MR Communicator mid-plate replacement

[Intercraft]

Hello. I have an MR communicator with a misshapen mid-plate -- it's biased to the left side and bulges out on the right around the middle of the replica, ruining the symmetry. Seeking counsel on where I might obtain a replacement plate or perhaps have a new one fabricated. Thanks, all.

 

[vidman]

Hello. I have an MR communicator with a misshapen mid-plate -- it's biased to the left side and bulges out on the right around the middle of the replica, ruining the symmetry. Seeking counsel on where I might obtain a replacement plate or perhaps have a new one fabricated. Thanks, all.

1st off welcome to the rpf

2nd if you could provide a picture of the comm showing mid plate misalignment, that would be nice.

We can go from there :cool

 

[robn1]

I'd just file down the right side to match the left.

 

[Intercraft]

Yes -- I had considered filing it down but was a little nervous doing it myself.
And the lower right edge ideally should be built up a bit.
Here's a picture for reference:



Thanks for your advice.

 

[asalaw]

Rob's right -- There's really no seamless way to build that up -- short of replacing the entire plate (not a big deal), filling down those high spots to match the low spots is really all you can do.

 

[quarryman]

I would try to fabricate a new plate before altering the original one. If you ever decide to sell it (right now it may seem like an impossibility, but it's funny how the world does move on) you can include the original unaltered plate. What is it .080 thick? It would be easy as pie to make one. Even if you only had a stone knife to cut it out and a buckskin to sand it down.

Edit: Ok 1/16 or 0.0625...my bad.

 

[robn1]

quarryman has a good point about preserving the original part, and making a new plate isn't very tough. But looking at your pic, if I were to mod the plate I'd file down the lower left corner only.

 

[laser1959]

It looks more "misaligned" than misshapened..

 

[Intercraft]

Thank you all for weighing in -- I know this is where folks go to sweat the details!
I did take apart the comm and there's not really a way to realign the plate -- the placement of screw holes governs where it sits relative to the shell.
Would anyone have a suggested resource for a fabricator?

 

[vidman]

wouldn't it be better to just oblong the existing holes so that you can move the plate to the proper position?

 

[Intercraft]

Hey vidman, another good suggestion I will definitely consider. I will open it back up and have a look. Thank you

 

[vidman]

Hey vidman, another good suggestion I will definitely consider. I will open it back up and have a look. Thank you

you are most welcome, some times simpler is better

 

[Intercraft]

And I am still interested in a mid-plate fabricator resource if anyone has a recommendation. Thanks