Need help with my Thermal Detonator

[jah5150]

I have the FX armor and I've been trying to assemble the thermal detonator / O2 cylinder, and I'm about ready to pull my hair out. Does anyone know of a good alternative to the two half-round cylinder pieces?

 

I'm hoping to find some PVC or tubing that will work. If anyone has suggestions, or knows of a good tutorial or something, I would be most appreciative.

 

Thanks!

[Murray1134[501st]]

I feel your pain. I've been working on my TD Tube now for like 3 weeks now. I think I've put more thought and effort into this little tube than I did on almost any other part of the armor.

 

My problem is a gap between the two halves that is less than 1/8". This teeny tiny little gap has driven me crazy. I think I finally have gotten mine to look decent, not good, but decent.

 

What problems are you having with yours? I think an alternative is to find a standard PVC pipe that will fit into the endcaps and simply use that.

[Laspector[TK]]

What kind of problems are you having? Mine went together in about ten minutes

[Trooperman]

I have the FX armor and I've been trying to assemble the thermal detonator / O2 cylinder, and I'm about ready to pull my hair out. Does anyone know of a good alternative to the two half-round cylinder pieces?

 

I'm hoping to find some PVC or tubing that will work. If anyone has suggestions, or knows of a good tutorial or something, I would be most appreciative.

 

Thanks!

Hi do what i did get rid of the two halves and buy some drain pipe saved me a load of hassle

[ThayNerd[TK]]

I used hot glue for mine and it's fine, I held the parts together till they dried and it looked fine. What are you having problems with?

[TX-8687[501st]]

I used hot glue for mine and it's fine, I held the parts together till the dried and it looked fine. What are you having problems with?

same here...i didn't use any pvc pipe, then again, i'm a TX so i just put together the 2 halves with a glue gun, held in place then glued the end caps...those secure it, and so does the mylar strips and the plastic piece that goes over the whole thing!!!!! what are you guys trying to do????

[jah5150]

The problem I'm having is that the two pieces don't want to mate up flush. I get a noticeable gap or ridge no matter what I try. I'd like to just replace the 2 halves with a piece of PVC or similar, but I can't find the correct size at Lowes or Home Depot. I guess I can try a dedicated plumbing supply to see if I can find something. I think it will look much better if I can do it out of something that is one piece to begin with.

 

If anyone else has suggestions, I'm all ears.

 

Thanks for the suggestions so far.

[Nootch]

or fix them together as best you can then post a photo so we can see the actual problem, people may have solutions on how to fix it saving you from having to shop around for a substitute.

[ThayNerd[TK]]

I agree with Gary, post up some pics so we can see how bad the problem is.

[Laspector[TK]]

you could always try using a shim. Get a piece of ABS and lay it on something that is relatively the same roundness as the detonator and then use a heat gun to bend it then glue it in.

 

As always I recomend Devcon plastic welder.

[firebladejedi[TK]]

When i put mine together i then used some filler to get a clean line then painted over, job done!

[Murray1134[501st]]

When i put mine together i then used some filler to get a clean line then painted over, job done!

 

That's what I had to end up doing. Although you might want to place a shim inside the tube because I had a problem of the filler falling thru the gap and not always staying in place.

[Nootch]

i cheated and bought scott.m's spare one that was already built

[davej[TK]]

James , with the last FX TD I built , it was all out of shape , and wouldn't line up . I filled the kitchen sink up with the hottest hot water I could handle , chucked on the rubber gloves , let it soak for a while , then bent the little sucker into the shape I wanted ( it did take a couple of sinkfulls of hot water ). Plastiwelded it together and wrapped it up in about half a roll of masking tape . All fine and dandy now

[jah5150]

I'll try the hot water/shim/filler method and see where that gets me. In the meantime, I'll probably still keep a lookout for an appropriately sized pipe. If this one trivial piece is causing me this much grief, I can't wait to assemble the helmet...

[TX-8687[501st]]

I'll try the hot water/shim/filler method and see where that gets me. In the meantime, I'll probably still keep a lookout for an appropriately sized pipe. If this one trivial piece is causing me this much grief, I can't wait to assemble the helmet...

 

yeah the helmet sucked it up putting it together!!!!

[Laspector[TK]]

Best to have someone help with the helmet. You just about have to have four hands to do it. At least I did.

[Murray1134[501st]]

Best to get a friend, loved one, significant other, garrison mate, random stranger, hitchhiker, etc. to come over and help with the helmet. I can't imagine doing an FX helmet by yourself. It's awkward to say the least.

[Nootch]

i struggled but managed to get my FX done by myself, it helps if you have lots of masking tape and plenty of clamps.

 

it will also involve glueing yourself to the inside for 10 minutes and swearing a lot if my memory serves me correctly.

[oblagon]

I'll try the hot water/shim/filler method and see where that gets me. In the meantime, I'll probably still keep a lookout for an appropriately sized pipe. If this one trivial piece is causing me this much grief, I can't wait to assemble the helmet...

 

I would ditch the plastic pieces and pick up some CPVC from a plumbing supply. Get 2"/50MM in diameter piping, it should fit the end caps perfectly so you don't have to glue them in place.

The CPVC is the correct grey color as well so you don't have to paint it.

 

If you can't find it shoot me a PM. I have a bunch of the stuff left over and could sell and ship you a piece.

[jah5150]

I would ditch the plastic pieces and pick up some CPVC from a plumbing supply. Get 2"/50MM in diameter piping, it should fit the end caps perfectly so you don't have to glue them in place.

The CPVC is the correct grey color as well so you don't have to paint it.

 

If you can't find it shoot me a PM. I have a bunch of the stuff left over and could sell and ship you a piece.

 

What is the Outside Diameter of the 2" pipe you have? I bought some regular 2" I.D. PVC pipe, and the Outside Diameter isn't big enough to fit the end caps on my FX suit. If the O.D. is big enough on the CPVC, I'll see if I can find some locally, or take you up on your offer.

 

Thanks

[oblagon]

What is the Outside Diameter of the 2" pipe you have? I bought some regular 2" I.D. PVC pipe, and the Outside Diameter isn't big enough to fit the end caps on my FX suit. If the O.D. is big enough on the CPVC, I'll see if I can find some locally, or take you up on your offer.

 

Thanks

 

The pipe diameter is 2.38 inches exactly. If your interested I'm selling a untrimmed AP thermal detonator set for $50, in case you want to replace the FX one entirely. I know the end caps for the AP will fit exactly.

[jah5150]

The pipe diameter is 2.38 inches exactly. If your interested I'm selling a untrimmed AP thermal detonator set for $50, in case you want to replace the FX one entirely. I know the end caps for the AP will fit exactly.

 

The end caps on the FX are closer to 2.75". Thanks for the offer, but I really want to try to make the FX pieces I have work.

[oblagon]

The end caps on the FX are closer to 2.75". Thanks for the offer, but I really want to try to make the FX pieces I have work.

 

Thats cool.

I would still check out a plumbing store for the CPVC; it comes in different diameters and at least you'd have the correct color without having to paint it.

 

If you go the route of buying pipe you'll want to check out staples.com for a set of bankers clasps to rivet to the pipe. So that you can hang the detonator on your belt.