Strapping an electric screw driver in-place?

[DR4296]

Greetings All!

I'm trying to rig up a sort of "gatling gun arm". Yesterday, I tackled the concept of how to position my electric screwdriver "centered", with respect to the gun barrel. This meant elevating it somewhat, off of the base platform that I've made. As you can see from these photos, instead of cutting and stacking layers of plastic to form a sort of "platform", I suddenly had a good idea: A couple of pieces of 1 inch PVC, bolted parallel to the screwdriver, hold it up nicely.

So now it's just a matter of somehow strapping this screwdriver in-place. I don't want it moving forward or backward or turning.
What do you think would be the best materials and/or technique for doing this?

My original thought was: I have some of that metal banding stuff that apparently is used for plumbing. It has pre-drilled holes in it. And it's bendable, but not stretchable. Figured maybe I'd simply bolt strips of this onto the PVC / around the screwdriver. My brain keeps saying "try a bungee of some sort", but I think that might still allow the screwdriver to twist in-place.

You all have given me some fantastic ideas that I wouldn't have thought of in the past, so I figured there'd be no harm in asking on this one.

Thanks!

-= Dave =-

 

[multiplexor]

You could use any strong and flexible thing - like a one inch or so nylon strap - just put screws through each end of the strap right into the pvc pieces. On the butt end put a block about the width of the screwdriver - that will stop it from moving backwards and it can't move forwards anyway so that should do it.

 

[laellee]

Those plumbing brackets might work, but you'd really have to form them close I think, and screw them down under tension.

Why not just use large zip ties? If you drill some guide holes through the lower half of your PVC to string the ties through, you can wrap them across the red portion of the handle. That section of the grip is also recessed (side view), so if you start with a zip at the fore and aft sections it should do well to keep the drill from going back and forth. Crank those ties down as tight as you can, think you'd be good. And it does no damage to the drill.

 

[doppelganger]

I'd go with jubilee clips. Easily bent, very secure, reusable and available in all sorts of sizes.

 

[DR4296]

Jubilee clips... I was WONDERING if those could be bent. Thanks for the tip!

I do have quite a few zip-ties on-hand, though, so that might be my cheapest way to go.
And I'm going to have to experiment with that block-in-the-back idea. I was actually hoping to cut that board right before the trigger. The reason why would be so as to allow more room for my arm inside the 5 inch diameter plastic tube (which you can see in one of the pics) that the board is going to be bolted into.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[multiplexor]

Duct tape. Remove the pcv standoffs, wrap the tape around the screwdriver until it is the correct height then a few more turns around the board.

 

[lmgill]

The best way is to first make something for the drill body to sit more precisely in / on , similar to your PVC tube base, but think more like a socket and bolt head. If the drill can wiggle, it will inevitably move enough to loosen any type of clamp you use. You have a good start with the pvc tubes, but you need to take advantage of the nooks and crannies on the drill body for a closer / tighter interface.
Cover you drill body with masking tape, then using Bondo (automotive body filler) make a pile on your PVC pipe and press the tape covered body down into the pile of Bondo. Masking tape will not stick to Bondo.
Once the Bondo is fairly hard (rubbery) lift the drill out and let the Bondo fully harden. You may also want to coarsely sand the surface of the PVC pipe to give the Bondo something to grab / bond to. Also, while the Bondo is in this rubbery state, you can trim it with an X-Acto knife or Sure-form file (cheese grater) to neaten it up.
Now you have a very close fit / match to your drill body and hose clamps or zip ties will be sufficient. Without this "bed" it will most certainly move around or you would at least run the risk of too much pressure (with hose clamps) on the drill body possibly damaging the motor section.

 

[propmaster2000]

Because I am the inquisitive type (it's my nature), what is the blue portion of the shaft and are you
using any slip style bearing at the mounting bracket to support the barrel, ease friction and reduce noise?
Is the blue part being used as your support and bearing?
Since this probably wont be used on a continuous bases, it should be adequate.
If there is a threaded shaft running through the hole, it may have a tendency to grind off material where ever it rubs.
(just wondering.....).
.
.

 

[TazMan2000]

I can't remember...is this project supposed to be a copy of something in TV, movies or a comic?

TazMan2000

 

[DR4296]

propmaster2000,

That blue part is a skateboard wheel, so there is a bearing inside there. And yes, that's a threaded rod running as a shaft, connecting to a hex coupler on the right and then, of course, the socket head is over that hex coupler. Yeah, I've had to put hot glue down to lock the positions of several nuts in place, since I needed to allow a bit of room between some of them and various surfaces in order to allow for the shaft to spin without TOO much friction, yet still see the shaft hold as horizontal as possible.

TazMan2000, the gun itself doesn't really "go with" the character I'm building / basing my Halloween costume on.

My character is called "Kahler Tek" or "The Gunslinger", from a single Dr. Who episode ("A Town called Mercy"). In that show, his gun is much more sci-fi. Yes, it rotates like a gatling gun, but when you get right down to it, it's basically a rotating metal cover or lid. My thinking was, why not make this a bit more steampunk-ish, or at least go more 1880's with an actual gatling gun / multiple barrels.

I've been very busy the last few days, so I haven't actually gotten much further than this. I drilled vertical holes through the PVC in order to prepare for attempting to use zip ties to clamp the drill in place. Hopefully, I'll get some time tonight, but definitely later on this weekend.

 

[DR4296]

Well, now I'm having trouble with the threaded rod assembly. Whereas hot glue was keeping the nuts between the blue skateboard wheel and the grey drum in place, it didn't work so well for keeping the coupling nut from advancing up the shaft when I'd activate the screwdriver. And then it got to the point where the coupling nut got stuck... a little too far up the shaft, and I couldn't get it to reverse itself back down.

So, I cut a new piece of threaded rod and I'm trying this again. I'm just not sure how to reconcile the need to keep certain nuts and this coupling nut firmly stuck in-place on the threaded rod (despite its rotation and, in the case of the coupling nut, the force from an electric screwdriver turning it)... with the fact that I will need to disassemble things in order to do painting and assemble this inside a 5 inch diameter plastic pipe.

I guess it would have helped if I'd had actually been able to find other people's designs of this sort of thing in advance. I did search, but I just couldn't find very much.

(I have a longer coupling nut... one that actually has two tiny holes going through opposite sides. I'm sure those are for using some sort of pin to keep them in-place, but they didn't come with any pins. )

 

[brimst0ne13]

when doing the final assembly, try using red or blue Loctite on the threads depending on how permanent you want the nuts to be stuck. red is super permanent requiring heat and a lot of torque to break free, but the blue just requires a bit of force to break.

 

[DR4296]

Hmmm... maybe I should do what the guy behind one of my research videos did (

) : File the end of the threaded rod into a hex shape. (I'm imagining how much fun that must have been to pull off.) Then I wouldn't have to use the coupling nut at all.

 

[DR4296]

when doing the final assembly, try using red or blue Loctite on the threads depending on how permanent you want the nuts to be stuck. red is super permanent requiring heat and a lot of torque to break free, but the blue just requires a bit of force to break.

Really? OK, cool, thanks! I'll hit Walmart early tomorrow morning!

 

[brimst0ne13]

no problem, just look for thread locker. that's the generic term for it.

 

[DR4296]

no problem, just look for thread locker. that's the generic term for it.
[/QUOTE

Ah, I saw this too late. Arrived at Walmart to find this:

I had no idea that Loctite was basically superglur. I have a supply of superglue and at home. It's some good stuff I got off of Amazon...in a gel...so it isn't so runny. So, I didn't buy any Loctite.

 

[brimst0ne13]

woops! Yeah I thought about it and I was like, damn. That's a brand name too... sorry man lol. That's just what we call thread locker in my area.

 

[brimst0ne13]

This woulda been your stuff here lol

 

[TazMan2000]

Is your design a energy weapon or a bullet type weapon. Not sure if its important to you, but if it's a bullet firing weapon, you may want to consider some sort of feed system. Just a suggestion.

TazMan2000

 

[DR4296]

Is your design a energy weapon or a bullet type weapon. Not sure if its important to you, but if it's a bullet firing weapon, you may want to consider some sort of feed system. Just a suggestion.

TazMan2000

In theory, it's bullet. Once I get the stupid apparatus mounted inside the black tube, then I plan on adding accessories, but I'm leaning towards keeping it sleek.