Ring Bolts

[Some Idea]

Hi Everyone

 

I have a confession  - I struggle making decent ring bolts 😒

 

I was given great advice by druxey on how to make the actual ring or triangle and I can do this part.  Making these shapes is ok for me now and I silver solder them together and end up with very nice rings and triangles.  However it's the part the ring or triangle is attached to that goes into the deck that I am struggling with.  Currently I'm making eye bolts to fit them too but they never seem to look that good when assembled.  They always come out in different sizes and it's so fiddly trying to fit the parts together.

 

So help me out and let me know your techniques as I really need to improve this part of my modelling.  As a general rule I am currently using 0.5mm and 0.8mm brass to make these fittings if this helps.

 

Looking forward to hearing from the forum - Mark

[Gregory]

You should get a lot of feedback on this, but I was particularly taken by a method Chuck demonstrated with Speedwell.

Instead of making eyebolts that look like the little jewelry eyelets provided with most kits, one simply makes a U-shape from the wire being used.

The following is clipped from the post by Chuck.

 

You then counter sink this "eyebolt" into your work and it looks very realistic.

The "hole" you sink it into needs to be a little oval shaped instead of round.

I have since observed this feature on contemporary models and artifacts.

Here it is on a salvaged gun carriage.

 

Here is an example from a contemporary model. It is really effective for small applications like the gun port lid.

 

[druxey]

My method is to use a long length of wire, and bend one end into a short 'V'. Then thread on the ring. The next step involves holding the two end of the V (inverted so gravity moves the ring out of the way) )in a parallel plier and squeezing the V together using a needle-nose pliers. I then release the ringbolt and, with fine wire cutters, cut the short end at an angle and then the longer end to make a stem.

 

As observed by Gregory, the bolt is partially sunk into the wood. After drilling a suitable hole, I open it up using a miniature jewelers' screwdriver tip held at about a 35 degree angle. This forms a sort of countersink for the ringbolt.

[Some Idea]

Gregory and druxey - thanks both for the information.  Your ideas should definitely improve my efforts so I'll give them a go.