[Ecto_1]

Yep, Home Depot has them, i picked up a Milwaukee set the other day for my pack build. The one treat that you will find though is in the battery section in the tool corral in the stores, especially if you do decide to make a GB2 pack, they have the Makita 9volt batteries brand new in there

[PssdffJay]

Standing in Home Depot now. Titanium, cobalt, black oxide...?

Some guy in an orange vest said he would find someone to help me but in still waiting.

There is a Milwaukee set that are titanium that does say good for fiberglass. Haven't found anything that actually says "carbide". Maybe I'll get these.

[Ejgunth87]

Yeah grab the titanium ones

[Hoot]

Or that. Milwaukee bits are damned goodm

[PssdffJay]

When the guy finally showed up he said they don't have carbide bits. Milwaukee it is.

[Hoot]

Those will do. Drill on absolutely lowest setting unless you can find one of them MFKING hand drills.

[Ejgunth87]

This post may contain an affiliate link that helps support GBFans.com when you make a purchase at no additional cost to you.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00004T80 ... 365&sr=8-3

^^^^

[PssdffJay]

.com wouldn't ship to me but I found a similar one on the .ca. Should be here Tuesday. Thanks for the link!

[Ejgunth87]

No problem man. One of my buddies has an axe from the same company and he loves it. I'm probably going to buy one of these drills for my Ecto build so I don't break anything.

[PssdffJay]

Another small step. I tried to sand my Nickatron bumper to take out the seam but it was really fricking cold, so it still needs more sanding but it's about half way. I went with the larger 1/4-20 bolts for it instead of the smaller 10-32 option because I think this part in real life would have needed the strength. Maybe that's just me. Plus it matches the L bracket bolts.

I used Ken Huegel's screen used bumper for reference on where to drill the holes. Yes it's a GB2 bumper that he has but I like that the bolt locations are not the same on each side.

Drilled the holes and tapped them.

Now the daunting task of trying to figure out how and where to line this up.

[PssdffJay]

A question if you please. I tried levelling the top edge of the bumper and then thankfully I looked at it from the side and saw how out of plum it was. So out came the square and my level and with making the bumper as plum as possible (the other side has a negative lean the other way by 1/16) the top of the bumper is out 3/16.

Blah blah blah, measurement, plumb, level, blah blah blah. Yes I'm probably splitting hairs.

My question is, should it be level or plumb because it ain't gunna be both!

[PssdffJay]

Maybe I split the difference. Install close to plumb and sand the top of the bumper a little flatter.





The bellows is square as a reference.

[Morydees]

From a personal preference standpoint, I'd go with plumb because the bumper's lines are right next to the grooves in the cyclotron, magnifying any unevenness. That would mess with my brain much more than a slight leveling issue which, to the untrained eye, looks more "intentional" than the plumb being off would. If that makes any sense...

[PssdffJay]

Damnit man! Put the protractor away and install the blinkin' thing!!

[PssdffJay]

From a personal preference standpoint, I'd go with plumb because the bumper's lines are right next to the grooves in the cyclotron, magnifying any unevenness. That would mess with my brain much more than a slight leveling issue which, to the untrained eye, looks more "intentional" than the plumb being off would. If that makes any sense...

Thanks. That's what I'm thinking too. Half done. I'll post photos in a few minutes after the other side is done.

[PssdffJay]

Lots of photos on this update. I marked and measured for the holes in the shell and very slowly and carefully drilled out shell with very minimal chipping. I did use every drill but up to the 13/64 I needed. I tried to tap the shell as well but when I went to thread the bolts I could hear creaking so I opted on playing safe and just drilled the holes in the shell to large enough that the bolts slide through. The threads on the bumper and nuts on the inside will hold it as well as the bolt for the bellows when I do that. Still don't know if I'll try and sand the front of the bumper a little more level. Right now it still slopes down 3/16. It is slightly concave in the middle. I'll sleep on it. Photos in the next post.

[PssdffJay]

[PssdffJay]

I think it's still slightly leaning down. I'll adjust when I drill the bellows bolt.

I wonder if the the bolts that hold the bumper were intentionally screwed in different heights and distances apart so the original prop makers knew which side to put it on. Or, maybe I'm over thinking it.

I also found a bubble in the N filter when I lifted it up from it. Good thing it's coming off anyway.

[NoodleMaps]

You gave me a lot to think about with the amount of work you put into mounting this.
*Takes another step back to re-evaluate plan*
Looks great.

[PssdffJay]

Thanks, but don't over think it as much as I do. I'm a perfectionist at heart so this is probably NOT the project I should be doing. I won't tell you how long I sat looking at the bumper in different positions today. I could never do something like replicating perfectly one of the characters packs. I'd go mental scrutinizing over every detail. I already am doing that with mine.

I probably did this wrong doing a hero pack first instead of making a semi hero pack with resin parts but I figured go big or go home.

[PssdffJay]

Well, I was in build mode mode and I really wanted to finish this section off. I decided no sanding (plus it dropped another 10 degrees outside) and I had already found the centre of the bumper. I loosened the bolts (forgot to loosen the nuts on the inside and couldn't figure out why they bolts wouldn't loosen and were getting tighter...) and then pushed up on the bumper so it was better aligned and started drilling the centre hole through both the bumper and the shell. Again, started on the smallest bit and went through every one until the 13/64 needed for the tap.

Then I had an "Oh shit!" moment. I was drilling down from the top, so I naturally started to tap the hole from the top down and got halfway and panicked. I didn't realize that the bolt was actually going to go from the bottom up. I finished tapping the bumper, dismantled it and ran the 1/4-20 bolt through top down to test the threads. Then I crossed my fingers and tried to thread from the bottom up and thankfully, it worked that way too and I could unclench my butt. This project has been my first ever tapping experience and I didn't even think if the threads only worked one way. This may be common knowledge to everyone else but I never even considered it. I thought I just f'd up what I spent hours working on today. I then tapped through the shell to finish it off.

I found a 1/4-20 x 2 1/2" bolt at Home Depot that worked perfectly for the GBfans bellows that I was able to snag when AJ did that eBay sale of the scratch and dent inventory. Mine has 2 little tiny dents but it's nearly impossible to notice unless you are looking for it. I wish there could be another run of these.

This did the trick. The bumper is better aligned and although the bellows isn't level and the bumper still slopes down that 3/16" only me and anyone reading this is ever going to know. Now I can move on to something else tomorrow.

Photos again in the next post.

[PssdffJay]

I hope that hole isn't supposed to be dead centre because mine definitely is more north.





I used this bolt and a rubber washer and a metal washer. Why the rubber washer? I don't know. Just because I figured I should.

[PssdffJay]

I still need to measure and cut out a spacer. I have the tubing but it was getting late and I didn't want to take it all apart yet.





Hopefully all my ramblings can help the next person. I've learned so much from all the builds, these threads (maybe not mine) are invaluable.

[Hoot]

Looks good was gunna mention a spacer. I think I used a 1/4"

[Wharin]

Yeah I think I used a half inch spacer and some brass washers on mine to hide the bolt.

[Enderwigan]

Nice work, looks good. Told you the bellow was no big deal

[PssdffJay]

Nice work, looks good. Told you the bellow was no big deal

Yes, thank you! You build had good info. On many I was searching it just showed it finished. (I apologize for anyone's build if I missed it.)

[PssdffJay]

With the news of Harold Ramis passing yesterday I was bummed I couldn't work more on my build. I wanted to be able to sit and reflect and pour myself into it and think about how much of my life has been affected both by Ghostbusters and his work. I used to tell people my name was Egon when I was about 4 or 5. I believed these men would live forever, I can't even imagine them not being on this earth. But it's been 30 years and sadly the thing about life is that we never get out of it alive. When ever I picture any of them in my mind, I always see them from the 1980's and then to see a current photo still shocks me. You will be missed Mr. Ramis. Good bye dear friend. Thank you for the laughs.

[PssdffJay]

I was super busy today but I did manage to squeeze in some time to find some brass washers for my bumper and I may have a line on some slotted fillister screws without having to buy a box of 100 for an insane amount. I have to call them back tomorrow to confirm.

I didn't get home until 11:30pm but I really needed to do something to my build. I cut (twice) a spacer for the between the bumper and the shell. The first one was a sliver too small and rattled and the second one I had to sand down slightly to fit tight and it is definitely tight! I also replaced the washers with the brass ones.

[PssdffJay]

Hand drill came in today. Paid about as much for shipping as the drill was so I could get 2 day shipping. It is much bigger then I thought it would be and has a "lifetime warranty" which I suppose is good. It wasn't expensive at all. $20 plus $12 shipping. It maxes out at a 19/64 drill bit, one step below a 5/16.