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Octoarm Backpack #3 build


Octoarm
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The sewing part of this radio is done, phew. It’s not perfect but I can say I gave it my full effort. I found a sewing tip that helped move things along a little faster. I marked off a few 1/4” increments on my finger so while I was sewing I could quickly measure where the next hole needed to be. I also stitched each side twice so that it looked like a saddle stitch that was used on the real radio. Due to my excitement with the faux leather surround I stayed up late and put everything together. I saw that someone had used the end of an Exacto knife for the antenna and I had an extra one on hand so I went with that. I just need to add the bottom straps and feet! It’s funny how much work goes into these replicas, compared to back in 1976 when they just bought a Sonix radio and spray painted it black. 


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35 minutes ago, bigwam said:

The nalgene looks better!

I like that fit too. Should I be using the same size bottle for both? Or are people using different sized bottles?

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4 minutes ago, bigwam said:

Use it for both

Ok thanks @bigwam ! I have another old Nalgene bottle so I’ll use that too.  Appreciate the fast feedback! 

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Radio looks really nice, are you going to add the feet as well? 

The "Weiman" bottle looks too slim. The "Nalgene" bottle is right. 

To me it seems that on pack#3 the lower bottle is even larger in diameter... but my eyes could be deceiving me. :sweat:

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38 minutes ago, Hausi said:

Radio looks really nice, are you going to add the feet as well? 

The "Weiman" bottle looks too slim. The "Nalgene" bottle is right. 

To me it seems that on pack#3 the lower bottle is even larger in diameter... but my eyes could be deceiving me. :sweat:

Thanks @Hausi yeah I ordered some door stop bumpers like you used (thanks again)!
Your right it is really tough to tell from the screen shots. It could be because the bottom bottle is hanging out there by itself so it looks bigger compared to the upper bottle nestled in between stuff. I’m going to go with 2 Nalgene bottles. They do look nicer under those plumber caps. I appreciate the input! 

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It’s starting to get really exciting!!! I’ve got a smile from ear to ear. That is what it’s all about! Ignore the haphazard placement I just needed to get a quick look :D


iLjcGM9.jpg

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10 hours ago, Octoarm said:

It’s starting to get really exciting!!! I’ve got a smile from ear to ear. That is what it’s all about! Ignore the haphazard placement I just needed to get a quick look :D


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Cool! Once you start alligning all the parts, you can really feel it all coming together. This is going to be a great pack. 

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I was dreading doing this, so I bought a conduit bender because I really didn’t want to mess this up. I’ll probably never need it again, lol.  It worked like a charm! I started by putting  my seed trays on the rack and found the center point of where they met. I marked that spot and that is where I made a 30 degree bend on both sides.  Then I measured an inch up from my top bar and cut off the excess. My rack still had the original end caps so I put them back on. Done, done and done, phew!


ettcSgw.jpg

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1 hour ago, bigwam said:

I just clamped the frame in the vice but of course it looks better that way  :thumbsup:

Sounds like that works too! I went overkill on my bend process due to my fear of damaging the frame. I did notice while doing it how easily the aluminum actually bends. So I would agree there wouldn’t be any reason to purchase a tool if bending off of a vice basically has the same effect. Plus a 30 degree bend isn’t much. Now I’m left with a pipe bender I’ll probably never use again, lol!

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Here is how I dealt with my Nalgene bottles. I cut some off of the tops of both bottles so that they would be the appropriate height. I decided to use the caps as my way of securing them to the plumbers cups. I cut the caps down to match the height of the threads I had on the bottles (still plenty of thread left). I then glued the cap thread into the plumbers cups. 3 turns and they tighten on snug.

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For the Syphon bottle I cut a circle out of 3mm black abs. I drilled a hole through the center and added a bolt (the bolt could be shorter but all I had). I sanded it down until it popped right into the first layer of grooves inside the Syphon bell. I drilled a hole into the top of my plumbers cup to place on the bolt then a lock washer and the wing nut to tighten it down. Then I just screwed the Nalgene bottle onto the plumbers cup.

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I ended up swapping out that last bolt for a shorter carriage bolt.

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Getting some painting done today. Painted the mushroom caps and bottles. I also painted my mortar tube. I ground the lettering off of the radar dish carriage bolt and then sanded it smooth.  Spray painted the hose clamp for the exhaust port and the seed trays.

 
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I’m curious as to where people are putting their top straps on a finished Karrimor pack? Are you using the bracket that they were originally on, or are people putting them to the outside edges of the top bar? 

hrEDYhl.jpg

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Revisited my Sandie Comm by completely finishing it with the straps, buttons and the feet. Well worth doing for sure. I weathered the bottoms of the feet a bit to give them the used look. 


HPmiFjn.jpg

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