Monday night I was going to assemble, but I realized that the minute I put the detail pieces on the outside I no longer have ANY access to the bolt heads I will use to fasten the leg to the body. Off to Home Depot I went...god I hate Home Depot. I spent over an hour in the bolt aisle trying to find the bolts I needed for that and a few other things. That place sucks! I wanted 3/4" bolts....they only had up to 5/8"...so I went with 5/8". Then I couldn't find nuts becasue they go up to 1/2", then washers were in a different place, and I finally found some nuts in a completely different place...AARRGGHH!! Anyways.I got home to find that the 5/8" bolts would not go into the leg at all because of the bolt head......so back to the drawing board.
Tuesday I ordered some 3/4" threaded rod that will work..but I had to get them cut to length, so I had to wait for that to happen. Tuesday my INteractive R2D2 toy arrived (I got on ebay). It was returned because it was missing legs...which is why I got it. The plan was for me to take it apart and install it in my full sized R2d2 so that when you talk to it..it will answer you. Unfortunately even without legs this thing had problems. It would not "boot up" properly, and it's head would turn all the way one way, then back. It wasn't able to figure out where the center of it's head was to position. I took it right apart (see picture below) and I THINK the trouble was an infrared mitting and reciving set of diodes that look for a tooth on a wheel that turn with the dome..but I don't know how I could possible prove that or fix it. I went to bed discouraged and frustrated.
Wednesday...I exchanged a few emails with a guy in the r2builders group who did with his full sized what I want to do (using an interactive R2d2). He was very kind and offered to take a look at it for me. Wednesday night I put R2 back together (sort of) so I could ship it. Then I wanted to mount the threaded rods I finally got in the legs...MORE problems. It was working, but I need to have a hex nut on the outside of the leg, and the 3/4" hex nuts are too thick...which would make the space between R2's body and his leg too large. I tried to cuz the hex nut in half with a jigsaw...but that was a futile effort. I went to bed frustrated again.
Now it is Thursday...GOD I hope things start working out. I went out at lunch and bought some thinner hex nuts...and I shipped the non-working Interactive R2D2 to that guy who will look at it for me. Tonight I plan to mount the 4 bolt assemblies in the leg..what can go wrong now?!?!
Next on the agenda is to drill holes in R2's body so I can fit these bolts through. I have printed out a template to use as a guide to locate them. I need to drill 13/16" diameter holes...which will be another challenge, since I have a small cheap drill. We'll see what I can borrow from the shop. Once I am confident the legs can be fastened this way..I can then do the finish details to the leg. I will have a set of holes so I can mount the leg in 1 of 2 positions...vertically, or on an angle for when he is in 3 legged mode. A lot of people in the r2builders group made their R2's so that with the press of a button his center leg will retract and he will stand up straight (legs turn). This is beyond me so I will just have him fixed in a 2 legged vertical position, OR the 3 -legged "reclined" position. For now I don't have any feet so I will just hang the legs vertically (R2 is sitting on a stool so his legs aren't touching the floor).
Of course I STILL need my second leg to be welded together. I really wanted to be doing 2 legs at the same time, but the guy who is weling the legs keeps promising and not delivering. I appreciate him doing this, but so far I have bought him 3 cases of beer and waited for about 4 months!!!! He keeps saying "This week for sure!"..and then nothing happens. Welding aluminum is tricky and he is a really good welder..so I have to be patient..but man!
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