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Hi guys sorry it’s been a long time since my last build post hopefully this extra long one will make up for it!
So last time I got the plastic sheet in the aluminium sides now it’s time to clean it up and make it the same level. Started off by cleaning off the odd bad brazing I promise that weren’t all that bad. Those skilled welders out there look away as you may be offended.
Then I went round the full outside edge with a brass wire wheel the results were very good. A polish at the final stage and it will be perfect.
The holes for a similar effect just with the drum sanders in my mill
And then a quick blast all over the face to remove any major scratches. Same again will get a fine sand later on.
Had bits of plastic everywhere after this most in my hair and in my clothes
Then tried the panels on
Now the reason why I started the side panels before finishing the barrel was that the top panel wraps into the side panels you can see on some of the shots above there is a very long front with plastic sticking way above. This is excess so I have plenty of clearance for the next stage.
The Barrel Top
Ok here is what I’m planning to make next, again all aluminium and painted candy red rather than anodised. You can just make out the lines where the panels meet and the red plastic is.
To get the correct rounded edge i couldn’t do this without a jig so got one made at work a simple wooden jig with a slot that I can keep it all aligned. Why so many lines in it? You ask read on I will come to that
First attempt tried some 3mm aluminium and that was a complete flop! Really tricky to get this shape ever with the help of a hammer. So redone using 1.5mm aluminium
Next stage was to cut a few strips of aluminium in 3mm as there so small wasn’t too bad to bend them by hand
Now the tricky part I need to braze all theses strips together to form the stepped front edge and this was tricky it was like handling spaghetti pieces sliding all over the place I needed a way to keep them in shape for when I was brazing. I tried a few attempts with Steel wire and even resorted to having a temporary plastic hold.
In the end I ended up milling two aluminium blocks with the steps in so I could hold then in place. This combined with steel wire and two bolts into the steps allowed me to braze them together.
Phew did it!
Next A slightly larger strip of 3mm for the back side of the top.
Test Fit
And that was brazed along with a flat sheet to the back of the top panel then trimmed down a grinded to give a flush finish
A slot was cut in using the scroll saw and the front steps were bolted in. Not sure if I am going to add a second set of blots at the back like the 3D image, it doesn’t need them.
I wish I had made the top panel a bit bigger is I could have simply bent it to make the sides. Instead I think I’m going to fit some 1.5mm on the side but I only have a small amount left so I’m going to use it on the critical areas first and get back to this part hopeful I will have some leftovers I can use.
Hear is it loosely placed onto you see now the side panels will be chopped down a flow into the top panel
In the mean time I did a few changes to the design this is one of the inner supports that also hold the barrel in place, the middle hole is no longer required so I’m going to fill that in. And the lower hole with a cross is slightly out of position due to being hand drilled in the barrel frame.
Using some wire to hole the piece off the metal panel i can get the end hotter a lot quicker
All filled in
And then cleaned up... there was never a hole there
A sneaky little piece of aluminium cut and milled for extra support for the grip.
The Forward Grip
Next part was the front grip this is also expanded the area for the motherboard. Made out of 10mm black acrylic it will hopefully complement the trigger grip.
Cut out a block of acrylic a fraction bigger just to account for any flexing when heating (sorry about the messy desk)
Next thing was to clamp it into my mill with a homemade clamp out of a scrap bit of aluminium right angle.
And cut 2 long channels down the sides this will help it sit snugly into the aluminium frame
Now same again with the top panel its hard to get a correct bend with some type of jig. So return of the wooden jig this time I cut out the bridges holding the 1st jog revelling the 2nd jig hidden inside. I left one of the pieces full height s ii have a flat surface I can jog up to
At first I attempted to heat it up using my blow torch and then a over hob but it wasn’t going to work the plastic was too big for that so I stuck the plastic in my oven for about 20mins on 200 degrees to heat up and become malleable and after fitting it into the jig it came out like this! With a little water to cool it down.
It’s really glossy with no marks on it that went really well very pleased though my milling should have been a little deeper. I may have to sand it slightly to remove some of the shine.
Now there is one problem the bolts on the inside didn’t line up flush with the plastic due to the warp this surface that was meant be flat came out with a slight bend. I’m worried if I tighten theses bolts I’m going the damage or even crack the plastic. Hopeful I can get some rubber washers of something in there. The bend makes it impossible to drill another hole flat on top a (really wish I had one of those right angle drill heads).
Nice even a full ATX board will fit in with a little room to spare (just an hold board to text out the size)
Thanks guys hopefully I can get a bit more done tomorrow
