Supplies of the Ship Modeler's Handbook are running out. Get your copy NOW before they are gone! Click on photo to order.
×
Nirvana
-
Posts
5,364 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Reputation Activity
-
Nirvana reacted to Julie Mo in Altair 1931 by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:32 - schooner
No cardigan for this girl. My Irish blood loves the cold. Don't ask me why I landed in Florida. But you're right about Chicago winters keeping me busy indoors. Back then I had a great workshop to run to and I really miss that. I still haven't managed to figure out how to make this mess work.
-
Nirvana reacted to KeithAug in Altair 1931 by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:32 - schooner
Julie - thank you for your kind words. I keep looking at your build hoping to see how you are developing. You seem to have quite a full life in Florida. Maybe what you need is long winter nights of snow wind and rain to keep you focused - it is currently throwing it down here with 80 knot winds forecast for later tonight. I bet you are wondering if its time to break out the cardigan, while planning the Thanksgiving barbecue. On reflection maybe you are better off with the distractions of the Florida climate.
-
Nirvana reacted to Julie Mo in Altair 1931 by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:32 - schooner
The quality of your work is so good, Keith, that I often forget this is all done in a very small scale. As I' walking through the pictures of your build, I can see all this work being done full scale. It's always a joy to see your work.
Julie
-
Nirvana reacted to KeithAug in Altair 1931 by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:32 - schooner
Thank you Michael. Good idea. I'll try it.
Keith
-
Nirvana reacted to michael mott in Altair 1931 by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:32 - schooner
Keith if you put a sharp point in your mill and just use it to make a small spot like a centre punch go along and index each position make the spots then back track the mill table replace the point with your drill and index as you drill each hole they will all be in line.
Michael
-
Nirvana reacted to KeithAug in Altair 1931 by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:32 - schooner
Thank you Michael and John. I think I'll try it once more taking a little more care on the soldering.
Finishing the hinge process:-
Having made the basic hinge pieces I decided to try drilling holes for attaching the hinges to the door posts. I didn't have a centre drill small enough so used a .025 inch twist drill, hoping it wouldn't drift off. Hope was in vain and this aspect of my plan was a failure.
Finally I parted off using a slitting saw.
The first hinge worked but was a bit messy.
I decided to dispense with drilling the holes on the mill and will drill them by hand next time.
The second attempt was posted earlier - a coupe more photos here.
-
Nirvana reacted to Jim Lad in Altair 1931 by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:32 - schooner
Very nicely made hinge, Keith.
John
-
Nirvana reacted to michael mott in Altair 1931 by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:32 - schooner
Very nicely done on the hinges Keith.
Michael
-
Nirvana reacted to KeithAug in Altair 1931 by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:32 - schooner
I made a start on my hinge experiment. The hinges need to be .240 inch long by .100 wide when closed.
Having decided on an approach I made 4 jigs - 3 simple and one a bit more complex. Their uses will become clear further on.
I started by soldering .040 inch OD brass tube to .012 sheet. Both the sheet and tube were "tinned" with soft solder prior to joining. The 1st jig was to assist soldering - simply a recess to hold the tube down while the sheet was pressed against it.
A bit difficult to see but here the tube is attached and the soldering cleaned up with wire wool.
The trickiest bit of making the hinge involved accurately cutting the tube before removing alternate tube segments with a needle file - the cutting / filing jig worked very well in enabling this operation.
The photos are proving quite difficult because of the scale and the reflective materials. I hope they are good enough to illustrate the process.
I need to go and make dinner but here is the 2nd attempt - I have made a "piano" hinge at this stage. It's about 1 inch long and the final hinges will be cut off from this. I will continue describing the process in the next post.
-
Nirvana reacted to KeithAug in Altair 1931 by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:32 - schooner
I grabbed a couple of hours this weekend to make a bit of progress.
I spent some time trying out options for making the hinges for the deckhouse doors. I abandoned this when I released I needed some brass sections which I ordered and I await delivery.
I finished off the sides of the deck house by installing acetate windows (.020 thick) and then cladding the inside. I covered the acetate with masking tape to prevent poly contamination whilst painting.
I needed to create 1/4 round dowels for the corners of the deck house. 2 different radii of dowels were required .120 and .140 inches. The larger diameter is required at deck level where the deck house wall is thicker. After a bit of head scratching I realised that I could make the 1/4 rounds on the drum sander by first making a square section equal to the desired radius and then passing it in and out of the sander always keeping one corner in contact with the bed. It worked a treat.
The base dowels went on first followed by the remainder of the edge - glued with PVA
I also made a start on the deck house front.
-
Nirvana reacted to michael mott in Altair 1931 by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:32 - schooner
Keith you can make them. like this.
Michael
-
Nirvana reacted to KeithAug in Altair 1931 by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:32 - schooner
Thank you John.
I am currently wondering how I am going to make working hinges for the deck house doors. They need to be about .160 inch long by .080 wide when closed. I have looked on the net but even the smallest hinges seem to be 3 times this size. The plans suggest using Sellotape for hinges which is neither elegant or durable. I will have to do better.
-
Nirvana reacted to Jim Lad in Altair 1931 by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:32 - schooner
Just catching up, Keith, she continues to look superb.
John
-
Nirvana reacted to KeithAug in Altair 1931 by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:32 - schooner
I wanted to make a working roof hatch - avoiding the dilemma of whether to have it open or closed. It was therefore important to make the curve of the inner surface of the hatch match the outer curve of the deckhouse roof. Rather than make a jig I decided to use the deckhouse roof itself as the jig. To avoid the hatch becoming accidentally attached to the roof I covered the roof with a strip of masking tape. The hatch was then constructed on the roof using .040 inch x .160 inch mahogany planks overlaid by a second layer of .030 inch x .160 inch planks. The second layer was inset from the edge by .040 inch to produce the lip which will locate in the runner.
The components of the deck house were balanced on one another (not yet ready to glue) to check what it is going to look like.
-
Nirvana reacted to KeithAug in Altair 1931 by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:32 - schooner
Michael
I sometimes get a bit obsessed about detail, even if you can't see it. I think you may suffer from the same problem!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-
Nirvana reacted to michael mott in Altair 1931 by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:32 - schooner
Now that is a great attention to detail! some of us might have taken the easy route and built them at right angles to the slope.
Michael
-
Nirvana reacted to KeithAug in Altair 1931 by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:32 - schooner
Thank you Michael.
The roof beams are true vertical / horizontal while the roof slopes down towards the bow. This means that the beams have to be flared. I did this using a sanding stick using fine emery cloth and very little pressure to avoid breaking the beams from the edge strips.
I was pleased to get to planking the roof as this started to add much needed rigidity. The planks were .040 inch thick by .160 inch wide mahogany. The first two planks were placed to form the edges of the sliding roof hatch. Elastic bands proved effective in holding the planks while the PVA dried.
Once fully planked the roof was sanded and the additional longitudinal beams attached to the underside.
The roof construction is very light but surprisingly rigid.
The 3 beams which cross the hatch opening will be removed later.
-
Nirvana reacted to michael mott in Altair 1931 by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:32 - schooner
I like the jig for assembling the roof beams Keith.
Michael
-
Nirvana reacted to KeithAug in Altair 1931 by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:32 - schooner
Progress continues to be slow as other distractions intervene.
I continued to build the deck house, trying to reproduce the original in miniature.
The roof is quite a delicate structure at model scale. I decided to laminate up the roof beams. The beams to the front of the deckhouse are thicker - laminated from 3 pieces of mahogany each .040 thick. The beams at the rear of the deckhouse are thinner - 2 x .040 planks. I made a simple jig (nails in a plank) to hold the beams while gluing (PVA glue).
Another simple jig was shaped (on the mill) to produce and accurate cutting guide to consistently get the planks the correct length.
Finally I made a 3rd jig in which to build the roof.
2 edge strips were laid in the jig and then the 6 curved beams were placed glued at each end with PVA ------ all very delicate.
-
Nirvana reacted to KeithAug in Altair 1931 by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:32 - schooner
Thank you Michael.
-
Nirvana reacted to michael mott in Altair 1931 by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:32 - schooner
Wow!! I really like the flag cabinet and the drawer the seats look like white vinyl or Leather.
Michael
-
Nirvana reacted to KeithAug in Altair 1931 by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:32 - schooner
I decided to do a bit on the deckhouse - actually the sides. I am going for a sandwich construction, a .031" inch ply core with .040 of mahogany cladding on either side.
I spent a happy couple of hours on the table saw cutting the mahogany cladding. I am finding with increasing practice that I am able to make cuts to an accuracy of a couple of thou - quite sufficient. I went to some trouble to get the right spacing for the window - as per calculation sheet below parts in photo.
The "kit of parts" is shown below.
Assembly was straightforward using PVA glue. The side is 3.5 inch wide.
On the reverse side you can see the recess for the windows. One piece of clear acetate will be used, the frames creating the impression of 5 windows. The cladding of the inner surface will trap the acetate in place. This avoids trying to glue the acetate in place which I always seem to make a mess of.
After a days work ( with many interruptions ) I had made a bit of progress.
-
Nirvana reacted to Jim Lad in Altair 1931 by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:32 - schooner
Bob, from your latest photos I can see what you mean about the drawer being open and the flag locker - what a dilema!
John
-
Nirvana reacted to KeithAug in Altair 1931 by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:32 - schooner
Bob
Thank you. Your kind comments are much appreciated.
-
Nirvana reacted to captainbob in Altair 1931 by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:32 - schooner
They say every part is a model unto it's self. You have made a beautiful little model of this deckhouse area.
Bob
Our Emblem ®
