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thederek

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Posts posted by thederek

  1. The template has been redesigned for a 1.25" PVC pipe.

     

    PVC pipe sizes can be misleading - for example, a 1.25" schedule 40 PVC pipe measures:

    1.66" O.D.

    1.38" I.D.

    0.140 wall thickness

    Nothing actually measures 1.25"!!!

     

    With PVC pipe, only the O.D. is held to tolerance - the I.D. and wall thickness can vary from 2% to 10%.

    That actually works for us, because we need the O.D. to be as close as possible to 1.66" so the template meets perfectly flush.

     

    My suggestion is to cut out the template and take it with you when you go to buy the pipe.

    You can easily wrap it around the pipe to make sure you're getting the right size.

     

    I also made the template in PDF format so you can't print the wrong size.

    It may look the same as the older templates, but it's not.

    Everything has been tweaked and manipulated to maintain proportion on a PVC pipe which is 10% larger than a real Sterling receiver.

     

    Aaron, your templates were perfect and more visually appealing/easy to use than a few others I saw (I suppose it's all preference). Thanks again so much for your help, and I encourage anyone to contact you for the PDF (credit to all past and prior I am forgetting who also reviewed/tweaked the plans). More pictures of my build when parts are glued using 2 part epoxy, and then I'd like to share some paint ideas.

  2. Great start Derek!  If you hadn't said it, I would have never known this was your first time using a Dremel - you did a good job!!!

     

    Thanks Aaron! I've seen a bunch of your input around, along with about 5-7 other folks. I sanded the slot down a bit so the "grain" on top and bottom edge of the lever slot looks more smooth. I would much rather gouge out round holes with a dremel than cutting straight lines, that's for sure!

  3. LOL. My M38 into an M19 wasn't so much the me being industrious route as it was the "my wife will kill me if I spend that much and a resin cast of a scope" route. You should have seen the look on her face when I told her how much the full doopy kit cost.

     

    Are you sure you are printing the template out in the correct size? You need to click the print at 100% not fit to page. I have used the same templates and have had no problem fitting them to 1.5" pipe.

     

    Even the pieces that come with the full doopy kit need to be sanded to fit the cast of the barrel. Sand paper is your friend.

     

    Great job on the pipe. I can't wait to see your build. ;)

     

    Haha, see the one of the benefits of me being a bachelor, I suffer my own brokeness as much as I spend, no one else to give me grief, but I get it. :) The scope wasn't that much, still under a full resin kit really. I thought that too, but if you forget there's even a template, say the paper is BLANK, it doesn't fit around the pipe at all. I'm honestly baffled. I can't turn the paper landscape and do it heh, it's not so much about proportion as it feels about the outside diameter. Look at how snug it fits on the 1.25", printed the same exact way.

     

    Thanks for the info on even sanding the FULL resin kit. That means I'll just sand this until it fits. I will post more and keep you all updated. I'll also show the level trac/slot once that's fixed too.

  4. So there's my stopping point for now. I have a few questions:

     

    1.) Do you put the bolt in, then the spring, then the end cap? I haven't seen a detailed tutorial on this process, only making the spring. How do you all do it? That's the part that has me scratching my head.

     

    2.) The barrel plug and bolt are too big for the internal diameter of the pipe, but only by a bit. Is it normal to sand it to fit?dontfit1_zps9f3ecd52.jpg

     

    dontfit2_zps197f7ea1.jpg

  5. This was "Dremel day" and to be honest, I am not Mr. Handy Man, nor have used a dremel before, but I figured I could learn it. I marked the lever slot on the template, so I could remove the paper a bit on the bottom half of the template to see what I was doing with the dremel.

     

    dremel_zpsb74f5722.jpg

     

    No point in showing dremeling pics. Everyone has their own method, and I took my sweet time since it was Easter Sunday, and was socializing with family. Here are the results. I highlighted some areas I am going to puddy to fix up a bit. All in all, I was really happy for a first time drilling/cutting with a dremel.

     

    I know, I know, I don't know what I was thinking with the 2nd hold close to the ejector port. I was thinking it needed to be a bigger hole than the level track, and quickly realized my error. I am not discouraged though, I have put some puddy on and will sand it until it looks like a uniform "U" ending track, like in the template above.

     

    dremelresult_zps53896905.jpg

     

    Everything sanded, looking nice. Now just to fix those red circled areas.

     

    dremelsand_zpsb06c7e5b.jpg

  6. Some of these pics show intermediary steps to even get to the "first phase" which I seemed to see a lack of in other builds (you pros jump right into the nitty gritty :duim:  ). Hopefully someone can make use of them if they're browsing the web or trying their own builds.

     

    I glued the template on the pipe with a glue stick, and was liberal with it as I knew I could wash it off after I was done doing what I needed to do. I used a drill press not a hand drill as I didn't trust my skill with that. I think the drill press was easy and made short work of it when I knew what I was doing. I left the template on, drilled right through it after I made pilot holes. This is important, as if you go straight to the "correct size" 7/16" holes, you'll mangle the thing to heck and back and cause the bit to jam. For drilling the pilot holes I used a drill bit size that almost exactly matched the smaller inner circles of the template for all the muzzle holes (I just visually eyed it up, I forget the bit size, 5/32" or something?).

     

    After drilling:

    holesdrilled_zpsb5f5428a.jpg

     

    When it looked like this, I was horrified. I knew I could make it look a lot nicer though. Before I did that, I cut out bits of the template and used a permanent marker of where important parts should go, so that way I didn't have to work around the paper anymore. Once the pieces were marked, I removed the upper-half of the template from the barrel. Here's how I marked areas:

     

    20140420_020804_resized_zps81cc8728.jpg

     

    template1_zps56438202.jpg

     

    template2_zps964c5a20.jpg

    Once the template was removed, I exacto'd out the extra flashing/scraps, and sanded until I was satisfied. I spent a lot of time on this when I then realized that the T Tracks will cover most of this. :mellow: (I blame this on my history of building model tanks). Anyways, I puddied I think 3 of the holes when they came out a bit wonky.

    trimming1_zps783a60e5.jpg

     

    Puddy to fix some holes:puddy1_zpse069d2ea.jpg

     

    The next day:

     

    sanded_zpseb481d11.jpg

  7. Greetings everyone. I've decided to start a build thread. I'd like to preface by saying I'm totally new to this, and read other builds for quite some time before deciding to do a pipe build. I will include some pics here and there. This will be a work in progress. I appreciate all constructive feedback, and while I'm striving for a good blaster to eventually have when my armor gets here, mine will in no no way be 100% accurate to what I see some discussions devolving into mm's and correct 1970's imported paint with pixie dust and unicorn tears. :)

     

    I decided to use plans provided by Aaron (usaeatt2), which he tweaked from a bunch of other people who've worked on them in the past, so kudos to all those guys. I bougth a scope from Striker which has yet to arrive (I really took the lazy route here and didn't want to attack building one from scratch), and ordered some T tracks from Marv. I will keep posting pics as time and life allows (I'm working two jobs), and any input is helpful.

     

    One of the things I got hung up on for a while was 1.25" electrical conduit PVC vs. 1.5". The paper plans I printed simply would not fold/wrap around the 1.5" tube completely as they did when I compared it to a 1.25" electrical conduit pipe. That told me the 1.5" was too large. However, now that I got my DD's resin pieces, the bolt, barrel plug, and end cap are a bit too snug to fit into the PVC pipe. We're talking just a BIT off, not a huge amount or anything. Is it normal to have to sand these components down a bit?

     

    It took me a while to get access to a drill press, and finally got a dremel, so I've finished the pipe which was a real pain in the butt, but think it came out great after some puddy repairs and a lot of sanding. I had a piece of old 1.5" electrical conduit laying around, athe pieces are actually a bit too small for a snug fit, which tells me sanding is in order. Starting a pic with comments on next post.

     

    The 1.5" diameter:

     

    15_zpsfaeb9f1f.jpg

     

    The 1.25"

    1_zpsd2a5764a.gif

     

    So, I went with the 1.25".

  8. Hey Piett, thank you! Yes, I've got access to a drill press for the pipe build, and just bought a dremel for well, pretty much everything. I'll admit while doing my research on the armor and blaster I've fallen to the wayside on the other components. That's a good reminder for the weekend. I need to get boots, belt, etc. Guess ill hit the forums and see where everyone buys from. Thanks for the reassurance on the ATA, makes me feel better about my choice. I'm also going full Centurion. Go big/difficult or go home is my motto. I also have a good squad to assist if need be. Any other advice for a n00b, feel free to PM me!

  9. Thanks! I just went all out man. Cost wise, it was a bit cheaper to do a pipe build vs a (hard to find) toy conversion or full resin. I will maybe build a 2nd and a 3rd once I know what I'm doing and add electronics. I'm following the one e11 thread you're on as well. Trying to get a blueprint that lays right. Thanks!

  10. Greetings Derek, and welcome to the FISD!!!

     

    As Glen said, research is the key, and it looks like you are off to a good start in that regard. Use your wait time to continue researching or maybe build yourself an E-11! That's a fun way to pass the time!

     

    Good luck!

    Thanks! I've seen you posting around too. Lots of great folks here. Yes, ATA's list is about 6-7 months as of a few days ago. In the meantime going to tackle an E11 doopydos pipe build. :P Wish me luck!

  11. Hello and welcome aboard, looks like you have been doing your homework, all I can really say is do your research and always measure twice and cut once ;). Look forward to seeing a build thread soon, (or in six months knowing ATA's waiting list) LOL :D

    Oh yes, there will be a build thread! Haha. I'm waiting on my doopydos pipe build kit, and already have plenty of electrical conduit pipe and pvc by the bulk for mess ups. While it doesn't appear TOO crazy, I'm already daunted by the fact the blueprints are a touch too small for the 1.5" OD pipe it calls for. The paper doesn't fully wrap around. ??? I'm waiting to hear back from bondservnt for advice. Thanks for the hello, I've seen you posting around.

  12. Just thought I would say "hi" everyone! Looking to join my local Tampa Bay Squad 501st, and have already been in contact with them. Just thought I would get on FISD and say hello. I'm 32, born and raised in Tampa. USF Bull alumni.

     

    I'm currently on a waiting list for ATA ESB armor. I'm also currently trying my first doopydos pipe build :huh:. These boards have been a wealth of information, so I collectively thank all of you for allowing new folks like us to get information. I will admit, there is almost information overload, and a lot of it is based on opinions, so I'm constantly trying to weight both sides of the issue on things.

     

    If anyone has any suggestions or comments, feel free to PM me or reply!

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