So I’m looking to cut my spacer out of MDF and wasn’t sure if I should do the 1/2" or 3/4"… then I saw this stuff called “hardboard” at Home Depot.
Which is best to use? Is 1/2" sturdy enough? Will 3/4" be too heavy after a while?
Most of the rest of pack is plastic… found objects and some sintra-made boxes. Cake pan cyclo, Multimediamayhem aluminum mobo, etc.
Thoughts?
I think 1/2" is more than sifficient. I was going to go with 1/8" myself until I realised that there’d be no good way for me to affix the sheet metal (or whatever else I might be lucky enough to find that I can bend) around the outside of it because that would be impossible to nail into.
we cut 5 1/2 plates and 1 1/4 inch plate.
Hi wackychimp,
We basically did the same thing as CADmonkeyChic, but used four 1/2" sheets and one 3/4" sheet. Here’s the exploded view from our plans:
The top sheet is 1/2", the second is 3/4", the third is 1", but we couldn’t find it in that size so we switched to 2 x 1/2" sheets, and the bottom is the final 1/2" sheet.
On our first packs we cut just a top and bottom w/ spacer in between, then wrapped plastic around the whole thing. The results weren’t that great for us, especially when it came to attaching the cosmetic plating and the wand hose. I think others have had success with that method, you may want to ask around.
We used MDF from Home Depot for ours on the current plan. It cuts really smoothly (no knots or splinters), but is really fragile. You should definitely plan to give it a good coat of Bondo.
One final tip: work very slowly and carefully. The things are a bitch to cut, especially the flat parts around the bottom for the plating.
Good luck!
-Robby
That looks like a much easier method than trying to put metal sheeting aroudn the sides and a much simpler construction than Stefan’s plans indicate.
Stefan’s plans have the top half of the 1" layer as a seperate piece called the “center cover”.
Of course it won’t be nearly as light as using sheet metal for the sides. Is there anything other than MDF one could use that would be smooth and wouldn’t splinter? I’ve heard people mention hardboard. I haven’t been able to find any yet though and I don’t know how dense it is.
Thanks. Originally we made them as two separate pieces, but when we put them together, we realized we didn’t need all those extra cuts.
I went with the MDF because the thickness is actually what it says on the label and also because it’s easy to work with. It makes a huge mess though. You mentioned earlier that you were looking at hardboard; did you mean hardiboard? If so, I don’t think it’s any lighter - it’s made from concrete fibers and is intended to be used on the exterior of a house. I also couldn’t say much about the thicknesses available.
I used MDF for the majority of my pack and the finished product weighs in at just under 35 lbs. The ALICE pack does wonders for distributing the weight and it’s not too bad to wear for several hours.
-Robby
I meant hardboard.
I looked up hardiboard. As you said, it’s like concrete. That would definitely not be easier to work with. 
Hardboard, from my research today, appears to be that dark brown board they use for pegboard. You know, the brown boards with all the tiny holes in it that’s sold right next to the MDF.
And whereas MDF is held together with resin which dulls blades and outgasses formaldehyde (which is probably not an issue with a little proton pack, but I wouldn’t want to live in a house made of the stuff), hardboard is supposedly heated and placed under great pressure which allows the wood’s natural adhesives to make it stick together.
I don’t know if that makes hardboard denser and heavier than MDF, but it probably is easier to cut. The thing is, I don’t know if they make it in any width’s greater than 1/8", and I’m not sure if it will split when drilled or nailed from the side. I guess if it was thick that wouldn’t be an issue.
Anyway I guess I’ll go out shortly and browse the wood aisles at Home Depot and Lowes to see what they’ve got as far as hardboard goes. I don’t think Home Depot had anything thick enough though.
We’re planning on tackling this with insulation foam from home depot.. it’s much lighter,and should be strong enough after a coat of latex house paint…
That exploded view for making the parts is awesome though! I wish there was something like that that included measurements.
Problem is they only make insulation foam in one thickness, I think it’s an inch, and if you bump anything it will dent and chip. A little latex paint isn’t gonna stop that. Maybe if you coated it in like ten layers of mod podge which is basically elmer’s glue it would be hard enough to be like a plastic. But that would require a whole lot of mod podge and a lot of drying time. Probably take you a week.
Hi Gareee,
The dimensions on the drawing are based on Stefan’s plans for the spacer (http://www.gbfans.com/images/equipment/plans/stefan_2.jpg) and the cosmetic plating (http://www.gbfans.com/images/equipment/plans/stefan_10.jpg) combined, using the thicknesses mentioned in the previous post. The inner cuts are free hand, just be sure to leave enough on the top to allow for the cyclotron.
We made that part last, so we could make sure the upper part of the pack (Gearbox, Gun Mount, etc.) fit before we cut. If you need the dimensions, shoot me a pm and I could put something together for you.
-Robby
Thanks! Since it looks like we’ll be using some home depot electrical boxes in leu of film accurate parts, we’ll probably have to fudge here n there, to come up with something that looks proper.
We’ve both got the fever here today,. after watching some of GB1 last night, and a massive parts acquiring run last night. I suspect after today or tomorrow, we’ll have something to show of our builds.
Damned thing is, the flight suits, alice frames and belt we ordered last monday haven;t even shipped yet. I’m calling them today about that as well.. they should have been here by now.
DirtyRob… Any chance you have the dimensions for these layers you’ve created in your CAD program?
This is a great way to do it!
