Traveling through hyperspace ain't like dusting crops, boy! - My attempt of cutting a base.

Well, I did start on the base today. It was a hugh learning curve. Bought two C-clamps from Lowes. Should have most of the tools I need. I think I can bum the rest off my dad. :-)

Huge....did I say huge? Huge learning curve today. If I ever routed anything it was 20 years ago in high school and I don't think I ever work with the circular tool attachment. Thought I could trust the measurements on it, but I couldn't.

Routed it twice and got close to an 18 inch diameter on one base. Took me a hour to accomplish. Again wasn't real sure what I was doing.

So tonight I brought the base piece I had cut out and measured it 18" across all over the place so I could see where I needs to shave off. Then I measured for the top as well. Hope to have pieces cut out by tomorrow.

Scott

Now Where Do We Start? Dome and Frames arrive.

So I arrived home from vacationing with my family in the mountains to find the aluminum skins I ordered and the Dome I ordered sitting on my front porch waiting for me.

I wanted to tear into them, but left them boxed as I helped unload our luggage. After supper, I unboxed the head and my sun shouted witrh glee, "It's R2D2's head!" He wanted to build it right away. Unfortunately for him there was no building that night, only unboxing the head and skins and carrying them out to the work area in the barn.

Looking at everything laid out is a bit overwhelming. Like "Now what?" I know tomorrow I am hoping to make at least a rudimentary attempt on the frame. We'll see how it goes. I have a ton of yard work, etc, I need to do as well.

Also need to pick up some clamps and perhaps a belt sander.

Scott

Cobbled Together From Discarded Scrap...and, Boy, Did I Make a Mistake?

Well, heading camping with my family and my extended family this weekend, so will be my last post till next week. The reality is I won't always post everyday anyway. I find I initially do a real good job at blogging and then I get distracted or something. I pledge to do better.

Today I went to Office Max and got the Senna Frame Prints (by M. Davis) printed out. The good thing was I got two copies for about $6.60 a piece, which seems like a good deal. The bad thing is I am uncertain if I can use them since the frame is measuring slightly under the 18" diameter I was told was needed. It could be a few things: the prints, though printed at full-size are measuring small, the measuring device I used at Office Max was off (such things do happen), or that the prints are right and are accounting for the skin. I am trying to find out from the forums at Astromech.net.

I then went to Home Depot to purchase a Roybi Router. I figured since I wasn't planning on doing much routing beyond my droid, that I didn't need something real expensive, not to mention that I already spend over a grand so far. I also looking for the Milescraft Router Guide which would allow me to rout a perfect circle. Home Depot did not have it, so I ended up going to Lowes, and they had both. So I picked them up, along with three bits. Total bill for those was $125.00.

I feel somewhat armed now and ready to tackle the frame next week, pending my plans are correct at least. Every thing is now waiting in my shop, and I am waiting on the parts I ordered.

So cheers for now.

Scott

C-3PO: I beg your pardon, but what do you mean, "naked?" [R2D2 beeps]

Haven't had time to do much more on the work area. I need to pick up some equipment to make the frame. I think that is my next step. And probably my next major purchase.

Actually, it was funny. Yesterday I finished blogging about what I did regarding my droid and I had just finished writing about purchasing an alluminum skin if one became available, and low and behold one did; it was still in the box none-the-less. Really there is not a lot more I can get without actually building the wood frame of the droid. So I grabbed it for around 230 bucks (that included shipping).

So now I need to closely examine the frame and figure my next course of action.

Cheers.

Scott

It's nothing, sir. Merely a malfunction, old data.

So I bit the bullet and ordered the dome and rocker as I wrote yesterday. Now what?

One of the things I did over breakfast was show my daughter what I had purchased. She knew instantly what it was (thankfully). I told her I was thinking of setting up my workshop to build the droid in the barn, and she suggested that I use a stage area (we have used the upper area of the barn to conduct fund raisers for Haiti) to lay out my parts. Excellent idea. Later this afternoon, I
swept the area, laid out some saw horses, gathered some plywood, etc. Found a nice translucent jug that I pan on using for the Front PSI lens and the P5 Picture Panel. Got me totally stoked.

The other thing I did was buy some of the readily available dome accessories on Astromech.net.









I purchased a Resin Radar Eye, 3 resin Holoprojectors, and the resin logic surrounds. The other thing I bought was the Radar Eye Lens. In retrospect, I could have save myself 20 bucks off of a 150 dollar bill if I would have read the Wiki on the Astromech site. There is a cheap solution using the curved edge of a 2 liter Coke bottle and some black paint that would have served me fine. I am sure down the road, there will be things that twenty dollars could have gone for.

So why buy these parts now? I suppose I could have waited until the dome arrived, but something about fleshing out the externals of the Dome once it arrives, has me excited. I think it is because it will begin to take the shape of an R2 unit.

The only other thing I would like to get is an aluminum skin if one becomes available.

Cheers

You've taken your first step into a larger world.

I bit the bullet a tonight and actually committed to at least trying to build and R2D2 Astromech Droid. Really until the cash is laid out, one can talk about building droids and being interested in them all they want. Now there is no turning back.

My commitment started with the purchase of 300mm Cole Horton aluminum 2-layer R2 dome complete kit (it apparently has been sanded but needs more work, and the panels are cut out) and the Rockler bearing (makes R2's head swivel).

The Dome I purchased is to the left. The bearing is below on top of a PVC reinforced tube which I considered purchasing, but after talking to PixelFiend and Tom Dunlap, and looking at the blueprints, I decided to build the frame out of wood I have around the farm to cut costs.

Just to give you and idea of how quickly costs can mount, I spent a half of grand on the aforementioned parts, and that is a good deal. 8-O

So what made me want to build the dang thing anyway? I blame Ed who I met at Shore Leave 31 and then the following year at Shore Leave 32. Both years I interviewed Ed for a podcast I run called The SciFi Diner Podcast. This year, however, after the interview, we sat and chatted for a good hour about his process of making his droid, what went into it, and ideas and pitfalls. (BTW you can find that interview here.) That got me thinking.

I was kind of looking for a project I could do with my kids, and this seemed like the perfect project that not only feed my geekiness, but also with the potential for all of us to learn together.

The next step for me was to join Astromech.net and browse around the forums, the Wiki, etc. I bit overwhelming since there was so much information! After allowing that overwhelmed feeling to pass through me, I began looking for a place to start. Many were saying start with the head or the body. This seemed like a good idea. I mean, can you imagine R2's head just staring back at you? Seems like a good motivator for getting the rest of the body done.

After introducing myself to the club, Greg (AKA PixelFiend) contacted me and said that he was probably one of the closest droid builders near me, and invited me down. So yesterday, I along my two children, took a trip down to his house to see R2D2. I was glad I did. I walked away with a lot of practical advice.

Well, it is late and I am tired. I will dwell more on what I have gotten myself into tomorrow.

Scott