Improved "Scary Terry" Talking Skull Servo Bracket

I ordered a talking skull kit as soon as it was on the cover of Nuts and Volts. I assembled the board, tested it, and then continued to modifying the included skull. Unfortunately, the instructions for the included bracket made installation a little tricky, and the skull bracket rattled a bit, meaning the animation wasn't quite as good. These tips aren't reinventing the wheel, and will take minimal time to modify yours. This way the skull servo mount will perform much better. This instructable is really a guide of tips that should make installing your bracket a little less painful.

This instructable is about Scary Terry's talking skull kit, information here http://www.scary-terry.com/.

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Step 1: What You'll Need

Dremel or Drill -just for drill the hole in the bottom of the bracket. It only needs to be big enough so the long screw can fit in.
Airplane Nuts for bracket screws -These are the ones with the nylon rubbery stuff on the inside. these reduce shocks. These aren't strictly necessary, you can use the regular nuts because it makes very little difference.
Included Servo Bracket -duh
Included bracket screws -This includes the one going through the skull and the ones holding the motor
Hot Glue Gun -Used for holding the inluded bracket nut into place
Lock Washers for Bracket screws -These helped keep it tightened a lot
Screwdrivers for screws
The included motor and the little bag of things it comes with

Step 2: Glue the Nut

The instructions to tell you to bolt the nut into the skull first. I found that it made it difficult to tighten, and inconvenient to make repairs (like when I accidentally installed my servo backwards). Sketch out where the bracket will sit in your skull, then eyeball where the hole should be. make an x, then drill the hole. You should be able to do this with a Dremel tool, but BE CAREFUL that the metal does not come loose and start spinning. feed the screw through the hole on the side that it will be coming through when we attach it to the skull, and screw the nut till it is snug against the bracket. Hot glue into place, careful not to glue the scew to the nut. when it is dry, unscrew it. This will allow you to easily take the entire bracket on and off in case you need to make repairs or modifications.

Step 3: Add a Motor

THe motor comes with a small bag of attachments. We will be using the 2 - pronged propellor head and the rubber scquares that are included. Fit these rubger blocks into the servo. You may need to push these in with a flathead screw driver because they may be difficult to push in. Don't screw on the attachment to the servo yet, we will do that later. Fit the servo into the bracket, making sure the rotation piece is facing the right direction. Feed the screws through, you will have to push them a bit. Then add the lock - washer, and finally the airplane washer. Put this all in loosely first, then tighten them. The rubber will twist a little, but as long as the servo is tightly secured, this is fine.

Step 4: Give the Guy a Brain

Now that the bracket is finished, it needs to talk. Place it in the skull where you drew the box earlier. If you drilled in the right spot, simply screw the bracket into the skull. Make sure it is tight. Boom. Done.

Step 5: Making the Jaw Move.

Look at where the servo is mounted than drill a hole in the side of his head where the center of the rotating part of the servo is. Another words, a hole so we can stick in a screw driver and attach the attachement. Make sure the end the piano wire will be attached to is pointing pretty high so that the skull's jaw can drop up and down convincingly. I recommend threading the wire throught the middle hole because it gave me better animation. Stick the propellor through the wire FIRST, then screw it to the mount. Then wrap the other end of wire around the hole in the jaw that was explained in the instructions. Your Done! Now go scare some little kids out of their Halloween candy!