So browsing around the custom projects section I came across user ant's build
http://www.mcarterbrown.com/forums/c...sportshot.html of combining a Halo TSA with a SportShot to make a small capacity agitated hopper that looks stock. It inspired me to give it a go with my friend andover85. So here follows a picture build log roughly step by step. Feel free to ask any questions to andover85 or myself.
We did it the way we did to maintain as many screw locations as possible for strength throughout the hopper, allow for disassembly if a board or motor failed, ease of cleaning, maintain factory board and battery locations and also to get the motor as close to the SportShot feedneck as possible.
Supplies:
Halo TSA (bottom half needs to be in good condition, your choice of frontman or backman, we used a backman)
SportShot 100 round hopper
Dremel with numerous cutting, sanding, and shaping bits
Drill/Drill Press/Drill bits for dremel
Sand paper for hand sanding and sanding drums for dremel (definitely recommend both to speed the job up)
Hair dryer or heat gun (didn't own a heat gun so I used an old hair dryer)
Some form of epoxy preferably like an autobody bumper repair (get a fast setting one so it doesn't run like ours)
Needle Nose Pliers
Safety Glasses (These are a must! Hot melted plastic can and will fly into your eyes when using the dremel.)
Caulk Gun (only if you buy a large tube of epoxy)
Masking Tape (tape that peels off easy without residue)
Step 1:
Start by using your dremel to cut cleanly right where the large curved upper portion of the hopper meets the straight sides of the battery and motor compartment. Once you have separated the top and bottom halves cut the feedneck off as well. I recommend cutting at a high speed, quickly and smoothly to keep the melting factor down.
Step 2:
Cut off any excess plastic that may have melted during cutting. You should have a full enclosed motor/battery compartment area, you'll want to cut off about 3/4 of the top tray to help get the Halo shell closer to the SportShot. Don't cut too much, filling in a hole isn't as strong as if there was already some shell there.
Step 2a: (Optional)
Since this was our first attempt we used a slightly damaged shell as a test. The front nose near the feedneck was cracked and a screw hole snapped in half. We used our epoxy to fill the feedneck area later reshaping with a belt sander (using sand paper or sanding drums would also work, just take longer.)
For the screw hole we just laid the broken off piece back in place and filled it with epoxy to be drilled later and screw in a self tapping screw. Using painters tape you can restrict where the epoxy flows and it speeds up having to sand down the excess. We also used the tape to cover the old feedneck opening and filled it in.
Step 3:
Now we need make space for SportShot feedneck to stick through the Halo shell. You will need to cut a half circle near the battery compartment and some of the interior spines sticking up inside the Halo shell. For added space, shave off a lot of excess plastic around the SportShot feedneck. We ended up cutting off the front screw hole on the SportShot to make space for the motor.
Test fit the SportShot feedneck as you cut so you don't cut off too much at a time. Same goes for cutting the spines on the Halo shell.
We didn't like the rear gap being that large. We ended up dremel sanding above the rear screw hole to get a flatter edge.
Step 4:
Once we got the Halo shell closer to the SportShot, we lined up where the agitator paddle would stick through to the motor between the two halves. Place the motor in the front portion of the Halo shell in front of the SportShot feedneck. Get a really good eyeball estimate of where the motor mount will stick through and mark it with a marker. Remember when selecting your drill bit, it needs to be large enough for the paddle to stick through, not just the motor mount. Drill a pilot hole first for alignment then use your larger drill bit. After drilling, test placement particularly does the motor still spin freely.
Step 5:
Now that we had everything cut and aligned, we screwed everything together and then used painters tape to hold the two hoppers together. We kept the motor in place during all of this to guarantee proper clearance for the motor after the epoxy has dried. We only glued a small portion of the two halves on either side with the thought to take everything apart and fully glue after the initial alignment gluing.
Stay tuned for more updates we continue forward.
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