MOW Gauntlets for beginners (like me!)

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas out there! I just got back from my family and stopped by the school to pick up my camera. I'll share with you the goings-on with the flamethrower and the screwdriver handles. I spent about 4 hours in the school shop on Saturday on these bits...
(Optional) Step 5A: Improving the Flamethrower
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I did a rough sizing cut mark on the tip of the screwdriver handle. The tip will go, along with most of the body.
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I used a simple hacksaw to slice through the tip of the screwdriver, discarding the tip when done.
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The screwdriver handle was secured to a big drill press, which will substitute for a lathe. I turned on the drill press and used a small file to profile the tapering tip to a shape I was happy with. The speed and spinning action of the drill press should ensure a uniform and symmetrical shape.
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Next, I put the handle in a vise and used progressively larger drill bit sizes to enlarge the hole. This particular piece will be fitted to the larger 1/4" OD aluminum pipes that come with the gauntlets, so it will need quite a large hole.
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The original holes for the bits were a little off-centre, and my drilling hasn't helped that situation at all.
 
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Time to break out the rotary tool! I've got an old Dremel XPS kit with several attachments, a Dremel accessory kit, and a Canadian Tire brand rotary tool kit ($9.00 for 300 pieces!!).
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I used a couple different bits to widen and center the hole. Here is a diamond-embedded grinding bit on the Dremel. I also used a carbide cylindrical cutter bit and an aluminum oxide tapered grinding stone bit to shape the hole, until...
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...the aluminum tube fits in the hole!
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Back to the drill press to smooth out the cuts! I used a honing stone and honing oil (found in the tool aisle of your local Home Depot) to polish the sides...
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... and the cut surface tip. Polishing against the stone on the level working surface of the drill press should ensure a square and uniform cut tip. Be careful when doing this step, as the honing stone has a tendency to 'walk' and 'jump' a bit if you apply too much pressure.
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Last step is to slice off the portion you want from the rest of the handle. I used a hobby mitre box secured to a vise and a matching coping saw to do this. Aluminum is soft enough that the steel saw will cut through it without losing much tooth or sharpness. Using a mitre box will ensure a smooth 90 degree cut on the other side of the piece we need.
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Here's a shot of our finished piece alongside the original resin part.
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Another shot of both the aluminum and resin pieces on the 1/4 " aluminum tubing from the gauntlet kit.
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This is a pure stroke of luck. rooting through my scale modelling tools at home, I found a ****** old pin vise (definitely not the one I regularly use for scale modelling). Its tip is remarkably similar in shape and size to the resin piece seen above it. With minimal shaping and drilling, it was a perfect replacement to the resin. You might be able to find a similar pin vise in the tool section of a larger hobby shop for about $10. It was just kicking around, so YOINK! On to the flamethrower it goes!
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Here's all the pieces I shaped alongside their resin counterparts.
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And here's a parting shot of the pieces dry-fitted to assemble the flamethrower. You can see that I'm already working on the tip of the bottom tube. The replacement tip is just a pen tip from Staples (Zebra brand F-701 stainless steel ball point pen). The polished stainless steel will need some sanding/wire brushing to take away the polished look. I'll work on that (along with some other things) tomorrow in the shop. Watch for another update tomorrow night. Until then, Happy Holidays!
 
Bad day at the 'office'. I spent the day weathering my soft parts. Some went really good, some went disastrous. No real progress to speak of on the gauntlets today, though. I will have another report tomorrow.
 
(Optional) Step 5B: Further Improvements to the Flamethrower
I might be getting a little on the obsessive side now... :wacko
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Here's the flamethrower tip I'm working on. Like I said in a previous post, I'm using the stainless steel tip of a pen from Staples (Zebra F-701). I roughed it up a bit using a stainless steel brush on the Dremel. It gives it a nicely worn and hi-temp 'bluing' effect on the steel. I might still do that to the two washers on the right. Speaking of which, These are just two 5/16" washers. I bolted them together on a 5/16 nut and bolt, and strapped it into the trusty old drill press. Using a big brand-new file, the taper on both edges was acheived in about 2 minutes. (y)
Digging through a variety bag of brass and aluminum scratchbuilding pipe from my local hobby store (less than $20, and it will come in handy for future armor scale modelling projects), I found a piece of brass that nicely sleeved onto both the screw end of the pen tip and the thinner aluminum flamethrower barrel. A little epoxy or solder, and it'll be done!
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Here's a pic of a very hasty dry-fit. I know that the washers and the knurled aluminum part are a little off-centre, but I'll centre them during actual assembly. I'm pretty satisfied with this.
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Now, say hello to my new gas cylinders! They're cheap brass darts from a 3-pack (coincidence? :eek: ) from a game/dart/billiards shop. They are pretty much the exact length of the resin gas cylinders, but a little on the skinny side. I briefly considered throwing them on the flamethrower as-is, but that just wouldn't be good enough :rolleyes . Just like so many other things, they were thrown on the drill press for a quick 'skinnification' before the next step.
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I bought a 1-foot length of brass tube from the old hobby shop that fitted very nicely and tight around the dart barrels. Using some Vernier calipers, I measured the distance between the ends and cut the brass tube to length using my hobby mitre saw set.
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I'm also cutting some rings from yet another 1-foot brass tube length that sleeved perfectly around the previous brass tube. Yeah, I have lots more cutting to do. Catcha later! :p
 
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Ok kiddo's, kind of a mish-mash last couple of days in the workshops...
(optional) Step 5C: More Flamethrower Work
All the tubes and rings are cut (finally!) for the gas cartridges. Time to glue them in place.
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I'm using a JB Weld-type 2 part epoxy for this (it claims to bond any metals together). Should work fine for a brass to brass connection. Just a little is all you need. I mixed well, and used a toothpick to smear it on the brass dart parts. I then twisted on the brass sleeve, only to ensure even spreading of the epoxy between the brass tube and the dart.
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Any excess epoxy that was pushed out was cleaned up with an acetone soaked cotton bud. Nail polish remover works in a pinch.
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To create a more 'seamless' join between the tube and the dart, I filled it with some Bondo spot filler putty. Before applying, I mixed in a few drops of acetone to thin down the spot filler. Excess was cleaned off with an acetone-soaked paper towel and a cotton bud. After looking at my handiwork about 6 hours later, another application may be necessary to ensure all those little gaps are filled.
 
(Optional) Step 6: Improving the ESB Whipcord Launcher
Lots of stuff here on TDH on the hose attachment schematics for the ROTJ whipcord launcher, but nothing so far on the ESB version. Now to me, this thing sort of reminds me of a barbecue lighter... so I picked one up at random.
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My intention is to replace the molded tube in the launcher with something a little different. Time to slice it out!
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Here's a shot of the cut-out tube and its eventual replacement. I'll use the tip of the lighter and leave some of the vent holes exposed, just for a little interest.
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I wanted a look that said that there is most certainly some sort of tube in this housing. I cut a channel for the lighter tube to sit inside with the dremel.
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I sliced off the tip of the lighter (no explosions or fire, so we'll count ourselves lucky :wacko ) with the dremel cutoff wheel.
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This pic doesn't really show it too well, but the lighter tube is a little too tall for the narrow end of the launcher. I had to grind the bottom down a wee bit.
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That wee bit ended up being almost an hour of me working it against a file and test-fitting.
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Here's the piece sitting in its new home.
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And I finally got it to sit flush inside.
I am seriously considering grinding off the white parts of the top of the whipcord launcher and replacing it with some plasticard cut to shape. Looking at the ESB gallery, they seem a little out-of-shape. However, I think I'll leave the dental file nubs at the back of the launcher as they are. According to Darth Voorhees, he always seems to be snagging and losing his during troops.
 
Step 7: Drilling holes for the Darts, Switches, and Light
I don't recall who it was, but someone long ago started a thread here called "ESB Gauntlet Greeblie Help". The interested party was asking about the button/switch on the right gauntlet. It turned out to be part of a 1970's era Eveready pocket flashlight. Looking at the Super Trooper B/W footage, the light was still operational, and in fact the intact flashlight body may actually be a part of the right gauntlet. I'm going to try and at least replicate that functionality using an LED and a slider switch capped with the button that comes with the MOW gauntlet kit.
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The detail in this section is really 'soft'. I'm going to cut out that section and replace it with a piece of plasticard with an LED bulb embedded in it. I started by drilling out the corners.
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Hate to jump from start to finish, but I forgot to take pics. I spent a long time grinding out the resin and fiberglass behind it to get to this stage. I used small files and fingernail emery boards to square off and sand out this section.
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Yes, a long time grinding out this section. I need to make room for the backing plasticard plate, the LED itself, the resistor, and the slide switch. Somewhere inside of this, I'll need to fit a 9V battery for a power source too.
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Looks like I got a little too excited with the dremel. A little Bondo ought to fix that right up.
 
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I drilled out recesses for the darts to slide into (MojoFett, could you hook me up with some please?). The gauntlet sits pretty straight-up and a drill press did the trick very nicely. What size bit was it? Something about the same size as the rivets I picked up as dart replacements. I carefully measured where to drill, but it seems I still mucked it up a bit. If you look, you might see where I'm currently carving out the button recess so it has room to slide back and forth.
I picked myself up a couple Alco 'tyco-switches' (is that what they are?) for the right gauntlet. I searched high and low for measurements or locations where to drill out for these switches on the right gauntlet, but to no avail. Since every gauntlet out there is a little bit different, the best it seems we can do is 'right around there'. Check your picture references, and use the old Mark 1 eyeball to find a nice spot for them.
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Here's where mine are. I at least used a straight edge to get them relatively centered up-down. However, I just used the dremel grinding bit until the switches fit in the hole. I probably should have found the drill bit size and cut proper holes, but whatever. They fit, and most of the battle scars will be covered up with the washers and nuts.
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It was quite a battle to get these to fit. I'd be willing to bet that I have about 5 mm of fiberglass and resin slapped on the insides of these things. As well, there was quite a thick layer of original resin to grind through. The bases of these switches are massive, and I don't think they would fit perfectly perpendicular unless you got some old Ruffkin Toys vac-formed styrene gauntlets.
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In terms of spacing the switches out, I referred to reference pics as best as I could. However, I ended up putting them a little too close together. I had to grind the edges of the switches down in order for them to fit next to each other and not look cross-eyed.
I'm hoping that the switches are still functional. I'd like to use them as helmet rangefinder servo switches; one brings it down, and the other brings it up again. Hopefully there's still room for an RF board in the gauntlets.
 
Another update:
(Optional) Step 5D: Finishing the Flamethrower Scratchbuilding
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I used a set of Vernier Calipers to centre the wide middle ring that goes around the cartridge.
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Once I got the same measurement on both sides, I marked the edges of the ring with a pencil.
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I threw a piece of masking tape down and squeezed out a little CA superglue (I used the medium thickness stuff). With a toothpick, I smeared a little between my pencil marks. The gap between the two brass sleeves is pretty tiny, so too much glue will ooze out the edges.
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With a twisting motion, I put the middle ring in place. A twist as you fit it should ensure that the glue evenly coats the insides and ensures a secure bond, and will pull any excess glue into the gap between the brass ring and the body.
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Simply repeat until all your rings are attached. Here's one of the finished gas cylinders.
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The dart bodies are just a touch too short, compared to the spacing from the original resin cylinders. I would have to add a little length, so I sleeved some aluminum tubing onto the dart points. Before I just cut and slapped them on, I grooved and rounded out the ends of the aluminum tube, so it would sit nice and flush against the round cylinder head with no gap.
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Using a drill bit of sufficient size, I cut out the insides by hand. It's an aluminum tube, so it's a soft and easy-to-cut metal. Once the groove was cut, I sliced off the necessary length. Here are all 3 'nubs' for the dart ends.
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I used some JB Weld metal epoxy to secure the nubs to the dart points. You can wipe away any excess with an acetone-soaked cotton bud.
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Here's all three darts with the nubs attached to the ends. I cut them long enough so that they would sit inside the front cylinder block and used tube that was just thick enough to sit inside the recesses with almost no wiggle room. I sliced off the point of one of the dart bodies with a cutting disc and a dremel. It'll be the top gas cylinder. At the top of the pic, you can see that I drilled through the resin recesses of the front cylinder block to accommodate the other two dart points that will sit inside the flamethrower tubes.
 
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The back ends of the gas cylinders are too wide to sit inside the recesses of the rear block. So I made some pins for them to sit inside the recesses. The copper tube will sit inside the brass dart bodies, while the aluminum rings at the end will fit nice and snug inside the rear block recesses.
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The pins are fitted and JB Welded into place.
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Here are the cylinders dry-fitted into their respective blocks.
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And a final parting shot of the entire flamethrower assembly. Once again, it's only a dry-fit. I want to keep the parts separate for ease of painting. I could probably do a little more work replacing the resin tubes and that resin 'washer' at the back end of the bottom tube... but for now, I'm calling this step DONE!! Thoughts?
 
I like how you 'replaced' some of the flamethrower parts with bits and pieces and now it looks professional and clean. You did amazing prep work and adjustments to the gauntlets. I think you cut a bit too wide the opening for the torch on the right gauntlet, but that's an easy fix if you decide that you want to correct it.

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(Note that the second image is an original Pre-Pro #2 right gauntlet modified by LFL for the ROTJ needs and had the working torch, but they filled and painted the button side and removed the minilight inner parts)

Keep up the great job!
 
Time for an update, kids!
Step 8: Assembling the Gauntlet Halves
I decided and commited to hinging one side of the gauntlets and using big rare earth magnets to secure the other side. Here we go...
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I got a length of piano hinge that was just kicking around the school shop. It's a little too long, so I used the dremel's metal cutting disc to shorten it. You can see that I actually did measure twice before cutting it once. :p Ishould mention that I layed down some fiberglass cloth reinforcing strips on the side that would receive the hinge and screws. It was sanded flat so the piano hinge would lay flat and flush with the gauntlets.
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Use eye or face protection! And find yourself a heavy work jacket or smock (mine's green). We'll be doing a fair amount of metal slicing today.
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I cut the hinge to length, based on filling the gap between the gauntlet ends as much as possible, getting complete hinge sections, and getting as many screw holes in the gauntlets as I could.
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These are the screws that I used. They're pretty short, but they have a really wide, thick 'grab' to them. I lined up the piano hinge on one gauntlet and marked where the screws would drill into. I purposely used a slightly smaller drill bit to drill out where the screws would go (I wanted a really tight fit). I then screwed the hinge to the gauntlet by hand. I didn't want to gouge, score, or worse, strip out the screw holes in the gauntlets.
 
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I repeated the above step with the other gauntlet half, and voila! Hand-tightening the screws should prevent the resin and fiberglass from cracking, splitting, or stripping in the screw the holes.
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Now to slice off the screw ends sticking out of the show side. Don your protective gear!
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Working slowly and allowing the cutting disc to do the work, slice off the ends. You may gouge into the resin, but we're going to need to putty and smooth these bits anyways. No big deal.
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The screw ends are now cut roughly flush with the gauntlet surface. I used a grinding bit on the dremel to further smooth and actually dish out the screws themselves.
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Back at home, I started working on the magnet side of these gauntlets. I picked up some rare earth magnet bars from an online store and roughed up one side of them. This gives the epoxy something to stick and bite into.
 
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After roughing up the gauntlet insides where the magnets would be glued, I mixed up some JB Weld and applied it to these spots.
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I then glued and placed the magnets so they would overlap the edge of the gauntlet slightly. This side of the gauntlet was sticking out just a little bit too much, so i used the magnets themselves as closing tabs to achieve a better closing alignment. The magnets were clamped in place and allowed to dry overnight.
It should be noted that JB Weld contains iron or steel powder. Combined with magnets, it makes for a rather interesting sight when the JB Weld starts creeping out and flowing toward the edges of the magnets. I had to repack the JB Weld under and around the magnets a few times as it started to set up.
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Despite my better judgement, I still used JB Weld on the other side to secure the other magnets. I purposely set them back about 1 mm from where the magnets on the other half would be when shut. They have about 12 lbs of pull each so when closing, they tend to really snap shut! I didn't want them constantly hitting themselves when clasping in case they cracked.
I've heard stormtrooper costumers talk about 'armor bite'. It's when you move and a flap of skin gets pinched between two of your armor plates. This clasping technique has the potential for such an occurence (as my right forearm can attest to).
I've also found that some are a little skeptical of clasping gauntlets using the magnet technique. Believe me, these are NOT coming apart without an extreme amount of effort.
 
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