Retro Gun project HELP! - Regarding hardening filler

[DARTH SABER]

Im probably going to be starting another retro gun project soon and I need to fill the body with some type of tough, hardening filler...The filler needs to be strong enough to withstand drilling and the use of screws.


Any ideas??

DS

 

[CustomCreations]

Re: HELP! question about hardening filler

Im probably going to be starting another retro gun project soon and I need to fill the body with some type of tough, hardening filler...The filler needs to be strong enough to withstand drilling and the use of screws.


Any ideas??

DS

Try:
Milliput

2part metalputty (think Araldite do a version, looks like a dark silver stick of plasticene)

They will take drilling and tapping very well, although you will have to be carefull with the size of the original drilled hole for tapping as the thread itself may strip out if the original hole it too big.
Milliput has the advantage of being water softening so you can shape it far easier than car filler ( doesnt stink) but the metal repair stick can stain your fingers.....

Any sketches yet?
d

 

[James Kenobi 1138]

Re: HELP! question about hardening filler

JB Weld

 

[TheGreenMachine]

Re: HELP! question about hardening filler

Apoxie sculpt. Bondo. Lots of choices.

- TGM

 

[DARTH SABER]

Re: HELP! question about hardening filler

Good options, but i'm going to need quite a bit of filler. I know JB weld and epoxy is good for filling in small areas , but the area I need to fill is equivelant to about the size of the small plastic coke bottles.

Here's an example -

The tear drop shaped body is what I need to fill -

Would clear resin work?

Or how about that stuff used to repair boats?

DS

 

[CustomCreations]

Re: HELP! question about hardening filler

Good options, but i'm going to need quite a bit of filler. I know JB weld and epoxy is good for filling in small areas , but the area I need to fill is equivelant to about the size of the small plastic coke bottles.

Here's an example -

The tear drop shaped body is what I need to fill -

Would clear resin work?

Or how about that stuff used to repair boats?

DS

Nah- clear resin is very brittle, it would crack under the stress of the screws.
I think JB weld is like the two part stuff I mentioned, so go with that.
I love your drawing work- you do work for ImageFx mag, no?

 

[spcglider@aol.com]

Re: HELP! question about hardening filler

I've been making retro-ray guns for a few years now. Generally I use standard urethane resin to do parts that big. But I may do them a little differently than you're planning.

I will usually cast a custom slug of urethane kit resin in a cardboard tube. I find that PVC tubes work well too (if you use mold release inside them, the resin shrinks enough to just pop the custom slug out of the tube without any trouble).

Then I chuck the slug up in the lathe and cut it to the proper shape.

I bought a long 1/4" drill bit that I use to put a hole length-wise through the piece so it can be put on a piece of all-thread rod to hold the gun together.

And regular urethane resin will take a tap just fine depending on the size of your thread.

Anyway, if you have any questions about my method, please email me at spcglider@aol.com. I'm happy to share info.

-Gordon

P.S. Great design above. Is that what you're building?

 

[franz bolo]

Re: HELP! question about hardening filler

The tear drop shaped body is what I need to fill -

DS

That shape could be turned on a lathe out of wood!

Nice design.

FB

 

[SaberFreak]

Coat the outer walls with 2-part epoxy (at least 1/4 inch), and fill the inside with auto filler mixed with sawdust.

Mix in the sawdust before adding the hardener so you have time to get it all mixed together properly.

 

[DaddyfromNaboo]

If you need a filler that withstands drilling, try concrete with granite pieces in it. I know, unconventional for prop building, but I bet that you can´t get that stuff drilled out without at least heavily damaging the outer hull of the prop.

Michael

 

[DARTH SABER]

Re: HELP! question about hardening filler

I've been making retro-ray guns for a few years now. Generally I use standard urethane resin to do parts that big. But I may do them a little differently than you're planning.

Actually I already have the "tear drop" body . It's a found part taken from an old brass andiron. I intend to cut a section out of it which poses a problem. It leaves a hole where I intend to attach the trigger and handle. I was thinking of filling the hollow body with some kind of filler, so I could attach the handle/trigger.

P.S. Great design above. Is that what you're building?

Yeah... I had some parts left over from my last raygun project and decided to come up with a design for a new gun.

 

[spcglider@aol.com]

Re: HELP! question about hardening filler

Actually I already have the "tear drop" body . It's a found part taken from an old brass andiron. I intend to cut a section out of it which poses a problem. It leaves a hole where I intend to attach the trigger and handle. I was thinking of filling the hollow body with some kind of filler, so I could attach the handle/trigger.

Then I say pour it full of urethane resin. You can even pour it in sections if need be. It'll get hot, but the brass can take it. Then you can drill and tap the resin. That'd be my modus operandi.

I do that all the time when I get a cool piece that doesn't have a center to it. I just fill it full of urethane resin, let it cure up, toss it on the lathe and punch a hole in the dead center so it'll fit snugly on the 1/4" allthread rod I run down the center of all my ray guns.

-Gordon