Somebody dimensioned their star wars cockpit

[rovingmind]

Oh I know that, but there are a lot of measurements to take there, and the inner corners on those bevels just add to the work I'd assume.  Would you do those in four pieces and join them or just bevel out a single piece and chisel out the corners?

If your talking about the bevels on the inner cutouts on the canopy beam, i'd make a single router template for the outside and the inside knockouts.  Pick out a decent taper for the insides and use a guide bushing, use a flush trimming bit for the outsides.  Calculate the offset for the inside edge and let the beveled bit do the work.  smooth out the sharp corners with a chisel and rubber mallet.

[ChadTower]

I'm talking about on the sides of the cab, where the sideart is.  The raised panels, or maybe overlaid panels, that are black.

[rovingmind]

I'm talking about on the sides of the cab, where the sideart is.  The raised panels, or maybe overlaid panels, that are black.

I've zoomed in on a few of the photos i have and i dont see a raised panel or overlay there.  I think i saw someone mention that the edges of those are beveled also though.  That could be  a neat trick to duplicate.

[NickS]

I'm talking about on the sides of the cab, where the sideart is.  The raised panels, or maybe overlaid panels, that are black.

I've zoomed in on a few of the photos i have and i dont see a raised panel or overlay there.  I think i saw someone mention that the edges of those are beveled also though.  That could be  a neat trick to duplicate.

I think he means these bits.

[ChadTower]

Yep, that would be it.

[rovingmind]

yep thats what i'm calling the canopy beam.  then my earlier post fits,  router and template with chisel to make the inside corners sharp where needed.

link high res photos of the colorado guys cab

only time im going to link these and the link will go dead in one week since they are not my photos.  I
I posted them for reference for this project only

[rovingmind]

Ok to keep from flooding Modesitts dimensions post i'm going to post any and all design discussions here since they can get a bit carried away.

Where we are right now is a small modification to the bottom box to allow the entire machine to be broken down into three sections to make it easily stored/ moved/ dissassembled.

There are no proposed images of this change yet but visibly there shouldn't be any noticible changes to the exterior barring possibly an extra pair of bolts if neccessary for stiffness on the canopy beam ends.

[rovingmind]

still waiting for some dimensions but i had to start somewhere, organic model just to look at vertice locations.

[polaris]

im sure this has been said, but a full wiki on this is a must if your cool with that, seems your going to eventually compile a full how to build on the cockpit so itd be great for others, it has to be the ultimate project, and along with david at ram's work , its such a possibility now.
so looking forward to mine being delivered 
keep up the good work fella

[rovingmind]

I don't know if i would have the time for a full wiki.  Anything i am able to provide here is more than welcome to be added to it though.

I hadn't thought of doing a full how-to build it set.  Just complete parts diagrams and patterns for the complex side panels.

If somebody else wants to take the finished cutting files and put them into a how-to build it set provided free to the community thats fine by me if its fine by the people also helping with this great project.

with 3d models of the various panels, exploded views showing the part layouts would be easy enough to make.

[ChadTower]

Yeah, if he makes the build plans, that's way more than enough.  I would possibly be willing to make a build write-up in the future once I have the project bandwidth and have more experience with cabinet building itself.

[rovingmind]

proposed modification to the base, allowing the cabinet to be easily split for transport and storage.

This would make it 4 pieces, (the bases are INSIDE the bottom, shown lower just for viewing the shape), attachment guide pins, bolts, and bottom casters not done at this time, this is just a rough draft not to scale.

You would have the two cab sections, the single intact canopy section, and the footboard.

Comments guys?

For purists, both plan sets will be part of the finished drawing, this to be as an alternate.

[polaris]

didnt mean to seem demanding in saying that , just praising the effort, and saying its a project that'll be worth a full wiki due to its popularity.

[rovingmind]

didnt mean to seem demanding in saying that , just praising the effort, and saying its a project that'll be worth a full wiki due to its popularity.

no problem, i agree with the wiki, i just won't have the time to do it.

[modessitt]

Okay, got some time coming up this weekend to take some more measurements....

As far as the removable canopy.... remember that the only thing connecting the two sides is a single crossbar that goes between the plexis.  This probably won't be sturdy enough to keep the canopy rigid enough for easy removal.  it may be nexessary to add small crossbars at both ends for extra support.

Just a thought....

And I need to get you some photos of how sit-down racers join their seats to their bodies.  Got a couple in the warehouse....

[rovingmind]

yep, i was wondering how rigid that would be if the sides of the plexis were screwed in, a thin metal bracket could be made to go under the outer ends of the plexiglass, right where it goes up against the cabinet.   By using metal the ties could be small enough to be almost indistinguishable once its put together.  Something on the order of 1/8" steel strap, it could sit right on top the main cab pieces possibly in a routed channel?

Have to look into that once the main pieces are done to scale. 

It would be easy enough to leave them out and fasten the whole thing together like an original.

I would appreciate photos of the sit-down racers.

[ChadTower]

That's getting into an area that the regular cab builder will have difficulty achieving.

[rovingmind]

That's getting into an area that the regular cab builder will have difficulty achieving.

 

 isn't the whole project starting in that area?

I'm looking at (for myself) having to build a sheet metal brake out of 2*6s to make the seat piece (originaly extruded aluminum i've been told) and possilby a new control panel, and a couple of the marquee brackets and such.

They could have a metal shop form the pieces easily enough.  If they decide to build this they will have to have one make some of the parts for them anyway. 

That being said......

A thin cabinet brace could be cutout (like the one at the top of the bezel shape wise) of 1x4, this would most likely rest on top of the seatback without actually being bolted to it.  It should provide enough rigidity
that only the seat end would need it if the middle cross brace gets doweled and epoxied.  That would work out well for those with limited metal working skill and wouldn't take up much internal space.  Of course the option to not do any of the mods is always available and just make a giant solid cab.

[modessitt]

I guess on thing I didn't make clear in my explanations of the pictures, is that the plexi doesn't attach to the canopy at all.  The end with holes of the flat plexi screw down to the panel above the bezel on the rear body of the cab.  The end of the angled plexi screws to the seat portion behind the marquee above the speakers.  The other ends of the plexis meet in the middle on the crossbar.  They aren't held down by screws, but rather by the metal bracket that screws to the crossbar.

Just more pictures I need to take to show how that happens.

By the way, the angled metal bracket on the front of the seat.  Not sure how that attaches, as there are no obvious screws holding it in place from the outside. 

Since I've got a 3-day weekend coming up, I can find some time to get over there and take some more detail pics.  Shouldn't take as much time since I don't have to do hardly any disassembly for what I still need to do.  Supposed to do some work on it next week, so I'll be taking off the bezel and CP to access the monitor, and should be able to get some pics of that.

[rovingmind]

I saw that in some of the reference photos. 
Its actually a good thing to clear up for everybody else whos watching this project.

The canopy itself is a beast ( i refer to the entire thing beams and all ) and everybody who has posted about a restore mentions how hard it is to get the thing off and how many screws hold it together. 

The original shape of the beams themselves won't be modified to make the canopy removable.  At the moment a few screws and a single support board are the only expected additions to the canopy. These would be easily left out to have the original hard screwed parts.

I was just thinking that a few screws along the edges and a pair under the metal strip along with a thin strip of felt or rubber to cushion the plexi against the canopy beams would make it a single piece.  Black trim screws with a finishing washer under the head would be a sano install option. 

For those worried about the way this discussion is going this would be part of the Alternate options only.  I'm doing the original panels first then looking at how to make a separation point for the breakdown cab.   

[HoopstarsGarage]

The angled seat bracket is indeed made from extruded aluminum and probably one of the more difficult pieces to replicate.  Unfortunately my wife has taken our digital camera to work so I can't snap any photos just yet.. but here is a ROUGH diagram of how it "works" - there are NO screws or bolts holding it in place.. 18mm MDF slips in with a nice firm fit and the angles of the seat and bottom speaker panel hold it from being able to be removed...



This part was originally anodized (black) to resist wearing off as paint would..  to that end, I would suggest making the part from 4mm aluminum and having it anodized..

Hoops

[rovingmind]

I don't have the funds to have that part replicated exactly and i have never seen one come up on ebay.

 Are we possibly looking at a cabinetry grade piece of fitwork here in white oak or ash? 

Maybe two pieces of aluminum plate bent to the correct angle bonded (welded/epoxyied) to a center section?  It isn't that hard to get a piece of aluminum bar machined down.

It might actually end up being the type of part that Ram Controls could make and sell with the Yoke possibly?

I could replicate it at home in sheet steel and send it out for powdercoating.

Must think about that now.

Thanks for the headsup Hoops

[ChadTower]

There has to be another way to do that without the highly machined anodized part.

[rovingmind]

There has to be another way to do that without the highly machined anodized part.

It wouldnt actually be highly machined, just extruded and polished.  Whoever decides to make it properly better be ready for a couple thousand feet of extrusion sitting around though.


The easiest way (still achieving a high quality cabinet) would be to use a piece of hardwood and rabbet into it.  A couple of dowels, some wood glue, some high gloss paint.   Like the corner on some cabinets.  It would be made with a table saw and dado blade or table saw and router. 

[HoopstarsGarage]

i have never seen one come up on ebay.

That's where I got mine from.. just a couple of months ago now - total price was a tad over $30 including freight down under

Here is a photo of the angle piece..  a little different to how I drew it but you get the idea 



EDIT: Let me know if you want any other shots of this...


Hoops

[ChadTower]

I wonder if some other similar more standard cabinetry part could be substituted with a little mod to the plan.

[rovingmind]

hey hoops can we get some dimensions on that? length of the flats and thickness of the material?

[polaris]

ive got an idea for this bear with me ill try n draw it, i cant explain it well enough.

[polaris]

ok an idea for you, youre talking about extruding the piece.

[polaris]

would 'u' shaped extruded aluminium be available somewhere , or could it be folded possibly into a u shape
get two u shapes join(weld?) at the blue points, then get a flat piece and join at red points to the two 'u's'

it wouldnt look the same internally, but would externally and would perform the function. i lack the knowledge in machnining etc so its just a thought

[polaris]

hmm looking again the flat piece at the top would not actually be flat if you did it that way.
if it was a flat piece it would sit where the green line is and would not be the same shape.
the top piece would need to be slightly u shaped too ( the pink line) to make the exact shape
just wondering overall if the metal sheets could be bent easily into the shapes as opposed to the extrusion method for the one piece.

[modessitt]

hey hoops can we get some dimensions on that? length of the flats and thickness of the material?

The outer sides are 1" wide, as noted in one of my pics.  Separation would be probably 3/4" due to the thickness of the wood.  Inner sides also look to be 1" wide.  Thickness is probably 1/16"  or 1/32"

[HoopstarsGarage]

hey hoops can we get some dimensions on that? length of the flats and thickness of the material?

No problems..  All measurement are in millimeters.. cause it way more accurate




I'll be measuring and photographing all the other metal parts including the control panel and updating all the info to my website - I'll keep you guys posted.


Hoops

[rovingmind]

thank you,

Looking at that i'm thinking my cab is going to have to have a milled piece of hardwood for a while.  I'm not looking at having it extruded.  I dont have the funds.  Although i might make it in steel and have it powdercoated.  That i could do.

[rovingmind]

hmm looking again the flat piece at the top would not actually be flat if you did it that way.
if it was a flat piece it would sit where the green line is and would not be the same shape.
the top piece would need to be slightly u shaped too ( the pink line) to make the exact shape
just wondering overall if the metal sheets could be bent easily into the shapes as opposed to the extrusion method for the one piece.

The double angle top flat would the first piece, the 90 degree bottom would be the second leaving a milled flat for the third.  Tacking the flat to the double angle would be first. then after that was welded the bottom piece would be jigged in place and tacked.  Nice and simple and as durable as the original and made to the originals dimensions.

[Dudeman]

Couldn't you just buy some flat steel and weld that?

I'm not that good of a welder, but I can grind like a mo' fo'!

[rovingmind]

Couldn't you just buy some flat steel and weld that?

I'm not that good of a welder, but I can grind like a mo' fo'!

Sure you could.  The important thing is not how you get to the finished product, just that it meets the originals dimensions and strength.  If you had an aluminum welder you could do the same with aluminum strap. 

I was just pointing out how i planned on making it.

[Jakobud]

I never did come across a Star Wars cockpit to measure up.

[HoopstarsGarage]

OK guys.. this is probably a little pre-emptive but I am a little excited..

I have secured the entire SWC cabinet profile - with this and modessitt awesome measurements, we are well on our way to transferring all the measurements and angles into a CAD file..





Once this is done, I will be having the panels cut with a "point-to-point" CNC router and then comparing them with the original (and make any necessary adjustments etc) - in short, this should ensure the most ACCURATE dimensions of this great cab ever..!!  I will post all files as soon as I get them complete - please give me some time on this..!!!

I also have all the metal parts for this cab (ie. speaker grilles, vents, canopy joiners, marquee retainers, etc) I will also transfer them to CAD including all the angles etc so they can be replicated by budding SWC builders..

[rovingmind]

now all we need are the panel setback dimensions.