Chopper done...........



I need to make a few small tweaks as the blade wants to bend cutting thicker stock... but it works great on smaller stuff.

I'm having issues with the hot wire cutter... it's not going to make the deadline...

Hi Matt,

Thanks for the extension. Now I can try to finish my tool.

Anyway, a lot of very nice and cool ideas so far.

Cheers

Giovanni

Matt,
Any design details you can share? Been wanting to create my own chopper, but there are a few engineering challenges I can foresee that maybe you've already solved.

I'll try to take a few more detailed shots of it tonight.

The biggest thing you'll need is a drill press, or a milling machine. (To be sure the holes are all square, I also milled a relief for the reinforcement on the blade)

My handle is 2 pieces, because I had picked up some scrap from the shop at work that happened to work.

There's a little play because of the plastic washer between the arm and the base... but it's not much at all.

Is that a tension spring at the pivot point?
Looks good. I want to make one as well, but I think I'll design the blade holder to accept utility knife blades as they are much sturdier. Maybe I can do two sets of holes and have the ability to change to both styles of blade?

Gave me some great ideas. Thanks for posting.

EJ

That's not a bad idea on the blades!!! I could easily add a couple more holes.

it's a compression spring to keep pressure on the plastic washer between the base & arm. Like I mentioned, a but of wobble but not much.

I'm keeping my eyes out for a single-ground blade (as opposed to a double-ground razor blade) in order to get a nice square cut when I eventually build my chopper.

Also considering for my next BAT entry mounting a flourescent light UNDER my bench since I seem to spend so much time down on the floor with a flashlight looking for parts....

GOOD ONE! I'm with ya there. Knee pads help as well.

EJ

Here's another tool I use. I took an old pair of plastic glasses frames and added 16.5X Jeweler's Clip-On Eye Loupe, one clipped to each side of the frames. I got the Loupes from Harbor Freight Tools for $3.99 each.



http://www.harborfreight.com/165x-jewelers-clip-on-eye-loupe-94364.html

I got two loupes because I can use the 3.5X and sometimes the 5X loupes with both eyes (depth perception), but the 16X is too close and I can only use I eye at a time.

I use them quite a bit. HTH

And here is the picture of my magnifiers:



Do I need to post this picture in a campaign album?

I just ordered a couple loupes myself based on your previous post. I'm far-sighted and have a devil of a time working up close. Tried a lot of different options with limited success, but this looks like it has a lot of potential...and the price was right.

Matt - nice fabrication. A very useful tool.

Namabiiru - LOL "...flourescent light UNDER my bench…"

majjanelson - whoa, those look cool, sort of Steam meets Ichabod Crane

The thread is good enough for me!

I alomst swung by a Harbor Freight yesterday to get some.... the weather was just too crappy for another stop (near white out conditions)

Hi friends,

Ok, nothing that can compared to Matt's chopper, very elegant and clean

The matter is: many small pieces being painted and necessary to be held by clips. Then, you have many of these and you don't have the right place to keep...

So, I've modified a certain number of curtains clips in order to have a suitable support:



A simple rail is arranged in the ''paint workshop'':



Once the piece is painted, I can hang up it at the rail to keep everything in order. I can manage up to 15 pieces in one painting round:



Well, it is not beautiful and I don't expect to win the Nobel Prize, but it useful for me and I'm using it...

Cheers

Giovanni

Very nice. Now I just gotta find some of those clips.
Thanks for posting.

All these great ideas are gonna keep me busy for a bit.

EJ

Hi Eugene,

Just you: I'm building the Yamato 1:350, quite different in size compared with my usual 1:35 armor things, and I've built a indoor spray box for the ship's hull following your post.

Not so elegant like your, wooden instead of metallic, but it works... Thanks for posting.

Cheers

Giovanni

Your welcome. I know I love my booth a lot. It has made things much more convenient in my model room.

Good modeling.

EJ

I loved Randy's clothespins so much I went out and made a bunch of my own--now I just need to find a use for them!

So, when does BAT4 start? I'm ready!

I've done a quick round of awards....... I'll run thru one more time tomorrow morning.


Let's plan on the actual campaign for BAT-4 running July thru December. But anything you build this year is OK for it.

Sweet! I've started a blog on the paint booth I'm building, but I have some other tool ideas rattling around in the space between my ears.

Matt,
I'm wondering if it isn't too late to edit the badge a little bit. When it shows up on my profile it's huge!

Thank-you for the purdy ribbon, Matt. Like Mark says, though, the dimensions might be a little off.

Tried to sign up , hopefully posting will qualify me.

For my 1/16 WW1 figure piece : 'Ypres 1915'
I needed the corrugated metal so intrinsic to the WW1 dio builder. I could not find any , and with a manufacturing background , decided to attempt a tool for this. I know about metal forming so had an idea where to start.
Seeing the rail in this kit:

I made a mount for it:

Then I procured 6 pizza cutter's from the baking section of Wal-Mart. I disassembled the wheel part of the cutters and took all the wheels , spaced the cutting discs according to the rail and many pics of the corrugated metal and assembled one tool:


I masked off the metal sheet and started making my dio components:

The spacers can be changed to re-create different scales of corrugated sheet. The finished item is a very good replication of the corrugated sheet so needed to pull off a WW1 dio:

And the award for first to complete BAT4 goes to James!

That's a really cool set-up, James!