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Saucer Invasion - Upright following Saint's Book
GAtekwriter:
Just a quick FYI - while working on my CPO and CP template I took plenty of screenshots and have created a PDF tutorial for using Inkscape (OpenSource vector graphics program, totally free) that can be downloaded here:
http://www.marsbasecommand.com/cptutorial.zip
It's a 2MB zipped file (virus free) and the PDF is in color.
GAtekwriter:
My neighbors heard a sonic boom today - it was me heading to the garage when my wife said "Go work on your cab" - BOOM!
Got a lot done today. First, as someone who is NOT a woodworking expert, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by what I got done today. I've been dreading the control panel for some time, especially drilling the button holes and using a flush bit with my router to shape the Lexan.
Well, the LEXAN cut like butter - my feed speed was about 1" per second and there was no burn or melting. I used a double-flute flush bit with a pilot - I had ZERO clue what this pilot thing was until I just sat down and examined what I needed to do and how this bit would help me. I hope that one of my images here will help someone else in my shoes - it shows that the pilot (a little silver spinner at the end of the bit) is rolling against the 3/4" plywood and the blade is cutting the Lexan. I just had to figure out how to properly clamp the pieces and give myself a gap between the CP and the spare pieces of 3/4" I used to support the Lexan that would become waste.
I know a lot of people have said that using a portable-drill-press-plunger (the kind that attaches to your electric drill) isn't the best way to go, but it's all I actually own. I don't have room (yet) for a full size drill press, so I pulled out the device, attached my drill, put the Forstner 1-1/8" in the chuck and used my center marks on all the holes for accuracy. I had to put a little more energy into pushing down on the drill, but it worked and my holes came out great (I used a spare piece of plywood on the bottom to prevent splintering).
Tomorrow I'll use these holes as pilot holes to drill the Lexan button holes. I also drilled to holes that will hold the trackball plate in place (I'm going to route out the plate space so it is flush with the CP surface). I inserted the trackball plate just to make certain all my drill holes were dead-on and they were... so I know that using the trackball plate as a template for routing my trackball hole will be perfect with my CP overlay.
Had fun - the afternoon went too fast but I did a lot of "measure twice" type work and took my time. I should be able to do some more routing tomorrow - I'm anxious to get this CP done! I've got all my electronics now, so it's coming together...
Jim
Buga8tr:
Lookin good. I love the paint scheme.
GAtekwriter:
Got a little done today - routed the t-molding slot around the CP and then used my new chamfer bit to shave about 1/8" from the bottom at a 45 degree angle... tested it with some spare t-molding and the Lexan and it turned out great. I'll be painting the CP black to blend with the overlay as well as to hide any mistakes.
Some photos below. In the last one you can just see a hint of the chamfer bit's work...
Jim
GAtekwriter:
After quite a long delay, I was able to take advantage of free babysitting (aka in-laws) over this Thanksgiving break and I'm hoping to push through and get the CP done before the weekend is up. Below are some images.
Today was basically finishing drilling all the button holes in the Lexan, routing out areas for the joystick and trackball mounting brackets, cutting out areas for the electronics to mount up-from-bottom, and then routing the hole for the trackball in the Lexan.
Even though I took fairly accurate measurements of the U360 mounting bracket, the holes were still off, so I'm going to have to redrill those... no big deal.
Tonight I'm painting the CP black (so any areas the overlay might miss won't be too noticeable) and then tomorrow I'll mount all the hardware, apply my overlay and the Lexan, and try to get started on the wiring.
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