I decided that it would be fun to make my own proton pack for Halloween next year (as opposed to the inflatable one that came with my last minute GB costume).
Anyways, I figured I’d post pictures of my progress on here for you all to see.
Here’s where I’m at so far.
I’ve gotten 2 inch pvc pipe and a sign from Lowes and I’ll be using those to make the Synchronous Generator tomorrow (following Norm’s plans)
Photo isnt showing for me.
Well, I can’t seem to edit my original post. Sorry about that, I’m not very good at the whole embedding pictures thing. Hopefully this one works:
There’s a couple spots I need to sand out, but I’m really happy with it for a first try.
Nicely cut but it looks as if you have some incorrect dimensions. The top right corner should be curved not a corner. Also the right hand edge should slope slightly towards the sync gen and the left hand edge under the power cell should be perpendicular with its bottom edge, yours slopes.
Seeing as the mother board is really the foundation of the pack its important to get it right.
it looks like he’s going with norm’s plans.
looks great ! , how thick is that board ? it looks 1/2 , should be 1/4
I agree with Mr. Spider
Looks good, you obviously have some skill, but remember you are going to be lugging this on your back (even if for only one night) so you are probably going to want to go a little thinner. Depending in the plans you are using it’s actually .125". I used 3/16". I also constructed the main parts (power cell, gearbox, EDA, etc.) out of 3/16" and made them all hollow. Just a thought.
Good luck with your build! This site has a ton of useful resources and helpful people.
Wow! So many replies so quickly!
Regarding the rounded corner, I’m aware I need to fix that I just keep putting it off since it was easier to get it after the original cutting. Hopefully, I won’t forget.
Regarding the thickness of the wood, it’s actually 3/4 inch thick. That’s much thicker than even Norm’s plans called for. It’s what I had already and since I’m trying to keep this really lowish budget, it seemed alright. I’m an Eagle Scout so a heavy pack is no problem for me 8) (It’s also ridiculously light for such a thick board, not quite sure why).
And I am following Norm’s plans as that seemed an easy way to keep to whole project low budget without suffering much appearance-wise. It doesn’t call for the area removed under the power cell, I plan to just leave it for now and chop it off if it proves to be an issue.
Thank you guys for all of your comments, I never expected to see so many so soon!
you can keep your mother board, just adjust all your other sizes for 1/4" less than what they should be where they meet the motherboard.
i actually did that the last pack i made because i wanted to attach everything to my motherboard securely, vs a built shell that id attach as a whole to a mobo.
Was this done with a 1/2 inch board or a 3/4 inch board? I’m following the logic, but wouldn’t you adjust it 1/2 for a 3/4 inch board? That seems like it might be getting too much.
I have the piece of PVC pipe all cut and ready to glue to the board. What type of glue would be good for this?
Hot glue?
my mother board was 1/2" ply. i tried to make the whole pack out of 1/2" material. where it met the motherboard, i split the difference and took 1/4" off that piece so my “motherboard” was still technically 1/4". if you used 3/4" board, you adjust it by a 1/2" accordingly.
here’s a quick picture i drew up to illustrate what im talking about
ive built 7 packs using norm’s plans. i know them very very well, if you have any questions feel free to shoot me a pm.
This is great advice and I’ll definitely use this in my next pack.
But does not doing this have any effect on the design of the pack? If I left everything according to plan just substituting a 3/4 inch mobo instead of a 1/4 inch mobo, would it mess up the pack in any way? Or would it just produce a pack that’s 1/2 inch thicker in the end?
Because I’m sorta tempted to not have to make all these conversions while I’m still learning how to do this.
the picture on the left is how it should look. if you leave the 3/4" motherboard, and still make a 5" crank generator box, you’ll have a 5 3/4" length, that will add bulk and weight thats unnecessary. if i were you i would adjust the measurements subtracting 1/2" so you’d make a crank gen 4 1/2". my hga pipe fits perfect in that space. so to answer your question, yes. it’d add 1/2" to the thickness of all your measurements of the pieces that meet the mother board.
consider this;
if you have a 1/4" mobo. you have to add another 3/4" to it to make “the corner plate” that rests on the mobo next to the crank box behind the hga. its on the left, with a side and front view.
if you already have a 3/4" mobo, just add a 1/4" piece and you’re set.
**however, the only exceptions to your height adjusting that i can think of at the moment would only be your ion arm and cyclotron, since they rest on pieces that you would have already taken away 1/2" from its measurement, so their measurements would be fine. im not adding in your accessories like clippards and various pipes you’ll be adding later on, just where things connect to the mobo. **
i have a really stupid question, because im not sure, are you working with a 3/4" motherboard? or are we talking hypothetically? i have to admit, one reason why i ended up doing all im telling you is because i wanted to do it from the start, and wanted my pack to be a solid prop. i have to adjust my electronics by taking off my bumper and my cyclotron. this is something you may also want to think about.
I am indeed working with a 3/4 inch mobo.
I’m rather torn between taking off the half inch off of everything. It would help maintain the original size of the pack, but it would add a whole layer of complexity to the project. Not a huge one, but one that I’m not sure I’m ready to handle yet.
I think, at this point, I’ll leve the measurements intact, just taking the extra half inch depth of the proton pack.
I appreciate your advice though. I’ve got a feeling that when this thing is done, it will be bulletproof.
I told myself the same thing when i built my first one out of plywood, I wanted it to feel like a heavy peice fo equipment, long story short, im now working on a 4th out of fiberglass to save weight lol, but… to each his own, hte mother board can always be replaced if you feel you need to swap down a thickness later : )
Keep going ! 
Good point! I’m attaching the pvc pipe part of the Synchronous Generator tonight, I’m making myself do one step at a time, every day. Then no last minute rush!
NO. Hot glue can’t really support that much weight reliably for an extended period of time in my experience. Use epoxy. Hell, bolts would be the preferred way to go, but epoxy works too.
Thanks for replying, I actually decided that I’m probably going to screw it on, probably drilling the screws in diagonally.
EDIT: Even better, I found a nice L bracket in the shed, I’ll be using that. It’ll use two screws for the board and 2 for the pipe. That won’t be going anywhere.
I figured you guys would like/deserve an update. I managed to attach the PVC pipe very securely, the Synchronous Generator is starting to take shape.
And here’s a close-up!
The way norm’s plans are designed, those unsightly screws should be covered by the rest of the SG.