Mugatu’s Souvenirs, Novelties, Party Tricks: LIVE FIRE E11

Re: My In Progress OB1 ANH (some) Real Parts Build

I was surprised when I found that out too. When my first set arrived I was like "whaaaat!?!"
It sure makes drilling into much easier though! It can make separating the pieces unnerving on the other hand, if they are naturally weathered together for half a century.
 
Re: My In Progress OB1 ANH (some) Real Parts Build

I was surprised when I found that out too. When my first set arrived I was like "whaaaat!?!"
It sure makes drilling into much easier though! It can make separating the pieces unnerving on the other hand, if they are naturally weathered together for half a century.

oh man i never thought of that, yes! i would be super spooked if i had to take it apart! lol you seemed to handle it with ease jedi master ;)
 
Re: My In Progress OB1 ANH (some) Real Parts Build

The truth is, the one I have on my OB1 came apart on its own when I dropped it in a 1 part white vinegar to 2 parts hot (just under boiling water) mixture in a bucket (advice from teecrooz and James Kenobi 1138). I also dropped two others in the bucket that didn't come apart and wouldn't come apart when I tried with force. I don't usually deep clean things in a manner like that, but these three were from a bidet. I've tried on others too, though. I couldn't get any of those apart either.
 
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Re: My In Progress OB1 ANH (some) Real Parts Build

Tom, all three explanations are extremely helpful to the inexperienced like me. I think they all sound good for different things but yeah, the last one with the steel bits sounds like just what I need for the clamp-side rim of my frag. Do you think you will be doing this soon? I am really interested in seeing how you are able to handle and form it. This may just be what I've been looking for.

I just got the flat clear coat recently in the mail (krylon, non yellowing clear spray) so I do plan on doing this very soon! I have to brush some rust off too, so when I pull out my sculpting stuff ill document it here on the RPF! JB weld is also colored dark grey when mixed, so we won't have to go crazy with painting it. (Apoxie sculpt is frighten white, that would stand out!)
 
Re: My In Progress OB1 ANH (some) Real Parts Build

UPDATE: Someone said there weren't enough pictures in this thread...

REPAIRING A 100 YEAR OLD BRITISH RIFLE GRENADE


ASSESS THE DAMAGES

I have finally gotten around to tackling the top end of this Hales No.3 Mk1. The end of the fragmentation body that sits closest to the Graflex clamp on the OB1 ANH is actually the top end (or front end when in flight) of the rifle grenade. It comes naturally with a brass plate that threads into this end of the frag body, just as the brass neck that holds the windvane has a plate that threads into the other end of the frag body. On the OB1 ANH, this top brass plate/disc is removed and unused...at least that's how I had mine.

The issue with the top end of this particular frag body is that is extremely deteriorated. It's not just pitting. Pitting would match the rest of the frag body and there would be no need to attempt a repair. This is far beyond pitting with portions of the steel frag body missing from this lip having corroded for a century in the French countryside...not entirely unlike what happens within the Sarlacc pit. Here are some close ups of the end of the frag body:

EF7094CF-F1B0-4E6B-A726-DC42CDFDEA19.jpeg
It's like the little thread that wouldn't go away.

0A1AF4B4-7487-4E20-A9E4-524D20CE45B8.jpeg

A quarter turn.

F755D14E-EEDE-4052-841B-7D59333BCB59.jpeg

Another quarter turn.

B6B1405D-73E3-400A-8C3F-8E62A8A308AB.jpeg

And the final quarter turn. As you can see, even though this grenade has fought aging like a champ, there's some things 100 years int he ground will do to you.


TOOLING

On the OB1 ANH, this top edge sits flat against the clamp spacer that is located hidden underneath the Graflex clamp. It doesn't take an engineer to see that this grenade isn't going to sit flat against anything. SO, in order to make this edge of the frag body flat, as well as to add support/strength to some of the small wisps of steel left, I need to figure out a way to heal or repair this badboy. thd9791 dealt with essentially the same situation in this thread: Tom's Real Parts Obi Wan Saber

Tom opted to go with a liquid steel compound to build up any missing metal from the end of his grenade. Knowing myself all too well, and viewing the stickiness of the compound in his photos, I decided there was absolutely no way I would be able to handle it properly, ultimately leaving me with a huge mess and results that would likely be worse than what I already have. That being the case, I was able to find this at Home Depot:
B85960BF-93ED-43A7-97AD-96211CB8F3E7.jpeg


The way it works, is that you pull this soft gray smelly tootsie roll-looking batter out of that plastic tube, cut some off the end and then kneed it in your fingers until the two colors that the batter is comprised of (gray and black) are completely mixed together. Once these have been mixed together, you have about two minutes to get the compound where it needs to be and in the shape it needs to be in...any longer than that and the compound gets rather stubborn.

For this repair, I used:
1. the JB Weld stick above
2. a pair of neoprene gloves (more like 5 pair actually)
3. an X-Acto knife
4. various grit sandpaper
5. white lithium WD-40 spray lubricant
6. needle nose pliers
7. a sheet of baking paper (like for baking cookies or bread)



PLAN A

The first thing I did was to attempt to remove any small bits of steel that looked like they may come off on their own within the next couple of years. Surprisingly (but I guess it really shouldn't have been) no little pieces would be removed. I used my fingernail to try to pry the tiny pieces off. Next, I cleaned the edge of the frag body per the JB Weld instructions. I then "roughed up" the edge with sandpaper. It really didn't seem to do anything to the steel.

The next step was to insert the brass plate into the frag body. Here is the way the plate is typically oriented with the frag body:
3D5FEF54-CBD3-4874-BF20-0FF7BB6B879C.jpeg


However, for what I was about to attempt to do, I flipped the brass plate to screw it into the frag body like this:
50821086-D01F-46A7-AA72-666E9D9E7FE9.jpeg


The reason for inserting the plate upside is because I want my build up of steel compound to be absolutely flat on this edge, so that it sits perfectly flat against Roman's clamp spacer. By screwing the plate in upside down, and then standing the frag body up on that plate, I can insure that the bottom will be flat and uniform when I smush the compound against the frag. Be sure to stand the grenade up on the baking paper.

ALSO, I had to spray the threads of the brass plate with the White Lithium WD-40 lubricant so that the compound would release the brass plate once the compound began to cure. This had to be done sparingly, and I even wiped the brass plate down several times before attempting to screw it into the frag body:
2F982F74-F96E-4B5C-A132-6938EA30004E.jpeg


DO NOT SPRAY THE LUBRICANT ONTO THE FRAG BODY.
The compound needs to adhere somewhat to the frag body, so spraying the lubricant onto the frag body is counterproductive. I then screwed the brass plate into the frag body. You can see in the next photo how this gives us a nice flat somewhat clean base for stability:
489A7E4A-0313-4793-972E-0E9A1AF2C4FE.jpeg


Here is the side view:
D0734243-779A-4758-A8E8-64CDA5C1746F.jpeg

And threads are exposed due to the corrosion...

An even nastier hole that needs to be filled (that’s what he said...)
8F968592-43DF-449D-9C77-A668792DD60A.jpeg


And this side isn’t absolutely terrible in comparison to the rest of the edge.
03850220-BCB5-4F3D-93DF-EED2F7188A5C.jpeg


Luckily, Roman's clamp spacer leaves about a 1/4" cavity that the frag body rests in. This cavity will obstruct most of the repair from view meaning, this is truly a structural repair and not to make the grenade look better. Although, it probably will make the grenade look better as well.

Next, I stood the grenade up on the baking paper, brass plate down.

Then, I cut off a 1/4" slice of the steel stick:
E6B21A48-BCA3-40B2-8FD0-25900DAC582E.jpeg


Then I smashed it between my fingers for about 30 seconds, and wind up with what looks like a dark metallic clay:
F5386EA7-375C-4B46-BA0A-F17200D3D04B.jpeg


I then broke this clay finger into smaller pieces and pressed these pieces one-by-one into the crevices between the frag edge and the baking paper. Once I was satisfied that enough JB Weld was in place and that I thought it was secure enough, I would rotate the grenade and add the steel compound to those crevices:

First this side:
7ACD887B-5688-4C2E-BD96-8E8A08F30FD7.jpeg


And then this side... all the way around.
AB23DEDF-42CF-4E15-B1A2-7B76CB5CE1AF.jpeg


After waiting a minute (and no longer than that), I used the X-acto knife to trim away any areas of the compound that I knew were in excess. Waiting any longer to trim the compound makes for a very difficult time, even with a razor sharp blade because there is steel dust in the compound:
968A44CA-27A2-4FF0-A531-93A870B8D6DF.jpeg


At this point, my plan was to allow the full cure time to transpire, and then I would file and sand away any minute areas of overage. But first, I took my needle nose pliers and removed the brass plate by unscrewing it:
30EC3435-5B81-4512-8008-1455BEB654F9.jpeg


Then I inspected the flat edge I had just made with the compound:
19B33EBC-1E0B-4A90-95D0-99D19AC3A4B4.jpeg


So, it isn't perfect, but again, this end will be hidden to a depth of roughly a 1/4", so it doesn't need to look perfect. I then allowed the compound 2 hours to cure. The packaging says it only needs an hour, but I needed to go to the grocery anyway.


TESTING THE GOODNESS

Once I felt that it should be cured enough, I began stress testing the compound. First I screwed the brass plate back in and all went smoothly. Good so far.
Next, I tested the strength and rigidity of the compound by picking at it with my fingernail. The compound did not fare well:
6353F5BB-0DFC-4DFC-9868-4D959498EDA6.jpeg



TROUBLESHOOTING

A better plan was needed. Why didn't it work? How could I fix it? Make it better? Did I do something wrong???

Then it hit me. No build... no repair... no real parts prop building is complete without... (you guessed it!) MY AWESOME ROTARY TOOL!
8F4CA949-50BF-4EAB-8A63-8F63779C81DE.jpeg



PLAN B

My new plan was to add a small metal armature to be seated within the compound. To do this, I used a paperclip. A small paperclip. An added bonus was that the particular paperclip that I used had little notches along its entire length, which is better for gripping the compound. I unfolded the paperclip and shaped it into a rough circle with the diameter of the frag edge. I then used my rotary tool with a cutting disc and cut a paperclip-thin trench around the lip of the frag:
88B72B86-A80C-4E52-B81E-7EE5F9A85FF2.jpeg


All the way around:
ED41FB2B-08FB-4103-A672-D41E19E7C6DB.jpeg


For redundancy, I also cut grooves into the very end of the frag:
6570F8C6-368B-43D4-B92C-DC70CB5FB4E7.jpeg


I then wrapped the paperclip around the frag and seated it into the rotary tool trench:
1DD93D22-5E0B-4DF6-B52D-56CA207FC580.jpeg


The paperclip itself was not long enough to go the whole way around the frag, so I positioned it so that both ends of the paperclip started/finished in the most complete section of the frag:
71B83E12-1AB3-4785-AEE7-3FF4989C98CA.jpeg


1BF88548-BF7E-45AE-A69D-81BFE39A5A6B.jpeg


Next, just like before, I screwed the brass disc back into the frag:
ED46542F-F05C-4832-A01B-0837F681F917.jpeg


I mixed the JB Weld Steel stick:
B119BD61-262B-4C74-B6A5-BC33EABB587A.jpeg


I applied the compound just as I had the first time, but this time the paperclip (once the compound has hardened) would give great reinforcing strength to the compound. After a minute of curing, I again took the X-acto knife and trimmed the excess:
D24A8444-CB52-4DC2-B0AE-60D852CB391A.jpeg


This second time, I really went slowly with the trimming in order to avoid as much filing/sanding as possible:
581A9CC8-7530-4CBB-9D46-B8E07A23AAB5.jpeg


I then removed the brass plate:
8F44821C-0AF3-4662-BDA9-4040124F8DEA.jpeg

The bottom is looking good (that’s what she said)

I then left the grenade again for three hours this time. I believe it helped. I think the paperclip and the notches also helped immensely. Next came sanding!


FINISHING TOUCHES AND WRAPPING THINGS UP

DA610D59-6133-4D49-BDF4-7BD283B8D325.jpeg


The sanding was done very gently, very slowly, and very lightly. I sanded the compound for probably 20 minutes with three different grits of paper.
I actually did not end up needing to file it. I think it came out well:
F55EF30B-FE8F-4670-9292-E97BFE0329E7.jpeg


70FFC8C9-6190-42FC-87A5-6D25B17F0075.jpeg


B6312FD3-BACD-4795-98AA-CFAEA668140C.jpeg


Of course, the color is a bit off, so I put some oil on it:
79FEC916-F9AF-49EB-96B1-FAD4210C443A.jpeg


D873F99F-A651-4E7C-9A89-F6A2BC3490B0.jpeg


And here is what it looks like in the clamp, on the spacer:
E9455D5F-F67A-4944-9E15-3D3E15A2295F.jpeg


And turned:
6B5564BE-7F23-43A6-8691-64E954FA1221.jpeg


And all together again:
C70D21EC-D975-458F-9916-46972DDA05C0.jpeg


Thanks for checking out this repair job. I apologize for the monotonous (but now updated - as of 12/29/2018) photos.
 
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You did great! If the slight color difference starts to bug you, try to blend the fixed area with some acrylic paints

Markus
 
Thanks, Markus. It was really difficult to not be messy. The steel stik would stick somewhat to the gloves. It sands very easily once it is cured though. I only applied very light pressure.
I'm not sure that I would be the person to do that (apply the paints). That grenade looks like so many different colors to me at different times from different angles. I wouldn't trust myself to pick out the right colors.
 
I'm always in awe when I see work like this.
Just an outstanding, museum quality restoration.

I probably would have folded after the first attempt.

Well done.

Thanks for sharing and as always, Uber visual documentation that makes it such a great read.
 
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WOW dude, nice work! The x acto knife, WD 40ing the brass plate, using a reinforcement and scoring the grenade, all fantastic ideas. Your smooth edge was what I had in mind for mine, and you got there! Nice work with the JB Stick man, I'm completely impressed. in awe more like
 
Very cool build! I'm not a lightsaber collector but this looks awesome!

Thanks man. I really appreciate that.

Is it the grenade I sent you?

Patrice, this is actually not that grenade. This one is the one I was afraid was not going to happen when I contacted you about getting the one you sent to me. However, the grenade that you sent to me is now with THD9791, whom has also performed the same repair.

I'm always in awe when I see work like this.
Just an outstanding, museum quality restoration.

I probably would have folded after the first attempt.

Well done.

Thanks for sharing and as always, Uber visual documentation that makes it such a great read.

Thanks so much, Ben. I'm very glad you like the work done. I'm not sure I'd say it's a museum quality repair, but I'll take the compliment!

WOW dude, nice work! The x acto knife, WD 40ing the brass plate, using a reinforcement and scoring the grenade, all fantastic ideas. Your smooth edge was what I had in mind for mine, and you got there! Nice work with the JB Stick man, I'm completely impressed. in awe more like

Tom, thanks a lot man. It means a lot to hear that from you. Light repair work is okay with me. Some of the stuff I've seen you put together though, damn. I wouldn't have it in me. And all that scoring/paperclip/etc. only came about because my first pass failed. Imagine how less stable this would be if that compound hadn't picked off so easily during my stress test!
 
Heey now I know where mine came from! *tips hat*

That neck..I have a standing bone to pick with this grenade neck lol
 
great! really looks to me like some kind of authentic relict though. could be rally lay in a museum.

Thanks a lot for your compliment. The grenade overall definitely looks like a relic...actually, it IS a relic, isn't it? Haha
The work I did here does not compare to 1% of the superior job you did on those P2 clone helmets though!

Heey now I know where mine came from! *tips hat*

That neck..I have a standing bone to pick with this grenade neck lol

Would that be a "neck bone", Tom? Lol
 
Andy I am super impressed each post you make. that paper clip trick is ingenius!

you did a amazing job sanding and it totally paid off!

again I love how detailed you are with your posts and how your sharing of tactics really helps the community. it also saves people trail and error time.

I always enjoy your threads they keep me on the edge of my seat!

saber came out awesome great work buddy!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Would that be a "neck bone", Tom? Lol
Hahaha Yes! freaking bent neck

coincidentally, I also suffer from a chronic form of neck injury that has yet to be rooted. One of the estimates is a "straighter" and longer neck than normal people have. Aka, my bones lol
 
Andy I am super impressed each post you make. that paper clip trick is ingenius!

you did a amazing job sanding and it totally paid off!

again I love how detailed you are with your posts and how your sharing of tactics really helps the community. it also saves people trail and error time.

I always enjoy your threads they keep me on the edge of my seat!

saber came out awesome great work buddy!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks a lot, Danny. I appreciate it.

Some may call it "ingenious", but I call it "just being cheap", just so long as it gets the job done, as intended, without failing. But thanks a lot, man.
 
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I just wonder . . . whilest working on these projects do you carry a hardhat with a webcam on ... so that when you blink your eyes you take an instant work in progress picture? Then add a quick verbal comment, so as to remember what that picture stands for when writing these elaborate tutorials :lol

Chaim
 
Seriously, when I'm working on something I'm covered in dirt, glue, chemicals, metal filings, sweat, and not even thinking about a camera. Very nice job documenting everything. I think the next thing we'll see from you is a time-lapse video with cuts to real time audio for explanations. :)
 
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