Back to the Feet

Not much going on since I have been busy. I did counter sink the holes in the center foot shell and attached some screws to the foot strips. I will do the same for the outer shells tomorrow.

PSI Test

Ok so now a test with the PSIs. This is a lit room, and the camera exposure adjustment is going a little crazy causing some weird color transitions that aren't there in person.

Update:
The color transitions are are fade the color switches immediately using a different command.



The tube is a resin on from Keith. The the filters are pieces of milks jugs. There are 2 inside the tube and the one that is being held is the rough part, usually at the handle. The color test is the same test routine as was done with the holoprojectors. The tube is open at the back and the inside should be lined with aluminum tape to improve the lighting effect. There is a little bit of a hot spot, not as much as it appears in the video, but if the LED is moved further away it goes away without any decrease in the lighting

My Archnemisis

Well my ambitious plans to have the feet and legs 98% done over the weekend went down in flames, as real life stepped in. I did get to play around with my new LEDs for the Holoprojectors some though.

Some things I did get done over the weekend:
1) enlarged the holes on 1 foot shell to allow the KHFings to fit with the foot strip in the correct position.

2) I started cutting some more of 1 leg to figure out how to install the under the shoulder details.

3) I took on my archnemisis... the top ring of the frame.

For my Large Data Ports to fit, I have to cut back the top ring's slot about a 1/4". This piece has gone through a couple fo cutting disks without and head way. Well I started cutting perpendicular slots for about 1" along the area to be cut. I then dremeled down until at least this area was cut off. Now that I had a little area to work with, the recip saw came out and took care of the rest of the ring.

Ace Hardware

Ace is a great place to find almost anyhting you need to build your droid. the problem is store are really hit or miss as to how good they are.

At the risk of giving up a good resource. Those builders in Atlanta, I have found one of the best. This one is on Highway 120 just above I-285 and off of I-75N. It is across the street from Sherlock's. This store just opened up as it moved from another site. The selection of hardware is one of the largest I have seen and almost everything is in stock. The store is wider than it is deep and the entire back wall is lined with screws, nuts, and bolts. They have stuff in their drawers I have not seen at other stores and put The Big H and L to shame.

Holoprojector Illumination

Well I now have a new toy to play with. I have just been testing it now as it just came in last night. These look like they are going to work out very well. A quick teaser until I can get some photos and have the time to write something up on it. I also wanted to test out how the our HD camera's video shows up on the blog.

BTW, the video was taken in a lit room with all the windows open. This setup is only the default color switching. The real setup will be a blue flickering. The flickering can be sequenced to sound or programed into the LED. The programed version makes only power vires to be run up to the LED to trigger the color changing.

Ankle Details

Nothing special today. During lunch I went to check out an Ace near my work. It turns out the Ace is fully stocked in screws and hardware. I picked up a bunch of new screws and lock washers to mount he ankle details. These replaced the hex socket cap screws that came with the hardware.

I plan on going back tomorrow to get some more screws and other hardware for some ideas I have to mount the other details on the legs.

Hoses and Feet

Had to goto a homeowners meeting so I only had enough time to enlarge the hole for the hose fittings. No picture since this was a basic operation.

More Foot Work

Rounding out the weekend, I decided to work on the feet some more. I marked out the holes in the side of the foot shells for the motor mounts. I then cut the holes out using my Dremel. I then mounted the motor mounts and marked and drilled the holes to mount them to the foot shells.


I decided to also take a look at the under the shoulder details. I drilled a small hole to tap a threaded rod into. I will cut a hole in the legs to allow me to use a wing nut to attach the detail to the legs.

Booster Mounting

Toady I decided to mount eh booster covers on the legs. I have some older legs that do not have the keyhole slots sut in them, so I had to make my own mounting system. First I fitted everything together and marked out where the boosters sit on the leg. I used the center strut as a guide.


Next I measured where the holes where on the booster and marked them on the legs.

I then double checked my measurements with the blueprints and I even put a piece of paper on the boosters and punched holes in it where the screws go. I then lined the paper on the legs, just to triple check everything. I drilled the holes for the screws and then drilled a larger hole .375 inches above the smaller ones. I used a small thin hack saw blade to cut teh connecting piece between the two holes. Once I had a channel between the two holes I filed the channel flat.

Large Data Port

I had a few panels on the skins pop off, so I cleaned them up and re JB Welded them on.

i also took the frame apart and looked at the large data port slot. Thsi slot need to be cut to allow the piece to sit further back. I took the top most horizontal piece off the Utility Arm carrier and then put the LDP into the opening. I clamped the LDP ontot he top ring and marked the cut. I now just have to cut the frame. Looks like it is time for reciprocating saw to come out.

Foot Work

I need to cut the holes for the foot motors. I started marking out the hole on the foot shell and took out the handy Dremel. I almost finished the first one before I had to stop for the night.

No pictures yet... I so covered in metal filings, slag, and pieces of cutting disk that i didn't want that all over the camera.

Rear Door Attachment

I started attaching the rear Door to the back of the droid. I am still waiting on some magnets, but I fashioned a "channel" for the top of the skins to slide into. I used some scrape pieces of skin since they had the correct curvature. I JB Welded them onto the top and will attach the bottom of the skins with magnets. The top slides on perfect.

A Labor of Love

I realy thought that the skins would all be done today... BUT I had an issue come up last night an I was only able to get a few of the remaining panels on. I only have 3 more panels to attach and the skins, minus the doors, will be done. I am kind of burned out on skins at the moment and looking back I probably should have worked on somethign else after doing the rears. There is much innovative stuff to doing the skins, but, file, glue, then clamp. At least this weekend I will be able to move on to mounting brackets, feet, and the dome. I haven't really decided on what to do next. I may move onto the mounting brackets to get some skin panels attached. I do have to cut the holes for the feet as well. I probably will do a little of both. I have some ideas on mounting the detail pieces, but we will have to see.

Skin Me

1 more night and the skins will be done, except for the doors. Tonight The front skins got one last filing and then were JB Welded together.


I actually used every single clamp I have and I could still have used a few more. I went the JB Weld route on the front because there aren't too many panels like the rear door to apply JB Weld from the rear to fix any issues. So now I am covered in JB Weld marks, but the skins are almost done. I used the coins slots to help align the skins, but once the skins were clamped I removed them. Toothpicks make great helpers in clamping the skins between the coin slot openings.

I also foudn some spots where the rear door was pulling apart. I clamped it together and applied some JB Weld to hold the pieces together.

Some Fixing, Finishing, and Some Prepping

I lightly sanded the feet and sprayed another coat of primer on them. This should do them until the white paint... or more primer after I cut the motor holes.

I then fixed the skins in the the area where the Super 77 didn't adhere the skins very well. I mixed up some JB Weld and clamped the skins together.




Next I started preparing the front skins to be bonded together. First I needed the coin slots to be able to attach to the skins. I had already cut the holes, but I needed to coutner sink the screw heads to be flush with the inner skins. I then used some of the JB Weld mixture and welded the screw heads onto the inner skins.




Yes, from the images you can see that the coin slots are backwards. This is to keep the coin slots away from the JB Weld on the screws but still keeping the screws aligned and in position.

The Prime Directive

After another quick cleanup I primed the feet. I made sure that the inside got good coverage, especially on the welds and seams. I will probably lightly sand the outsides tomorrow and give them another light coat on the outside. The CLR really took the rust right off. I just applied teh CLR liberally to the foot shell and let it sit of a minute. I scrubbed the shell with a metal brush and wipe it down with another rag soaked in CLR. I did this about 3 times. After the 3rd time I coated the shells in CLR again and scrubbed them with a 3M scuffing pad and wiped clean with a dry rag. After they were dry I primed the shells.




I still haven't decided how much foot work I am going to do just yet. I know I need to get the front skins done so they are out of the way.

Feet

Wow, something besides skins. Well I pulled out my feet today and noticed a little bit of rust. Yea, I know I should have primed them before, but they were stuck in the back of the storage unit and I couldn't get to them. I rearranged the whole thing this weekend, so I found the feet and decided to prime them. Well I saw the rust, so out came the wire brush, chemical rust remover, and sander. The rust remover took the rust right off. I had to do a couple of passes of the chemical and wire brush, but they are now nice and shiny. The feet are now rust free and will be primed tomorrow.

Full Frontal

Well with the rear skins adn door done, I have moved onto the front skins. I got all the doors and panels cut out and the small door and the 2 long doors JB Welded up.


For cutting I have found the best tools to use is a hacksaw blade. The blade is just the right size for the slots, so it cuts almost all the tab away. It also only take about 3 swipes of the hack saw to remove each tab.

The Rear is Done

Well I attached the last of the panels to the back door. The rear skins are now done. I just have to attach the doors, when I decided on hinges. I also have to make a mounting system for the rear door.

Time to move on to the front skins. I have to also cut the LDP slot back in the front. I am not really looking forward to this. I also may rewire the front logics and start wiring up the rear logics. I have to start figuring out what to do for hinges too. The dome maybe next on the list of items to cut. As it stands the outer dome panels are cut and filed, but the inner panels need to be cut. All the circular holes have been cut as well. The Radar Eye has also been mounted, so I really just need hinges to really move the dome along.

Method to My Madness

OK, so I am working on the skins at the moment. There really is a method to my madness. The first thing is to cut the inner rear door before all the panel are removed. This gives the skins a more rigid structure so the skins don't get a bent out of shape. After the inner door is cut and double checked, the inner panels are removed. I then removed the outer panels and JB Welded the inner and outer doors and panels together. I fit the doors and panels to the skins while the skins are clamped to the frame. This gives the correct curve the panels and doors. If you have handled the inner and outer skins for a while, it is amazing how rigid they get when glued together.

With the panels JB Welded together I used them on the rear door to make sure it was at the correct curvature.

So my steps to forming and attaching the skins were:

!) Remove the outer panels.
2) Cut the Rear Door
3) Remove the inner panels.
4) Clamp the skins back on the frame
5) JB Weld the doors together using the frame and skins to make sure the doors keep their curve
6) Super 77 the skins and door together, using the frame again as a guide.
7) Since the skins and door are still flexible, now use the doors and panels on the skins to shape them while they are JB Welded together.

Thanks to Darren for the Super 77'ing the skins together idea.

More Rear End Work

The little panel on the rear skins wasn't holding too well, I could push it out with my finger very easily. I decided to JB Weld it in from the back side.

I then went on to attach the large panel on the rear door. I again JB Welded this panel on to the door. After a while I checked to make sure the clamps did no adhere to the door.