- January 30th, 2012, 2:49 pm#374189
Okay, I've wanted to build an ECU for a while that we can use at conventions and other events... and Hell's Inc.'s build has finally lit the fire under my butt to get busy.
I thought I'd start a thread of my own, in case anyone's interested in following a second ECU thread with slightly different methods.
I want to underscore the fact that I think chibigear's build is AWESOME!
http://www.gbfans.com/community/viewtop ... =7&t=28767
I'm just taking a different approach to my build.
To start, I looked at reference photos, same as chibigear did, and I came up with measurements that fit my needs. I drew it all out on paper, made my cut list, and headed over to Home Depot for lumber only (at this time).
I bought one sheet of .322" sanded plywood and three 1" x 6" x 8' pine boards. I had the store cut the plywood down to the overall sizes of the "main/back plate" and the face of the "body" of the unit (that way, it would fit into our vehicle for the trip home).
First, I cut the lower part of the "main/back plate" using a jigsaw. Then, I chopped the pine boards down to make the sides and braces for the "body" part of the ECU. This far, everything is put together with only wood glue and finish nails (a pneumatic nail gun saved a lot of time).
Then, I chopped the pine boards down to make the sides and braces for the "body" part of the ECU. This far, everything is put together with only wood glue and finish nails (a pneumatic nail gun saved a lot of time).
Here's a view inside the "body" of the unit... I braced it so I would have good strength for the door while trying to keep the upper chamber open for wiring the electronics.
Here are my pencil outlines for the door opening and door itself. I left 1" overlap for the door to cover its opening when I'm done. Yes, it's off center, because I wanted it that way. In some of the reference photos, it looked like the side with the handle had more room, and it will work better to give myself more room to rig a mechanism to hold the handle in the up or down position.
I cut the door opening using a Formica Finishing tool on my router. It has a ball bearing on the end that traced right along the inner frame and cut the door opening exactly the same dimensions as the bracing for a flush fit.
After working on this project for one weekend (off and on for a few hours, here I am.
Going forward, I will finish up rough fitting all the pieces together. Once all the major components are present, I'm going to sand heavily, then I will use a large putty knife to cover all the surfaces lightly with body filler to fill in all the imperfections in the wood. That should take care of any wood grain patterns, big blemishes, or seams. Once that's cured and sanded, I am going to brush the entire unit with fiberglass resin to provide the unit with a surface free from any organic patterns... I'm hoping this technique will yield a surface that will look like steel when it's painted.
I'm open to suggestions, criticism, and any other help the boards might have to offer.
I will post progress photos as I go forward.
I'm most excited about the method I've devised to display this prop... I don't want to say too much, but I hope I'm able to execute in reality as well as it's come together in my mind. (that project will be part of this one... but I won't start on it until I'm about done with the ECU itself)
I thought I'd start a thread of my own, in case anyone's interested in following a second ECU thread with slightly different methods.
I want to underscore the fact that I think chibigear's build is AWESOME!
http://www.gbfans.com/community/viewtop ... =7&t=28767
I'm just taking a different approach to my build.
To start, I looked at reference photos, same as chibigear did, and I came up with measurements that fit my needs. I drew it all out on paper, made my cut list, and headed over to Home Depot for lumber only (at this time).
I bought one sheet of .322" sanded plywood and three 1" x 6" x 8' pine boards. I had the store cut the plywood down to the overall sizes of the "main/back plate" and the face of the "body" of the unit (that way, it would fit into our vehicle for the trip home).
First, I cut the lower part of the "main/back plate" using a jigsaw. Then, I chopped the pine boards down to make the sides and braces for the "body" part of the ECU. This far, everything is put together with only wood glue and finish nails (a pneumatic nail gun saved a lot of time).
Then, I chopped the pine boards down to make the sides and braces for the "body" part of the ECU. This far, everything is put together with only wood glue and finish nails (a pneumatic nail gun saved a lot of time).
Here's a view inside the "body" of the unit... I braced it so I would have good strength for the door while trying to keep the upper chamber open for wiring the electronics.
Here are my pencil outlines for the door opening and door itself. I left 1" overlap for the door to cover its opening when I'm done. Yes, it's off center, because I wanted it that way. In some of the reference photos, it looked like the side with the handle had more room, and it will work better to give myself more room to rig a mechanism to hold the handle in the up or down position.
I cut the door opening using a Formica Finishing tool on my router. It has a ball bearing on the end that traced right along the inner frame and cut the door opening exactly the same dimensions as the bracing for a flush fit.
After working on this project for one weekend (off and on for a few hours, here I am.
Going forward, I will finish up rough fitting all the pieces together. Once all the major components are present, I'm going to sand heavily, then I will use a large putty knife to cover all the surfaces lightly with body filler to fill in all the imperfections in the wood. That should take care of any wood grain patterns, big blemishes, or seams. Once that's cured and sanded, I am going to brush the entire unit with fiberglass resin to provide the unit with a surface free from any organic patterns... I'm hoping this technique will yield a surface that will look like steel when it's painted.
I'm open to suggestions, criticism, and any other help the boards might have to offer.
I will post progress photos as I go forward.
I'm most excited about the method I've devised to display this prop... I don't want to say too much, but I hope I'm able to execute in reality as well as it's come together in my mind. (that project will be part of this one... but I won't start on it until I'm about done with the ECU itself)
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