Modified my AB for comfort

S

Splat

Guest
OK, I've had 2-3 weeks to play this game and to try and figure some stuff out. The benefit of starting from scratch is you have no habits yet. :)

This might not be for a lot of folks here, but it helped me. 'Old pros' may still get something out of this since it has more to do with fatigue and control than actual execution.

Being 'the Newb', I was of course struggling with the balance of the AB. Tried all kinds of stuff to get a relaxed and stable platform. Biggest thing I noticed from new hand fatigue was that some tendons were stressed from no muscle memory yet.

So I ended up hacking up a piece of heater hose. Adding a piece above the filter widened the pinch point and the rubber provided a softer more relaxed grip. Also gave a little more 'traction'.
To tighten the fit on the hose I added a chunk of vinyl tube.
I found it wasnt quite enough for my natural 'pinch' so I gave it a few wraps with some electrical tape.
The trigger finger movement seems more mindless with the thumb and middle finger underneath more in line now.
After that I added another chunk of hose to the cap to fatten that thing up so the AB would be cradled in the web between the thumb and index finger. That created a 3rd contact point that seems natural. That took a single wrap of electrical tape to snug that up.

In other words, I just wanted to try and create a platform in where the AB was more of a extension of my hand.
Surprising how much of a workload it took off the hand, both consciously and unconsciously.

The good folks of Orange have helped me so much. I wanted to share this to try and begin repayment of the kindness and generosity of knowledge shared so freely.

I still cant even paint a barn yet, but I'm sure a lot more comfortable learning now.
And be forewarned that anything I diy mod will not be for the image minded person as far as equipment goes. :)lol

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Nice one splat, thanks for sharing. there are several here that use a similar idea. One idea that was passed onto me was the foam pencil grippers. I'll take a pic over the weekend and post it up here as well,
 
What ever works and helps is good for everyone, with finger on the trigger you should try to sit it closer to the first knuckle join,

Just saw that video last night laying in bed Music! Thats on my 'to do' list. When I took that picture I wasnt thinking so much about that as to "How the hell am I going to take this picture with my left hand?
Also realized after seeing that photo is on my 'to do' list also is to clean those grimy fingernails attached to my shovels. :)
One idea that was passed onto me was the foam pencil grippers.

Those things are what got me thinking about his after I saw a girl in the office using one. Then after I saw j000sephs' rigs, I knew I was on the right track. :thumbsup:
 
Gotta love those frankinbrush's:cool:

And Mr./Ms. Iwata gotta be rolling over in their grave. :)

And if thats not enough, here is a appropriate first freehand worksheet. Especially since all I had left is 1/2 ounce of Com-art Red and Yellow.

Not completely without purpose, down in the lower left I'm preparing for my first SBS. 'How to do a boil'. :p

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Woah, those are some heroic hands. Mind you I have the hands of a small child so have no perspective. Luckily I have a big mouth to balance it out.

I think those with larger hands do seem to suffer a bit more til they build up those muscles, some find it easier to put a pad or some hot glue on the trigger to make it a little taller too. :)

Its true, Orange does rock, although orange rocks does also sound like the name of a new mind bending drug lol lol lol. Or an aging over fake tanned rock band.
 
you rocked the boil, definitely POM material right there.

You've probably read all the theory, you now have to practise what you've heard, although having said that the lettering looks better than what I do !!
moving the airbrush, getting the air on then the paint can be hilarious when you start (the dots at the beginning of your lines / daggers are a give away that your not moving when the paint is triggered)
and I see you have a nice steady hand like mine .... the lines straighten up with practise, because you get faster as you gain confidence. when I do a warm up sheet they're as straight as if I'd used a ruler, move to the 'proper' piece and I get all nervous, slow down and the wobbles appear...... it all just takes time.
have you got the practise sheets from the tutors site ? it gives you the guiding lines for stopping/starting and varying sizing for your boils
 
Woah, those are some heroic hands. Mind you I have the hands of a small child so have no perspective. Luckily I have a big mouth to balance it out.

I think those with larger hands do seem to suffer a bit more til they build up those muscles, some find it easier to put a pad or some hot glue on the trigger to make it a little taller too. :)

Its true, Orange does rock, although orange rocks does also sound like the name of a new mind bending drug lol lol lol. Or an aging over fake tanned rock band.

Ha! Thats great Squishy. Oh how I remember the fake tan days.
I grew up on the California beaches as a kid, so I never knew anything about that fake tan stuff.
Then dad was transferred and we move to a cold northern climate as a teen. All the girls were fake blondes with orange skin. We might as well have moved to Mars. :)

And I did make a trigger riser admittedly. It actually works pretty well!
But with taking pictures of that highly respected AB with heater hose stuck all over it, I figured I better limit the defamation out of respect.
I'm sure banishment here for that would not be out of the question. lol
 
you rocked the boil, definitely POM material right there.

Thanks Jack. Seriously the picture doesnt do it justice.
:p

I'll start with the worksheet a little later. I realized that I want to work on getting a little more overall coordination before I try the accuracy gig. Those letters look better because I have been doing the alphabet the past few days.
I'm pretty familiar with that now since I learned it when I was 20. lol
I like that since I dont have to struggle so much with how the letters are supposed to look, and they give me lots of lines, start/stops, curves etc. Plus I graduate the size from large to small to large through the range.

The daggers give me some grief as you noticed. Better on the smaller ones, but larger ones are a real issue for me. I do have the brush moving with air on (generally:confused:), but starting larger sizes I tend to slap the trigger to the midrange/full at the start target, and then have a knee jerk reaction to start the paint release too suddenly. So I get dots.
Just one of the many woes as is evident, but I'm having fun. I'll get there!

Thanks for your input. :thumbsup:
 
I'll have you know I have achieved a high degree of accuracy with my own tadpoles. The trouble is that most of the time I'm trying to do a dagger !
It would appear that you have mastered your alphabet, managing to achieve graduated sizes is testament to your practice, so now you can proceed to numbers. I expect to see a variance in height and width as you progress.

on a serious note (just for something different) play around with the tension on the trigger, it may make the tadpoles more dagger like...... take the 'back' off , undo the needle chucking nut (that holds the needle tight- ) and then turn the spring guide to either tighten or loosen the trigger pressure. my required pressure changes often, if its cold and I'm shivering I tighten it up a little :laugh: when happy with it then reseat the needle and tighten the chuck up.

Not my hands (or dirty nails) but this is the bit that I'm talking about.

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You learnt the alphabet at 20 :0, not the whole eleven letters surely? What were you some kind of prodigy!!! I still get stuck sometimes on that really long one, I learnt it from sesame street but its tricky. I think its ellemenopee, you know the one before cucumber. I know them all pretty good now, but at 20!! You must have gone to a posh school. We could only afford 4 letters at my school, and only the brainy kids who knew their own names got to see them. At 16 I worked out my name was hey U, they showed me that letter and that was the first time I saw my name written down.
And I thought I was gifted, but to have the other 10 letters by 20, you are nothing short of a genius!!! lol lol

Don't worry about dagger strokes they were my nemesis for ages, then one day when I wasn't paying attention they kind of happened.
 
Tadpoles! I like that. Guess my first picture should be a lake so I dont miss an opportunity to draw something that I'm good at. :)

Thats a good tip on checking the spring tension according to temp. Thanks!
We are in the mother nature fall cycle of some pretty wild temp swings here right now.
So its a lot of learning on the fly adjusting for spraying, in addition to simply learning how to spray. Even broke out my little mini crock pot that I use for hide glue to see if that made any difference warming the paint.
...........Actually I know warming it did help. When I warmed it I could get it out of the bottle. lollol

OK, I have to ask since its the only thing I'm disappointed in Iwata about, since I am confident about the mechanical aspect.
My spring guide/tensioner wiggles, like the threads arent cut tight. Is that the norm? I mentioned this earlier, but what happens is the tail of the needle is dragging on the bottom of the cap and rides up the inner taper. I put some dry erase marker on the needles tail, put the cap back on, and cycled it a few times to confirm that.
When I pull the trigger I can see the needle raise up through the slot and lower when I release it.
I decided I dont want to hit Iwata up on this since I dont really know whats right or wrong. I rounded and polished the needle end, then put a little grease on it as a bandaid.
I could also tape the threads on the guide to tighten it up, cut the tail off the needle ............and probably other things I havent thought of yet to completely destroy it inadvertently.
Just not sure of how deep I need to go yet, or if its actually harming anything as long as I keep it smooth.

So I guess I have to ask now "is that wiggle in the guide normal?"
 
God you crack me up Squishy. If someone needs a mountain of laughs, all thats needed is to provide you a handful of dirt to get you started. :)

Don't worry about dagger strokes they were my nemesis for ages, then one day when I wasn't paying attention they kind of happened.

I should be having no problems with daggers then. My attention to detail would be great if it wasnt for the ADD. Still dont really know what that is though. I think the doc explained it once, but I dont remember what he said.
 
Welcome Jaybo! These guys are good stuff.
Dont know if the utter chaos in a thread I tend to create was the best place to plant your first post though. :)

@Jaybo, you should go to the introduction section of the forum and let us know where you call home, what gear you have (airbrush related) and what you'd like to do with it.... that way we can help guide you to local suppliers if youre still looking for kit, and generally assist where we can .
 
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