KMan's HWT side-track

[ukswrath[Staff]]

This is really looking nice Kalani

[Ru4scuba[TK]]

Man I wish I had the time to build stuff like this myself!  This looks amazing!

[kman[TK]]

Thanks, guys!

 

Did a bit more work this weekend, although it's been too cold for spray painting, so I might have to stop for a bit.  Fortunately I think I have the vast majority covered, to the point where I can proceed and not be held back by the weather.

 

I got the arch box glued, assembled and painted, so that one's ready to go, as well. (ignore the wet paint, it's not that glossy!)

 

 

I also was able to drill and add the rivets to the cup assembly.  I think I'm going to touch up the paint a bit, but otherwise this should be all set to attach, as well.  I've painted the gray again, to cover the rivets, since this photo, just need another coat on top and it's ready.

 

 

I also put the screws in the baby wipes cylinder (sorry, no photo).  I need to touch up the paint on that as well, but again, since the basics are in place I should be all set to get ready to attach parts, without needing to wait for that.

 

I scuffed the plastic of the oil pan, and got the opening cut out:

 

 

I definitely want to do some work cleaning this area up, adding some auto moulding trim around the cut, etc, to protect my TK backplate.

 

I'm going to order some real backpack straps, instead of using simple webbing.  Primarily for comfort, based on feedback I've had from other local HWTs who complain about the simple webbing straps.

 

I really need to address the tube caps next, so that can be attached.

 

Next steps:  I need to:

Sand and paint the radio box faceplate

Cut the picture box shorter (or make a box!), paint it, glue on the faceplate

Repaint the cup assembly
Clean off the labels/logos and paint the baby wipes canister

Paint and glue the rubber bumpers

Predrill and rivet the gray cup to the black faceted cup

Add top screws to baby wipe tube black rectangle

Add the top screws to the three faceplates where needed: Radio Faceplate, Button Box, Arch Box

Cut out the oil pan opening and remove the screw top, since I guess we can't use the antennas anymore?  Bummer, since I bought the antenna.

Scuff up the bare black plastic of the oil pan

Cut the ends off the tube end caps and get that all glued together, with the TK shoulder strap part.

 

Attach all the various parts to the oil pan. (Gotta look into how best to attach them... I'm thinking nuts and bolts, so components can be swapped out easily as/if needed.)

Attach shoulder straps 

[magni[TK]]

I definitely second using nice padded shoulder straps. When I did mine a neighbor gave me one of his boy's old backpack to sacrifice. It was a nice LL Bean one with curved(banana) shaped straps. Also look for one that has the small strap and parachute clip that holds them together in the middle. When I get dressed the straps sneak nicely behind chest and I clip them together with small parachute clip and pull adjuster till snug.

I accidentally fell into the perfect setup prebuilt. 

 

I lined the back of pack with some nice soft black fleece material covering the hole and to protect the backplate.

 

You crossed off much of your list now!

You're almost there!

[kman[TK]]

1 hour ago, magni said:

I definitely second using nice padded shoulder straps. When I did mine a neighbor gave me one of his boy's old backpack to sacrifice. It was a nice LL Bean one with curved(banana) shaped straps. Also look for one that has the small strap and parachute clip that holds them together in the middle. When I get dressed the straps sneak nicely behind chest and I clip them together with small parachute clip and pull adjuster till snug.

I accidentally fell into the perfect setup prebuilt. 

 

I lined the back of pack with some nice soft black fleece material covering the hole and to protect the backplate.

 

You crossed off much of your list now!

You're almost there!

Do you by chance have a photo of how you lined the back of the pack?  I can envision many different ways of doing it, but it's helpful to see what others have done.

 

These are the straps I'm looking at using, from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CMOK53E/

 

 

As an aside, I meant to post that I spent some time contemplating how to attach the individual boxes to the pack.  The method outlined in Ukswrath's sticky thread essentially has flat plastic sheets glued to the opening of the Tupperware, and then drywall screws go through the back of the oil pan and into that thin plastic sheet, to hold them in place.

 

I don't care for that method, even though it seems to be working for others.  The thin edge of the Tupperware, glued to a sheet of plastic, just isn't an especially great connection.  Not enough surface area gets glued, IMO.

 

Instead, I'm thinking I will cut up a scrap 1" x 2" piece of wood I have into approx 1" x 2" sections.  Those little blocks will get glued (e6000) into the Tupperware, along the bottom edge, in 4 corners.  That gives a solid 8 square inch (four 1"x2" sections) connection to be glued, compared to the approx 1/16" strip that connects the edge of the Tupperware to the flat sheet.  As an added bonus, I'll be able to easily screw those drywall screws into a piece of solid wood (at 4 points per box), making the connection (a) super strong), and (b) fairly easy to remove and replace at will, with just a screwdriver, without too much worry about stripping thin plastic.

Edited December 3, 2018 by kman

[magni[TK]]

I used machine screws/fender washers/lock nuts to fasten my boxes. Anything can possible be used. Just remember to keep weight in mind. The pack does eventually work on your back. Keep thinking, light and sturdy.

I used a different oil pan but here it goes.

Sent from my LGMS631 using Tapatalk

[kman[TK]]

2 hours ago, magni said:

I used machine screws/fender washers/lock nuts to fasten my boxes. Anything can possible be used. Just remember to keep weight in mind. The pack does eventually work on your back. Keep thinking, light and sturdy.

I used a different oil pan but here it goes.

That looks great!  Not sure that your method of lining would work as well with the thinner oil pan, since it lacks that ridge around the back area.

 

As to the box attachment, I'm not concerned at all about the screws that go through from the inside of the oil pan into the underside of the mounted boxes... I'm more worried about what the screws are biting into, and how THAT attaches to the inside of the Tupperware boxes.

 

I think I'm not explaining myself well on this.  I'll have to sketch up some visual aids.

[kman[TK]]

Side note: Just noticed Ru4scuba's Electrobinocular thread.  I can't wait to print these up and add them to my HWT!

 

 

[kman[TK]]

PROGRESS!!!

 

Finally made the effort to haul out my table saw instead of messing around with a hand saw and a miter box.  Got the end caps of the side tube cut off.

 

 

Aaaand, glued:

 

 

Mental note: Paint first, dummy.  Saves masking later.  *sigh*

 

That same table saw made quick work of cutting little wood pieces for mounting the boxes onto the oil pan.  A quick scrub to rough up the surface, a little e6000, and some clamps, and I was done for the evening:

 

 

These are merely set in place for the moment, but this design should be very simple to screw into place some night at home, with just a screwdriver and perhaps a drill.  The large contact area of the wood, combined with a very solid screw (and washer) to hold it onto the pack, should result in a VERY sturdy mount.  The amount of wood used is quite small, so the added weight won't be much.

 

 

Of course, the Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away.  I crossed off a few steps, in these finished tasks, but as I move toward the finish line I realize I forgot a few that should be listed, as well, so the to-do list hasn't gotten much shorter.  Still, exciting and important progress.

 

My straps came.  I already cut off the chest strap.  I need to decide how I want to attach these to the pack, too.  I could just screw them in, but it occurred to me that they would be adjustable (and easy to remove) if I cut two small slots, glue in a small piece of dowel for support between them (inside the pack), and thread the straps in and out of the holes.

 

 

Next steps:  I need to:

Sand and paint the radio box faceplate

Cut the picture box shorter (or make a box!), paint it, glue on the faceplate

Repaint the cup assembly
Clean off the labels/logos and paint the baby wipes canister

Paint and glue the rubber bumpers

Predrill and rivet the gray cup to the black faceted cup

Add top screws to baby wipe tube black rectangle

Add the top screws to the three faceplates where needed: Radio Faceplate, Button Box, Arch Box

Cut out the oil pan opening

Scuff up the bare black plastic of the oil pan

Cut the ends off the tube end caps and get that all glued together.

NEW: Paint the tube (too glossy!) with flat black.

Glue the TK shoulder strap bumps to the tube (after pre-painting)

 

Attach all the various boxes and cylinders to the oil pan

Attach shoulder straps 

 

NEW: Attach the shoulder ammo pouch to the pack strap

NEW: Convert regular TK belt drop boxes to be removable for use as HWT.

 

Edited December 11, 2018 by kman

[kman[TK]]

More little steps, but slow and steady is good, right?

 

Last night, I worked on attaching the tube to the main pack.  I figure I want this done before I start attaching boxes, so the boxes aren't in the way for this part.

 

I drilled holes on the side, top and bottom, at what seemed like an appropriate distance from top and bottom.  (about an inch below, and above, the top and bottom little "leg" things on the side, respectively)  Once the screw holes were drilled, I carefully lined up the tube, and marked the locations the screws scratched so I could accurately drill the tube.  I actually attached the tube at this point, to be sure it worked correctly, and then unscrewed it again.

 

And THEN I masked and painted the tube, LOL!  (Thinking through the sequence a bit more, now...)

 

By this morning, the paint was dry, so I went ahead and attached it to the oil pan.

 

 

With any luck, tonight I can start attaching boxes to the back, and glue the bumps onto the tube.

 

Next steps:  I need to:

Sand and paint the radio box faceplate

Cut the picture box shorter (or make a box!), paint it, glue on the faceplate

Repaint the cup assembly
Clean off the labels/logos and paint the baby wipes canister

Paint and glue the rubber bumpers

Predrill and rivet the gray cup to the black faceted cup

Add top screws to baby wipe tube black rectangle

Add the top screws to the three faceplates where needed: Radio Faceplate, Button Box, Arch Box

Cut out the oil pan opening

Scuff up the bare black plastic of the oil pan

Cut the ends off the tube end caps and get that all glued together.

Paint the tube (too glossy!) with flat black.

Glue the TK shoulder strap bumps to the tube (after pre-painting)

Attach all the various boxes and cylinders to the oil pan

Attach shoulder straps 

 

Attach the shoulder ammo pouch to the pack strap

Convert regular TK belt drop boxes to be removable for use as HWT.

 

And at some point I'll want to line the back panel a bit to help prevent scratches...

Edited December 11, 2018 by kman

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Nice work. Can't wait until you weather that thing up, it's blinding me with its perfection 

[kman[TK]]

17 hours ago, ukswrath said:

Nice work. Can't wait until you weather that thing up, it's blinding me with its perfection 

It'll get worse before it gets ... worse.

 

The majority of the boxes were mounted last night.   Wow, screwing things from inside the box is a PITA!!!  Thank goodness I have a tiny ratchet tool that has screwdriver tips.

 

 

Not much difference from the Monday photo, but this time, every box in the photo is securely mounted.  

 

 

Those suckers are on SOLID.  Very pleased with this!

 

Last step will obviously be to mount the cup assembly, and glue the bumps onto the tube.  Then it's just the shoulder straps and the pack is DONE!  (except for some weathering, don't worry Tony! LOL)

 

Next steps:  I need to:

Sand and paint the radio box faceplate

Cut the picture box shorter (or make a box!), paint it, glue on the faceplate

Repaint the cup assembly
Clean off the labels/logos and paint the baby wipes canister

Paint and glue the rubber bumpers

Predrill and rivet the gray cup to the black faceted cup

Add top screws to baby wipe tube black rectangle

Add the top screws to the three faceplates where needed: Radio Faceplate, Button Box, Arch Box

Cut out the oil pan opening

Scuff up the bare black plastic of the oil pan

Cut the ends off the tube end caps and get that all glued together.

Paint the tube (too glossy!) with flat black.

Attach all the various boxes and cylinders to the oil pan

Attach the final cup assembly to the oil pan

Glue the TK shoulder strap bumps to the tube (after pre-painting)

Attach shoulder straps

 

Attach the shoulder ammo pouch to the pack strap

Convert regular TK belt drop boxes to be removable for use as HWT.

 

And at some point I'll want to line the back panel a bit to help prevent scratches...

[ukswrath[Staff]]

4 hours ago, kman said:

It'll get worse before it gets ... worse.

 

The majority of the boxes were mounted last night.   Wow, screwing things from inside the box is a PITA!!!  Thank goodness I have a tiny ratchet tool that has screwdriver tips.

 

 

Not much difference from the Monday photo, but this time, every box in the photo is securely mounted.  

 

 

Those suckers are on SOLID.  Very pleased with this!

 

Last step will obviously be to mount the cup assembly, and glue the bumps onto the tube.  Then it's just the shoulder straps and the pack is DONE!  (except for some weathering, don't worry Tony! LOL)

 

Next steps:  I need to:

Sand and paint the radio box faceplate

Cut the picture box shorter (or make a box!), paint it, glue on the faceplate

Repaint the cup assembly
Clean off the labels/logos and paint the baby wipes canister

Paint and glue the rubber bumpers

Predrill and rivet the gray cup to the black faceted cup

Add top screws to baby wipe tube black rectangle

Add the top screws to the three faceplates where needed: Radio Faceplate, Button Box, Arch Box

Cut out the oil pan opening

Scuff up the bare black plastic of the oil pan

Cut the ends off the tube end caps and get that all glued together.

Paint the tube (too glossy!) with flat black.

Attach all the various boxes and cylinders to the oil pan

Attach the final cup assembly to the oil pan

Glue the TK shoulder strap bumps to the tube (after pre-painting)

Attach shoulder straps

 

Attach the shoulder ammo pouch to the pack strap

Convert regular TK belt drop boxes to be removable for use as HWT.

 

And at some point I'll want to line the back panel a bit to help prevent scratches...

hahaha looking good Kanali

[magni[TK]]

Looking great! 

 

 

[kman[TK]]

And there it is.

 

Hopefully I can attach the shoulder straps tonight, so this can actually be worn, but otherwise I think this pack is done! (but for weathering)

 

 

 

 

 

So... the backpack strap.  I had a thought on that.

 

I'm using commercial straps, of course, but the basic idea should be sound for pretty much any straps that use webbing to attach to the pack, and where you want some adjustability.  (Simple slides and the usual quick-connects would work, if you don't have commercial straps and used things like in UKsWrath's sticky HWT pack thread.)

 

Essentially I don't want to pinch the straps between a couple of screws as the primary attachment, and I want a good reinforced connection inside, that remains adjustable.

 

So what I want to do is this: (I just deleted way too much text, trying to explain this.)  Here, a picture is worth 1000 words:

 

 

Cutting a slot into a short section of wood dowel would work, too, frankly, but this is lighter and I have some scrap on hand so no need to buy anything new.   The PVC probably weighs less, too.

 

This should allow the strap to be adjusted / tightened as needed outside of the pack, while the strap can pull in either direction inside the strap, through the pipe, as needed.  And the pipe will obviously provide a large object that can't be pulled outside of the pack through the small slot, which gives good support for the pack, so nearly impossible to accidentally tear a few screws through the plastic and break it.  It doesn't even really need to be glued in place (something else I considered, trying to figure how I'd do this).

Edited December 13, 2018 by kman

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Show off hahaha 

[TheSwede[TK]]

Really great work

[kman[TK]]

I didn't have a huge amount of time last night, but I did take the time to prep the tubes that will hold the shoulder straps, as I wrote before:

 

 

 

All that's left to do is cut two small slots in the pack, and feed the straps in and through the tube slots and back out, and this pack will be ready to wear!

 

I should probably suit up in my armor, though, to make sure I place the straps in a manner that the pack lays correctly, with the back armor hump in the pack opening.

 

That leaves the minor tweaks to my belt (make the drop boxes removable) and attaching the shoulder magazine, and I should be ready to submit!

 

Next steps:  I need to:

Sand and paint the radio box faceplate

Cut the picture box shorter (or make a box!), paint it, glue on the faceplate

Repaint the cup assembly
Clean off the labels/logos and paint the baby wipes canister

Paint and glue the rubber bumpers

Predrill and rivet the gray cup to the black faceted cup

Add top screws to baby wipe tube black rectangle

Add the top screws to the three faceplates where needed: Radio Faceplate, Button Box, Arch Box

Cut out the oil pan opening

Scuff up the bare black plastic of the oil pan

Cut the ends off the tube end caps and get that all glued together.

Paint the tube (too glossy!) with flat black.

Attach all the various boxes and cylinders to the oil pan

Attach the final cup assembly to the oil pan

Glue the TK shoulder strap bumps to the tube (after pre-painting)

Cut oil pan slots to attach shoulder straps

 

Attach the shoulder ammo pouch to the pack strap

Convert regular TK belt drop boxes to be removable for use as HWT.

 

And at some point soon I still want to line the back panel a bit to help prevent scratches.  I have some black fleece I can probably cut a square from pretty easily.

[magni[TK]]

That should work for you. Just keep the openings up near the top of pack so you dont put pressure on your shoulder straps to much. I'd recommend a strap connection in between the two that holds them together. Mine is hidden behind my chest plate. I click in and a wrangler pulls slack till snug. Pack goes no where. Nice and tight.

 

You are so close now! Can't wait to see your pre approval photo's

[kman[TK]]

In a hurry to head out, but:

 

I armored up, and with my wife's help, determined that fairly normal strap placement works well for my pack, on my body.

 

Drilled two holes, and used a utility knife to cut nice slots. 

 

 

A quick hit with a file to smooth the edges, and it was just a matter of feeding in the straps, through the PVC holders, and back out again to loop into the slides on my pack straps.  It really was as easy as I had hoped, for a change!

 

 

I now have a pack.

 

I used Chicago screws to mount my plastic belt to my Rob Kittel TK belt, and the same for mounting the holster, so it was trivial to remove the holster, remove the plastic armor, and remove drop boxes, then re-attach the plastic.  Done!

 

My ammo pouch seems to sit very nicely on my left pack strap, so I'll probably just zip tie that on in the back, but I'll see for sure tomorrow.  I have provisional clearance to troop my HWT at the Shriner's Children's Hospital troop, so I'll be wearing this tomorrow!  Woohoo!

 

Everything else can be done at my leasure, now. I have a little work to do so I can still swap back and forth between TK and HWT, and I still want to trick out the interior of the pack a little, but none of that affects approval.    With any luck, I'll take some approval photos tomorrow!

 

Next steps:  I need to:

Sand and paint the radio box faceplate

Cut the picture box shorter (or make a box!), paint it, glue on the faceplate

Repaint the cup assembly
Clean off the labels/logos and paint the baby wipes canister

Paint and glue the rubber bumpers

Predrill and rivet the gray cup to the black faceted cup

Add top screws to baby wipe tube black rectangle

Add the top screws to the three faceplates where needed: Radio Faceplate, Button Box, Arch Box

Cut out the oil pan opening

Scuff up the bare black plastic of the oil pan

Cut the ends off the tube end caps and get that all glued together.

Paint the tube (too glossy!) with flat black.

Attach all the various boxes and cylinders to the oil pan

Attach the final cup assembly to the oil pan

Glue the TK shoulder strap bumps to the tube (after pre-painting)

Cut oil pan slots to attach shoulder straps

 

Attach the shoulder ammo pouch to the pack strap

Convert regular TK belt drop boxes to be removable for use as HWT.

 

And at some point soon I still want to line the back panel a bit to help prevent scratches.  I have some black fleece I can probably cut a square from pretty easily.

Edited December 16, 2018 by kman

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Word of advice, glue some black felt or similar to the inside of the cut out section (rim inward) before it scratches the crap out of your back plate . 

[magni[TK]]

Great to hear your doing a practice troop with it already!

 

I agree with Tony. Get some felt on that pack so you dont rough up your back plate. This one troop shouldn't do to much scratching. Oh and watch out for doorways now. And fellow troopers when turning.

 

And now to sound lile your mother "Get some nice pictures" 

We love pictures!

 

Good Luck!!

[kman[TK]]

Troop successful!

 

Not the easiest costume to troop, between the weight of the pack and the big ol' blaster.

 

The pack itself isn't overly heavy, but the pack plus the pauldron really limits shoulder mobility in a way that wears you down after time.  Especially given that I'm also carrying a blaster that's a lot heavier than my E11.

 

It's also a LOT harder to suit up.  My TK, I can easily do solo, at this point.  But I definitely needed assistance for this one.  That might lessen a bit as I get used to it and tweak the process, but I'm not sure I'll reach the point of suiting up entirely solo.  Still... worth it!  It's loads of fun to troop this.

 

I managed to not get a single shot with the back of the pack showing, of course.  But I hope to set up to take submission photos tonight.  But I'm on the left, with the T21, in these pics.  

 

 

 

And a fun one.  It's no Dewback, but it was the best this Children's Hospital had to offer...

 

 

Edited December 17, 2018 by kman

[magni[TK]]

Great pictures!

Yeah, it ain't easy being a Heavy!

Movement is somewhat limited depending how your set up is. For me I have pouch on pauldron so no limit there for me. I trooped with it on strap a few times before I switched. The pouch limited my arm movement and I didn't like it. As for suiting up. I don't think it can be done solo. I could never get my arms in straps without colorful language. I have a friend hold pack at the right spot and slip arms in easy. 

 

Your pretty much there now!

A little pre congrats!!

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Awesome Kalani. It's been a while since I trooped my HWT but when I did it was an hour or so in the heavy then at my first break I switched to a TK. Lightening the loads makes the remainder of the troop a bit more pleasant. Gotta love options.