Machined Terminator endo arm progress thread
- Thread starter SwampDonkey
- Start date
DaleSabers
Active Member
As the governator would say "Now pay close attention" which I'll most certainly do.
SwampDonkey
Well-Known Member
First off, THANKS GUYS!!!
Now, some progress: I left the carpels in the vibratory polisher with a mix of walnut shell and ceramic microbeads for 12 hours for final finishing. They look better than I would have ever hoped. The surface is very clean and smooth, but not mirror polished. AFter they are brazed to the palm plate, the whole thing will get a once over and then polished to a chrome-like finish.
I really had to address the issue of what I call the "servo horns" (since they likda look like servo horns) that attach to the base of the knuckle and give it its side to side movement. Anyway, they kept popping off. No matter what I did, no matter what glue I used, they wound simply snap off during handling. Here's a shot of me trying to JB weld the things on:
...They would still detach if I looked at them funny. I tossed them into the vibratory polisher and they all detached, so I had to dig all the pieces out and cuss and kick things. It was time to get serious...
Holes were drilled and tapped through the servo horn and into the knuckle base.
The holes were filled with JB weld and screwed down with 3mm machine screws. The heads of the screws will be machined flat. Hopefully this does the trick.
Now they can be polished and finished...finally
Now, some progress: I left the carpels in the vibratory polisher with a mix of walnut shell and ceramic microbeads for 12 hours for final finishing. They look better than I would have ever hoped. The surface is very clean and smooth, but not mirror polished. AFter they are brazed to the palm plate, the whole thing will get a once over and then polished to a chrome-like finish.
I really had to address the issue of what I call the "servo horns" (since they likda look like servo horns) that attach to the base of the knuckle and give it its side to side movement. Anyway, they kept popping off. No matter what I did, no matter what glue I used, they wound simply snap off during handling. Here's a shot of me trying to JB weld the things on:
...They would still detach if I looked at them funny. I tossed them into the vibratory polisher and they all detached, so I had to dig all the pieces out and cuss and kick things. It was time to get serious...
Holes were drilled and tapped through the servo horn and into the knuckle base.
The holes were filled with JB weld and screwed down with 3mm machine screws. The heads of the screws will be machined flat. Hopefully this does the trick.
Now they can be polished and finished...finally
Conqueror_Worm
Sr Member
This is looking really good! I can't wait to see how the 'palm' portion turns out. This might be a silly question, but why didn't you machine the servo horn and the knuckle as one piece? Would it add too much work, or waste too much material?
SwampDonkey
Well-Known Member
Ya know, thats a good question about the servo horn (as I've come to call it). As im sure you know, there's some pretty sharp 90 degree planes intersecting where the "horn" and "knuckle" meet. Using an endmill, even a very tiny one, would have left rounded corners and a definite innacuracy at the intersection of those planes. Myself and other capable members have tried glue of all sorts and it just isnt secure, so far as I know. I want this hand to be capable of some real grip pressure, so 2 1/8" steel bolts were used in place of glue. The results were pretty good I think
Here's some pics after a few hours in the vibratory polisher:
SwampDonkey
Well-Known Member
And here's the arm cuff and elbow I'll be using as a base. Ive had these for about 10 years or so, but dont seem to be warped or damaged in any way. Of course, they will be cleaned up, primed, sanded, details restored, etc. Also, this is a left arm elbow, so it will have to be cut apart and switched around. Anything that can be machined, will be.
SwampDonkey
Well-Known Member
Experimenting with some feeds/ speeds and really trying to nail these fingertips. How do you guys think they look? Keep in mind these are fresh off the mill and havent been sanded, polished, or finished.
This curve was a HUGE pain to mill, much more so than one might imagine.
This curve was a HUGE pain to mill, much more so than one might imagine.
Spellbot5000
New Member
This is just great! The Endo-Arm has always been a grail piece for me, and all you can really find out there these days are overpriced Sideshows and terrible recasts. The fact that you're going above and beyond and making a fully articulated model is just mind blowing.
Damn, if I had the money I'd be all over the kit you're putting together.
Damn, if I had the money I'd be all over the kit you're putting together.
SwampDonkey
Well-Known Member
Some shots of the thumb being made, and some random pics. I really need to go take a bunch more pics and show how far things have come.
gyoung2993
Sr Member
If I could afford one of those , I would........wow.......you make me want to sell my kidney, arm and a leg.....fantastic job.....
Spellbot5000
New Member
I will gladly sell Gyoung's kidney's, arms, legs, whatever body parts really, if they can get me a discount on one of these arms.
gyoung2993
Sr Member
lol:lol......:thumbsupSwampDonkey
Well-Known Member
Hey guys,
Just a little update, I'll have some pics up later tonight:
I'll start by saying that you will likely be dissapointed if you were expecting a metal version of the Sideshow, Icons, Thai recast, etc. Those are all fine and dandy but are not cast directly from the "Hero" arm used in the "arm peel" scene in T2 and the climatic battle scene in T3 (where the T800 grabs the TX's arm and snaps it, the original and ONLY animatronic, metal T800 was refurbished and used). The hero arm is a fair bit more complex, and has rounded knuckles, cable anchors on the finger-tips, reliefs milled into the knuckles for " finger-opening" springs, and other little gems I discovered while researching for this build.
Thanks for the interest!
Just a little update, I'll have some pics up later tonight:
I'll start by saying that you will likely be dissapointed if you were expecting a metal version of the Sideshow, Icons, Thai recast, etc. Those are all fine and dandy but are not cast directly from the "Hero" arm used in the "arm peel" scene in T2 and the climatic battle scene in T3 (where the T800 grabs the TX's arm and snaps it, the original and ONLY animatronic, metal T800 was refurbished and used). The hero arm is a fair bit more complex, and has rounded knuckles, cable anchors on the finger-tips, reliefs milled into the knuckles for " finger-opening" springs, and other little gems I discovered while researching for this build.
Thanks for the interest!
Actually, that's not correct. There was more than one arm. Hit me up if you'd like a little info.
Last edited:
SwampDonkey
Well-Known Member
WarPig
Master Member
....at which point, they were quickly whisked to Roswell, New Mexico - Area 51 - to observe the alien technology...
OOPS! Wrong movie!! :lol
Ah man. I'd love to hear a out the arm variations! Please post the story if possible.
Nick
Nick
SwampDonkey
Well-Known Member
Hey Nick, I think it was back in 03-05 or so when I had a guy on ebay tell me this during a (bad, if memory serves me) conversation with a guy in California who was auctioning off a machined terminator hand (not arm, just the hand). He wanted ten grand for the thing and only had two blurry photos of it.
I was on a board that preceded "endobuilders" (cant remember its name) which is still active. I spoke with the group about it and had someone tell me SWS had two machined out of house but it may have been a prototype or something. The only pics I saw were of it posed giving the finger. Its been over a decade so my memory is fuzzy, but I distinctly remember being told that only a right and left hand were machined, then molds made from those to produce all the hands for the rest of the endoskeletons used in T2. The left arm was supposedly the "hero" that had full range of motion and was used in the scenes I mentioned. The right arm is in someones office im sure...The left was recently auctioned off for $94,000 or so.
But I could be wrong.
Edit:
Ive been down with some mystery illness, but put everything we have so far together to make sure it all fit correctly. It did (whew!).
I was on a board that preceded "endobuilders" (cant remember its name) which is still active. I spoke with the group about it and had someone tell me SWS had two machined out of house but it may have been a prototype or something. The only pics I saw were of it posed giving the finger. Its been over a decade so my memory is fuzzy, but I distinctly remember being told that only a right and left hand were machined, then molds made from those to produce all the hands for the rest of the endoskeletons used in T2. The left arm was supposedly the "hero" that had full range of motion and was used in the scenes I mentioned. The right arm is in someones office im sure...The left was recently auctioned off for $94,000 or so.
But I could be wrong.
Edit:
Ive been down with some mystery illness, but put everything we have so far together to make sure it all fit correctly. It did (whew!).
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