Model Benchwork Part one

[fsm1000]

This article is from mywebsite. The pictures here are on my website, but I hope you get the idea.


I have made a few custom pieces for myself and others out of wood mostly.

And I have found it best for me to make a model of it first so I can catch any

problems that may be particular to the project I am working on.


As a result of this I decided to also make a model of my model.



Should you decide to follow along, you will gain skills in measuring, cutting

glueing and others as well.

All of these you can then apply to future things such as scenery, kitbashing,

or my favorite, scratchbuilding.

I started this by first measuring the area I had and finding out what height I

needed. This was a minimum of 32 inches. I also knew that the layout was

going to be 6 feet by 4 feet. With this as a start I set about making a layout

that was also movable on casters and later take downable for when we move.


Ok so first off I am going to use a 1/8 inch to the inch scale. So 1/16th

would be 1/2 an inch.


Next I got some bristol board. It is like heavy construction paper only shiny.

I like working with this stuff. It cuts easily, glues well and holds its shape well

too I found.

I first cut out some 1 x 4's that were 32 inches long.

A note about wood. Over here when you buy a 1 x 4 it is NOT 1 x 4. It is

really 3/4 by 3 1/2 inches. I am sure it is the same where you are as well.

The only exception to this is called 'dimensioned wood'. But this is very

expensive.


So when I cut these out I made them 3 1/2 inches wide.

Make sure you apply an even pressure when you are cutting and also while

holding down the ruler.

DO NOT PRESS TOO HARD. You want to be firm though. One thing many

beginners do is to press down way to hard when they are cutting. It is much

better to make a few light cuts then it is to make one or two heavy cuts.

Mistakes will always happen when you cut too hard.

Also I find that if I pu***he blade lightly towards the steel ruler [hence why I

don't use plastic or wood rulers for cutting] so as to ensure I don't wander

from the straight edge. practice this now so that when you work on

something with a grain, like wood, later you will have some experience under

your belt.


If you ever watch a fine furniture maker you will not see them use a pencil

too often. The reason for this is that no matter how sharp the pencil, for

some marks it is just too thick.

They use instead a sharp steel marker. This ensures an accurate marking. You

can do this too by using your knife blade to make your marking, but not too

deep or big though. However big enough to see without squinting. You then

line up the cut marks and cut.

And presto we have lumber.

I glue two pieces together and let them dry for about five minutes. You don't

need a lot of glue. But I find with this material I do need to hold and push it

down a lot until it catches. After a minute it holds.


Ok so now you need to apply a thin [this is good practice] bead of glue

along one edge of one 'board'. This is going to be tiny so patience is needed

and a steady hand.

Repeat and you now have four legs. One note. I wanted the 'front' legs in

such a way as not to show an edge on the forward part. So make sure they

are glued on a left and right version. Or if you make a mistake, just turn it

upside down. Smiley That works too.

Ok so now we need some supports and crosspieces. Once again make some

boards by cutting out some 1 x 4's. In this case they are 3 at 5 feet long and

4 at 3 feet long. You are also going to need some 1 x 2's.

Just a note. A 1 x 4 is actually 3/4 by 3 1/2. And a 1 x 2 is 3/4 by 1 1/2. So

make them two thicknesses of paper by 3 1/2 scale inches instead of 4, and

the other 1 1/2 scale inches instead of 2. Like I said, this is good practice.

Now glue the pieces together as per the pictures. [Later on you will 1 x 6's, in

actuality them are 3/4 by 5 1/2].


And there you have it. A base.

ouble check as you go along that it is all square at the corners. Ok now take

a rest and enjoy.



There are 21 photos on my website for this article alone.
Please have a look and enjoy.
http://fsm1000.googlepages.com