Phaser 1 Kit Buildup plus MM P2 Restoration

[asalaw]

Re: John Long Phaser 1 Kit Buildup plus MM P2 Restoration

Hehehe... Felt very rested this morning, had till 1pm to come into work, so I just waited out the false alarm at Navy Yard as the helicopters flew overhead (no shooter, nobody hurt). I brought my backpack with me so I can start at the shop tonight after work. Can't wait!!

 

[asalaw]

Re: John Long Phaser 1 Kit Buildup plus MM P2 Restoration

Okay, guys, sorry this has taken so long to post. Went to the shop last weekend, except I went Thursday and Friday instead of Friday and Sunday. Basically, I got the beam emitter and rod prototyped (which is highly technical jargon meaning I completely screwed it up but I learned something), and I've gotten in some more acrylic rod to get the emitter nozzle done, which turns out to be not so easy if you don't know how to turn acrylic.

Can you say, "melty, gooey mess?" Can you say, "solidified around my drill bit?" Can you say, "cleaning it off with a large file, harsh language, and blood?" Good, just checking, cuz I hate people with speech impediments.



I mean, does he think we have all day?

So as we all know, the most important first thing is the proper safety equipment, because eyeballs. So I searched the shop till I finally found the faceplates.


I wore this because the "TWERK" one was taken.

My nice new lathe tools are still in storage, so I looked through the lathe tools in the drawer in the machine shop, and was very disappointed to find:


Yikes! They look like Lindsay Lohan's meth teeth!

So I took one to the grinder and did my best. I got okay results with it, but I was still getting too much chatter, which really gives you a nasty surface. (I took the tailstock out for the picture, but I was turning the piece with a live center.) Still, I wound up with a nice fit, so it was a good rehearsal as they say in the business.



And then I had to re-grind the parting tool, cuz YIKES!



So long story short, I got some new tools at Harbor Freight, and those worked out much better, even though the selection at HF was pretty paltry. So now I've got a fair fit, though I haven't parted the brass rod down to length, let alone milled the slots where the brass P1 catcher gets soldered on.



I'm going to use a 1/8" brass tube as a pin to give the rod and emitter a better join to each other, since just gluing them end-to-end may well come apart eventually. For that, I may need to ream out the hole a bit wider.


And I will not use Vaseline, maggot!!

Okay, back in a bit with the acrylic emitter work and other thoughts (if I have them, and they're not about eating or pooping. Leave me alone, I'm 50.)

 

[Sean]

Re: John Long Phaser 1 Kit Buildup plus MM P2 Restoration

:lol iv'e missed you man! :thumbsup

 

[robn1]

Re: John Long Phaser 1 Kit Buildup plus MM P2 Restoration

He's baaaaack!

Can you say, "melty, gooey mess?" Can you say, "solidified around my drill bit?" Can you say, "cleaning it off with a large file, harsh language, and blood?"

Yes I can, been there trying to make my own emitters. Turning the rod in my drill press works great to shape the outside, but drilling it out not so much. Then I tried gluing a small piece of rod to the end of some tube and just drilled the small part at the tip. This worked pretty well, but the tube is not round and the hole is off-center which leads to a wonky emitter.

 

[asalaw]

Re: John Long Phaser 1 Kit Buildup plus MM P2 Restoration

Oh yeah. Generally, the slower I went on the lathe, the better things turned out. I'll post some of that in a little bit (busy day).

 

[asalaw]

Re: John Long Phaser 1 Kit Buildup plus MM P2 Restoration

Okay, so here's what happened with the emitter tip, and why I ordered almost four feet of rod to try it again...


Four FEET? You should seek medical attention!

So I had (yes, past tense) two acrylic emitters. One I had from some other nozzle a long time ago, the other came with the nozzle John Long gave me. I tried just drilling out both, which was a total disaster, though my second attempt did come out better. But what I learned was that shaping the exterior before drilling is probably not the best approach. So when I try it again, I'll drill it out first, then shape it, then part it.

I started out by figuring out my drill bit sizes.



Then I had to deal with the work-holding issue, because I don't want to mar the acrylic with the chuck jaws. I can't put tape on the jaws of the chuck, because it's insanely greasy and the teeth are too far apart for the tape to take hold. Masking tape around the emitter would have worked very well, especially given the low speeds, but I decided to try out a method I saw on YouTube, or Make magazine, or somewhere. It worked very well.


Except for the part where I drank a whole six-pack of Diet Pepsi before I remembered why I bought it.


I find acid helps my memory a lot. Or seems to.
Either way, the colors are beautiful!

Suffice to say, when you're going slowly enough, the acrylic comes off as an opaque white ribbon.



To go in from the back (for the larger bore), I basically eyeballed it and marked the drill bit with a purple sharpie.


I like purple. Still pretty sure I'm
straight, though.

Now here's yet another hazard: If you leave the chuck jaws too loose, you wind up pushing your piece inward instead of drilling a hole.


I wish dating had been this easy.

But if you tighten it too much, you wind up cracking your workpiece, and I cracked both emitters.


Cracks are my life. <sigh>

I really thought I had more photos, but I can't seem to find them. Worst case, I'll take some more next time I'm there (probably a couple of hours tomorrow) and retcon this post. Just call me George.

 

[Sean]

Re: John Long Phaser 1 Kit Buildup plus MM P2 Restoration

Will you turn down the outside on the lathe or sand it down? and how will you get it clear again?

 

[asalaw]

Re: John Long Phaser 1 Kit Buildup plus MM P2 Restoration

Will you turn down the outside on the lathe or sand it down? and how will you get it clear again?

You get it clear again as the very last step, by wet sanding with very fine sandpaper, and finally polishing with jeweler's rouge or toothpaste.

I'm going to do the whole thing on the lathe. Turning down the taper is a little tricky, but doable. There are a couple of different methods, and I'm going to do a little studying before I pick which way I do it. Then I'll screw it up, and do it the other way. Then I'll screw that up, and decide the first way would've worked if I'd stuck with it. Hence four feet of acrylic.

(Well, that, and it's the minimum order for that diameter at e-street plastics.)

 

[Sean]

Re: John Long Phaser 1 Kit Buildup plus MM P2 Restoration

You get it clear again as the very last step, by wet sanding with very fine sandpaper, and finally polishing with jeweler's rouge or toothpaste.

I'm going to do the whole thing on the lathe. Turning down the taper is a little tricky, but doable. There are a couple of different methods, and I'm going to do a little studying before I pick which way I do it. Then I'll screw it up, and do it the other way. Then I'll screw that up, and decide the first way would've worked if I'd stuck with it. Hence four feet of acrylic.

steps one and two I know quite well. wait one worked better oh dammit it was two. or was it one...pulls whats left of hair out and creates a third process...:lol

 

[asalaw]

Re: John Long Phaser 1 Kit Buildup plus MM P2 Restoration

Hey, whaddaya know? I actually did make it to the shop today! Yay! I got a bit farther along dealing with the acrylic emitter, and though I didn't produce a finished piece yet, I did solve a lot of problems, and I'm much closer to the endgame.

First thing I did was set up the lathe, and yet again I spent two hours fighting with it. That particular lathe is getting cantankerous, making the speed and auto-feed gears very difficult to set properly. Then I had to tighten down the tailstock, and then set up my tooling, and finally get to work. Or at least bravely attempting to work.

But I was getting chatter again, and I still couldn't see why. So I just said frackit and started drilling.

So here's where I got to last time. This is the emitter that came with the old nozzle. The one I got from John has mysteriously vanished, but it looks about the same as this. I was getting really bad chatter while drilling, and you can see the cracks I mentioned in yesterday's post.



So I figured I'd have better results drilling it before turning it down. Enter my four feet of rod:


The hell did you think I meant?

I took one to the bandsaw, and cut it into four sections, 3-ish inches apiece. Next thing was to make the little center divot thingy.


The Acme Center Divot Thingy 3000
in action.

As part of my lifelong effort to evolve into something smarter than a Klingon dingleberry -- or maybe even smarterer! -- I chose to start with the smallest bit possible. That one broke, so I switched sides and got a slightly biggerer one.

Here's a tip: When putting a bit in a chuck, whether it be a lathe, a mill, or your drill, insert it so that the longest flute is just a hair ahead of the tip of the jaws. The goal is to have the best possible grip on the bit. If it's too far out, it'll wobble, and if it's too far in, the flutes will rob the chuck jaws of critical surface area, resulting in a weaker grip. You can probably get away with it if you're just drilling holes in sheetrock, but anything tougher than that and you're in for trouble.



So once I had my bit in place, I commenced to drillin'.


Sadly, no, not her.


I meant this:



I went with low speed again, and it seemed to be working okay. I even found a fast and easy way of taking off the melted acrylic from the bit:



Way more betterer.

The hole came out okay, though the piece cracked for reasons I hadn't figured out yet. But I would pretty damn soon...



Once I had the hole drilled, it was time to flip the piece around and drill from the other side, so the two holes would meet in the middle, just like the Chunnel dig!


Uh... or not.

WTF???



I had a wobble.


I SAID WOBBLE, *********!!!

And that turned out to be the source of every problem I've been having. The damn chuck was actually wobbling my workpiece, so I was never getting a straight cut. So I did the unthinkable...

Something I've never done, something way outside my comfort zone...

I switched to the other lathe, a couple of feet away.


Gosh, Mr. Fishfinger, I'd love to travel someday!

And holy crap!!

That fixed everything!

The gears clicked right into place, the tailstock was perfect, and the chuck turned true.

Sorry, Lathe 1, I'm kickin' you to the curb. Lathe 2 is my new dream lady.


Pictured: Not Lathe 1, I hope.

So I tested the lathe on a piece of scrap brass rod, and the results were much better. I shot this through my magnifying glass, since I forgot my phone lenses. The bright section in the center is done on Lathe 2, and the rest of it was done on Lathe 1. Big difference.



The YouTube tutorials I saw this morning called for very high speeds, as high as 2000 RPM. So I set the gears for 1800, and off to work I got. And made a fµçking Q-tip.



Whaaa...?

Not at all sure what happened here, so I've got to serve more time on YouTube and other tutorials on turning acrylic.

By now time was running out on my day, so I flipped the piece over and tried a much lower speed and got better results.

But I shoved the live center into the piece too hard, and it cracked as soon as it started turning. Man, brass and aluminum are easy, but acrylic is a cruel mistress.


Pfft. Amateurs.

But I kept going -- might as well see if I can get a good finish, right? So I started at 180 grit, which gave me a smooth surface, then worked my up through 320, 600 wet, 1000 wet, 1500 wet, and finally 2000 wet. The 2000 really gets it clear. Then I took it out to the bike repair area and used the buffing wheel (I didn't feel like breaking out my dremel), and it came out looking really nice. Just about completely clear.
.



This last photo is a closeup of today's piece. Left of the black stripe is untouched. Right of the black stripe is sanded and polished. So I've got that part working. All that's left is to get a properly turned piece without breaking anything.


Yes, including that.

 

[robn1]

Re: John Long Phaser 1 Kit Buildup plus MM P2 Restoration

Your results here look a lot like what I had drilling it on the drill press. No matter how slow I went, or how much cutting oil I used, there was just too much friction. Even my best results had that rough frosted inner surface (best results meaning the rod didn't crack or melt to goo).

I've been wondering if a narrow boring bit may not work better than a drill bit? It would reduce the surface contact for less friction.

 

[asalaw]

Re: John Long Phaser 1 Kit Buildup plus MM P2 Restoration

Your results here look a lot like what I had drilling it on the drill press. No matter how slow I went, or how much cutting oil I used, there was just too much friction. Even my best results had that rough frosted inner surface (best results meaning the rod didn't crack or melt to goo).

I've been wondering if a narrow boring bit may not work better than a drill bit? It would reduce the surface contact for less friction.

That makes perfect sense. I wouldn't try it on a drill press for just that reason, at least the ones at the shop. They have worse wobble than my dremel.

I think you're right about the boring bit, though I don't know if they make them that small. I'm going to look more thoroughly into this. Not only is it much harder than I thought, but there are so many props done in turned acrylic that this is worth a lot of practice and attention.

One thing's clear, I absolutely must get my tools out of my POD unit. They're brand new indexing bits, with carbide tips and a couple of high-speed steel replacement tips, plus some nice, thin parting tools. I never should have stored them there, but there's something about making stupid choices that appeals to my inner Charlie Brown. Or is that Chris Brown? One of those.

 

[asalaw]

Re: John Long Phaser 1 Kit Buildup plus MM P2 Restoration

Just found this thread online: Tips for drilling acrylic rod.

So for starters, I'm using the wrong acrylic, and I'm getting exactly the same results described in that thread. So I need to switch to cast acrylic versus extruded. Also you need lots of cooling fluid, and to go even slower than I was going. The good news is there's a few things I'd already figured out and was doing right, such as starting with small bits and working up, and pulling out the bit every few millimeters to clear the chips.

So here's my latest evil plan: I'm going to concentrate on finishing the brass piece, which is doable even without my own tool bits, and continue with the metal parts of the internals for the pistol, meanwhile gathering better bits, the right acrylic, and so on. I absolutely do not want the emitter to take over this thread for four weeks -- I'd rather sum it up in one or two posts when it's done.


Same thing we do every night, Pinky -- try to get
a clear finish!

 

[robn1]

Re: John Long Phaser 1 Kit Buildup plus MM P2 Restoration

I looked for cast rod and found nothing under 1 inch. It can be milled down but man that's a lot of waste.

 

[asalaw]

Re: John Long Phaser 1 Kit Buildup plus MM P2 Restoration

You can find it smaller than that. I got it from ePlastics. I ordered two feet of 0.375".

 

[quarryman]

Re: John Long Phaser 1 Kit Buildup plus MM P2 Restoration

I remember when the local laser engraver was doing some etching and cutting for me, the difference between cast and extruded became an issue. The heat of the laser would cause micro cracks in the extruded, and he recommended cast from the start. But that was working with sheet, and you said you didn't have any problem with your...what....radiator spacers? I used a lathe when I made my emitters; I'm sure I used extruded and they turned out ok. I only remember a problem when I allowed any number of chips to stay in the bore while I was cutting. If ANY chips built up inside there when the spindle was turning, they would gall up against the sides and wreck the bore. I cleared chips about every .100" or so. I think I used a lot of water based cutting fluid too, and kept it slow. For what it's worth..

 

[asalaw]

Re: John Long Phaser 1 Kit Buildup plus MM P2 Restoration

I remember when the local laser engraver was doing some etching and cutting for me, the difference between cast and extruded became an issue. The heat of the laser would cause micro cracks in the extruded, and he recommended cast from the start. But that was working with sheet, and you said you didn't have any problem with your...what....radiator spacers? I used a lathe when I made my emitters; I'm sure I used extruded and they turned out ok. I only remember a problem when I allowed any number of chips to stay in the bore while I was cutting. If ANY chips built up inside there when the spindle was turning, they would gall up against the sides and wreck the bore. I cleared chips about every .100" or so. I think I used a lot of water based cutting fluid too, and kept it slow. For what it's worth..

All incredibly helpful--thanks.

I did have some issues with the extruded sheet at smaller sizes, so I was unable to laser cut the rear ribs under the 10-turn knob. The larger stuff like the fin spacers came out okay.

No sense not trying out your idea, after all I still have 3+ feet of the extruded. I have three other old nozzles, so it would be nice to have more than one emitter when I'm done.

 

[asalaw]

Re: John Long Phaser 1 Kit Buildup plus MM P2 Restoration

Well, my cast rods haven't arrived yet, so it looks like tomorrow I'll be focusing on the brass slide and possibly taking another crack at the acrylic emitter with the extruded stuff. I've also got two small (and thankfully very cheap!) items on the way for my next build, a pair of hero tricorders. I've had all the materials since last year, and collecting the materials for my 44" Eagle is going very slowly, so the tricorders are the next logical choice.

EDIT -- Forgot to mention, when I get my tools out of storage on Monday, one of the things I'll be retrieving is my high-speed steel tool blanks. I've decided I'm going to grind a custom tool to make the emitter taper, which will be much easier than using a regular cutting tool and trying to get the correct angle while cranking it through the cut by hand. Tried that when I wanted to try making a McCoy instrument, and while it worked, it was a pain in the ass and hard to get consistent results.

Definitely shows what kind of stress I was under when I was moving that I even thought to store that stuff in the first place. At least the good news is that I get to spend part of my Monday off humping boxes. Though maybe I shouldn't assume the boxes will be in the mood for that...

 

[asalaw]

Re: John Long Phaser 1 Kit Buildup plus MM P2 Restoration

Just got back from Techshop, and I'm ecstatic! Great day today with my hot new GF, Lathe 2.

I finally got the brass slider for the emitter turned properly, and I'm really delighted with it. I need to mill it to make a groove for the P1 receiver to solder into, but the turning is done.

So I started out with a very short piece of brass. It was just after 12, when I was young and naïve, a full six hours younger than I would be at... um... six, I guess. Anyway, my youthful arrogance bit me in the ass, but it could've been worse.



Yes, here I am actually trying to save
30¢ worth of brass.


I hate it when they notice.

But at least I did get the operation order figured out before the inevitable train wreck.

So I started off with a facing pass, partly because it's what I was taught, but mostly because I like making metal pretty.

Then I got the tiniest Divot Thingy 3000 I could find, and made my divot for drilling.



So as always, I started with a very small bit and pulled out every few millimeters. The key here is lots of lube.


Just like my wedding night.

And then I walked up the bit sizes till I had the right size hole.



So then I was ready to implement my new idea. I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I was going to insert a 1/8" tube in there to make a pin that would help make a stronger glue joint with the acrylic emitter. But then it hit me -- why do that, when I can just turn down the end a bit? So much easier!

So, now I was ready to go for it. I set up to do it with the parting tool, but I'd stop short of actually cutting the end off, and be left with a little insert.


And for some reason, right about here
I started craving matzoh ball soup.

So then this happened.




Yep! That's what I get for having way more of my workpiece protruding than I had actually in the chuck, and with no live center to stabilize it.


Hopeless putz you are. Up I give.

But as we used to say in the biz...


Okay, great rehearsal people, let's do another one but
way less §hiƬƬ¥! Bill, love ya, babe. Suck that thing
in. You look like you ate Scotty.

Back in a little bit with the success story...

 

[asalaw]

Re: John Long Phaser 1 Kit Buildup plus MM P2 Restoration

And we're back from commercial.

Last time, on a very special Party of Five...

So this time I went with a longer piece of brass. I also reversed the operation, and decided to turn it first, then part it, then drill it, since once it was parted, I'd have a very short piece again.

But the tool I had, while it looked okay to my eye, was giving me a crappy finish. So I took it to the grinder, sharpened it up a tad, and this time it was awesome. Below you can see the difference just sharpening your tool a bit can make. Forward of the tool (toward the tailstock) is the finish before sharpening the tool, and behind the tool is the pass I made after sharpening. Huge difference.



After a few passes, taking off just a few thousandths at a time, I was very close to the right fit:



And after just one more pass, I was there:



So I parted it, and discovered my parting tool was a bit low of center:



But that didn't make any difference, since I was about to drill out the center anyway. I just flipped it around in the chuck, and that little thingy got drilled right out the back.

Once again, I went with my Diet Pepsi can shims:


I suppose a Diet Coke can would work, but YMMV.


I walked up the drill bit sizes as with the previous piece. And then I came in with my (properly aligned this time) parting tool and made the insert for the emitter:



There will be a corresponding inset in the back of the emitter, so that should make a nice strong joint come epoxy time.



Finally, here it is in sexy poses with the inside piece of the nozzle:



So that's it for turning this piece. Next week, I'll be milling a slot into it, and cutting and soldering the brass bar for the part that engages the P1 emitter.

And one last thing, almost a throw-away. I grabbed a few of my watch crowns and measured them. I have a pretty good number of blue ones, but I've seen that it'll be easier to turn a few of these and put in my own bullet cabochons in red, yellow, and green than it is to find the right color watch crowns (for the tricorder project after this). So I just thought I'd post the measurements here for giggles:



Why aren't you giggling?