easiest for my style of building.

First of is a pic of the spacer during the layout process.

Image

I started out by drawing all my vertical and horizontal points first followed by the large outer circle. The most difficult portion of the spacer is getting all the 16.36 Deg angles matched and spaced dead even. Starting from the center horizontal line I set my compass for the width of what the plates (distance between angle lines). From there I placed the compass on the outer edge of the circle and made my first mark. I then place the compass on the new mark and make another and so on. Do this for all 15 plate areas (14 in Stefans plans). Take special care in making sure your marks are end up hitting the horizontal line on the opposite side of the spacer. This will tell you if you are off in the slightest.

After getting my angles set I took a moment to mark the small circles on the upper portion of the spacer and placed some stacked discs I had cut to check the fit.

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From there I took my time and cut out the spacer:


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Before building up the spacer I use the cut out as a template to aid in cutting out the costmetic plating. By measuring out the vertical and horizontal lines of the cosmetic plating first and laying the spacer on top and a template you should end up with a layout that will fit your spacer once cut out.

Steps here:

Layout
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After being cut out:
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Checking the fit for the two pieces:
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At this point it is a good idea to lay the spacer and cosmetic plating pieces on top of your motherboard along with the other pieces you have made to make sure the fit is correct.

More pictures tonight as I get them loaded.
By hooker
#228080
okay I got more pics from the camera so here we go....

My next step was to build up the cosmetic plating. You can see in the pic that I traced the middle (stepped up) portion from my original and cut that out. Both these pieces were then lifted to their correct heights with some styrene supports and checked for fit.

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Checking for fit...

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The next step was to start putting in the inner plates along the spacer. Normally this job is fairly easy with the aid of a tablesaw or another tool to cut in the miter but for this pack I chose to file the miters in by hand. After a lot of cutting and even more filing I ended up with this....

Image

I still need add walls to the open radius portions but at that point I need a break from the spacer.

Always checking for fit.....

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Getting away from the spacer for a bit I decided to make an Ion arm. Still needs a bit more sanding but so far so good.

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This is the usually the point in a build when I see everything coming together and want to rush to get it all done but there is still a lot of work to go. I should have some more updates in the next week with the progress of the cylcotron and the completion of the spacer.

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#228086
I can't find the words to express how impressed I am with this. Everything just looks perfect! Can't wait to see more (but dont finish it too soon as I love seeing the WIP photos ;) )

May I ask where you buy your large sheets of styrene from and how much it costs? thanks! :)
#228093
nick-a-tron wrote:I can't find the words to express how impressed I am with this. Everything just looks perfect! Can't wait to see more (but dont finish it too soon as I love seeing the WIP photos ;) )

May I ask where you buy your large sheets of styrene from and how much it costs? thanks! :)

Thanks Nick

I purchased the larger styrene directly from Plastruct. ( http://www.plastruct.com/Pages/OnlineCatalog.lasso) The largest they sell is 12 x 36 in various sizes and I think the .080 was around $7-$8 Generally I would get a full sheet from a plastics supplier but all my local sources are gone and I didn't feel like paying the freight charges for a full sheet from an online place. It isn't the cheapest route to go but I ordered many various sizes of strips and sheets so it was my best option.

FYI- their webiste is a pain to navigate.

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