Tesla Posted August 6, 2015 Posted August 6, 2015 Charles, the carved lettering is outstanding! What type of cutters did you use?
Chariots of Fire Posted August 7, 2015 Author Posted August 7, 2015 I used a 1/4" diameter flat end dremel cutter to smooth out the initial surface and to then cut the area around the letters as close as I could. Then I used a 1/8" cutter to get closer in the tight spots. For the interior of certain letters I used the smallest round cutter that I could find, probably a third of a millimeter in diameter. Final cuts to clean up all the edges I just did with a nice sharp Xacto blade. The material I used was superb for both milling and just hand work. Wood sometimes is crushed even with the sharpest blade and plastic tends to be too difficult in tight areas. This stuff was almost like slicing butter but all of the edges remained crisp and clean. The spacing between letters I first cut with a fine Xacto saw blade. Then the spaces were opened up a little more with the knife blade. All this took 3 tries to get right and it took some time but I think the results speak for themselves. The final shape of the top of the radiator I left until last as it is always easier to work the material that way.
uncle potts Posted August 7, 2015 Posted August 7, 2015 This is going to be fastinating to watch, can't wait to see more.
misterNNL Posted August 14, 2015 Posted August 14, 2015 This is a great project.Where did you get your scaled drawings and or dimensions?Thanks for sharing!
Chariots of Fire Posted August 16, 2015 Author Posted August 16, 2015 Hi Tom. There is an actual truck in Bridgewater, NH so I went there, took some photos and some measurements. I used a simple CAD file to do the side view drawing. When doing this type of modeling, the more photos and measurements the merrier. But it never fails, there are always one or two measurements that you wish you had taken and didn't. Had to e-mail the owner and ask him to get me some rear wheel measurements that I missed. He was kind enough to reply so I was able to complete the wheel assemblies using what he gave me along with the photos.
Chariots of Fire Posted August 21, 2015 Author Posted August 21, 2015 Finally got the brass stock for the rear springs. Got them done and now it's on to the shackes. Lots of iddy biddy pieces for each one. Will post pix soon.
fractalign Posted August 21, 2015 Posted August 21, 2015 Sounds exciting, can't wait to see the results !
Chariots of Fire Posted August 22, 2015 Author Posted August 22, 2015 Rear springs are in the can, so to speak. "U-bolts" that tie axle to springs are made up and coil shocks are in place temporarily. They need to be secured by gluing some bits of plastic tubing to the bracket and top of the spring plates to hold them in place. Front ones are done that way.
Superpeterbilt Posted August 22, 2015 Posted August 22, 2015 This is superb work. It makes me want to throw my builds in the trash. Those spring hangers are amazing, as are the springs.
Chariots of Fire Posted August 22, 2015 Author Posted August 22, 2015 (edited) Well, it's up on all fours. But not to my liking. The back sits about 3mm higher than the front so I have to do some tweaking in the form of artistic license. I'll cut a notch in the rear springs enough to bring the back down close to level with the front. If I can get it dropped 2mm that will be enough. I can live with a 1mm "rake". The rear hubs are not made so that I can slip off the center part, slide it on the brass axle, secure it with a brass washer and then slip on the rest of the wheel and secure it with some two part resin. Securing it with superglue would not allow enough time to make sure it is even all around and doesn't wobble. Besides I need to do a lot of detailing and painting before the outer wheel can be set in place. And the rear coil shocks need to be secured with some small pieces of plastic rod. This has been kind of an engineering puzzle as well as a modeling one so it has been fun to do. In the third photo you can see the center part of the wheel that looks like a small gear. That is the part that slips out and is then put on the brass axle with a washer in front of it to secure it. Then the wheel slides back over it. To do that and get it centered I measured the inside diameter of the plastic tubing that it sits in. Then measured the outer diameter of the "gear" tubing. The difference is then divided in two and small strip stock is glued to the gear tubing that is half the difference. Doing that in several places insures that when the two pieces are brought together they will be centered. The same procedure was used to center the wheel's outer rim to the 8 spokes and center hub. It made it so simple to do and with practically no sanding. I don't know for sure if the rear wheels could be doubled up given the spacing of the wheel and brake drum but many of these old trucks used single wheels because it put more weight on a smaller surface for traction. The track of the rear wheels is only 80" outside to outside. Today I worked on getting the frame to sit level. Instead of notching the rear springs like I mentioned above I decided to modify the shackles themselves by raising the tubing that makes up the connecting points for the ends of the springs. The old ones had to be cut off, the face of the shackles ground down and new tubing was soldered in place. then the extra tubing was trimmed off leaving the small round openings in the shackles for the bolts to go through. The results were good. Now the frame is only a half millimeter or so out of being level from front to rear and I'm not going to try and improve on that. Edited August 24, 2015 by Chariots of Fire added information
fractalign Posted August 23, 2015 Posted August 23, 2015 Talk about high end, this build is on another level !
gatorincebu Posted August 25, 2015 Posted August 25, 2015 (edited) Totally in awe of your skill, craftsmanship and patience! Be Well Gator Edited September 5, 2015 by gatorincebu
Chariots of Fire Posted August 25, 2015 Author Posted August 25, 2015 (edited) Thank you all for your kind comments. Here is a pic of the parts so far. I didn't take the springs out of their mounts but you get the idea. Next could be the engine and then the drive train. Lots of things going on with those details. I just noticed! I forgot the front wheels and tires! So a quick trip back to the bench and a new photo! Edited August 25, 2015 by Chariots of Fire
Harry P. Posted August 25, 2015 Posted August 25, 2015 Charlie, you are a true craftsman in every sense. Just beautiful work, And I for one really appreciate the subject matter you bring to the forum... we don't see nearly enough antique/vintage trucks here, so your choice of subject combined with your skill is a real treat that raises the bar in the Trucks section by several notches..
Chariots of Fire Posted August 25, 2015 Author Posted August 25, 2015 I like the old stuff Harry. There is so much class in the way they were put together and it all hangs out in plain sight where you get to see the details. There is a good amount of study that goes into coming up with a build before it actually takes place. I know I've said it before but it bears repeating. If you are going to take photos take a lot of them. There are never enough of them. And for those pesky details, take photos of the same thing from different angles. It's surprising the info you pick up from just doing that.
fractalign Posted August 26, 2015 Posted August 26, 2015 I have to agree, my favourite trucks are all pre WW2. This build is certainly one of the most impressive to have graced these pages.
Superpeterbilt Posted August 26, 2015 Posted August 26, 2015 I feel like a broken record, but your work is mind blowing!
Chariots of Fire Posted September 3, 2015 Author Posted September 3, 2015 (edited) Here's an update on the build so far. Fuel tanks are made up and in position, front fender brackets are mounted, the radiator was re done with a smaller top and the cab shape has been completed. Lots of cab details left such as opening up the doors and doing some rivets along the corners. I found a good yellow color at Michaels craft store The frame will be shot with Duplicolor etching primer before receiving the finish coat. Now that the radiator is positioned and the cab location is set I can begin to set up the engine block and drive train assembly. Edited September 3, 2015 by Chariots of Fire added information
Superpeterbilt Posted September 3, 2015 Posted September 3, 2015 I'm just glad that I get to watch this! Superb work Charles. There's no doubt that this truck will look exactly like the 1:1, if not better.
Longbox55 Posted September 3, 2015 Posted September 3, 2015 (edited) Beautiful work, sir. For anyone wondering what's going on inside those giant hubs on the front wheels, here's what they look like on the inside. Edited September 3, 2015 by Longbox55
Chariots of Fire Posted September 3, 2015 Author Posted September 3, 2015 No! I did not duplicate all that stuff inside the front hubs!! I will use the outline of the transfer case though to get the shape of it somewhere near.
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