Done / Completed Metal fifth element ZF-1 upgrade kit for Jake's kit

[eethan]

Hello there,
I did a lot of not so fun things today, mostly precisely measured holes and threading parts and stuff... but it's good that it's done! I'll show how I threaded the flame thrower parts to go perfectly straight onto the clippard parts later on, I didn't take enough photos to explain.

on top of that, I started preparing material for when I hopefully receive the mill and can start on the not lathe related parts. cutting 12mm thick aluminium into very small rectangles also take time!

cheers

 

[Bengrim09]

Very very nice work eethan, you should be very proud of the work your turning out. Phenomenal work
BTW My wife now hates you !!!
You have made me spend on her credit card for a new PCB for my little lathe as I now have the bug to start turning some metal for a couple of builds
She doesn’t know I need some new cutting tools yet

 

[eethan]

oh no Bengrim! I'm doing those runs because I love doing it and to make people happy, certainly not to be hated by people's wifes!
well at least I'm happy that it motivated you to fire up you lathe again

ok guys, so here is my small explanation on how I did the threading by hand but with the help of the lathe for a perfect alignment:

ok, appart from that, I continued on the non fun stuff to do and threaded all the holes for the ice cube system, 3 of them per piece. then I tested and attached each part to my own ZF-1 to make sure they fit perfectly! that was a fun moment putting then removing 36 screws.
here you can see how the holes are perfectly aligned with the ZF-1 frame, although it's not easy to hold a piece by hand and take a photo from the other hand on a smartphone...

and here with both screws:

oh yeah, and my ZF-1 is pretty much stripped at this point, I should post a photo when I get a chance of its current condition, pretty fun

at this point, the run is well advanced (60% approximatively and most of the lathe work is done, just waiting on receiving the mill...) and most problems are solved, you can't imagine how much things have to be thought about, tested, solved. How many things have to be found at the best price, purchased in bulk to try to save some money to all the buyers on the run... I think I have ordered the last piece yesterday, some small 10-32 bolts that I'll use to attach the very small 3rd clippard part at the bottom of the tubular MPA-3 part. I bought a huge job lot of clippard part at the time that included 11 MPA-3 parts and 11 of the small L fittings that go at the bottom but they didn't come with the special screw that go in there, so I had to find small bolts that I will modify slightly with the mill to make them perfectly accurate. That was the best way to have a big bulk order and save for everyone on the found parts.

speaking of found parts, I'm unclear if some of you guys wanted to get the gaz torch directly from me already unassembled and attached to the ZF-1 support? if that is the case, I'll need an idea of how many I need to purchase. I think the best way would be that I send a group PM to all of those registered here and ask you to respond if you want one.

cheers

 

[Jamesfett]

You and Jake are the Masamune of ZF-1 Building

Gorō Nyūdō Masamune (c.1264–1343), was a medieval Japanese blacksmith widely acclaimed as Japan's greatest swordsmith.

 

[eethan]

Hello there,

today, I did the ice cube system support tubes.
here is the 3D match to a ref:

without the 3D, to see a bit better the details that I reproduced, including the two small lines at the top and inferior third:

and here are the parts

I hope you'll like them
cheers

 

[Generalurko]

These look awesome! So how do these all attach together? Do we have to epoxy them? Or are you going to add threads at some point, like you did with the torch?
Keep up the jaw-dropping work!

P.S. I'll probably buy my own torch, as long as it's clear how it attaches.

 

[eethan]

These look awesome! So how do these all attach together? Do we have to epoxy them? Or are you going to add threads at some point, like you did with the torch?
Keep up the jaw-dropping work!

P.S. I'll probably buy my own torch, as long as it's clear how it attaches.

hey,
the ice cube system itself will be in one piece when you receive it. the whole thing will be held by one single long screw that goes through the tubes that I showed just above today, those are actually tubes for that purpose, not round stock I'll show later how I attach it, but I still need to buy screws for that next time I'm in town and I'm still waiting for the mill to do the 8 holes in the front part.

most of the parts will thread to the frame of the ZF-1. everything is very straightforward and works accordingly to Jakes explainations on his videos. the only glue required might be for the yellow and red button, that's it

 

[Park]

Wow, I missed this before. Amazing work! Is an open spot still available?

 

[eethan]

Wow, I missed this before. Amazing work! Is an open spot still available?

hey,
there are no reservations, they will be for sale on my website when they are ready I'll just let people from the list know a bit in advance to be fair to them.
so far, I have 16 on the list and 18 kits in preparation, so you should be covered
cheers

 

[Park]

Cool, put me down on the list if I'm not there already. About how much will the shipping cost be to the US, do you think?

 

[eethan]

Cool, put me down on the list if I'm not there already. About how much will the shipping cost be to the US, do you think?

thank you for your interest

I'm not sure about the shipping cost yet as I haven't weighted the whole thing and package and all, but since this project included parts that are more than 3cm thick, I have to use a normal package (I normally use an option from the French post that is much cheaper for less than 3cm thick packages). So depending on weight, 1 or 2kg, for the US it will cost 38€ or 52€. I know it's pretty expensive, sorry. I think the French post is still quite cheap internationally though.

for people in Europe, it will be either 19.5€ or 22€
in the UK, 23€ or 25.6€

cheers

 

[eethan]

Hey there,
I started working on the red button contour rings today, which are the last parts that need to be turned.
well, this was supposed to be an easy part and I didn't put much time for them in the planning but they are turning out to be a lot more difficult than anticipated!

but this is worth it I think, this is a small upgrade but it has a good visual impact on the gun I think
I'm starting from the closest tube I could find in size from my supplier, but there is a bit more waste that I usualy have on the outside sadly:

the reason they are more difficult than anticipated is that I need to enlarge a bit the inside of the tube until it fits the red button tightly, then remove 3mm of diameter from the outside. and I'm working with length of 10cm and doing 3 or 4 rings on it, then taking another piece of 10cm and starting over. The is the only way I have to do that as the tube is too large to fit inside the center hole of the lathe chuck and I can't have much more than those 10 cm as it starts being dangerous to work with after that.

here it is almost done, just need to cut it from the tube:

and here are two finished ones with a real red button and with the 3D printed red button.
I'm making them so they fit tightly the printed buttons and it works well, however, the inside is a bit large for the real button. but this shouldn't be a problem is someone wants to replace the printed button with a real one.
the back is turned to the good size to fit the hole in the ZF-1 frame but this is one of those parts that will require maybe a tiny adjustment to your own frame and some glue to make sure it stays on. Just the same way Jake intended it to work with the printed or resin parts

I'll go more into detail with the red buttons another time. explaining a bit the real red buttons and the two I'll have for sale on my website when the kits are ready.
I hope you like it.
cheers

 

[eethan]

Hello guys,

ok, so the red button rings are done it was basically on schedule in the end, just got a bit scared by the first ones that are always a bit slower.
and here is an overall view of the run at this point, starting to take some room!

additionally, it would seem that my new mill has finally been sent this afternoon, i have no tracking number though but I expect the carrier will contact me directly for an appointment as it's obviously a big heavy package.
so, let's hope everything goes smoothly for that and that I can install it without any issues. But I think we are overall on time and the kits should be ready early March

I'll be sending a group PM regarding the gaz torch and red buttons and will try to figure out later the best way to put that for sale as there will be several options for the kits and it might be a bit complicated to organize all that...
cheers

 

[Generalurko]

What's the question regarding the Red Button? Not sure what you're offering. Is this something more than the ring you built above (#9 on your offering on pg 1)? Do you have photos showing what it is and what the difference is with what Jake's providing in the kit?

 

[eethan]

What's the question regarding the Red Button? Not sure what you're offering. Is this something more than the ring you built above (#9 on your offering on pg 1)? Do you have photos showing what it is and what the difference is with what Jake's providing in the kit?

real fonctional red buttons, as seen in the bottom left corner of the photo above. and in the previous post in close up compared to the printed version
I'll explain all that in the PM

 

[Jordicus]

Absolutely amazing work eethan !!! Can't wait to get my hands on a kit!

 

[eethan]

Hey guys,
I worked on implementing real red buttons into the kit today and it was not a piece of cake! still have a few issues to work out but here they are with their respective custom bezels!

details can be found on the WIP thread:

Upgrading with metal parts Jake's ZF-1 kit

Absolutely phenomenal work eethan, just started to convert part of my garage with my sons help, this lathe work your turning out has got me fired up to get mine up and running again Nothing like new shiny turned metal

www.therpf.com

No idea yet if and how this can make it into the run because of all the trouble it is to make them work and because of the last issues to solve. including finding red lenses for the 3 that don't have one.
cheers

 

[eethan]

Hello there
the new metal Mill arrived! without any phone appointment, without tracking number, just when I was leaving, fun stuff!

so, we tried to start moving it into the workshop tonight but didn't managed and my back is already hurting despite not carying much weight so far, so I'm pretty stressed about that and don't really know how we will manage to move it into the workshop and on to the workbench.
we already remove the upper section of the cross table to remove some weight, but there must be around 90kg left on the main piece...

will keep you guys posted!

 

[Generalurko]

Maybe just unpack it outside and bring it in in pieces? I'm sure the wood and edging of the container add a considerable amount of weight. Good luck and glad it at least showed up.

 

[eethan]

Maybe just unpack it outside and bring it in in pieces? I'm sure the wood and edging of the container add a considerable amount of weight. Good luck and glad it at least showed up.

The wood is actually quite light but yes, I am removing it. We already remove the upper long part of the cross table which must be between 10 and 20 kg but i'm a bit scared to remove more pieces and not be able to put them back together because of their own individual weights.
Well, we are getting ready now and will figure out something!
A good update tonight hopefully