These were terrific, but they lacked a few key details, such as the subtle inner flanges, noticeable in certain still photographs of the robot:

I turned the claws over to my machinist, who toiled for eight hours to adapt the claws to my specifications. He added the inner flange detail, filled in some of the surface cavities left by the casting process, and, most importantly, he machined the claws to correct a misalignment between the two halves of each set of claws. The surface finish was achieved by sanding, buffing, and by glass bead blasting. This is as far as I care to take the finishing work on the claws, as I think the satin finish is close enough to the original, first-season claws.

The machinist had to create a special jig to machine out the inner curve of the claws in order to create the subtle flange.

Another important feature of the machining was to correct a misalignment of the back crura, or legs of the claws. I felt that this misalignment that might pose difficulties in the future when I mechanize the claws.

Although the flange is not exactly like the original in every detail, it must be stated that the machining of the claws is not yet finished. A bit of weld is being added right now to create the top bar seen at the end of each claw half. Here is a picture of this detail in the original robot.

More machining is still required to perfect the claws. Stay tuned for updates.