Do You See The Pattern Out On The Fringe???

Tonight I cut out the legs. I am not finished yet. The first picture shows the pattern sitting on top of a 3/4 inch birch pine rough cut of the inner board in the leg. I actually started cutting the 3/4 inch pieces for the leg first but discovered that I only had a 1/2 inch guide bit for the router. I actually had looked for a 3/4 inch guide bit at Lowes when I was there, but all they has was the 1/2 inch. I am thinking I will head to a local hardware store to see if they have one.

That however was not my first complication. First, I cut the pattern out of some cheap 1/4 inch plywood I had lying around. This would not have been a problem, except that I had cut the blue print out too small. That when I measured the pattern to check myself, the pattern came up short.

So I recut the second blueprint I had printed out and recut the pattern. Correctly this time. My second obstacle was the 3/4 inch bit I didn't have.

Because I don't have the router mounted on the bottom of the table, the pattern had to be clamped, then flipped with the pattern on the bottom and the router on the top. This presented difficulty in seeing where the router bit was a forced me to trust the pattern. It worked though I got tons of saw dust in my eyes while trying to see where I was cutting. That was with safety glasses.

Never-the-less, you can see the final product and while they still need a bit of work, I am pretty pleased with how they turned out.

Well, I'll keep you all updated.

Peace,

Scott

Frame Glued and Leg Prints Printed

With the help of my awesome daughter, the frame has been glued... and weighted ...and taped..... We'll see how it all holds together when blocks are removed and the tape is gone. I do want to reglue under the top once the bottom is dry.

Alse ran to staples today to print out two copies of the leg prints. Cost me 30 bucks. They couldn't print the CAD files, but the pdf version printed fine when tiled and is to scale. All I need to do is piece it together.

Brief but that's it for today!

Scott

Frame done! Glue factory here I come!

Finished the Frame! YeaaaaaH!

Ok, Ok. So I know my work is only beginning, but after working on the frame for about two weeks, I feel like I have accomplished something.

So the pictures show the frame assembled without the top and the bottom cut out. When I was convinced everything fit together, I tore it apart, cut out the top and a bottom. In the next photo I have the frame reassembled after cutting out the top and bottom. I slide the skin down over it but it was a smidge too tight. So I had to slice the duct tape.

The last picture is of it wrapped around.

The next task I think I will tackle is the legs. Well, I still need to glue the frame. Planning that tomorrow.

Peace.

Scott

Still Framing, But Getting Close To Glue...

THE FRAME IS ALMOST READY! I need to cut out the center of the top and base. I need to recut one of the struts that shattered on the bottom.

But the skin fit perfectly. I duct taped the skin together so I had an idea as to whether the base, center circle, and top were the right size. I fit each as I cut them. Then after those three were cut, I assembled the frame using the struts from yesterday and the leg supports. My daughter helped hold the frame together since I was assembling it with out glue. In the assembly of it, I decided to recut the C strut. Never-the-less, I could use it for the moment. Everything went together well.

The frame stood a half inch above the top of the skin, but only because I had not made any cuts into the top. I didn't have skins quite lined up right, but because they were so snug, I couldn't really turn them.

But the good news is that, pending how the cutting goes tomorrow, I could be ready to glue Tuesday. I'm hoping anyway.

Cheers,

Scott

The Frame's Together But Not the Frame I'm Looking for...

Today, as one can see
via the photos, the frame came together. Really it was my first attempt at a frame so I was excited. It let me know that, yes, I can do it. On the other hand the frame together, clearly showed some of my measuring flaws and brought me to the realization that at least some of the frame I was going to cut again. Also, some of the plywood quality I used was older and weathers and thus split when I cut it. This weakened the stability of the frame. Core in this idea, and as someone from the Astromech dot net once said, the more time and care you take in cutting the frame, the better it will go together.

I don't have pictures of it, but I already began to map out the base, center ring, and top. This time I actually used to prints to establish the circle and marked out the slots from the get go. I have also decided that as each one is routered out, I will place the skins around them to make sure the are the right size. I have also decided that I will cut the notches and slots before cutting out the centers of the rings. The wood I am using is a stronger plywood and not as aged. This should also help.

I don't know if I will completely rebuild the frame, but I will at least start here. I might have to recut a few of the struts as well.

Cheers.

Scott

The Ankle Bone Connected to the Leg Bone...

So...progress continues and as I type this, I do actually feel we are making some headway. Yesterday, was spent marking the wood with the patterns from the R2D2 Builder's club. Today was spent cutting some of the supports out and notching them. Also cut out the center circle and notched it. You can see some of my progress in the attached photos.

I made a few mistakes; I think they will be recoverable. One of the notches went wider than I intended. Because I was trying to cut costs down, I used plywood that was aged and at parts weathered. Because of this, one part of the ring split as I was routing it. The ring is still whole; just a bit thinner at that point. I am gluing parts of the wood back on, and will reinforce it. I can always re-cut it if need be. Went out to Wal-Mart and picked up some wood glue and wood putty.

But it actually looks like the pictures of the frame I have been seeing. I began seeing how it all fit together while I was reading through M. Henrichs R2D2 frame Notes.

Anyway, my daughter and I had fun doing this today, though she finds it hard to see how this will eventually be R2D2.

Till next time, cheers.

Scott

The Cutting Continues....

Today, I trimmed the base and the cut the top and side supports. That was this afternoon. This evening I returned with my daughter who helped me cut the spokes and rib circles. Again these are basic cuts and the centers have not been carved out. Spokes have not been notched or cut down. also think I need to cut two small pieces yet for the frame. But progress none-the-less.

Scott