2013

The last time I had a chance to work on Arfour seems like a lifetime ago.  The last post on here was from July 2011.  Since that time a lot has changed, while Arfour stayed in the same basic look as she does in the photo shoot:  I've gotten a new job, moved myself and the family 600 miles from our old home, gotten into road cycling, lost 50 lbs.  Through all of that I've had the want to get back to work on Arfour, but I've made excuses.  The biggest deal is that I had to take her back apart, and work on detail work and electronics, both of which are daunting to me. 

Last weekend I took the plunge and got her back to a state where I can work on the main body putting the outter shell on.  I am going to need to do some repair work on the frame from the move, and there are still some design questions I have to figure out before I can accurately bond the shell onto the frame.  The big difference for me personally is that I think I'm more willing at this point to be patient with the project and look at what is needed versus trying to get her up and mobile as quickly as possible.  My current goal is to have her to a displayable level, hopefully with basic motor control, by the end of the summer.  Right now my goal is to work on it for an hour or so a couple times a week cutting out parts that I still need to finish, and basic prep work on the frame.  Then once the weather improves a bit I can work on the actual build portions.  I also need to spend time learning to solder, as well as learning how to program the Arduino.

Post-MegaCon update

It's a twap frame!

It's been a week since MegaCon, and I've managed to get more than a fair amount done on R4.  The frame is now to the "stabilize and prep for skins" point, and the bearing is ready to be mounted once I'm ready.  And I finally started on legs!  I have 1 leg almost completely cut out (I just need to buy some 1mm styrene before I can cut out the last bits) and I'm to the stage of welding.  I've been learning more about techniques and how to actually get the most out of the parts that I have, and it's really helped.

Tools:  I ended up picking up a metal square, it's making a drastic difference on how accurate I can make cuts, even versus other metal rulers I have.  I also picked up a sanding block (instead of just using the paper for my mouse sander) and it's made evening out the rough spots a lot easier.  Lastly, I got a "bastard" file, which is making cleaning up uneven spots a LOT easier.  Thanks Todd for the suggestions, they have really helped!

Techniques:  You would figure after spending 6 months working with the knife that I would have figured it out by now, right?  Nope.  I have been holding the blade at WAY too shallow of an angle, and it makes the cuts take FOREVER.  After fiddling around a little bit this week, I'm at more of a 45 degree angle now, and it's making a massive difference in the quality and effectiveness of each cut.  It may sound like a small thing, but stuff like this definitely makes me feel good when I figure it out.

Other materials:  I ended up getting a new 4' table (the parts in this last update are sitting on this table now.  What I'm using it for currently is to hold parts while I work on other sections, as my workspace is limited.  It's also small enough that eventually I can bring it inside if needed as well.

The start of the 1st leg!

I'm planning on going slightly off plans for my legs, mostly in the support area.  I have the top section welded, and I'm moving forward.  Finding the pipe for the main housing was a little bit of a challenge, but I think my father-in-law has some 3/4" outside diameter pipe that will end up working nicely. I'll post up more leg shots once I have more to show.

Progress

It's been a while since I had a chance to really sit down and work on arfour.  In November I ordered a skin set from Chani, and it took a little while for it to come in.  Without the skin set, it was near impossible to figure out which piece of the top of the frame was too tall.  Last Friday I went over to Todd's and we got the issue figured out, and I had a chance to trim and start constructing again.  With MegaCon only 10 days away, I'm hoping I can have the frame nearly done, and the legs a bit further along before the show.