Darthoblivious
Jr Member
wow! just wow red! i am totally speechless by your awesomeness! each time i see your updates, i want this laser more and more! i hate that i have no skill at weapons! just stay safe and keep up the awesome!!!!
Props Spartan Laser Metal & Fiberglass Airsoft Prop (Fully Functioning Electronic Replica)
- Thread starter Redshirt
- Start date
- Status
The Death Angel
Member
Awesome build! Now i want see it finished and i want see a fire test! 
- Member DIN
- S980
Awesome build! Now i want see it finished and i want see a fire test!
Trieste? I've been there! For a brief time I airsofted with the Gati Salbeghi team out of the Vicenza area. Thanks for following.
Redshirt
- Member DIN
- S980
Welding--Finally!
Time to bring all the metal together and start welding up the receiver. After hand machining the pairs of parts to be exact matches to the maximum extent possible, I split them apart, cleaned off the glue and lined them up carefully to get the halves lined up before clamping them in place and starting the welding. For this part of the project, each side was made of three parts. The two main parts were bead welded together with the third (forward) piece plug welded to the other two parts. I'm using the Eastwood Alumiweld kit with additional rods from Harbor Freight. This setup is more analogous to brazing as the metals are quite different in hardness. At it's best, this system does achieve a penetrating weld, but the welds are still more brittle than an aluminum wire MIG weld.
Plug welding the forward piece.
Close up of the plug welding. I clamped together both halves during welding to help ensure the two halves ended up as identical as possible.
With the welding finished, it was time to sand the two halves together to eliminate any asymmetry.
As you can see, the preparation paid off with the two halves ending up with very little variance between them.
If the sides didn't end up symmetrical, I will end up with a warped or twisted receiver when I try to weld them together into a complete assembly.
Here's the result at the end of this welding session. I'm really happy with where this is going!
Next time--joining it all together.
Redshirt
Time to bring all the metal together and start welding up the receiver. After hand machining the pairs of parts to be exact matches to the maximum extent possible, I split them apart, cleaned off the glue and lined them up carefully to get the halves lined up before clamping them in place and starting the welding. For this part of the project, each side was made of three parts. The two main parts were bead welded together with the third (forward) piece plug welded to the other two parts. I'm using the Eastwood Alumiweld kit with additional rods from Harbor Freight. This setup is more analogous to brazing as the metals are quite different in hardness. At it's best, this system does achieve a penetrating weld, but the welds are still more brittle than an aluminum wire MIG weld.
Plug welding the forward piece.
Close up of the plug welding. I clamped together both halves during welding to help ensure the two halves ended up as identical as possible.
With the welding finished, it was time to sand the two halves together to eliminate any asymmetry.
As you can see, the preparation paid off with the two halves ending up with very little variance between them.
If the sides didn't end up symmetrical, I will end up with a warped or twisted receiver when I try to weld them together into a complete assembly.
Here's the result at the end of this welding session. I'm really happy with where this is going!
Next time--joining it all together.
Redshirt
Darthoblivious
Jr Member
i have to agree with drack! almost anything from now on will just seem childish! just completely mind blowing Redshirt! im dying to see more!
- Member DIN
- S980
Thanks guys. The comments are appreciated. This thing is dragging on so long. I spent the evening in the garage pushing around templates for the scissor lift design for the front shroud (Thanks Zarnel). I'm so far away from building that, but I need to figure out how much space it will take up. This will drive the trigger and foregrip designs because they will also be competing for space in the area under the barrel. I'm concerned it will be very front heavy as I really don't expect the BB feed in the back to be that heavy to offset the front weight. Likely I'll have to hide the batteries back there. So much to do . . . .
Redshirt
XxDrxNinjaxX
Member
Hey! Been following this for a while and just wanted to say that it is beyond epic. it is legen...wait for it...dary. Love the fact that you are planning on making it airsoft! I know it is a looooong way from being modded at all with the electronics and such, but with the current look of it, in your opinion, would it be possible to mod it into paintball? Love your clean work! thanks for sharing!
- Member DIN
- S980
Yes, it could definitely have a paintball mechanism shoehorned in, but I think it would end up being ordinary or less than ordinary as a paintball gun due to only being able to fit a single mechanism with the smallest gas cylinder and having a small ammo reservoir as well. That's why the Splaser lent itself to airsoft so well. As an airsoft gun it can be extraordinary with 3x the rate of fire of a fast airsoft gun--making it the airsoft equivalent of the in-game Spartan Laser.
Redshirt
- Member DIN
- S980
More Welding
For this update, I've welded the two halves together using sections of 1.25 inch U-channel. During this session, I only welded in the largest straight sections to ensure the receiver was perfectly straight from end to end without warps or twists. I did accomplish this, eventually.
I started using two torches. I had an assistant using the polypropylene torch to heat the massive sides while I did the welds using the oxygen/polypropylene welder.
Here you see that two rear sections are already in and we are welding up a section in the front.
Oh crap! Look at the sag! We got the spacer too hot while trying to bring up the temperature of the sides. Wee had to heat it up an knock it out, clean up the surfaces and cut out another spacer. Grrr. I blame my unskilled assistant.
Using just the oxygen/polypropylene hobby welder setup, I was able to get a good result on the second try.
The whole project worked out great with the receiver ending up perfectly straight when we were done. I now have this beautiful metal object I just can't stop staring at!
I'll continue to add in the more complex spacer sections until the entire spine is filled in. The section around and below the trigger will be removable for maintenance and electronics access.
Redshirt
For this update, I've welded the two halves together using sections of 1.25 inch U-channel. During this session, I only welded in the largest straight sections to ensure the receiver was perfectly straight from end to end without warps or twists. I did accomplish this, eventually.
I started using two torches. I had an assistant using the polypropylene torch to heat the massive sides while I did the welds using the oxygen/polypropylene welder.
Here you see that two rear sections are already in and we are welding up a section in the front.
Oh crap! Look at the sag! We got the spacer too hot while trying to bring up the temperature of the sides. Wee had to heat it up an knock it out, clean up the surfaces and cut out another spacer. Grrr. I blame my unskilled assistant.
Using just the oxygen/polypropylene hobby welder setup, I was able to get a good result on the second try.
The whole project worked out great with the receiver ending up perfectly straight when we were done. I now have this beautiful metal object I just can't stop staring at!
I'll continue to add in the more complex spacer sections until the entire spine is filled in. The section around and below the trigger will be removable for maintenance and electronics access.
Redshirt
Brilliant. Absolutely genius. While I've been trying to visualize a way to safely secure (E)SAPI plates into a suit (just to be able to say that my suit will have the removable capability to stop 7.62mm rounds..... because I can), I find out that we have a resident engineer, lol! I've flipped through the entire thread and am simply astounded at the sheer level of planning and foresight you have in this. I am also very envious of your talent with all forms of mediums.
Hydrogoniise
New Member
This Literally boggles my mind! (can a mind literally be boggled?) Excuse me while I try to pick up my jaw off the floor. Your attention to detail is amazing and your craftsmanship is too. If you can't rig the airsoft parts maybe consider buying a cheap bluray player (if such a thing exists) and mounting the unshielded Laser in there. It would be cool to have a spartan laser that can pop balloons and burn paper using a real laser.
- Member DIN
- S980
Thank you. I'm actually well down the road on the airsoft plan. It will work! I've been fitting in some time here and there on the electronics. I really did consider some of the high-output lasers out there, but none are red! I'm kind of a slave to the details.
First, thanks for your service. Amazing what ideas we come up with while deployed--that's how I ended up with my suit. You should check out Sgtski's ODST. Several ODST builds have elaborate harness systems that may give you inspiration. There is a webbing and harness Tutorial stickied somewhere as well.
Thanks for the accolades on the build and engineering. I've tried to hold to your "Sheer level of planning and foresight" comment, but the reality is that some days my foresight is just 15 minutes ahead of my building. In the beginning there was a basic plan that's held together pretty well, but every time I finish a component I've had to rethink everything that follows. I've come in from the garage so many nights to report that I 'got a lot done on the project without actually doing anything' because I've just stood there imagineering every component that's competing for space inside. Lately, I've torn my hair out over the trigger group. I'll get into it in a couple of weeks, but good grief there are a lot of complex parts and welds are going into that piece to make it do what I want. I'm happy to see it start looking like a Spartan Laser finally.
Redshirt
soul products
Well-Known Member
all i can say is......i cant wait to be shot by it lol
- Member DIN
- S980
Thanks Road Kill, it's getting there.
I will, no doubt, have to get a picture with its first victim.
Redshirt
soul products
Well-Known Member
i call dibs
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