airscale Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 hello all, just joined and posted a WIP on a Sea Fury I am converting. Doogs asked how I use brass to create details so here is a little infomercial about the technique I use... First get the right brass - I use K&S shim which I get off Amazon - it's about £8 GBP for this pack which has four thicknesses: 0.01 - thinner than paper but good for the 'T' part of T stringers & rivet details and skinning cowlings / control surfaces etc where there is a plastic or kit part substrate 0.02 - multi-purpose - general detailing but not self supporting as it's not rigid enough 0.03 - ideal for replacing panels - self supporting and rigid 0.05 - used as internal cores for control surfaces, will give a razor sharpe thin trailling edge ..this is the pack.. ..draw out the shape you want in pencil... ..get a bit of perspex - I got this offcut for £1 GBP.. ,,,tape the sheet to the perspex and cut straight lines with a scalpel - use new blades as thin brass will tear.. ..cut curves with scissors or snips..these are just cheap IKEA scissors... ..once cut out you can see the edges are a bit flared & bent... ..tape the part down and burnish the edges with a hard, curved surface - in this case scissor handles.. ...use a rivet wheel to add detail - either the depression for flush rivets, or the dome it creates for domed rivets. You can vary the size by either riveting straight onto the perspex for the smallest depression... ..onto a bit of tape for a bigger impression.. ..or onto a cutting mat for the deepest impression.. ..you may be able to see the subtle differences in rivet size here - you will also see the part has bent along the lines of rivets - no problem we sort that later.. ..you can scribe access panels etc - I use a pin in a pin vise - tape the two down so things don't move about... ..add fasteners etc.. ..the detail looks a bit 'blown' for now - no worries we sort that out later too.. ..if the part will need bending, then we need to 'anneal' the brass - no witchcraft here - just hold it over a flame until it glows - afterwards dip it in water to cool.. ..now we tape the part down and burnish all that 'quilting' where the part got deformed... .. I like to clean the part up so onto a sanding pad - sometimes it's hard to get it to move as it's so thin it just grips the pad - get a bit of white tac / blu tack to make it move.. ..you can bend it if needed - I use a tool - before I had this it was just as easy with a steel rule and a blade.. ...if the part is curved - tape one end to something of a smaller diameter and work away from the end you taped down... ..here is our demo part - it can now be primed - I use Mr Metal primer.. ..I use this method for a lot of parts - I find it easier and certainly more realistic than plastic - it's easy - give it a go! hope that inspires someone to try it - the method revolutionised how I go about detailing.. TTFN Peter @ airscale 15 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave J Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 That's awesome Peter! I will be trying this myself for sure! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamme Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 Thank you for this lesson! Fantastic. Congrats, Jamme 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators James H Posted September 17, 2013 Administrators Share Posted September 17, 2013 That is amazing stuff! I might give this a shot myself on some future projects. Do I have to pay royalties? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave J Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 Here is the link to the Brass Sheet if anyone is going to order - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Brass-Shim-Sheets-001-002/dp/B008AWEALU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379450667&sr=8-1&keywords=K%26S+shim And this How to just got Pinned! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkranias Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 inspiring and looks very doable. thanks for the tips and brass selection recommendation. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffurs Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 Great presentation thank you Peter - Eduard should be very worried! ;-) Geoff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_ Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 Peter Looks useful. I do similar but much less extensive work with alu from food containers, drinks cans etc... does the brass have an advantage..? Also, I noted in the photo of what looked like the Sea Fury's engine access panels, that you have some 'U' section brass profile bent to the curve of the panel... Is this merely a case of annealing or are there other elements to getting it to bend like that without 'crumpling'...? Matt 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave J Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 In being in ore of this, I forgot to ask how does the Brass take with have holes/circles punched into it? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airscale Posted September 25, 2013 Author Share Posted September 25, 2013 hi folks - glad it was useful.. In being in ore of this, I forgot to ask how does the Brass take with have holes/circles punched into it? Hi Dave - I have punched all of the thicknesses successfully, and you can drill all but the thinnest foil stuff as it tears.. Peter Looks useful. I do similar but much less extensive work with alu from food containers, drinks cans etc... does the brass have an advantage..? Also, I noted in the photo of what looked like the Sea Fury's engine access panels, that you have some 'U' section brass profile bent to the curve of the panel... Is this merely a case of annealing or are there other elements to getting it to bend like that without 'crumpling'...? Matt Hi Matt - I am not sure if there are advantages - I just prefer working with it and it can have better torsional stiffness than alu so tends to keep it's shape better as for bending 'U' channel, I didn't anneal it, just worked it around a small spray can - I think because the open part of the 'U' was on the outside thats why it didn't kink or crumple - if I had to bend it the other way it might TTFN Peter 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olfogey Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 Nice tip................ Some things I never knew before, never too old to learn (lol) Jim J. -- "olfogey" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fjcarone Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 Very good 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daywalker Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Incredibly detailed tutorial, thank you so much Peter for sharing your techniques with us. I have some of this shim stock on my bench, never tried these techniques before but certainly will now! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonathanReed Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 Buying some as we speak, er write. Ok, well after i finish this post! Nice stuff. My brain is going to explode from all the new techniques from this forum! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazypoet Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 This is great information - thank you! I have a related question. I'm going to need to form the cowling for my Camel build, as that part is not included in the "skeleton" kit that I'm building. Absent a lathe, is there a decent approach for converting sheet stock (or soda cans) into deep concave shapes? Enquiring minds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaseGill Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 That is great. Thanks very much. Love the approach, the good old fashioned engineering of it and just the sheer skill involved. I've always thought scratching parts to be complicated, this makes it look, whilst obviously not, much easier. Thanks again, J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackster Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 Thank you so much for sharing this technique. The results are stunning! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drifter Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 Oh my, this is excellent. Thanks !!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belugawhaleman Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 Useful and informative tutorial. Thanks for posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now