I have decided to go with the Mike Senna “leg pipe design” meaning the frame has 2 lengths of pipe running form one shoulder to the other, with the one smaller pipe inside the larger for strength.
Pro side to this set up is most of the parts are off the shelf form your local hardware store. The cost is also fairly low.
Cons Finding pipes that fit within each other can be maddening, I spent about a month going to different Lowe’s, and Home Depots trying all the pipes they had. Along with being told they would not thread the type of pipe I would have preferred.
My Parts consist of:
1 Black Gas Pipe, side 1″ in diameter and 18″ long.
1 Galvanized water pipe, 1.25″ diameter and 18″ long.
2 pipe flanges, one for each side/size.
This makes up the beefy parts of the shoulders, I also picked up hardware to attach it all to my shoulder hubs and legs.
About the hardware, I just got what would fit and enough that I have about 1.5 time amount I needed to have extras just in case I lost one or needed to replace it.
Some builders get pipes that are shorter than the 18″ or they have the store cut them/cut them at home. I went with the 18″ out of ease of use and I would not have to worry about grinding down any slag from the cut. Also on the pipe, some builders have had good luck with EMT Conduit, it only comes in 10′ lengths form the home improvement stores, and some employees will give trouble with threading the EMT for the flanges. It is however quite a bit lighter than the gas pipe so for weight savings its a great product.
The total length between the pipes should be in the 19″ range(not exact) so all I am doing is adding a bit more weight to the droid but also I think it will make him rock solid.
If you are looking for more info about this leg method searching for “Gas pipe” “Senna pipe Thing” work well on the Astromech builder forums. Also Victors Blog has great pictures.
Here you can see the Legs mounted to the Frame with Skins to test fit everything. The other picture shows the tow pipes within each other on the work bench.
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- Legs and skins test fitting around Frame.
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- Leg pipe on bench
