Any hints, ideas how to scratchbuild anchors?

[clogger]

I need two sets of anchors for my 1/36 scale French port yacht. One anchor needs to be approx 5x5cm and the other about 4x4. I have the plans 1:1.  Just wondering the best way to make these anchors.  I am not in possession of a metal lathe however.  

[Louie da fly]

I made mine out of wood and they worked quite well. See posts #322 and #325 at 

 

 

I carved them out of pear wood, and used garden tie-wire for the rings.

 

Steven

[druxey]

A lathe is certainly not needed! There are a number of logs on this site where various methods of making anchors are shown. Just because the original was iron, it doesn't mean that you have to smith your anchors. Wood or plastic painted are valid solutions.

[grimey]

Go to the Nautical Research Guild  Homepage. Click on "Resources"  then "Articles and How To's"; there you will find a short article on how to make anchors out of sheet styrene.  

[henrythestaffy]

Have you thought about printing them?

[clarkt]

I have really enjoyed casting anchors, and some other things from soft metal.  Micromark has everything you need. 

[wefalck]

... which means that you have to make the patterns first. As the colleague only needs one of each, he might just stop there

 

[Roger Pellett]

Some types of anchors are more complex to build than others.  What type of anchor are you trying to build?

[clogger]

Thanks for the replies. 
I might just make them out of wood.
I was wondering how hard it would be to cut the shape out of brass?

obviously the stock would be made of wood, maybe the flukes as well, but the shank could be metal?

[clogger]

Hers a photo of the plan

 

[popeye2sea]

Well, first heat your iron in a large crucible to above 2800 degrees until melted.....  😉

 

Regards

Edited July 30, 2022 by popeye2sea

[barkeater]

I do mine out of wood. Pear wood would be your best bet and has already been suggested. I use ebony which is hard to work with but has the right color as I like the look of natural wood.

Richard

[davec]

I just finished a fisherman's anchor for my sharpie.  Sheet brass, rod, and tubing.  metal cutting blade on a scroll saw (I don't have the patience for doing it with a jeweler's saw), lots of filing, and some soldering.  Needs to be cleaned up for painting.

[Louie da fly]

I have made them out of brass (posts #969 and #1000,

 

but I find wood is much easier to work with.

 

Steven

[mtaylor]

Brass can be worked by hand and a Dremel type tool.  But as others have suggested.. styrene or wood.  There's also 3D printing.  I believe Shapeways (among many others) may list some.

 

As for doing them in brass, you might go the Scratch Area and using the search feature, use "brass", "anchors", and maybe "solder" .  You should get a list of hits that show how others have done them.

[Gregory]

This may be of some help.

It shows Chuck's anchor fabrication for Cheerful.

 

 

[clogger]

Thanks again for all the suggestions. I think I’ll go the wood carving way. I’ll can cut and paste the plan parts onto some boxwood and off I’ll go.  Painting the anchors for realism shouldn’t be a problem for me.  

[Dziadeczek]

I made mine from ebony, but later on I decided to paint them with an iron-looking paint, because the ebony looked too much like 'ebony' and not enough like iron. So, any hardwood should be OK, provided that you paint them afterwards with flat black paint.

Greetings,

Thomas

[BenD]

@Dziadeczek Those anchors look incredible! 

Edited July 31, 2022 by BenD

[Charles Green]

Dziadeczek:

 

Iron indeed!  Your anchors look susceptible to rust.