Why I recommend blogging

It's been awhile since I posted but it's been busy around here. Before I get into the why of the title of this blog (Why I recommend Blogging), I want to say that "I LOVE WELDING !!" The first couple tries were rocky and being an impatient kind of guy I got disappointed pretty quickly. I posted a blog entry and then deleted it as I was about to give up on trying to weld thin gauge metal. And now I'll come to the "Why I recommend blogging".

Once again, I received some good advice from a reader of this blog that completely changed my outlook on welding. I was able to figure out that welding thin gauge metal is no big deal and actually pretty easy once you practice and learn to keep from burning holes into the thin metal. Which still happens but I'm able to fill the holes with filler rod. Each time I do it, it becomes more enjoyable and I get better at it. The advice I get from friends has really taught me so many skills. Gary, Mike, and of course my friend Brad have helped me in many situations (as well as a few others I didn't mention). And that's just another reason to publish a blog. And I'll say it again .... I LOVE welding. Especially acetylene but I'm also using my wire feed to do initial spot welds.

I decided to experiment creating a metal life size battle droid as my first project. I used my cardboard droid partially as a template although I'll be taking a million liberties on the project. It's more an art sculpture instead of a battle droid. It's been shaping up nicely and I'm having fun which is the whole point of what we should be striving for.

In other news, my new young builder friend Jeremy and his nice mom and dad stopped by our home yesterday. Jeremy actually brought me one of his home made droids !!! It will be proudly displayed in our droid room. Jeremy is just a sweet kid and fun to talk to. He brought me some drawings he did of an R3 and was explaining about an R9 unit. He knew a lot about clone wars which I wasn't up on. He's also looking forward to seeing R5-PQ which he brought up numerous times after I showed him a picture.

The attached pictures of the sculpture in progress aren't too good. But once I get the hip base finished (in one of the pictures), I'll attach the chest and hips. Still not sure how to make arms but that will be fairly easy. The nice thing about welding is you don't have to worry about different adhesives to hold stuff together. Welded steel has so much more strength.

Thanks to everyone reading this that has commented and given me good suggestions. I don't comment back all the time but they are all greatly appreciated !

Troops

Troops (Cops/Star Wars Spoof)

A Broken Machine | MySpace Video

R2D2 on Fox News

I just hope all this publicity doesn't go to his dome

Welding robot bones

I finally had a little time to start experimenting with the acetylene torch this week. First thing I figured out is the acetylene tank was just about empty. So yesterday in a downpour I exchanged it for a full one.

After reviewing my "how to" video to make sure I didn't blow up the house, I started adjusting the valves and pressure making very sure to keep the acetylene pressure below 15 pounds. After accidentally going far into the DANGER DANGER ZONE 3 times, I finally figured out the CORRECT way to use the valves. And lived to blog about it. Having a full tank makes all the difference in the world. Torch is very hot now.

So tonight I experimented by creating some robot bones for upcoming sculptures. Wanted to try welding copper to steel and use brazing rod. Surprisingly strong compared to what I was expecting. Also did some spot welds with a thin gauge of steel and practiced filling in holes with filler rod. Most of the welds came out pretty good and even though a few were pretty ugly, they were strong.

I like the idea of using acetylene instead of wire feed. The acetylene is a little slower but more versatile. Plus less intimidating. Don't need a big honking welding mask and the sparks don't fly as far (so I don't set my workbench on fire). Plus you can texture metal with an acetylene torch which makes some pretty interesting effects for metal sculpture. I can now picture about a million projects this would be good for. My poor wife ....

Another good thing is the weather is starting to cool down a tad here in Florida. So I can wear long sleeve shirts and pants while welding without getting heat stroke.

Time to laugh

A friend just sent me this link and it cracked me up. Enjoy

Video of hydrocephalus event

Helping out a fellow builder

We had a last minute opportunity to bring R2 to a walkathon that benefits a Hydrocephalus support group. The woman who started the group has a son with hydrocephalus and he just so happens to have a passion for building robots. Check out the following link to see a room full of robots he built. Well after seeing that, how could I not show up with R2 and talk robots with the little guy. And was he sweet. He spent the better part of the day next to R2 and helped keep R2 safe from people who tried to touch him. It was a joy to be there. And the members of the 501st and Rebel legion who attended were outstanding in the way they interacted with the crowd. Words do not describe the fun we all had. I'll have to post some video when I get a chance. Mike who was the imperial officer stood by with all the kids and kept R2 in line. Listening to him and R2 go back and forth was priceless. The kids loved it. Thanks to Lori and the rest of the group. It was a great time.

When it came time for the walkathon, R2 accompanied Jeremy in the front of the group.

This is the pre-event video of Jeremy filmed by Fox news. The anchorman and his family were also at the event on Saturday.
Click here to see the Fox Video

Star Wars in Concert - St. Pete Times Forum

Words cannot describe how fun the Star Wars in Concert event was. Hanging out with the 501st and Rebel Legion was the highlight of the trip. We met some very nice people and had a ball. Out of all the places R2 has been, this was definitely the most crowded. After the doors opened, it was so crowded that you could not move at all. When it was time to leave, we all lined up against the wall and were led out by an officer of the 501st in a loud commanding voice announcing "Make way for Lord Vader". That parted the crowd pretty good although several members were cut off and separated from the group by people asking for pictures.

After the event was over we were told we could stay around for about a half hour so Yvonne and I brought R2 back up to the display area. At first we couldn't get through and then a supervisor at the Forum told us he'd get us there. He cleared a path to the exhibit and we found a little corner to put R2 as he was surrounded by picture takers. As the crowd closed in, you couldn't even move. People started smashing up against me with my controller and I worried about someone triggering R2 to move into someone. That's when I started doubting our decision to return. Luckily I eventually found a safe place to stand where I could watch R2 and keep the controller from being bumped.

A great time and we met some super people.

Post Halloween 2009

R2 is currently sitting in the garage on the charger after a long night of trick er treating. R2 drove a good mile and ran for over 4 hours continuous. I was pleasantly surprised this new battery I recently purchased for the Spektrum transmitter held out so long. It still had juice after 4 hours.

Some of the terrain was a challenge. The reflector discs in the road stuck out and once R2 hit one and was really jarred. A few cobblestone areas and speed bumps were obstacles R2 had to be watchful of. I had to run R2 in the street because the sidewalks were too confining with the amount of people out. There were some big Halloween block parties around here and every year it gets more and more popular. Running him in the street was a little challenging when the mobs surrounded R2 and cars were trying to get by. But the cars were driving slowly and it never was a big problem.

My nephew Joey was a Jawa but the temperatures in Florida have been hotter than normal lately and after about 20 minutes, his hood and gloves came off. He looked more like a monk than a jawa but I don't blame him. It was really hot last night. I noticed a lot of kids had their masks off. Joey was a good sport and waited up for R2 when the mobs surrounded him (which was every couple minutes). The reactions were incredible when people realized R2D2 was tooling down the road in their neighborhood. I answered the same questions about a million times. Where did you get him "I built him" How much was he "I can't let that be public knowledge because if my wife finds out I'm in big trouble". How long did it take to build him .......

The kids were all pretty good. One little guy was completely engrossed with R2 and I detected a future builder with him. The force was strong with that one. His mom told me he wanted to be R2 but they couldn't come up with a costume so he was spiderman instead.

R2 performed flawlessly although having the rear door installed now made it harder to communicate to the CF3 sound system and transmitter. It's harder to get a signal through the aluminum so we may need to tweak the antenna configuration again.

Oh and I almost forgot the funniest part of last night. A little guy dressed as Darth Vader was afraid of R2 and it took his parents a few minutes to coax him over to take a picture.