Struttin'

Worked on getting the Leg Struts installed yesterday. The problem was that the bottom piece of the struts were too long, and the builder who ran the piece had intended for them to extend into the ankles. I however,  followed LoLo080's method of cutting about an 1 & 1/4 inch off the end so they could be screwed in from under the Ankle Bracelet. I felt this was a better, more solid solution.

I enlisted my Dad and his plethora of power tools. I bought a metal cutting blade for his miter saw. It worked quite well and made a nice straight cut. Then we pulled his drill press out from the archives and used my drill and tap set for the first time. Neither of us had ever tapped something before, and it went fine except I think we didn't drill the first one deep enough. The second one we drilled out a smidgen more and it tapped much easier. Aside from sweating in the 100º humidity it went off without a major hitch.

So now I can debut my completed Legs assemblies. Just need a little sanding and then they will be ready for some blue and white paint. Now back to working on the skins.

Up Up and Away

Booster Covers arrived today. These were the last attached to the legs parts I needed. I also think these are one of the cooler parts on R2, not that all parts aren't cool, but these are really cool. Should get the drive system and maybe the feet next month. Then lastly the center ankle shortly after and R2 will be able to stand on his own.

Been working on the skins the last week or so. Ran into my first major obstacle/screwup and am coming up with some creative ways to fix it. More on that later.

Skirting the issue

Parts Junkyard mega-score. Got an Aluminum JAG skirt today from local Tulsa builder Jeff Barnes. Just happened to be on the boards at the right time to snatch it up. Bonus for only having to drive a few miles and pick it up instead of waiting a few days for it to ship. Extra bonus that he'd already done some Bondo work and primed it.

Also got to see some resin parts in person when I went to his house. He's starting his droid no. 2 and is planning a more lightweight build.

Been working on mounting the skins to the frame this weekend. Have the inner front skins mounted, and almost have the inner back ones on as well. Its a lot of fine tuning to get it all to line up right. Also realized for the first time this weekend that a few pieces of the frame will need to be painted, mainly the bottom ring & utility arm carriers.

I'll take door #4 Monty

Been working on the front doors. Used the tried and true Office Depot binder clips for clamping the pieces together while they bond. I used the same Loctite 5 minute epoxy that I used on the Center Vents. Had some seepage in a few areas, but its cleaning up easily with an exacto knife and light sanding.

The heat wave here is crazy. Its been above 110 everyday the last week or more. So it looks like painting will be out of the picture until late September/October. That gives me a good amount of time to get all the prep done.

Also, the Ankle Details just came in today. These may be the first parts that are actually larger than I had foreseen.