Mercury accent rod installation
Adding metal accent rods to your Mercury chassis is a great way to add to the realism and give a premium feel to your saber. This is a step-by-step tutorial on how to do it.
You're going to need a few things: 1/16" K&S Metal tubes (not solid rods - trust me), 1/16 drill bits, a locking collar for one of your bits, a 1/16 punch, some way to cut the tubing (Dremel or saw) and some way to sand the ends smooth and add a taper. I prefer to use K&S brass/copper/aluminum tubing (0.014 wall.) You can choose to use solid 1/16" rod but the tubing is a LOT easier to get through the holes. You'll also need TWO 1/16" drill bits. One long and one short. I had to trim my short one down so it was short enough to fit inside the battery tray. You'll also need to add the locking collar to the short one as you'll be turning this one by hand. Yes, it hurts your fingers to do this. Toughen up. This hobby isn't for the weak! Haha!
K&S brass tubing SKU 8125, K&S copper tubing SKU 8117, K&S aluminum tubing SKU 8100
Irwin extended length 1/16" drill bit & Irwin SHORT reach 1/16 drill bit (you need BOTH)
1/16 locking collar for your short drill bit. (This is a multi-pack but you can get singles from your local hardware store.
If you need a little confidence to perform this modification, you can buy some cojones here. :P
1 - Measure the depth of your long drill bit and secure it in your drill at that length. This prevents you from drilling right through the end of the chassis. You don't want to do that. Once you've got your drill bit depth correct, run the drill through the existing holes to clear out any powder used to make the chassis. This will also open the holes up ever so slightly so the tubes will fit.
2 - Measure your tube lengths and mark them for cutting. Leave them ever-so-slightly short, so you can hide the ends inside the chassis.
3 - Cut your tubing to length. Once cut, you'll need to dress the ends so they will fit through the holes. I suggest sanding the ends to a small point. This really helps feed them through. I use a small desktop belt sander and rotate the tubing between my fingers while sanding at a sharp angle but you could also chuck them up in your drill and rotate against some sandpaper on your desk.
4 - Insert the metal tubes into the chassis. Be careful not to force them. If you get much resistance, use the drill again to open the holes a little more. These should slide in. They'll be a little tight, but you should be able to push them in with your bare hands most of the way. Be careful not to bend the tube or you'll never get it in. No amount of straightening will ever get these into your chassis. Just start over with a fresh piece if you bend your tube. Once they are most of the way in, use your 1/16" punch and gently coax them in the rest of the way. Make sure to push the ends down inside your chassis to hide them.
5 - If you did everything right, you should have a nicely accented chassis! Look over everything again and make sure no rods need to be pressed in further or any black plastic from drilling needs to be cleaned up. Congratulations on your MUCH cooler chassis!
