It seems like I have a lot of things going at once, doesn't it? Between the rear skin work, the booster rockets, paint work and so on....I'm just on a streak where I enjoy working on R2 #2 after I get home from work.
One of the things I was not looking forward to was making the cut outs in the aluminum legs. I wanted the measurements to be right and I wanted to make sure the cuts were correct. The aluminum legs are not inexpensive and are usually only available every 18 months, based on the demand for them.
I got really lucky and Jerry Green had extra "rocket breadpans", as I refer to them. When the aluminum versions are shipped to buyers, the rockets are assembled on this tray. This piece goes inside the leg opening, as you'll see along the way.
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| Digital caliper, a metal ruler and pencil....ready to go to work |
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| Referring to the blueprints often, here I'm using the measurement from the base of the leg, to 5.1250 inches for the bottom area of the cutout. Check, doublecheck! |
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| I had to drill a hole so that the variable speed saw would have a way to get the blade in and start the cutout I'll use a file to correct the rounded edge |
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| A lot of very slow, meticulous work and the cut out is done |
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| The breadpan is going to act as a template for what holes to drill. On the far right, or bottom of leg, there are two holes that are used and already exist in these legs. |
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| Just to make sure this is perfectly straight, I place the leg on a flat surface and use a level to make sure we are even. |
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| Once leveled out, I use a fingernail to set the electrical tape to hold the template in place. |
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| As I drill the holes out, everytime I drill a hole, I insert a 10-24 thread screw into it. This way the breadpan will stay more stable and not wiggle loose. |
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| As I get near the end, most of the holes have screws in them....time to remove.... |
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The resin pieces that act as mounting blocks need to be level and uniform, for everything to fit correctly that will attach to it. Some have excess material from the molding process.
Now while each looks level, upon lining them all up, there aren't all the same size. I line them up on a level surface and them place them in the vice to file them all down together
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| Now they are all the same size and I can start drilling the holes (5/32 drill bit for tapping to 10-24 thread) |
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| Tapping the holes. |
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| The bottom pieces need to be drilled and tapped to attach to the leg. For the piece to fit into the slider, some filing needed to be done |
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| Time to slide the breadpan into place and start mounting the pieces into it |
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| Top pieces screwed into place |
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| Booster Seating Block installed, slider attached to leg.... |
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| View of how the back of the leg looks with the pan head screws |
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| With the booster cover piece that goes in the bottom |
Exciting times! A lot of work but great progress. There are a few spots I would like to replace with an aluminum part, since I am not sure hot well taped holes in resin will stand up to all he bouncing around R2 does!
