Carbon Fiber E-11 Build

[usaeatt2]

Novus polish? ah rubbing compound.  heheeh  no doubt

Vern, you must have heard of Novus polish? It's a TK standard.

 

I think Vern is saying "old school" guys call it rubbing compound...'cause that's really what it IS, just much finer polishing media. 

[usaeatt2]

On 11/16/2014 at 4:50 PM, haui said:

great idea and cool work.

I used a high pressure plastic tube which is used for pools and Whirlpools. It is very hard.

But your's more stable :-)

 

Thanks Haui!  I've been collecting building materials and had a choice for this one.  The carbon fiber had the most appeal.

 

[I'm Batman[501st]]

What's the one on the right, Aaron? Although it looks too big...

[usaeatt2]

What's the one on the right, Aaron? Although it looks too big...

 

The pipe on the right is 1.25" PVC electrical conduit commonly used with Doopy pipe builds.

 

Specifications for each (left to right)

 

Steel A513 Mild (onlinemetals):

$9.49 USD for 24" (610mm)

OD - 1.5" (38.1mm)

ID - 1.37" (34.8mm)

Wall - 0.065" (1.65mm)

Weight - 0.9 lbs/ft

 

Clear polycarbonate (McMaster-Carr):

$8.58 USD for 24" (610mm)

OD - 1.5" (38.1mm)

ID - 1.375" (34.9mm)

Wall - 0.063" (1.6mm)

Weight - 0.15 lbs/ft

 

Carbon Fiber (carbonfibertubeshop):

$96.19 USD for 30" (762mm)

OD - 1.495" (38mm)

ID - 1.375" (34.9mm)

Wall - 0.060" (1.5mm)

Weight - 0.181 lbs/ft

 

PVC (local home center):

$4.25 USD for 10 feet (3048mm)

OD - 1.660" (42mm)

ID - 1.360" (34.5mm)

Wall - 0.150" (3.8mm)

Weight - 0.450 lbs/ft

[I'm Batman[501st]]

Sweet. Good information there. Heading out now to pick up some aluminium tube for mine. 40mm x 3mm wall.

[usaeatt2]

Old school experimentation night, with old school tunes (and bigger, fuzzier guitars...)

 

 

So, cleaning out the magazine housing made me nervous.

 

I wanted to figure out a way to get REALLY CLOSE to the edge without freehanding it. Too much at stake here, which includes risk to my fingers.

I also wanted to find a solution that almost anyone could replicate. No mill and compound milling tables.

My answer? A stack of paper, a couple pieces of plexiglass and a Dremel with a Rotozip bit.

Removing or adding sheets of paper allows minor height adjustments.

 

 

I started with a shallow plunge (no more than 1/16"), then moved side to side to clear a "slot".

I found moving the resin part back and forth was easier than moving the Dremel (resin sliding on plastic versus rubber sliding on plastic).

Once a slot was finished, I flipped the part, checked clearance and made another slot.

Slow and steady, never trying to take too much with each pass.

Once I made all the slots I could at that level, I removed about 20 sheets of paper, then started again.

I kept this up until I had the whole thing hollowed out enough to fit gazmosis's entire magazine.

I cleaned up the bottom and squared up the corners with a razor sharp chisel.

This process worked so well, now I'm considering hollowing out the magazine too...

Working with resin parts isn't so bad after all!

 

 

 

 

After I could insert and remove the magazine without much resistance, I started on holes for the hardware.

I started all of these using a drill bit by itself - no drill.

I turned the drill bit between by hand until I had a decent hole started (this is a tip I picked up in gazmosis's "ear" thread) 

Once I was sure the starter hole was big enough to prevent the bit from walking, I finshed the holes with a drill.

Minor cleanup and clearancing with a small file.

 

 

 

For the slot in the bottom of the housing, I used a 1/4" end mill chucked in my drill press.

With the drill press running, I lowered the bit until it removed about 1/16" of material, then stopped.

I locked the press at that level, started it back up and slowly moved the part around to removed the rest of the material from the slot.

I kept readjusting using this procedure until the magazine catch fit flush to the housing.

Final step was fitting all the Sterling hardware. To save weight, I may try to duplicate some of this with plastic.

 

 

 

 

 

The housing still needs cleanup and minor sanding, but all the hardware fits!

[I'm Batman[501st]]

Another excellent tip from the man they call "Aaron". I might still be able to use that to gain a uniform edge on my magazine housing previously done by eye. Nice work.

 

How's that armor coming along by the way?

[Garbz[TK]]

I'm gonna derail for a second... I never heard of The Sword before... But now, thanks to this thread, I have found something that's "iTunes gift card worthy!"

 

 

Aaaaaannnnd... Back on track!

[usaeatt2]

Another excellent tip from the man they call "Aaron". I might still be able to use that to gain a uniform edge on my magazine housing previously done by eye. Nice work.

 

How's that armor coming along by the way?

 

Armor...coming along S-L-O-W-L-Y.  I had a fish eye problem with helmet paint, so it all had to come off.

Cleaned with brake cleaner (since alcohol didn't work the first time) and re-painting is going nicely now.

I gotta tell you, I'd rather build a dozen E-11's - MUCH easier... no fitting, no sewing, no elastic straps...

Edited November 22, 2014 by usaeatt2

[usaeatt2]

I'm gonna derail for a second... I never heard of The Sword before... But now, thanks to this thread, I have found something that's "iTunes gift card worthy!"

 

Hi Aaron (LOL, great name)!

I don't see it as a derailment...

Music is a HUGE part of what happens in my shop, so I like to include a small sample of what was playing while I was working.

It sets the mood for me and I figure listening while reading might improve the experience or at least inspire someone to try the same work in their shop.

 

I found The Sword several years ago when I walked into Hot Rod Chassis and Cycle in Chicago.  They said "Oh yeah, welding music".

Favorite album: Warp Riders - the cover art looks like it came straight from a 70's science-fiction novel.

Glad you like it!  It's as much a part of my build as paint or glue.

[gazmosis[501st]]

You drink no caffeine do you?

[usaeatt2]

You drink no caffeine do you?

 

Nice!  I'm taking that as a compliment. 

Yep, Red Bull every morning.  For some reason, I only like coffee at greasy-spoon diners or after dinner.  I know, weird.

Which is part of the reason I didn't want to attempt this freehand.  The stacked paper and plexiglass kept everything perfectly stable.

[Bulldog44[TK]]

Is that a Doopy Magazine port you are using? My doopy mag port was not big enough to fit Steve's magazine clip at all. I thinned the walls down very thin but still I had to taper the clip to slide it in.

Great idea on how to drilll it out.

[usaeatt2]

Is that a Doopy Magazine port you are using? My doopy mag port was not big enough to fit Steve's magazine clip at all. I thinned the walls down very thin but still I had to taper the clip to slide it in.

Great idea on how to drilll it out.

 

Yep, Doopy magazine.  It's THIN.  Steve's magazine wouldn't fit until I squared up all four corners with a very sharp chisel.

 

Thanks for the compliment.  I'm working on the stock right now...while listening to Star Trek soundtracks...

 

Trying your trick about scraping seams with a backwards exacto blade - works AMAZINGLY well so far.  Control, control, I must learn control!

[Bulldog44[TK]]

Ground breaking technique on the mag. I just tried your method and wow, it really gets the walls thinned down evenly enough to house the mag. I am going to have order a new magazine from Steve now since my first one is now too loose fitting and looks more like a dull whale tooth. Live and learn.

 

Good luck with the exacto carving. It's a lot of work to get the details but its worth the effort I think. Looking forward to seeing your stock when its finished up.

[usaeatt2]

Ground breaking technique on the mag. I just tried your method and wow, it really gets the walls thinned down evenly enough to house the mag. I am going to have order a new magazine from Steve now since my first one is now too loose fitting and looks more like a dull whale tooth. Live and learn.

 

Good luck with the exacto carving. It's a lot of work to get the details but its worth the effort I think. Looking forward to seeing your stock when its finished up.

 

AWESOME!  Glad to hear the Rotozip technique worked.  It's still nerve racking...I don't like sharp tools spinning at Dremel speeds anywhere near my fingers...

 

Maybe you could carve a favorite scene on the old magazine and sell it as ancient "Star Wars" scrimshaw... 

[Bulldog44[TK]]

I am kicking myself or not trying something like this when I drilled out my mag housing. I cost myself another $20-30 bucks.

 

Maybe you could carve a favorite scene on the old magazine and sell it as ancient "Star Wars" scrimshaw... 

Laughed when I read this! Might give it a try when I retire!

[usaeatt2]

BE THE HERO!  (click play, then start reading...takes about 2 minutes to REALLY get rolling)

 

 

I've been working on the front portion of the Doopy two piece stock and I'm having great results with Bulldog44's exacto blade "seam line detailing".

 

I'm using a broken, reversed exacto blade, small chisels and believe it or not, stainless steel dental picks. My wife is a pharmacist and also owns a business - somewhere along the way, marketing people decided she was a dentist...so we get professional dental equipment catalogs in the mail now. I laugh every time we get one, but I guess the joke's on me since I ordered a set of dental picks last year...

They're getting kind of beat up since I bend and sharpen the ends to suit whatever job I'm doing...

 

 

 

I used a ball nose end mill in my drill press to accurately clean out the length of the folding stock channel.

I wouldn't try this with any other material, but the resin is so soft, I figured I'd give it a shot.  Worked like a charm.

 

 

Cleaning out the channel.

 

 

Back half of the channel cleared out and some detailing done.

 

 

 

I drilled out the bottom holes and detailed the area around the handle.

On the Doopy stock, the last hole is partially hidden by the handle, so the hole is really more of a "D" shape.

After scribing the handle details, I drilled the last hole from the top so it forms a complete circle (instead of the "D" shape).

 

 

 

 

After all this, I decided to clean out the entire length of the stock for a full length folding stock tube.

You can see this tube through the holes from underneath, but you can also see about 1/2" of it at the front end.

I'll replace the resin that was removed with a 1/2" diameter aluminum tube.

I also wasn't happy with the front end of the stock - the resin details are sloppy and in general, it just looks like a big glob of resin.

So more detailing up front...

 

 

 

[gazmosis[501st]]

Really surprised you didn't just get a real folding stock

[usaeatt2]

Really surprised you didn't just get a real folding stock

 

The object for this E-11 is being as light and strong as possible for trooping...otherwise, a real stock would have saved A LOT of work.

[I'm Batman[501st]]

A lot of work that you're doing a damn fine job with. So, why do you have those few real parts on the magazine housing? Were the cast Doopy versions really that terrible?

 

Edit, sorry typo...

Edited November 24, 2014 by Sith Lord

[TK bondservnt[501st]]

I think Vern is saying "old school" guys call it rubbing compound...'cause that's really what it IS, just much finer polishing media. 

absolutely!

[Bulldog44[TK]]

You carved that out like a surgeon! I was going to take out that inner bar all the way to the end like you did but I was afraid I couldn't replicate the key slot where the locking notch pop out from. Looks amazing! Those dental tools have found a new purpose.

[usaeatt2]

A lot of work that you're doing a damn fine job with. So, why do you have those few real parts on the magazine housing? Were the cast Doopy versions really that terrible?

 

Thanks! 

I lean towards perfectionism, but realize I have to be practical with time and effort.

With that, and the questions from Steve and Ian in mind, now is probably a good time to formally establish priorities.

 

In order of importance, my priorities are:

1)  As accurate as possible

2)  Lightweight

3)  Functional bolt, trigger and scope, plus hidden sound effects

4)  Sturdy enough for regular trooping

5)  Provide an interesting challenge for myself

 

Using real hardware drastically improves appearance and doesn't increase the weight much, which is why I think replacing the allen bolts is a very popular upgrade.

I DO want to replicate the ejector with plastic (large steel pin with the set screw in the mag housing - the real part is solid, hardened steel and too heavy).

Why not keep the original Doopy casting?  I could have, but I've never seen anybody do that mod, so I enjoyed the challenge and now it's more accurate.

Another reason the ejector mod isn't done?  You can only see the round end unless the bolt is functional...when the bolt is open, you can see the pointed end.

 

I might also replace the magazine catch knob with the Doopy knob and an aluminum stud (again to decrease weight).

The real folding stock modification is nice, but since we never see the folding stock open in the movies, I'm going to sacrifice that option.

I know for sure my modified magazine housing and front stock weigh LESS THAN HALF the original weight - they're really light now.

I removed a ton of material, but I also considered strength and tried to leave extra resin in structural areas.

 

Can anybody provide the weight of a completed Doopy with scope and counter (full resin or pipe build)?

 

I know troopers LOVE Hyperfirms because they're light and tough, but I think there's a sacrifice in detail.  Dunno, I don't have one, so I can't say for sure.

 

It'd be nice to have an extremely accurate pipe build that weighs less than Hyperfirm, Hasbro or Resin...so I can have my cake and eat it too! 

Edited November 24, 2014 by usaeatt2

[usaeatt2]

You carved that out like a surgeon! I was going to take out that inner bar all the way to the end like you did but I was afraid I couldn't replicate the key slot where the locking notch pop out from. Looks amazing! Those dental tools have found a new purpose.

 

Thanks, Brian.  Truly a compliment since seeing your build is what inspired this build!