Machined Terminator endo arm progress thread

[SwampDonkey]

Well folks, if this is going to happen its going to happen here. This will be the progress thread showing how the kit is being made. As with the Alien Warrior head, I would appreciate as much input from you guys as possible
Its going to be a fully functional terminator endo arm capable of everything seen in the "arm peel" scene from T2.
Every one of the 100+ pieces will be made in aluminum and stainless steel, moulded and cast in heavy (and hard) mineral impregnated resin for a limited number of kits for you guys and gals.

Ive toyed around with my ebay recast kit a bit and tried to upscale it to "Arnold size" to compensate for the recast of a recast shrinkage. I made a few "full size" pistons and knuckles but my mill/ lathe is as bad as it gets....the Central Machinery 5980 from China. It cant cut a straight line and finally the entire mill burned up last week. But here's a few parts ive made despite the shortcomings of the equipment:

But this is where its gonna happen folks This will be the progress thread. Hopefully many of you will chime in and contribute to the effort to get this produced. Should be exciting!

 

[T2SF]

Nice work so far, I always love the endo arm

 

[SwampDonkey]

Nice work so far, I always love the endo arm

The pistons are acceptable (with a bit of polishing) but the Knuckles wont make it to the kit im sure. I have everything I need except for the mill so im doing the same deal i did with the Aliens head and am collecting deposits to get the needed equipment and materials. The interest thread is in the Junkyard.
The lathe part of my CM 5980 is still working and I can get the tolerances I need out of it with a bit of finesse and familiarity I have with the machine. Gots to have me a new mill to get going though

Edit: The fingertip shown is a great example of why my machine sucked so hard. I was machining the recessed curve of the finger tip when the machine's vibrations caused the draw-bar to shimmy loose, the end mill cut deep into the aluminum before catching and wrenching the piece out of the vice. The machine would loosen spontaneously during a careful cut and any attempt to tighten it during a cut would throw off the tolerances and ruin the piece. The milling portion of the CM 5980 is a handy boat anchor or door stop though. The lathe works well enough though.

Maybe Rylo or Jamster would be kind enough to give me some tips

 

[T2SF]

The round external knuckle pieces were a off the shelf part right? Might save you some time there.

 

[SwampDonkey]

The round external knuckle pieces were a off the shelf part right? Might save you some time there.

I actually doubt it. I made mine on a lathe but Ive seen others use a type of washer (I think its called a "cup washer") that gets close, but not quite right.

 

[jkno]

A full metal endo arm is something I always wanted. Will follow this thread for sure :thumbsup

 

[SwampDonkey]

Im BACK!!!! I know its been a while, but work on this project has been progressing in the shadows. This is a HARD project, as the experienced machinists who have attempted it will tell you. I stepped into it without really knowing what the learning curve is like when getting into precision machining...Its none. There is no learning curve lol. One mistake, and the part you've been working on for 3 hrs+ goes into the scrap bin. The first parts I made last year were terrible, they got better with better equipment and much bugging of an incredibly skilled individual in Austin who makes tiny working engines as a hobby. That was the first real breakthrough in my level of skill, and confidence in this project.
I had some fairly nice parts based on what I thought were correct measurements extrapolated from scaling up a resin kit slightly. This led to some problems with proportion but was only somewhat evident when compared to my photo reference. THEN, another breakthrough. A member of this forum put me in contact with someone who owns some original parts, machined from aluminum. I was able to get a few questions answered along with some really key measurements that set v2.0 on the right track. Here's a few pics:

My "shop"

An unusable finger (based on faulty measurements). Great practice though!

A peice in a jig, along with an unusable part in the background.

Usable part, unfinished compared to kit part.

In progress

Usable parts, unfinished

Reference

 

[ONEYE]

Cool, I'm watching.

 

[SwampDonkey]

Oh I couldnt help it, the peices looked like crap with the scratched up blue layout dye on em. I gave them a once over with the rough buffing wheel on my grinder for a nice finish. Far from done but so far so good. All surfaces will be polished and free from tool marks when done.
Also, this thing is huge! Arnold had some banana hands.

 

[jkno]

Damn, this looks very promising. Great!! :thumbsup

 

[ChevyM14]

very nice work, I know how hard this is and it is coming out great! keep up the good work.

 

[SwampDonkey]

very nice work, I know how hard this is and it is coming out great! keep up the good work.

Thanks Chevy, seeing your very professional work on your own arm was one of the things that inspired me to continue with this project.
I'm no machinist. Last month i had never seen layout dye, an edge finder, or a dial indicator, nor could I center square stock in a 4-jaw. I figure Ive ruined 100+ pieces during my learning process. Its amazingly frustrating and knowing people do this for a living impresses the hell out of me.
Tomorrow I should have 4 more finger pieces to show.

 

[adrenalin rush]

Wow! You are doing to great job! Let me know if you want to laser a skynet logo onto it somewhere. It would add a great touch of realism to it.

 

[SwampDonkey]

Wow! You are doing to great job! Let me know if you want to laser a skynet logo onto it somewhere. It would add a great touch of realism to it.

Thats not a bad idea. How about "Series 800- Model 101" and a bar code or something under it? If I can find my damn camera charger I'll post some updates. I also did some experimenting with Alumiweld, which is a super strong aluminum brazing material. I should be able to attach the carpals to the metacarpals using this instead of a weld. Im almost sure thats how it was done at SWS with the original.

 

[SXRDROCKS]

Awesome work!!!

 

[gyoung2993]

OK ,NOW YOU'VE GOT MY ATTENTION....LOL ..where you live at again ??????????????....hahaha....beautiful work.......Guy

 

[ONEYE]

Ooooh! I'm loving this!

 

[Adammickey]

You said something about kits. How much do thin none will end up?

 

[SwampDonkey]

Oh, here's a bit of progress. I have a bit more done but this was handy

 

[toothboy]

Yo Marty! I sent you an email a week or so ago; let me know if you didn't get it and I'll resend it. Following this thread with GREAT interest!!