Installed Sysren10a Motor controller to Pittman motor

Adding a hinge & making a servo bracket

Last time I learned that I didn't plan my hinge location well.

This time, I clamped the skins back on and traced where a "good" spot would be to place a third hinge.



As I had last time, I prepped two hinges. I found using tin-snippers worked AWESOME to cut the hinge. I also drilled a small hole for where the servo push-rod would go. (Much easier to do when not mounted in the skins!)

I sanded smooth where I wanted to place the hinges and traced around the hinge, marking where to glob the JB Weld Kwik.

And the JB Weld Kwik is applied and drying.

While that is drying, I am experiementing with some angle metal (aluminum) I bought at Lowe's. I wanted to see what kind of bracket I could fashion out of this material.

After using both a jigsaw and hacksaw to fashion a quick, make shift bracket.

I used some 4-40 screws and despite some messy holes, everything bolts into place.

Always use a hole punch! And if possible, a drill press. Despite my best efforts, the drill bit wandered around on me.

And here's another shot. Ideally, after some careful measuring, the bracket would be JB Welded to the skin.

I would really like to use a thicker material that allows for a bracket with threaded holes. But we'll see how this works when clamped into position tomorrow.

Trying out the Robart hinges and servos

I managed, after a great deal of trial and error, to get my Spektrum DX6i radio and the BR6000 receiver "bound". The BR6000 doesn't come with much of a manual, just a sheet of paper explaining the process.

The big problem I had is the manual talkes about a male bind plug, yet they include a female one.

Also, the manual and paperwork with the receiver both instruct you to wait for a green light while binding the receiver and transmitter. There ISN'T a green light! Just an amber one, that once it goes solid, is ready to go.

Worse, I bought the switch they reccomend and got a faulty one that doesn't work. I certainly can't rave about their quality...they have made getting started very difficult. Next time, I'll pay extra and go Futaba or someone else.

Consider that my informal review on Spektrum equipment. ( If you like a lot of hassle, poor documentation and abysmal customer service, these guys are for you! )

With that said, I bought some threaded push rods and some worked on seeing how I could link up the door to a servo.

Hindsight note: Check servo and hinge alignment before mounting the hinges. I wish I had mounted my hinge a few inches higher.

After playing with the radio's adjustments for the landing gear switch, I got the servo and radio talking. Below, while holding the camera and radio in one hand, bracing the servo in another.....here's my early progress...

This servo has 47 ounces of torque. Clearly I will need to make a bracket to mount it into. I will also have to fine due the servo head some as well.

Its not a pretty connection and I am sure I could have done a lot of things better....but not bad for a first try!

Working on servo mounts, setting up electronics

Over the past few nights I have been sorting out where the servos will mount inside the body for the recently installed body doors.

One thing a few people have suggested is a servo bracket, since you do not want to use anything that might work loose. Anything working itself out of position can throw off the alignment, so doors may not open smoothly or not close all the way, etc.

I was playing with some leftover aluminum scrap from the aluminum skins and just using a tin snipper and pliers made something rough like this...



Granted the corners would look a whole lot better if I had a brake to produce those sharp, 90 degree edges. But that's the rough idea...I'm still toying with some ideas.

I also hit up the local remote control airplane shop and purchased some items I need to get things rolling. A receiver battery, battery charger, pushrods, another servo and servo wire extensions (12 inches). Once the battery has charged overnight, I can set the receiver and transmitter up (bind).

This is the fun stuff....once I have these working, its on to work on linking the servo to the hinge!

Front doors done

Now both front doors have been JB Welded into place and work well!


With the doors closed, there is a bit of slack that should be cured once the servos are installed.

Testing out Robart hinges

Today I worked on installing a set of the Robart hinges into one of the tall doors.

I figured I would start with one door, see how that goes and learn from it....then proceed to others!

First I lined up the door and used Painter's tape to hold it in place. (Painter's tape will not harm the paint!)


I had printer out some photos others had taken of their hinge setups. George Luck's site had some really good shots of his setup.

In order for the hinge to work, some material will have to be trimmed off from the side that mounts onto the skins. This is pretty quick work for a Dremel.

Not my best Dremeling work but this will work!

Next, I traced with a pencil where the hinges would sit. I took some 90 grit sand paper and sanded away the paint on the door. I also sanded the spot on the skin where the hinge would be JB Welded to improve the bond.

Next up, stir up some JB Weld Kwik and apply then place the hinge into position. I used the eraser tip of a pencil to push in into position and make sure it was flush.

JB Weld Kwik cures in 4 minutes but with my luck being what it is...I waited an hour.

The door opens! And it moves well.

There is one small spot where some of the JB Weld seeped too far. Once it has completely cured, I can clean that up with a small file.

One down and a lot more to go. But we learned to be a bit more mindful in applying the JB Weld.

Slowly but surely!

Assembling Robart Hinges

In preparation of hinging doors and panels, I decided to start piecing together them together.

I had bought these as part of a bulk purchase with the R2 Builders Group and saved a good sum of money doing so. These hinges are used in remote controlled airplanes for landing gear and such.

Usually, each hinge is sold in pairs, for a left and right. The first thing I had to do was sort them out as such.


I went digging through my notes and looking at other R2 builder's blogs. It seems everyone has a different way of piecing these together. After comparing various photos and fit, here's how I put mine together....

Insert plastic gromet...some go in easier than others...don't give up...

Slide the other hinge piece on top of the exposed plastic piece.....

Slide the screw into place.....use needlenose pliers to hold the nut into place while using a flat head screwdriver to tighten into place. Not too tight, but enough so it moves with some ease.

And here are 18 hinges put together.

Next step is to trim them with a Dremel tomorrow, so that they have more radius to pivot.

I also have a full set of hinges from JAG. I fully intend to install those on the other sets of aluminum skins.

The Skins Strike Back...making them line up!

Last time I posted I had bolted the inner skin into the frame.

I wanted to see if I could bolt the inner and outer skins onto the frame. This way I could avoid the trouble I had last time gluing the skin layers together.

One problem cropped up when I clamped the rear inner skins to check for alignment. As you can see below, they weren't lining up (pictures of each side)....

I took a few days off to reflect on why I was coming up short. I posted on the Astromech Forums and other builders mentioned they had similar situations. A few ideas were suggested...

1.) Sand the frame ring a bit to decrease the size a bit.

2.) Check for slack in the front skin

3.) Use a different clamp type (strap-type was suggested)

4.) Get a second set of hands!

I strongly suspected that if I unscrewed the skins from the frame, they would fit fine. But they were still off. So I kept searching and noticed that the recent addition could be the issue: my electronics tray.

Upon looking it over, I noticed that the side pieces of the assembly stick out beyond the frame ring. I removed the tray assembly and used both a metal file and Dremel sanding bit to remove the offending material...

After sanding the pieces flush, I was closer...but still off an 1/8th of an inch or more.

So...I unscrewed the front skins and re-aligned everything. Ding. Everything fits.

I'm not quite sure how I wound up off but I am begining to think it might be a huge timesaver to just bond them together after all.

We'll see!

Bolting the inner skins to the aluminum frame

Today I worked on attaching the inner skins to the frame.

After seeing how another builder had done it, I thought I would try. I like the idea of being able to remove the skins at anytime. My previous set of skins are glued together using 3M #77. They didn't glue together perfectly aligned, which has always been a sore spot for me.

I also wanted to make sure that I can removed the skins with the legs on. My previous set attached above and below the shoulder, so unless the legs are off, I can not remove them.

So after giving this little project some thought all week, I printed off a photo of what another builder had done....and Jerry's tutorial on attaching the skins for good measure.


I pondered several ways to line up where I wanted to drill the holes. The best method seemed to be to use a pencil behind the skins and mark the top and bottom of where the skins met the 1/4" inch frame plates.

Since we are dealing with some small tolerances, I couldn't take any chances with the drill bit wandering when I drilled the hole. I used a center punch to notch (dent) the site of the hole.

I then used a 1/8th inch drill bit to drill through the skins. I placed the skins on a thick piece of plywood for this. Some of the holes may require some filing to smooth out.

The moment of truth...clamping the skins back into place and seeing if they line up with frame plates! They do! The ones near the top came out OK. This one in the photo is good, while the other hole near the top was a smidge too high.

Using a 3/32 drill bit, I drilled through the skin holes and into the frame rings.

( HINDSIGHT THOUGHT...I wish I had used a few more clamps for stability. I have one hole that is a little off, the vibration of drilling moved the skins slightly. As a result, I will have to stretch one hole a little to line up with the frame hole.)

Once the holes were drilled, it was time to tap the holes. Using a 4-40 tap and some liquid soap, it was time to SLOWLY create the threading. I would turn until it got snug, go back a half turn, then slowly advance another. I removed the tap, cleaned the debris off the bit, re-applied some dish soap to the tip, then continued. Do not hurry this step at all!

After wiping down the debris and using a can of compressed air, the threaded hole is done.

Now it is time to countersink the skin holes so that the screws sit flush inside the skins. This way the outer skins will fit on top smoothly.

The countersink bit will take some tweaking to get each hole just right. Just take your time, stop frequently to check if the screw head is flush or needs more work.

Below are the 4-40 screws I used for mounting the skins.

After all that work, here's the result we are looking for...

And here is the end result. I have two holes on the top of the skins on each side of the shoulders. One on each corner near the bottom edge and two in the middle area to keep the skins snug against the body.

Is it pefect? Of course not...me and any skilled builder can point out I'm off a bit here or there. But is it functional? Yes. I've saved myself a day of dealing with adhesives on a large surface like the skins. (Last time, I had several days of super gluing spots that didn't adhere well)

Next up....the outer skins, once they are dry from painting!

New Arrivals: Aluminum skins

Today I had a nice present waiting at my door today...a new set of aluminum skins.

This is my 3rd set, so I have a back up should I need them. You never know when you'll need spare parts!

More doors & panel work on front skins

Today I took one of the doors I completed last year and prepared to prep it for mounting on hinges later. Since the door will open, I need to clean up the inside of the door.

However, once I started moving it around, the silicone adhesive I used failed...the trim was essentially being held in place by the paint. I'm glad I found out now while working on the other doors & panels!


I seperated the panel and trim then sanding the paint and remaining silicone off with some 80 grit sandpaper, then some 220. The mouse sander made quick work of this.

I moved on to the other door panels that had been JB Welded over the past week. The one I did last night needs a bit more time to dry, so it sat in the sun for the remainder of the afternoon. The other three need to be cleaned up. After all, these doors will open and I would like to have them primed and painted.

The mouse sander smoothed the doors out. The edges I sanded with a 60 grit sanding bit on the Dremel. I removed enough for the door to close while making sure not to remove too much of the JB Weld.

With everything good and smooth, I started applying coats of etching primer to the insides of the doors. I'm debating what color I want the inside of the doors to be. I think white will work best but we'll see!

Doors cleaned & primed....repaired another

Here's the front skin panels that required some clean-up after having the trim JB Welded on.


After rinsing under some hot water, I towel dried the remaining residue away with a paper towel. I then let it sit in the sun for an hour so any remaining moisture would evaporate.

Once dry, it was time to put the Duplicolor Etching primer on them. After three coats, spraying 15 minutes in between, they are here drying.

Tomorrow I'll start on them with some 400 grit sandpaper to make sure everything is smooth before the white paint goes on.

After spending a lot of time cleaning up the JB Weld on the other doors, I decided to prefer to apply it on the back. Granted I'll have to smooth it out some so that the door can close snugly in the skins....but less chance of harming the side that everyone sees!

This door is from my first R2-D2. I had painted the door panel and trim before adhering them....a newbie mistake. After removing the paint with some 90 grit paper, then some 220 grit to smooth it out, I adhered the trim and panel together. Using JB Weld, this will take 12-14 hours to harden. Tomorrow I'll clean up the excess JB Weld with the Dremel then prep this for priming.