The R50 Mech

Awesomely creative, well done. Do you have a few vent holes in there I have to ask?
 
So, it being a very long time since the last pay day and still some way off till the next one.. I woke up and decided to see what I could build using only what I could find at my local hardware store (as you know the itch never really goes away). And this is the result:
View attachment 19511

It is all copper, brass(contact screw) and some wire (for the spring) . 22mm Copper pipe to be precise. With a few couplings. The bit on the right is the spring for the bottom firing mechanism, the contact screw, and the spring I made from some wire I had lying around.. Coil building experience coming in handy :). It has a plastic bit that goes against the battery with the spring, the screw screws in from the bottom and there is a bastardised spring loaded bit I use for the positive contact.

View attachment 19512

View attachment 19517

As I couldn't find the very hard to find M7 0.5 tap for the 510 connection, the connection is a hole just big enough for the atty's thread to make contact. This is not enough to hold it though so I made the little turrets at the top for grip. Of course this introduces the limitation that it will only work for 22mm atties. All mine are so no problem. Tested it with an Atlantis, Orchid and Plume Veil. All sweet.

View attachment 19516


I then used the old blow torch to discolour her a bit and I really like how she turned out. All steampunky. I dubbed her the Finite (cause she only works on 22s) SW22 (that's what it says on the pipe I used).

As for performance. It easily kicks the Magneto' ass! And I really like the magneto ;). I haven't known her for a long time but I think it's love.

All said, R50.

@Dassie i am not a big pipe mod fan but there is just something in this one that calls to the inner diesel mech ;) It really looks amazing mate :)
 
Awesomely creative, well done. Do you have a few vent holes in there I have to ask?
@Andre, I ran out of day yesterday but was too excited when the thing worked to not say something, but yes, you are right of course, still needs a few holes. Will do that today :)
 
@Dassie i am not a big pipe mod fan but there is just something in this one that calls to the inner diesel mech ;) It really looks amazing mate :)
Thanks! Yeah I have a bit of a thing for the Mad Max type industrial looking stuff ;).
 
Ok. For those that are interested in trying something like this, a little step by step (apologies that not every step is here but this is done in retrospect and some of the bits are stuck together now..).

It starts with a 22mm copper pipe (the plumbing type). A battery (18650) fits nicely but not too snug. Also, I used a few 22mm couplings. The little castle at the top is one of these. I grinded about 3/4 of it off and then shaped the turrets, also with a grinder. I had a heavy duty switch lying around and grinded that open to get the spring loaded copper pin out. It was housed in a 22mm disk which I had to file down carefully till it could be squeezed into the top. It rests quite nicely on the middle bit of the coupling which is slightly indented.

20150118_132415.jpg

The rubber washer to the right is a 22mm washer which I "cut" to size using a piece of the pipe and a hammer:
20150118_130128.jpg

One of these washers went in the top, over the spring loaded pin disk, like so:
20150118_132509.jpg

The purpose of this is to give the auto's something to bite into. Works a charm. Next thing was the copper disk on top to provide the negative contact. In the absence of the right tap (soon to be remedied by @Gazzacpt 's generosity, ta again) the hole is just big enough for contact but so it doesn't hurt the threads on the atty' s bit. The copper disk is the bottom bit of a copper end cap that I grinded down till it fit snug.

20150118_130750.jpg

The other washer goes in the bottom. As you can see, the brass contact in the bottom goes through the bottom cap, also an end cap and then I just tightened it with a nut. The brass bolt goes through the washer and gets another nut on the other side. This keeps it from falling out! And allows free movement which is also important. Might also mention that I cut the bottom washer to be very slightly off centre. This allows me to turn the bottom cap for a bit of a lock. So in one position it moves freely through the hole and in another there is enough friction to hinder firing.

I made some rather big holes for battery vents which we all hope never happens but I also don't want a homemade grenade in my mouth :). In retrospect I would have made them slightly smaller or put them through a collar (something I will do tomorrow) because the pipe is really quite thin and it makes the big holes (which I like as a part of my industrial theme) look a little unfinished.

20150118_142723.jpg

So these are the finished bits which was then heated with a blowtorch and cooled in the pool a few times.

Just a last explanation. The mechanism works a little different from my other mods in that it actually pushes the battery up to make contact with the positive. I like the way it turned out for two reasons: it was easy to do and it gives me a very small firing action (bottom hardly moves) while being strong enough to stand easily without firing. It also doesn't fire accidentally. The action is deliberate.

20150118_155645.jpg

And that was that. Apologies if I was a little light on details. It was fun ;) and I will be doing more. Also, please excuse the polkadot background. I was not involved in selecting that..

Last thing - i haven't put this thing down since yesterday. She is a beast :)
 

Attachments

  • 20150118_132415.jpg
    20150118_132415.jpg
    233.2 KB · Views: 6
  • 20150118_132509.jpg
    20150118_132509.jpg
    243.3 KB · Views: 5
  • 20150118_142717.jpg
    20150118_142717.jpg
    249.3 KB · Views: 5
Last edited:
Dude, how impressive is that.
We have a new mech builder in da house.
 
Digging the one up for a quick update. Finally got to finish this project (thanks to a M7 tap from @Gazzacpt) and I am loving her!

The turrets were removed to make it easier to mount the atties and some clearcoat applied.

20150215_193001.jpg
 
Back
Top