Front Vents

Early on in my build I tried making my own front vents with some sheet metal and some surrounds cast from resin. The surrounds had some aluminum powder mixed in and did a pretty decent job looking like metal. I used a nibbler tool and some tin snips to cut the inserts out of the sheet metal. I then sanded down any ugly edges and used JB Weld to hold everything together. The results were....um...just ok.

Fast-forward a decade. I decided to buy some properly machined front vents. In early 2017, WorrParts had a set of these going for $229 + shipping. I didn't think I could live with my crappy DIY job, especially since the front vents are right up in front. So I bought them.

These are are actually two pieces that go together with some #4-40 screws. These vents were designed to drop right into the COM frames so popular with builders these days. The A&A frame that I'm using will need some modifications to accommodate these.

As you can see from the photo, these things are quite pretty. As soon as I can find my original front vents, I'll post a side-by-side so you can see the difference. There's really no comparison.

Coin Slots

The Worr coin slots are machined from a solid piece of aluminum billet. It also features 6 little holes (I never did determine actual size) that can be used to bolt them on to your inner skins.

Octagon Ports

I originally had purchase a set of resin octagon ports from Keith Henry years ago. But the aluminum bug bit me and couldn't resist picking up these beauties from David Shaw.

Each octagon port is machined as one solid piece. The inner back vents are hollow. It comes with a set of screws that allow you to attach the ports to your frame via holes in the bottom (not visible in the photo). The front corners also have holes drilled that allow you to attach the ports to your skins instead. The provided screws, however, are too big for these holes. #4 screws will fit these holes just fine, however.

Side & Pocket Vents

This set of vents includes two side vents and two pocket vents. Both have a back panel that screws onto the vents. The idea is that the skins are sandwiched between the front and back of the vents. I think the idea as that the back panel is bent in such as way as to provide enough friction/pressure (supposedly) to stay in place. Despite being extremely well made, I had to pull out some tricks to keep mine in place and eliminate rattle.

Coin Returns

Skirt

The skirt I'm using is fiberglass. It was made by Brett Landon back in the day. It came unpainted.