Reo VV - A major modification

[hudson_macbeth]

You are quite welcome

 

[CaptSteve]

In the shoulda/woulda/coulda dept....what was you consideration for not putting the switch in the top where you had the height?...maybe just not a "top switch" lover? (I get that, my buddy refuses to use a top button mod)

Well the logical and easier solution would have certainly been a top side button but I just always envisioned this with a side button. Don't get me wrong I love top buttons but since this particular SS I had was quite big I was worried the top would look too cluttered once I screwed on one of my Odins

 

[custom-classic]

Here's a drawing of the switch h_m posted. Looks like he's right, the length of the body is 14mm.

I've got one coming from digi-key so we will see.

 

[CaptSteve]

I truly hope so that's why I ordered a couple of those because it was the smallest I found. As I said I should have them delivered in a few days so I'll know. Thanks

 

[CaptSteve]

Finally my special Grand is finished.

I decided to brush the door to match the rest of the aluminum, did the final sanding with 2500 grit and then polished with paste and buffed. It hits great and feels fantastic in the hand.

Only change I may make is the button once I receive the low profile SS buttons I've ordered.

Thanks to all of you for your great support

VV Grand 2

VV Grand 1

VV Grand 3

 

[JetMac]

That thing is so sweet, nice work man.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BockinBboy]

Freakin' Suhweeet! Love it. The wings are the perfect touch!


... *whispers* now I'm imagining a pair of the burl wood wings on the door

- Bboy

 

[RiverNut]

agreed, the wings bring it all together. You should be really proud of this Capt, it's AWESOME!

if that new switch doesn't work out, maybe you'll think of a mechanical design

 

[OthatGuy]

Awesome work, it was worth tearing apart that last time. ..looks fanatic.

 

[oplholik]

Congratulations, job well done. Really looks sweet!

 

[CaptSteve]

Freakin' Suhweeet! Love it. The wings are the perfect touch!


... *whispers* now I'm imagining a pair of the burl wood wings on the door

- Bboy

If you look back on this thread I mentioned "I have a great idea to inlay wood on the door" and that was exactly it. Aluminum wings in the wood on the back and the reverse on the front. Wooden wings in the aluminum door. The problem is the door is extremely thin and after measuring I came to the realization that this would be very risky. I haven't ruled it out yet, in fact I have ordered aluminum thin sheet like the door and intend to test it before I start hacking the door. To make the perfect cut hole in the shape of the wings is the easy bit. To secure the wings in there is what I'm scared of because I'll only have the really thin rim around the wings to glue. The door thickness is only 1.5mm and that is really thin.
When I get the aluminum in I'll cut some simple shapes and try how this works. If it's viable you'll see the wooden wings on the door too

 

[RiverNut]

maybe this will inspire Rob to do a wood/alu combo run for the masses (I'd even like this more than a brass version Rob ...just playin', I know you're hands are full)
Sure is a purdy combo

 

[CaptSteve]

Great idea if Rob could find time to do it but the problem is it's time consuming to make wooden stuff as they always need work by hand (sanding and finishing)

 

[Quigsworth]

If you look back on this thread I mentioned "I have a great idea to inlay wood on the door" and that was exactly it. Aluminum wings in the wood on the back and the reverse on the front. Wooden wings in the aluminum door. The problem is the door is extremely thin and after measuring I came to the realization that this would be very risky. I haven't ruled it out yet, in fact I have ordered aluminum thin sheet like the door and intend to test it before I start hacking the door. To make the perfect cut hole in the shape of the wings is the easy bit. To secure the wings in there is what I'm scared of because I'll only have the really thin rim around the wings to glue. The door thickness is only 1.5mm and that is really thin.
When I get the aluminum in I'll cut some simple shapes and try how this works. If it's viable you'll see the wooden wings on the door too

Since you started the whole "wood inlay" thing I've been pondering (and being off on sick leave, I do a lot of pondering...and spending money, my wife loves that part )...in my musings of doing veneer before going with brass I struggled with how to handle the thinness of the door (I obviously couldn't just replicate the door out of wood...way too thin) but I did think about milling out 1mm of the door, epoxying in the veneer and sanding it flush...I decided against this for two reasons...1., I doubted the accuracy of the DP/x-y table to pull it off (you proved me wrong on that front) and 2., I was going to do the vast majority of the door...I didn't think .5mm of remaining aluminum was going to cut it strength wise...

...but you're just doing "wings", why go all the way through?...wouldn't 1mm of veneer be enough?...and I doubt it would have zero effect on the overall strength of the door and you'd have lots of epoxy surface...

...just saying

 

[CaptSteve]

Since you started the whole "wood inlay" thing I've been pondering (and being off on sick leave, I do a lot of pondering...and spending money, my wife loves that part )...in my musings of doing veneer before going with brass I struggled with how to handle the thinness of the door (I obviously couldn't just replicate the door out of wood...way too thin) but I did think about milling out 1mm of the door, epoxying in the veneer and sanding it flush...I decided against this for two reasons...1., I doubted the accuracy of the DP/x-y table to pull it off (you proved me wrong on that front) and 2., I was going to do the vast majority of the door...I didn't think .5mm of remaining aluminum was going to cut it strength wise...

...but you're just doing "wings", why go all the way through?...wouldn't 1mm of veneer be enough?...and I doubt it would have zero effect on the overall strength of the door and you'd have lots of epoxy surface...

...just saying

Great question Quigs and I thought about that too but, and there is a big but.

Remember I'm going to inlay an odd shape (wings), not exactly something I can easily mill with my crude drill press/compound table setup to such fine tolerances. If it was a less complex shape I could possibly attempt it but with a shape like wings it's close to impossible to get it right. It's much easier to go through and I won't even need to mill, I would transfer the shape on the door and then drill a hole in the middle to start and do the rest of the opening by hand with my Dremel. As I said I'm going to look into the feasibility of this with some testing on aluminum sheet. I'll first try the trough method and glueing on the perimeter and if that doesn't work I'll try milling off 0.75mm and I'll probably do the edge milling by hand with the Dremel.

PS When I inlayed the aluminum wings in the wood I didn't mill either, I transferred the shame and then milled by hand with the Dremel and the finest engraving bit I could find. It was tiny to get the accuracy I needed

 

[hudson_macbeth]

Capt, what about cutting the wings out and putting the veneer BEHIND the door on the inside showing through?

 

[CaptSteve]

If you mean sticking the wood on the back of the door behind the hole, it won't either work because there isn't enough clearance between the door and the battery/bottle. I'm hopeful I'll pull it off but because this door is longer than the regular Grand door (and I don't know if Rob has any in stock) I don't dare try it on the actual door. I'll wait till I have the aluminum sheet and run a few tests first. If I see it's possible I'll do it for sure

 

[Roscoe01]

Capt I did read recently that rob does have a bunch of vv doors in stock. Was in last couple weeks.

 

[Rmcgloth]

Capt., thank you for sharing that piece of vapable art! I am not a finisher, and I have great respect for those who go the extra mile like you did. You made a Pegasus out of a sturdy workhorse. Love it!

 

[turbocad6]

I hate to say it but I think it's dead sexy as-is, the second set of wings may be a bit too much and take away from how classy it looks now.

that said, I think if I was going to do an insert in an aluminum door I'd mill out a rectangular recess from behind that's maybe 1/2-2/3rds of the way through and large enough to fully encompass the emblem, then cut the emblem shape out in the door within the rectangle and use a rectangular wood insert from behind. I'd probably leave the wood slightly thicker than necessary then sand it fully flush after it's bonded together

to really go all out you could insert the wood and trace the emblem onto the wood, then carve around the emblem on the wood so the emblems raised from the block and when inserted comes up to flush or even protrudes slightly depending on the look I wanted.

alternatively I think I'd go with quigs way of engraving out just a recessed step and then inserting the wood from the front and sanding it as flat aas you need it to be. I think if you just cut it out and edge mount it it's going to be weak and if you press on it it'll be more likely to pop out, or pop in really I guess

I love seeing stuff like this and I'm sure whatever you decide it'll look great but really it's awesome just as it is