My Beginners Vintage Graflex Builds & Now More! Heiland Vader Update

[NathanM]

Alright, I lied. There’s one more thing I could do to my ESB build while waited. Remove the beer tab.

Trusty Frog tape in hand I protected the exterior.

Used the pull saw to cut through it.

A little bit of a Knick to the exterior so I probably should’ve disassembled it but duck it. It’s a battle scar.

 

[Halliwax]

Alright, I lied. There’s one more thing I could do to my ESB build while waited. Remove the beer tab.

Trusty Frog tape in hand I protected the exterior.
View attachment 1321229

Used the pull saw to cut through it.

View attachment 1321230

A little bit of a Knick to the exterior so I probably should’ve disassembled it but duck it. It’s a battle scar.

View attachment 1321231

Natural weathering, don’t sweat it!

That’s why I always disassemble the flash and file the rivet from the inside

I have friends who just rip that sucker right off lol

 

[NathanM]

Yeah I saw the dissasembly info in other threads. SOmetimes you just got to YOLO lol. I considered ripping it off and then cutting but I wanted to save the tab.

 

[thd9791]

nice work! I also say it's weathering

on the severed hand saber they dabbed silver paint or silver rub-n-buff over what I think is exposed brass, so if you touch it up that will also be very OT

 

[NathanM]

nice work! I also say it's weathering

on the severed hand saber they dabbed silver paint or silver rub-n-buff over what I think is exposed brass, so if you touch it up that will also be very OT

That sounds like a plan. Another supply to buy it is, lol!

 

[eethan]

oh, I personally use a plier cutter, grab the rivet between each jaw and pull strongly. it comes right off

 

[NathanM]

Small update on the Heiland Vader build.

The E-6000 was a disaster lol.

My plan was to install the grips but not glue them to the end cap. Then once dry I could test fit both caps( chrome and matte) to see which one worked better. Unfortunately, after gluing all 7, the chrome cap was far too thick and the grips popped off as I tried to screw it in.

I then attempted to glue the tracks while the chrome cap was installed as the matte cap was thinner and if I wanted to switch them, I could just unscrew it and install as needed.

As they say, the best laid plans.

The chrome was just too thick and the grips were not adhering well as the lower half didn’t get glued to anything.

So, went to plan B (really looks plan what do I do now...).

My Wannawanga order also included a thin 3M double-sided tape. Lo and behold with the matte cap installed and grips with tape, it worked!

So now it’s just taped up but surprisingly solid. I expected the rape to just be okay but I’m thrilled at how it worked.

 

[thd9791]

This looks great! What happened when you glued them with the cap already on?

E6000 sometimes needs a little texture to grip to - i bet the chrome was SO slick and round it wasnt working?

 

[NathanM]

This looks great! What happened when you glued them with the cap already on?

E6000 sometimes needs a little texture to grip to - i bet the chrome was SO slick and round it wasnt working?

I definitely realized after all was said and done that I forgot to scuff up the chrome and underside of the grips. I don't think it would've helped in the instance of the thicker cap as there was just too little surface area due to the grips angling up weirdly and away from the surface of the flash. The glue would've worked great for the thinner cap as seen on it now and in the event that the tape fails, I'll do a proper gluing session then.

This was definitely a good practice run for the other builds though and the E-6000 being so easy to remove while still curing made for an easy clean-up in the end.

 

[thd9791]

That sounds so familiar, i went with VHB Tape for grips in certain cases

 

[NathanM]

Newest order in.

Mostly Wannawanga ESB bits with a repro bubble from eBay for the Heiland Vader.

I have the bits to put together my ESB build now.

I have to figure out how to drill out my Kobold clip now. No drill press so proceeding cautiously.

 

[NathanM]

Mylar tape installed:

 

[NathanM]

Next step is to start the clip and d-ring phase. I don’t Have a vintage d-ring, but I ordered Roy’s Repro setup. Pulling the ring from that and then using his Kobold repro as a template to drill out line is the plan. Bonus is I can use his clip for my idealized Droid Caller.

Trusty green tape installed to not damage the d-ring when using two pliers to separate it out.

 

[NathanM]

On to the grips!

As previously stated, I struggled with the E-6000 glue on my Vader build.

But, I suspected going into a Graflex build, I would have better luck and it worked!

First though, I had to trim the Wannawanga grips by about 0.05mm I was going to cut them but opted to sand them down after cutting resulted in uneven and unreliable cuts.

The sanding turned out great and now they all are ready for installing.

I decided to only install one grip and let it full cure.

It’s the base one aligned with the clamp. I considered ordering a grip guide but the cost put me off and I think I can nail it on my own.

 

[cwoodreplicas]

On to the grips!

As previously stated, I struggled with the E-6000 glue on my Vader build.

But, I suspected going into a Graflex build, I would have better luck and it worked!

First though, I had to trim the Wannawanga grips by about 0.05mm I was going to cut them but opted to sand them down after cutting resulted in uneven and unreliable cuts.

The sanding turned out great and now they all are ready for installing.

I decided to only install one grip and let it full cure.

View attachment 1322371

It’s the base one aligned with the clamp. I considered ordering a grip guide but the cost put me off and I think I can nail it on my own.

I use these free paper guides - scale them, cut them out then slide over the top 'J' Lock section and I can line the grips up.

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[NathanM]

Ooh that’s awesome thanks!

 

[Halliwax]

I only install 1 grip at a time with e6000. It takes me a week, but this ensures I can get each one it perfect orientation

 

[Gregatron]

On to the grips!

As previously stated, I struggled with the E-6000 glue on my Vader build.

But, I suspected going into a Graflex build, I would have better luck and it worked!

First though, I had to trim the Wannawanga grips by about 0.05mm I was going to cut them but opted to sand them down after cutting resulted in uneven and unreliable cuts.

The sanding turned out great and now they all are ready for installing.

I decided to only install one grip and let it full cure.

View attachment 1322371

It’s the base one aligned with the clamp. I considered ordering a grip guide but the cost put me off and I think I can nail it on my own.

It’s not like grip guides existed, back when the films were made. Eyeballing it is in the proud tradition of the OT.

 

[NathanM]

I only install 1 grip at a time with e6000. It takes me a week, but this ensures I can get each one it perfect orientation

I think that’s how I’m going to proceed.

 

[Halliwax]

I think that’s how I’m going to proceed.