GunLab

Weekend update for 4th of July

Like all weekends I started out with a list that I could not possibly get done in the time frame allotted.

There were projects that I have been wanting to accomplish that are fun. Some of the things I needed to finish were under the direction of the commander in chief of the house. Some projects are necessary to finish the VG1-5 project. And some just needed to be done.

I started my Saturday morning with trying to get the pistol grip of the AR-16 rifle 3D printed. The PLA that came with the 3D printer is old but seemed to work on the first few projects. That was not going to be the case this weekend. The material did nothing but continue to break off in the feed tubes. After spending a few hours on this I just threw my hands but and ordered some new material.

I hope to back on this project next weekend.

On to the next project. This is doing a little upgrade to by duplicator. I have always found it to set to low for me so I wanted to raise it and changed where is sat slightly. I was able to put the risers on it after a little adaptive engineering.

However, when I went to look for my Johnson bad and skates, about an hour of looking, I could not find them anywhere. A friend borrowed and I will have them back on Tuesday. Then like a fool I tried moving it with out them and not such a good idea. More on this later.

So now off to another project and that is one of the trees at the house has been a little sick and needed to come down, this was a project handed down from the commander. So the task was set into motion. All the limbs had been cut down and taken to the dump all that was left to do was use the backhoe and remove the rest of the stump.

The backhoe decided to take the weekend off. Nothing would get it to start.

I wanted to install new A/C units in the wood shop and machine shop. With the temperatures that we have been having there is no joy in working in the shops. To do this in the machine shop I needed to take down the evap cooler first. This little project took several hours and was not the least bit of fun in the 110 degree heat.

However the A/C guy called about 2 in the afternoon to inform me that he did not pick up the units and it would be next weekend before they would be out. It was okay as I still needed to run the new electric line for the A/C’s and while I was at it I would change the wiring around a little. I also needed to install a return air duct. To do this work I first had to move the bead blaster.Then cut the osb and sheet rock off the wall.

Then the wiring was run for a new 40 amp circuit and set up out side with a new disconnect.

I went to use the small air compressor in the wood shop, the big one needs a new motor and that is another project for another day. It has been acting a little iffy lately so a new pressure switch was ordered and received on Friday.

Once again Murphy came back to visit. The switch that was ordered and suppose to work was not the correct type.

Once again the weekend did not go as planed. In addition to all the fun I had in the 110 degree heat some where along the line I pulled my back and could hardly walk,sit or lay down without being in great pain. Not sure if it was the trying to move the duplicator, taking down the evap, dealing with the tree or running the new electric. At that point I just threw in the town and took my wife to the movies.

Update on the VG1-5 project

We have been working on the fire control group and once again have made a few changes for more reliable operation and safety. We continue to have issues with the disconnector operating properly. There were issues with the hammer spring improperly contacting the disconnector. An additional problem came about with insufficient spring pressure to hold it in it’s proper position.

This is the old style of disconnector compared to the new style.

The old version of the fire control group. There was a great deal of problem to get the disconnector to work properly.

The part as laser cut

Solid models of the fixture.

fixture for machining the disconnector.

After the first machining operation

The finished part with cut outs for the hammer spring and

From start to finish now to de-bur and heat treat.

This is the fire control group with the problems worked out.

Working on the stock duplicator

The time has come up that I need to get back to doing more stock work. There is the VG1-5, the Gerot 05 and I really want my Scotti X working. All three of these projects require the stock duplicator to be working.

I had it set up but the dust collector system was not hooked to it. To say that it made an enormous amount of saw dust would really be an understatement. So it was off to take some measurements and a trip to the sheet metal shop to make a funnel arrangement.

This was actually the easiest part of the project. I now had to get a sheet metal housing into a spot that had cross bars and was an exact fit.

This was accomplished by partially disassembling the duplicator and carefully moving the funnel in. Keep in mind that the duplicator is cast iron and really heavy, so we did not want it falling on anyone. With a great deal on determination it was finally accomplished.

The funnel assembly set perfectly on the lip of the duplicator.

When the foot pads are installed and the unit raised the alignment between the dust collector sweep and the sweep that will go on the funnel should be spot on.

Soon it will be back in service.

3D printer completed test print

After the problems that I came across during my initial test print it was back to the drawing board to correct everything.

The first issue that needed correcting was the positioning of the nozzle over the wiper. The was corrected by going back to the documentation that Orin had sent me on the Cubex duo.

Course 3.4 labeled setting up the print tip wiping system gave a good run down on the corrections necessary. I did not have to do the complete progression of steps. All that was needed in my case was to go to the off sets menu.

Then put in new off sets that would move the nozzle back far enough.

This alone corrected the nozzle smearing problem.

The second problem that I faced was the material not sticking to the table. To solve this issue I dropped the glue and put blue painters tape down instead. This actually worked and allowed easy removal of the printed part.

Here is a video of the printing of the test block.

This is what the final part looked like.

A close up of it.

I have a list of projects for the 3D printer. Some of the solid models are completed and will be printer in the next few weeks, like the AR-16 pistol grip, and some are in the modelling phase and will be printed upon completion of the models, like your project John P.

Full auto pistols prototypes part 1

In the world of full auto pistols some stand out a great deal. The Mauser Schnellfeuer is probably the most famous.

Following it are the Russian Stechkin.

Then the Astra model 904 and a variety of Star pistols.

This is one of the many prototypes that has been made over the years that actually never went past a single model. I had the opportunity to examine and photograph this weapon a few years back.

A right hand view

Left hand view

Moving the front grip down converted it to full auto

A view of the pistol and magazine.

Close up of the magazine

The back of the magazine

The things I remember most about this pistol is how heavy it was and how uncomfortable the grip felt.

More work on the CNC router

Most of the machining has been completed on the two side panels. This is how they looked in the solid model.

And this is how they turned out.

We still have 6 holes to drill on each plate and 12 hole to tap on each plate.

With any luck I will have them mounted and I will be able to start wiring it back together again.

More work being done on the cnc router

With the wiring completed on the angle connector plate

The next item to be made is the side panel. This is where the fans and angle plate attach to.

These are the pictures of it being machined on the HAAS machining center.

Everything starts as a solid model and then a drawing to work from.

Even with solid models and drawings the components are checked for proper fit.

The side plate will be completed by today and this weekend installed on the machine and I will commence wiring everything up.

3D Printer update

When we received the new 3D printer and some of the plastic support pieces were broken. I did a post about making the new parts. Then when we tried to operate it we noticed that the over travel switch did not work on the Y axis. There are still spare parts so a new wiring harness was ordered and received this last week. The old harness was removed.

and a new one installed.

The problem with the Y axis over travel switch was the set screw had damaged the wire. It had been improperly installed at the factory.

Spare switches were also ordered in case repairs are needed in the future.

I completed the first test print and actual part print on Sunday. There were a few set backs but nothing serious.

The first issue was that the filament is old and gave me a few problems feeding.

Once this problem was corrected the next issue was the nozzle placement over the printer tip wipe. It was not going back far enough. A quick search on the internet as well as looking at the cube x courses, along with Orin’s help, and a solution was found and implemented.

This is my first test print which went totally wrong.

The final product did not come out.

The next post on the 3D printer will cover the corrections and the final test print that was completed.

CNC Router update

With the temperatures souring this last weekend most of the projects that were accomplished were done in the house with it’s A/C going.

In this case I continued the fun that I started the weekend previously. All the connectors have been installed and soldered on the angle connector bracket.By the end of last weekend I had finished just a few of the plugs.

By Saturday night the entire block was connected up.

Only one wiring harness had been completed by a week ago. I then completed the next two wiring harnesses.

These have the pig tails made up so I can wire them into the new control panel that we built and I wrote about.

The next major components to be finished on the router are the new side panels. Maybe next weekend.

Working on the CNC router

In the last update on the router I showed a picture of the milled angle plate that was made here.

This weekend I started wiring up this block. I first tried using solder connectors. With out the proper soldering iron that turn into a disaster. After ruining a number of 9 pin connectors due to excessive heat I gave up.

The next approach I tried was using crimp connectors. For this I bought a crimp tool, special wire and insulation, and male and female connectors and pins.

For some reason the crimps would just not come out correctly.

Also the female connectors had no stop in them. This meant that if you were not careful the wire would go into the connector thus not allowing the male plug to go in all the way.

This process was more aggravating then the first one. So, it was off to Fry’s electronics to buy a new crimping tool. No such luck. There was no crimping tools at all, however they did have a large selection of pencil tip soldering irons.

With a new pencil tip soldering iron in hand I set up a little work area on the dining room table. Not really to my wife liking, however it was hot in the shops so she did not fight it much.

After a couple of hours trying to get in a mode and working out all the bugs in the procedure I finished 1/2 of one plug. With 12 plugs to do I couple be dead for really old age before I finish this one step.

A new system needed to be implemented.

I first cut wires to length and strip the ends

Then I soldered the ends

Then I installed and soldered them in the plugs.

This whole process was a little nerve racking and when I finally got a procedure that I liked the tip went out on the soldering iron. Now new tips have been ordered and I hope to be back on schedule this next weekend. Only 12 more sets to install.

I also made up the first of four wire hook up circuits to go from the control panel to the angle junction block.

This coming weekend looks to be a fun one. By the way no video on this phase of the project, the foul language would have given me an X rating

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