tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2709184976860282342024-03-13T03:47:30.614-07:00My R2D2 & R5D4 Builders LogMy builders Blog of my experiences building my Droids.Jerry Chevalierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05208709249866334476noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270918497686028234.post-65731866049262404132009-05-02T08:56:00.000-07:002009-05-02T08:58:28.047-07:00new blog locationI have updated mu blogs and have a new site and blog location so please update your RSS location.<br />My new blog address is at http://jerrysrobots.com/astromech/<br /><br />please update . thanxJerry Chevalierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05208709249866334476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270918497686028234.post-85538252232446533682008-05-22T10:48:00.000-07:002008-05-22T10:49:45.580-07:00The Great Texas Build Off<div align="justify">Well, The Great Texas B9 Build Off of 2008 (May 16-18) seems to have been a success! I loved it. I learned so much and it was so refreshing to see so many different types of robots in 1 place and to see how they were constructed. It was mind blowing. There were members from the B9 Club, the R2 Builders Club and the Dallas Personal Robotics Club as well as visitors young and old. Some of them stopped buy as we were setting up on Saturday morning wondering if they could buy any of them. I think they thought we were having a garage sale……<br />There were B9’s, R2's, R5, Battle Droid, Pit Droid, Mouse Droids, Insectoids, a C-3PO needing plating and a Fred Barton Robby the Robot all in 1 place. And let’s not forget the Laser rifles, a working MP41A Pulse Rifle, Light Sabers, Phasers, Tricorders, Communicators and life size mannequins of Dr. Smith & Will Robinson, not the least to mention a full size, working, Jupiter 2 center flight console with a Burroughs B205 console on top! And if that wasn’t enough we got to see a 1966 Batmobile in construction. MAN is that thing BIG!!!!! You need a Batcave to house that thing!<br />We had a few participants take advantage of the Machinist and Painter I had reserved for this weekend. We had B9 torsos painted and R2 & B9 parts made just for this event. Lots of goodies for everybody and there was parts everywhere! Lovely…..machined……anodized…aluminum parts….Did I mention they were machined and anodized….???<br />Since this was a build off I had to go ahead and announce “Build your Robots”. It was like Christmas. I saw people tearing into boxes and sanding and making frames for the Astromechs. When you have multiple palm sanders going it kind of sounds like model airplanes flying around and that definitely drew attention from my neighbors. They loved it. (Not to worry, I had informed my entire block that this was occurring). They had their kids out and about looking and poking at everything. I still have a smile on my face!<br />My machinist even helped out a fellow builder because he wanted to make one of his own and this was “good practice”. Wayne Orr replaced his Omni Balls with Casters. My R5 did his debut at the build off. Wayne’s R2 and my R5 had a little race in the back alley…… Three aluminum R2 Frames were built. Travis Jeter finally got those holes drilled by the master himself, Mike Joyce; and finally got his bubble attached! Bob Greiner and I also fixed his waist motor mount and drive.<br />All in all everybody had an excellent time. The food was great! Anybody and everybody that wanted or needed help got it. We even had a little strategy meeting on how we were going to help who and when so everybody could get taken care of.<br />There was also 3 very important lessons that I took away from the build off. Never drive your B9 when you are tired, 2) never stack your robot with parts that are not secured and 3) always remember to turn off your receiver before you turnoff your transmitter.<br />What happened was on Sunday morning I had my collar and radar unit placed on my replica torso. While I was talking to a friend, I was switching my transmitter to operate another robot I had (my R5D4). When I did that, and because I didn’t turn off my receiver before switching robots and my B9 leaned over and dumped my collar and radar section onto the hard concrete, shattering all of it into little pieces. The act of the collar coming off also scratched the neon mouth opening on the replica torso. Oh, well; as Mike Joyce said, you cant make a few robots without breaking a few parts……<br />I will have photos shortly..................</div>Jerry Chevalierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05208709249866334476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270918497686028234.post-53255814162999885162008-03-07T07:12:00.003-08:002008-06-09T17:05:46.059-07:00JAG Center Foot Caster Modification<div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/SE3DLAcoT9I/AAAAAAAAAdk/Y5ePkl3nPH4/s1600-h/DSC00843.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210034937803591634" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/SE3DLAcoT9I/AAAAAAAAAdk/Y5ePkl3nPH4/s200/DSC00843.JPG" border="0" /></a>The JAG center foot has the base skirt cut out to allow for unobstru<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/SE3Bp6v0pAI/AAAAAAAAAdM/a7yk7skSTog/s1600-h/DSC00839.JPG"></a>cted caster rotation. The Wheel used is a 60 durometer 2.5" diameter, 1.25"wide wheel with a 5/16"axle bolt hole with a sealed bearing. You can get these from McCarr Master. Part number 2829T15. They are 6.94 each. I then got (2) 2" SS. 5/16" bolts with lock washers and nuts or you could use the nylon aircraft nuts. The frame<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/SE3FLwTfiyI/AAAAAAAAAds/iE0WOeafhe8/s1600-h/DSC00839.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210037149673425698" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/SE3FLwTfiyI/AAAAAAAAAds/iE0WOeafhe8/s200/DSC00839.JPG" border="0" /></a> for the caster is easily obtained from Home Depot. The part number is 3900309393. Take care to not just get any 2.5" wheel. The others will not work. I found that only the item number listed above will fit. You will have to cut the plastic wheels off but that is not too difficult to do.<br /><br /><div></div></div>Jerry Chevalierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05208709249866334476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270918497686028234.post-38250332188853340972008-03-07T07:12:00.001-08:002008-04-27T16:11:01.361-07:00Dallas Childrens Hospital Droid<div align="justify"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/SBUF67brzQI/AAAAAAAAAa8/Lo5GN9rLcUs/s1600-h/DSC00998.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194064255186095362" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/SBUF67brzQI/AAAAAAAAAa8/Lo5GN9rLcUs/s200/DSC00998.JPG" border="0" /></a>Well, Here we go. This is the beginning of the DCH droid (Dallas Children's Hospital). It will be a R2D2 even though I have a R5 head on him right now. I just didn't want him headl<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/SBUFCbbrzPI/AAAAAAAAAa0/omLXpkTd2e4/s1600-h/DSC01038.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194063284523486450" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/SBUFCbbrzPI/AAAAAAAAAa0/omLXpkTd2e4/s200/DSC01038.JPG" border="0" /></a>ess right now. This one was made with a Wood Frame design with a Fiberglass Skin.<br /><div align="justify">In this droid I have a Vantec RDFR23, RET411P and have the CF3, RF12ChRF bundle with the standard R2 Sound file. It was very satisfying to see him move around the house like it was on air. This droid has my caster setup to fit the JAG center foot. Very smooth movement on carpet, especially when making turns from a dead stop! The same setup with the omniballs actually stalled the droid on carpet when turning.<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/SBUG2bbrzRI/AAAAAAAAAbE/XNn2yD0H6no/s1600-h/DSC00875.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194065277388311826" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/SBUG2bbrzRI/AAAAAAAAAbE/XNn2yD0H6no/s200/DSC00875.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/SBUHk7brzSI/AAAAAAAAAbM/Qe8vcoYfHr8/s1600-h/DSC00870.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194066076252228898" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/SBUHk7brzSI/AAAAAAAAAbM/Qe8vcoYfHr8/s200/DSC00870.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /></div><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /></div>Jerry Chevalierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05208709249866334476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270918497686028234.post-74476724620026206422008-03-07T06:57:00.001-08:002008-04-27T15:29:27.920-07:00Back in the saddle again........<div align="justify">Thank the Maker!! I found a decent painter willing to do droids!! It's Chris at Detroit Customs in Sasche, Tx. They have been written up in several hot rod, motorcycle and custom paint magazines. They do excellent work. When I was there they were about to start the 1966 version of the Batmobile. It was really cool seeing that body lifted onto the rolling Lincoln Chassis. </div><div align="justify">I had a lot of parts to paint for 3 droids!! Hopefully I will have enough stuff ready to go to keep people keep busy at the build off in May. I know JAG is sending my Frames so with the B9 frames and R2 frames we will be doing a mass assembly. It will be cool!!</div><div align="justify">I am also having the Dallas Robotic group and the local R2D2 builders there as well as it is the start of the monthly meetings.</div><div align="justify"><br /></div>Jerry Chevalierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05208709249866334476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270918497686028234.post-51357982326926199212007-11-22T05:15:00.000-08:002008-03-07T06:56:43.782-08:00Progress Delay<div align="justify"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/R9FVlxh-H8I/AAAAAAAAAaE/Ut8OrhBxrP4/s1600-h/DSC01341.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175011554264752066" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/R9FVlxh-H8I/AAAAAAAAAaE/Ut8OrhBxrP4/s200/DSC01341.JPG" border="0" /></a>Bad news for my schedule. My painter backed out half way through my build and sever<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/R0WHBNBKXCI/AAAAAAAAAFY/IgipwsCWg7M/s1600-h/DSC01347.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5135659404830071842" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/R0WHBNBKXCI/AAAAAAAAAFY/IgipwsCWg7M/s200/DSC01347.JPG" border="0" /></a>al parts I was hoping to have by now have not materialized. This has added several complications to getting my droids ready for the donation process to the Dallas Children's Hospital for 2007. So it looks like it will be delayed to 2008. That was a real bummer! </div><div align="justify">Anyway, here are some photos of my Progress. The painters did an awesome job with fine line detail which is why I was so disappointed when they said they just want to do cars now half way through my painting process. Take a look at a closer picture of the ankles and cylinders. Aren't they just beautiful? The blue color is 2003 Pt Cruiser Metallic Blue. The White is BASF 1054a is is perfect. These are beautiful in person and outside in sunshine. Now to try and find someone that can do as good a job as the previous guy. I know it wont be easy or cheap!!! In the mean time Robby the Robot looks over my precious cargo!</div><div align="justify"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/R9FV4Bh-H9I/AAAAAAAAAaM/dnUTgI0TWCc/s1600-h/DSC01354.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175011867797364690" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/R9FV4Bh-H9I/AAAAAAAAAaM/dnUTgI0TWCc/s200/DSC01354.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/R9FV4Bh-H9I/AAAAAAAAAaM/dnUTgI0TWCc/s1600-h/DSC01354.JPG"></a></div>Jerry Chevalierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05208709249866334476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270918497686028234.post-58359285599022476152007-08-19T19:52:00.000-07:002008-03-07T12:28:15.226-08:00Chrome DomesI had my other dome "shined on" by Hands off Polishing of Garland, Tx. These guys are great and not too expensive either. These guys have been written up in motorcycle magazines for their chrome and aluminum machine work. They have done such good work in the past that they even held the NASA contract for the Mars Lunar Rover project for some of the drive parts and assemblies.<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/RskDleu2j4I/AAAAAAAAAD4/XPmfLMTj_lk/s1600-h/DSC01189.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100611995413417858" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/RskDleu2j4I/AAAAAAAAAD4/XPmfLMTj_lk/s200/DSC01189.JPG" border="0" /></a> This is the dome for the Dallas Children Hospital Project. If you guys are looking to find someone to buff out your domes then I would recommend these guys. 1 more week and my aluminum parts should be back from the painters! I feel like a child waiting for Christmas morning!! <div></div><div></div>Jerry Chevalierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05208709249866334476noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270918497686028234.post-21496110247568952312007-08-15T17:50:00.000-07:002008-03-07T06:33:30.809-08:00T minus 80 days and counting.......<div align="justify"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/RsOn7-u2jvI/AAAAAAAAACw/7RP_zULNZbM/s1600-h/DSC01157.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5099103852007165682" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/RsOn7-u2jvI/AAAAAAAAACw/7RP_zULNZbM/s200/DSC01157.JPG" border="0" /></a>Plano Comic Con is Oct 20th. Maybe My droids will be ready by then to run up and down the halls of the Plano convention center in a finished state. I am waiting for Stuarts Paint and Body to finish my R2 and R5 painting.<br /></div><div align="justify">My astromechs will be R/C'd with the Dx7 Spread Spectrum RC system. Inside Electronics consist of the following items: Vantec RDFR23 for the Drive Motors, RET411P for the dome controller, Robotic servos for the doors and dome panels, CF3 sound system, 12ch RF remote from Cold Fusion, Footdrive motors are NPC 2212's. My Goal is for both of them to eventually look something like below</div><div align="justify"><div align="justify"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/RsOpkeu2jwI/AAAAAAAAAC4/P-04VZNxzBw/s1600-h/r2_r5.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5099105647303495426" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/RsOpkeu2jwI/AAAAAAAAAC4/P-04VZNxzBw/s200/r2_r5.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/RsOpkeu2jwI/AAAAAAAAAC4/P-04VZNxzBw/s1600-h/r2_r5.jpg"></a></div>Jerry Chevalierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05208709249866334476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270918497686028234.post-44097912491108433452007-08-14T22:59:00.000-07:002008-06-09T10:56:27.631-07:00Waiting for the paint to dry<div align="justify"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/RsKXczXo5tI/AAAAAAAAACo/ma5DArDFJ5I/s1600-h/DSC01158.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098804249218311890" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/RsKXczXo5tI/AAAAAAAAACo/ma5DArDFJ5I/s200/DSC01158.JPG" border="0" /></a>Right now I have sent my Aluminum parts to be painted professionally to get a beautiful lasting finish. The auto body shop is rather backed up so it will take a little while to get them back. In the mean time, I just got my 2nd 300mm dome from Daren Murrer. If you have the means I highly recommend them. So I guess my next step is to start cutting out the doors, polishing the domes and attaching hinges...Robart Hinges that is!! This dome I took to Hands off Polishing in Garland, Tx. They are the ones who have the contract to polish the parts for the Mars Rover from NASA! Here is what one of the domes looks like after polishing the lines out. The picture does not do it justice. </div>Jerry Chevalierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05208709249866334476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270918497686028234.post-29639960509115299642007-08-01T18:24:00.000-07:002008-03-07T05:49:03.712-08:00It's Alive!!!!.......well kind of.........<div align="justify">C4 was the first Star Wars convention I had ever attended. It was a trip. So much to see and do. Coming to the droid room was amazing. So many droids and different levels of craftsmanship. It was a great learning experience. I assembled my basic droid in the builders room and boy was I intimidated! <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/RsKVDzXo5sI/AAAAAAAAACg/4kuLox6Li-g/s1600-h/DSCF2803.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098801620698326722" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/RsKVDzXo5sI/AAAAAAAAACg/4kuLox6Li-g/s200/DSCF2803.jpg" border="0" /></a>This droid was assembled and did its first RC move at C4. Such a good Feeling!! <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/RsKUfzXo5rI/AAAAAAAAACY/ajY7e2vpSd4/s1600-h/DSC00592.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098801002223036082" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/RsKUfzXo5rI/AAAAAAAAACY/ajY7e2vpSd4/s200/DSC00592.JPG" border="0" /></a>At the time I thought I was way behind but after talking with my new friends I found out that this went very fast .....I was a proud poppa.....</div><div align="justify">Darren Murrer donated 1 of his domes for the Dallas Children's Droid. Cole cut the panels out and he also used my dome in making the tutorial for the new 300mm domes. </div><div align="justify">When I started wiring my Vantec RDFR23 controller it didt work originally. Tom Jozwiak help me correct a slight wiring transposition. Once that was done he started moving around. One of the things I learned very quickly was that the powered wheel needs to be to the front of the droid where as the omni balls needed to be toward the rear. I had it reversed. So while he was on the carpet it was very difficult for him. But move he did!!! That was all I had hoped for out of this trip. </div>Jerry Chevalierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05208709249866334476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270918497686028234.post-1568096677148751222007-06-06T18:00:00.000-07:002008-03-07T05:25:45.070-08:00And so it begins..........<div align="justify"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/RmdfJKmN02I/AAAAAAAAAAc/vUF3lCqqaOQ/s1600-h/DSC00547.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5073128116324258658" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" height="249" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/RmdfJKmN02I/AAAAAAAAAAc/vUF3lCqqaOQ/s320/DSC00547.JPG" width="174" border="0" /></a>What you see here is the beginning of my first Astromech. This is a wood frame from Mike Hendricks and Fiberglass skins from Brett Landon. This picture is the unveiling of it at Mike Senna's home in prep for the C4 builders room in Los Angeles, California in March of 2007.<br />This was the culmination of several months of travel from coast to coast while I was doing consulting works for various hospitals to determine how I would first start this process. My goal here is to make a fully RC'd droid. An R2D2 and a R5D4.<br />In order to make him suitable we have to add legs.....sounds easy..... but how to go about it and what needed to occur was very interesting. Mike Senna was very gracious to assist me in making this mount and hubs to attack my legs.<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/RsKJlzXo5pI/AAAAAAAAACI/LcROdQCDdmM/s1600-h/DSC00523.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098789010674345618" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/RsKJlzXo5pI/AAAAAAAAACI/LcROdQCDdmM/s200/DSC00523.JPG" border="0" /></a> What I did was go to Home Depot and get 2 pieces of black pipe and floor flanges. The pipe diameter was (1) 1/2" and (1) 3/4" with their corrosponding floor flanges. I also got 2 electrical grounding clamps (those help to control lateral or sway movement of the pipes).<br />There is a weld beed the length of the 1/2" pipe, You will need a grinder to grind down that beed so the 1/2" pipe can fit inside the 3/4" pipe. I would also suggest you "key" that pipe to minimize the internal rotation or slippage of a telescoping pipe.<br />You then take 2 wood disks that are 6 1/4" in diameter and attach those disks to the floor flanges. That wood disk is then attached to the legs you will be using. When this is done, lay the legs down on an level/flat surface and drill 2 holes at the far end of each pipe to insert bolts through both pipes to keep them from slipping internally.<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/RsKNLTXo5qI/AAAAAAAAACQ/A-1eMTOQWQ8/s1600-h/DSC00549.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098792953454323362" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/RsKNLTXo5qI/AAAAAAAAACQ/A-1eMTOQWQ8/s200/DSC00549.JPG" border="0" /></a>Once that is done, you will need to add JB Weld to the pipe threads to keep the pipes from unscrewing from the pipe flanges.<br />An important note here. Make sure you clean the pipe flange and the pipe threads of all grease, dirt etc with Varsol or lighter fluid or some other non-residue cleaner BEFORE adding the JB Weld. Let it sit all night, depending on the temperature of where you are doing this, it might help to put a blow torch to the JB Weld areas to aid in setup as you do not want this stuff coming loose when your droid is moving about. Heat helps JB Weld cure faster and more thoroughly. </div>Jerry Chevalierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05208709249866334476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270918497686028234.post-41207579773366990112007-05-30T18:59:00.000-07:002008-03-07T17:06:30.674-08:00In The Beginning..........<div align="justify"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/RsKA9TXo5oI/AAAAAAAAACA/t6JxoSac0ew/s1600-h/R2-D2_cutaway_CVD.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098779518796621442" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/RsKA9TXo5oI/AAAAAAAAACA/t6JxoSac0ew/s200/R2-D2_cutaway_CVD.jpg" border="0" /></a>I accidentally discovered the Astromech builders group when I was getting started with the B9 builders group. There are several members that belong to both groups and some of them suggested I look into "crossing over" to the other side. Haha. I have to say the way these 2 groups conduct themselves is like day and night. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/R9E7chh-H3I/AAAAAAAAAZc/D4xKlsLM6TU/s1600-h/DSC00821.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174982808048639858" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/R9E7chh-H3I/AAAAAAAAAZc/D4xKlsLM6TU/s200/DSC00821.JPG" border="0" /></a>re was so much sharing of information it was more of an expectation rather than just a courtesy. I really liked that and will try to bring that to the B9 group.</div><div align="justify">Aside form the thrill and challenge of building a droid, I wanted to make one for the kids at Dallas Children's Hospital (DCH). The reason is personal but I will say this ... I know what it is like to be them. Having the droids in the hospital is a treat for all but most importantly it gives the kids a break from what they are going through. That makes it all worth it!!! It would take a while for my droid to be made so I needed someone elses to start <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/R9E9zRh-H5I/AAAAAAAAAZs/nd9vPXi9YNE/s1600-h/DSC00823.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174985397913919378" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/R9E9zRh-H5I/AAAAAAAAAZs/nd9vPXi9YNE/s200/DSC00823.JPG" border="0" /></a>my quest. So, I met Wayne Orr and a few friendly troopers from the local 501st garrison and off we went on Dec 16 2006. The picture below is of 3 troopers getting dressed in my motorcycle trailer. These guys were great and a bunch of cut ups!! To the right are pictures in the hallway before we entered the ICU areas . I had plenty of toys for the kids to get. Since I didn't have an R2 does this still count for my first event?? :) </div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/R9Hl7Rh-H_I/AAAAAAAAAac/z5JQzOncOhU/s1600-h/DSC00830.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175170253306339314" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/R9Hl7Rh-H_I/AAAAAAAAAac/z5JQzOncOhU/s200/DSC00830.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/R9HmMBh-IAI/AAAAAAAAAak/DpgwbrSOmUQ/s1600-h/DSC00837.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175170541069148162" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1NrhKBc6cvo/R9HmMBh-IAI/AAAAAAAAAak/DpgwbrSOmUQ/s200/DSC00837.JPG" border="0" /></a>Jerry Chevalierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05208709249866334476noreply@blogger.com0