Hey everyone, I've been on this forum for a short time only and I have been inspired to make my first contribution. My project doesn't come close to the things I have seen other prop makers make on this forum but I think the end product was presentable, so here it is.
The pictures are a pretty good play-by-play of what I did, but the body of this post just goes into more detail about how it was done.
Here is the story of my 1095 Cro-van knife-grade steel:
First I found a batarang template (via google search) with all the required measurements to make a scale batarang (no picture for this)
Picture 1: I printed out an actual size version on regular computer paper. In order to ensure that the printout was actual size i used the ruler on the top of microsoft word to get a close estimate. I uploaded the actual .docx file in case anybody is interested in making their own.
Pictures 2 and 3: I cut out the piece of paper and used spray adhesive to glue it to a knife blank (A knife blank is a long piece of knife-grade steel which you make a knife from). After gluing the paper to the steel I used a circular saw with a metal cutting blade to cut the steel.
Picture 4: I continued to cut the steel from point to point. I did not cut the curves because I plan on doing the curves later with a bench grinder.
Pictures 5, 6 and 7: Bench grinder time. In these pictures I begin making the curves of the batarang (using the glued paper as a template of course)
Pictures 8 and 9: After I was satisfied with the curves. I moved on to the top of the wings/ear portion of the batarang. The way I did this was by getting an angle-grinder and holding it in a vice. Then (very carefully with gloves and glasses on) I ground out the upper part of the batarang
Picture 10: After grinding out the ears I ground out what I could of the part between the ears and did the rest with a hacksaw (shoulder killing work with this steel) You may notice some unevenness in the ears but I fixed that up shortly after.
Picture 11: Paint time. The first time I painted it I used some alcohol to clean off the metal and shot some spray paint. This ended up looking nice until you touch it. The paint would come right off. The second time around I wiped vinegar on the steel before painting and it helped the paint stick much better. The paint will still come off if you scratch it with a key, but it does not come off by grabbing it (which is all that's important to me really)
The prop isn't actually for me but for a very special someone who deserves it (and is quite a Batman fan).
Well there you have it. There you have the story of my first (completed) prop build. So emotional :cry Haha. All feedback is appreciated
P.S. I know the ears aren't perfect but it was ridiculously difficult to cut that tiny detail out. Honestly for a first build I think that its pretty good(if i do say so myself :cool)
The pictures are a pretty good play-by-play of what I did, but the body of this post just goes into more detail about how it was done.
Here is the story of my 1095 Cro-van knife-grade steel:
First I found a batarang template (via google search) with all the required measurements to make a scale batarang (no picture for this)
Picture 1: I printed out an actual size version on regular computer paper. In order to ensure that the printout was actual size i used the ruler on the top of microsoft word to get a close estimate. I uploaded the actual .docx file in case anybody is interested in making their own.
Pictures 2 and 3: I cut out the piece of paper and used spray adhesive to glue it to a knife blank (A knife blank is a long piece of knife-grade steel which you make a knife from). After gluing the paper to the steel I used a circular saw with a metal cutting blade to cut the steel.
Picture 4: I continued to cut the steel from point to point. I did not cut the curves because I plan on doing the curves later with a bench grinder.
Pictures 5, 6 and 7: Bench grinder time. In these pictures I begin making the curves of the batarang (using the glued paper as a template of course)
Pictures 8 and 9: After I was satisfied with the curves. I moved on to the top of the wings/ear portion of the batarang. The way I did this was by getting an angle-grinder and holding it in a vice. Then (very carefully with gloves and glasses on) I ground out the upper part of the batarang
Picture 10: After grinding out the ears I ground out what I could of the part between the ears and did the rest with a hacksaw (shoulder killing work with this steel) You may notice some unevenness in the ears but I fixed that up shortly after.
Picture 11: Paint time. The first time I painted it I used some alcohol to clean off the metal and shot some spray paint. This ended up looking nice until you touch it. The paint would come right off. The second time around I wiped vinegar on the steel before painting and it helped the paint stick much better. The paint will still come off if you scratch it with a key, but it does not come off by grabbing it (which is all that's important to me really)
The prop isn't actually for me but for a very special someone who deserves it (and is quite a Batman fan).
Well there you have it. There you have the story of my first (completed) prop build. So emotional :cry Haha. All feedback is appreciated
P.S. I know the ears aren't perfect but it was ridiculously difficult to cut that tiny detail out. Honestly for a first build I think that its pretty good(if i do say so myself :cool)