Re-imagining the 11th Dr. Sonic screwdriver..

[tailgunner30uk]

The hard part is done.

I'm not so sure, I have been asked if I can replicate the dish and claw assembly, and had to lie down in a darkened room for 4 hours. I really need to answer the person. I had to make 3 of the dishes the first time, to get one good one. There are a lot of things I would change, now that I have completed this one, that would make putting another together, a little easier. The problem is that a lot of the machining has to be to quite tight tolerances, otherwise the mechanism jams and tries to destroy itself. So the stress part stays quite high.

As for Meelion dallars, talking to a neighbour, we tried to work out how much was invested in this. Not including the design work, it came out as about 10 hours a week, conservatively, for 60 weeks. We figured £15.00 per hour for a total labour cost in the region of £9,000. I had to sit down after this, as to all intents and purposes, the screwdriver is irreplaceable! To make another, even if it could be done in half the time, how do you ask for that kind of money for a home-made prop?

Any way this is far too serious... Did you like the video, I spent a few hours on it in the vain attempt to make it interesting...

 

[NakedMoleRat]

that's about $13,400.00 US! Well, let me just say, don't be surprised if the BBC asks you for it to use with Capaldi!

Love the video.....I love everything about that sonic actually!

 

[greatwazoo42]

as to all intents and purposes, the screwdriver is irreplaceable!

TRUTH!

 

[tailgunner30uk]

that's about $13,400.00 US!...

...Love the video.....I love everything about that sonic actually!

Making one for someone else would scare the heck out of me, especially for that kind of money, and I would hate for the recipient to be disappointed with the end result. I can, of course always dream of a commission from the BBC, after all dreams cost nothing.

I am glad you liked the video, it was initially just going to be a straight show the screwdriver working video. But I thought everyone here deserved more, so I tried a little harder!

 

[SanHolo80]

As much as we would love another, or even pieces... this should be one of a kind. I really think you treated this as an art project. This was something you built for yourself. Its great that we all get to see it and we all sat on the edge of our seat waiting for it to arrive. We thank you for the experience. BUT.... BUT, we all hope that you'll feel inspired again. That said, you'd know we'd pay real money even for your mistakes, right?

 

[Anakin Starkiller]

Amazing. Although I've followed your threads and watched the design evolve, seeing the finished prop in action is still jaw dropping.

 

[tailgunner30uk]

As much as we would love another, or even pieces... this should be one of a kind. I really think you treated this as an art project. This was something you built for yourself. Its great that we all get to see it and we all sat on the edge of our seat waiting for it to arrive. We thank you for the experience. BUT.... BUT, we all hope that you'll feel inspired again. That said, you'd know we'd pay real money even for your mistakes, right?

Thankyou. I have a project in mind, something simple. A replica of the Liberator blaster from Blakes 7. I made one for a friend several years ago, and always wanted one for myself. Not a glorious project. However. There are plans, a new screwdriver is gestating. Something that transitions between the classic screwdriver of 8, to the New series version of 9-10. So keep an eye out. The insanity never ends, it demands to be fed.

 

[tailgunner30uk]

Hi all.
As promised although a little after I expected to have it done. A new video of the sonic screwdriver.

Things didn't go too well after the video. I wanted to have the sonic working for the 50th Anniversary celebration event in London, however shortly after the video was made two gears failed inside the screwdriver. This meant that the whole sonic had to come apart again. In the process one of the pcbs lost a couple of tracks. In order to resolve these problems. A new pcb was made and two new gears fabricated. The gears were then silver soldered onto the threaded shafts that extend the column. The sonic was then reassembled.

In the process a couple of new parts were fabricated. The spring in the battery compartment was removed, after disassembling the iris. It was then shortened and a new plate fabricated, that it was soldered to. A small amount of detailing was added, to be visible behind the iris. Two new rings were fabricated from fluorescent green acrylic rod. These were added to the centre column. Finally four small acrylic covers were fabricated to fit into the recesses for the threaded rods and guides, to tidy up the appearance of the screwdriver.

Altogether, with the sonic screwdriver reassembled, and a few minor fitting together issues sorted out, it now looks better than ever.

Here is a short video.

Thanks to everyone.

 

[phez]

that is incredible :eek

 

[tailgunner30uk]

Thank you... The failure turned out to a blessing in disguise.

 

[SanHolo80]

This only gets better the more you tinker. Is there an LED at the top? I didn't see wires running to one. Does it just catch light from the column?

 

[tailgunner30uk]

Thank you.

The LED is at the base of the column. I cut it down with a dremel and diamond cutting disc to fit into a housing, then polished it. The blue centre column acts as a light pipe. The added bonus is that with the column extended you get a blue glow reflecting off of the mechanism when it is activated.