Build Thread for the Hackerspace Scanner Kits

[daniel_reetz]

I'm starting this thread as the "official" discussion for the kits that recently went on sale. Of course, as zefnerd did here, kit owners are most welcome to start topics on their own builds (and on anything else, really).

ASSEMBLY MANUAL

I'll be answering questions and solving any problems here and in those threads, too. I'm extremely grateful to the first round of kit buyers for their patience as I re-work the documentation for the changes in this latest kit.

I decided to do the new assembly in the forum of a series of videos which will later make their way into the manual that Rob wrote. I'm uploading the first five now; the rest as soon as they are created. The most recent stuff will probably be visible in my Youtube Channel before they appear here.

[fitterman]

I'm happy to say that using the old directions I was able to get pretty far: through step 20 of the old directions. The frame, lifter and cradle are all assembled. I'm hoping it will be easy to disassemble to paint. (Dan any tips for getting the bearings out?)

I purchased this screw pilot bit at a hardware store so I could avoid changing bits.

The problems I encountered so far were pretty minimal.

Steps 1 and 2 I had slight trouble spotting the right parts as their shape was different from what was pictured.

Step 7 The bearings took substantially more force than I'd have expected to get them into the sockets. The directions don't say they're supposed to be flush with the surface of the wood and to achieve that took more than "a tap". The good news is I don't think they're going anywhere.

Step 14 The pulley is different than illustrated in the directions (no assembly required). The screws in that bag had the allen-wrench heads and I suspect that's what the remaining two 2-1/2" screws are for, but I'll wait for the new set of directions.

My progress so far.

DSC04218.jpg (49.3 KiB) Viewed 8129 times

Dan, the project is awesome to begin with, but the quality of the directions is really outstanding. This has been a pretty painless assembly... maybe 90 minutes. You're doing an fantastic job of organizing everything.

Bob

[daniel_reetz]

I'm happy to say that using the old directions I was able to get pretty far: through step 20 of the old directions. The frame, lifter and cradle are all assembled. I'm hoping it will be easy to disassemble to paint. (Dan any tips for getting the bearings out?)

I suggest you paint around them. Sorry, they really shouldn't come out. Also, they don't need to be flush, necessarily, but it's fine if they are.

I am using 2.5" screws to support the pulleys. I think I included the hex-cap ones to be the attachment point for the bungees on the handle arm, because you can get a screw and washer on both sides.

I'm impressed with how handsome your half-scanner looks on a checked tablecloth. What have I been doing with these dark backgrounds all this time???

[rob]

I've been able to paint right over the bearing. What happens is the paint dries, but doesn't get into the bearings, so when the bearings turn, it breaks the paint, and you're fine.

[underdesign]

Mine arrived Friday, the UPS guy warned me "Watch Out, It's a Bit Heavy". I dragged the large package upstairs to my office:




I see Daniel prefers black Gaffer's tape as well...




I laid out the wood parts for accounting:



No dry fit here, straight to the paint job! Also, I finally found a use for all those coupon packs! I tiled the floor with them to paint my DIY Book Scanner!




I'll flip over the pieces and paint the backs and sides in a few hours, then do touch-ups tomorrow as the first big assemble begins. I've already dismantled my previous version, to scavenge for parts for this one.

I'll post again as it comes along this weekend.

[daniel_reetz]

Ah SWEET. Looks great, underdesign! Yeah, these boxes weigh out at 40lbs! I just took the last two to the UPS store. Good thing I have a truck.

[fitterman]

Dan, this is the top the front piece that holds the glass in place just as it came out of the package.

Wooden pieces upon arrival

DSC04213.jpg (40.98 KiB) Viewed 8114 times

As you can see, the tip of it bent down in shipping; it snapped off later. I glued it back on but suspect it doesn't do anything functionally. I wonder if it might make sense to design the piece so it's cut straight across right where this snapped off. The reason I say that is that the wood is so thin it looks to be only layer of the plywood and the grain is running parallel to where it snapped off. My 2c.

Bob

[fitterman]

I just noticed you updated the first post to include some videos. Nice! Unfortunately the one for the bearings and lift assembly comes up as unavailable when I try to watch it inline on the page.

Bob

[daniel_reetz]

Dan, this is the top the front piece that holds the glass in place just as it came out of the package.

ah dang. Yeah, functionally it doesn't do much. You probably saw how I glued a piece of foam into the box to prevent that from happening, but it seems traveling across-country it will still likely happen. Either I'll have to protect it better, or, as you say, just cut it off. Not sure which is the better option going forward. Thanks for showing me this and for your understanding.

Many of these videos are still uploading, I have hours and hours of uploading left.

[daniel_reetz]

I am tired of making videos and want someone else to make a video. Especially about the triggers. I didn't design them and somehow it makes me just a little less enthusiastic about documenting them.

I will give $50 in store credit or cash money via PayPal to anyone who will make a video showing the following:

On this kit, or a similar kit, the procedure for assembling the bicycle brake trigger wood parts and making them work.
This includes
1. Mounting the brake lever handle.
2. Routing the cables around.
3. Assembling the wood trigger parts.
4. Mounting the wood trigger parts on the Large Support.
5. Roughly getting them to work with a camera.
6. Anything I forgot.

Rob has already documented the trigger assembly process here. I will pay up to two people to create a video (or series of videos) each. Use my above videos as examples if you want a quality expectation. It's fine with me if you've already done all this work but I need you to show the entire assembly process, so you might have to take things apart a bit.

People who bought kits from me: thinking about it, it's fuzzy in my mind, and I said otherwise above, but, I think I included the black allen-cap screws to assemble the triggers, not for bungee mounts as I said above. Really not sure, that was the last thing I did and it was rushed to say the least.

Thanks. Email or PM me when your video is uploaded so I have a time-stamp.
Daniel