So the first two runs are practically done; however, I am not. The work continues.
While I wait for everyone to get out of the holiday slump, I've been experimenting on an earlier cast when I was working with extruded metal. What I've been doing is seeing if I can refine the work done on the booster on the V2's a bit more.
What I've been doing recently is machining the entire surface of the cast hilts down to a V2 to clean it. While I like the results, and it feels right, when it comes to the booster, it isn't
exactly as it is in the photos of it recently. My current abilities leave it sitting near flush with the clamp while in the photos, there's a small lip. I know I can't replicate exact details to the real things, it's not feasible, I can get close---I know I can.
And it's not just replicating a detail...It's understanding why. Why was it done and what was it to accomplish?
I know the booster on the V2 is machined, comparing it to the raw casts and the V3 pretty much spells it out. If it was left untouched as the V3's is, once the clamp section is appropriately cut to size, one side of the booster would jet out farther than the other; a definite show of how uneven and wonky these cast hilts are.
I currently cut the booster down so the entire surface is even but that leaves me with my current oddity. This is my current test cast with cutting down the one side that jets out disproportionately, but not low enough to be even with the smallest side. Any part of the surface that isn't clean, I take a rasp and sandpaper to. These are the results:
- The pic on the left show the side with the lowest profile while the right shows its opposite side.
I've not got an extra clamp to fit on this to see how this compares with the V2 and V3 I have on hand for myself, but if this works out, I'll see if I can't apply this technique to other cast hilts and see how they fare (though, depending on each one's idiosyncrasies, the results may vary).
Also, some of you keen-eyed might be wondering, "That cast looks pretty good. Why is it being used as a test cast?"
Answer: Because it's made with extruded aluminium and not casting aluminium.
What's the difference? Loads, but I'm not well-versed in all of this yet to explain it all.
For the sake of this project, I will say that the extruded alu's finish and patina doesn't end up resembling the real deal like the photos show, and more importantly, extruded alu shrinks a great deal. In comparison to the casting alu, cast alu shrinks ~6%, whereas extruded shrinks ~9-11%. So quite a considerable amount.
Here's a couple photos to show the color difference. Notice the bright, white-gold finish on the extruded alu test cast in comparison to the duller gray of the casting alu V3 next to it.
Extruded alu, once cast, also results in heavier "orange-peel" texture on the surface, it's softer, and not as mechanically strong as it was when it was extruded. Things that the casting alu has great improvements over. The only plus I've seen with the extruded alu over the casting alu in my previous castings is that extruded alu has
far fewer blemishes than the casting alu picks up. The only problem is that it shrinks a great deal...and is weaker...and not the right color...
Although I've switched to using casting alu and believe this is what the originals were made of, I've yet to rule out the possibility of these being made of extruded aluminium either. The possibility that they were is just the same as the casting alu. It is just as likely that the prop dept and the people tasked in making the stunt hilts didn't have materials on hand to make these, and used what was around the shop used for general construction---extruded aluminium---to cast the stunts; as it is that they made these from the salvage material from aircrafts and automobiles. Unless the originals are ever subject to metallurgical analyses, the world may never know.
One thing I'd also like to further experiment with once I get my fuel tank replenished is the V3's clamp section. I know it the clamp section is turned down but it's cut less then the V2's diameter and it is cut a little bit longer into the booster. There's still some things I want to try.
(If I can steal a photo from
vadermania project thread)