Bärsärkar-gång Update 2 (Madness Banished? 9/13/09)
The berserkers time was short lived. Within 300 years, they went from the most feared warriors of their time to legend. Part of their demise was a 1123 Christian law that made berserking punishable by banishment; that included anyone nearby who didn't restrain him until his berserk state wore off. It was an interesting law because it got rid of anyone who was a berserker plus anyone who may have been helping him to go berserk.
Which raises the questions, how do you help someone go berserk? And what if berserking was NOT caused by who or what they were but instead, something the berserker did?
....but I'm getting ahead of myself, that's the next update...back to the mod.
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Picking up where we left off, you'll recall the dilemma regarding the inlet and outlet ports. Here's how one becomes more…
Cut out the original with a dremel high speed bit
Take a 2" 22 gauge brass circle
Light tap it into shape in the end of a 2 inch pipe
Drill starter holes for the saw blade
Jeweler's saw and file to complete the first hole
Second hole with relief cuts
Sleestak? Hmm…
Last night, a comedian died in New York? Maybe not…:)
Brass bushings or bushes. I've found that lamp suppliers are a wonderful place to get 1/4" BSPP hardware. No plumbing fittings but they do have nuts and bushings.
Bushings in place
Clamped for soldering. The middle tube is aluminum
I'm using Solder-it solder bearing paste.
Not too bad on the front
Helluvah mess on the back tho.
Expanded the hole in the bottom
Cleaned up the pieces for second round of soldering
Test fit. It'll work…
After clean-up, I'm not happy with the vugs around the neck of the bushings
So much for the new approach. I pulled out the silver solder and went medieval on it, tinning the entire backside. I got carried away with soldering and forgot to take pics but,
here's the end result after initial clean-up. Still needs to be leak tested and acid dipped. Not as clean as the first round but shouldn't leak (fingers crossed)
I lost all the patina in the pickle after solder. Don't worry I plan to put it back.
Need your opinion on fittings. Barbs?
Closeup
Compression fittings?
Again with Feser Acid Green tubing
Barbs with brass clamps and copper sleeving. I'll likely use the copper sleeving throughout but haven't devised a way to put it on with the compression fittings yet. I'm thinking about soldering on copper ferrules or using heatshrink.
Check Avon Brochure and Builders Warehouse Specials.
What do you think?
Next time, "Wait til your berserker gets home"
Update 3 - Wait til your berserker gets home...
Who were the berserkers? Nothing in the historical record shows that they were any different than other Vikings. They were men (interestingly, no mention of berserker women) who lived among other Vikings, raised families, and led what could be considered normal lives unless they went berserk unexpectedly. Then friend, foe, or family were at risk. The sagas cite several times where a berserker was overcome by their blood lust when working or playing a game. As did Skallagrim, who went berserk while playing a ball game with his son.
Quote:
Skallagrim then became so strong and he caught up Thord and dashed him down so violently that he was all bruised and at once got his bane [died]. Then he seized Egil. Now there was a handmaid of Skallagrim's named Thorgerdr Brak, who had nursed Egil when a child; she was a big woman, strong as a man, and of magic cunning. Said Brak:
'Dost thou turn thy shape-strength, Skallagrim, against thy son?' Egil's Saga Chapter 40
Turns out, he didn't kill his son, Egil. He was too busy flinging Brak off a cliff before he snapped out of it. So, it seems that once a berserker was wired to the Bärsärkar-gång, he couldn't control it, and he couldn't "unwire" himself even if his family was at risk. What the hell did these guys do to themselves??
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Back to the mod, the fitting that I was making in the last update is for the reservoir temperature probe. Rubidium over at RealRedRaider did an absolutely awesome tutorial on how to seal a Dallas One Wire sensor. Here's the hole for the flange (yes, I was wincing drilling that one.)
Flange, fitting and tube
Flange soldered in place. That's wet paper towels around the flange to keep from desoldering anything vital.
One wire sensor and tube
Same sensor from the side
Syringe loaded up with 3M potting resin
In place, waiting for resin
Sealed up with resin goodness
Get the idea? The tubing is flared to keep the sensor from falling in.
Mounting bracket drilled out for the fitting and wire in the copper tubing leading to the case.
On the subject of how the berserkers were wired, here's how this project is going to be wired. Lazy man's sleeving! Cloth covered wire. :) 16 gauge spark plug wire
20 gauge lamp cord in basic colors
Even more colors
18 gauge black. I'm leaning toward using green and black only.
Amphenol power plug and receptacle rated at 6 amps per pin IIRC
Sufficiently industrial looking no?
Bridged the connections with a short run to the DC-DC converter.
Finally broke down and bought a desoldering gun after getting jerked around on ebay.
The victim.
Works a treat. Had to massage the connector a little to get it to relent but very easy.
Back side shot. I'm going to solder the wires directly to the board and then to a 24 pin plug. Have you ever seen anyone successfully desolder an ATX receptacle and solder on the back of the motherboard? Advice and opinions would be appreciated on how silly an idea it is.
One of the things that I love about modding is the ridiculously talented people that you meet. Here's a couple of CPU waterblock tops that Duniek made. Check out his work if you get a chance.
Not only is he talented but he's an extremely nice guy when it comes to silly ass requests. :) I'm planning on using the copper with the brass hold down if I can get it all to fit. Thanks Duniek, amazing work!
Lastly, on the subject of truly great stand-up guys, take a look at this. Its an unfinished Hardware Labs Black Ice GT Stealth 140. It was loving pulled from the assembly line, wrapped with care, and shipped from the Philippines by Willie at HWLabs. For a CEO and President, he's an extremely patient man when it comes to silly ass requests. It's solid quality and will make a perfect addition to this project as its one of the thinner radiators going in the 140 size. If you need a new rad, check out their new SR-1 line-up.
(Thanks Willie! really, really appreciate it!)
On a more serious note, you may of heard of the double whammy typhoons that hit the Philippines recently. If you can spare a few bones, please think about throwing a tenner the Red Cross' way earmarked for the SE Asia disaster relief. It'll help some folks who are hurting and it'll make you feel good too...promise!
That's about it for this update. If you're digging the brass/copper direction this is going, then stay tuned. I have discovered a dusty bottle of awesome sauce. The next update will be soaking in it. ;)