dylan the rabbit Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 In a conundrum.. I'm scratch building the instrument panel of a 1/48th Fokker DVII. The dials sit proud of the face. The panel should look like this.. How on earth would I go about making them? I've looked for small washers (impossible) and am thinking of cutting plastic card in small circles, but am not sure how good this would like. Any ideas? Cheers, Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 I'm sitting here cutting out placards for my P-47 cockpit, some are round and a pain, think a punch and die set is needed but they are expensive, probably if you use one a lot that is the way to go. Cheers Den Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
entlim Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 Get a rotary punch-cheap- local woolies/wilkinson/robert dyas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 One of these, works on plastic, tried it on Waldron placards but failed ! [/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Wyllie Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 (edited) One of these, works on plastic, tried it on Waldron placards but failed ![/img] I made my own punch cheaply and easily by cutting 2 rectangles of 3/16" perspex about 4" X 3", drilled a couple of 3/8" holes in the corners, long side or diagonal - doesn't matter, glued 3/8" steel pins in the bottom layer. Assemble the 2 pieces. Now, if you need to punch a hole of a certain size, drill through both layers with the appropriate size of drill bit, slip your bit of sheet of the required thickness between the perspex layers, reverse the drill bit, pop it in the hole in the top layer, protect the pointy end with a bit of plastic and hit it a smart rap with a hammer. Hey presto - a perfect hole or/and a perfect disc! Drill as many sizes as you need holes or discs and have at it. The perspex stands up to repeated punching very well and you can always drill more 'oles if you need to. If you're really keen, you could grind the non business end of the drills flat to give a sharper edge, but most work OK as bought. Give it a try - works for me. Iain Edited December 27, 2007 by Iain Art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dahut Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 Very nice descript of your punch, Iain. Could you post a pic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Wyllie Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 Very nice descript of your punch, Iain. Could you post a pic? It isn't all that exciting to look at! This is the first attempt as it is in tinted perspex and easier to see in a photo than the later clear one. Iain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dahut Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 As I imagined. Very nice resource. My friend is a top notch machinist and I may ask him to chip in on this and help me out. If he can do the perspex parts and fitted alignment pins, I can manage the holes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Bradshaw Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 Hi Nick, I have posted some additional information on this subject on the tips and techniques forum. Hopefully, this will add to all of the really good and brilliant advice already offered to you by other Britmodeller members. Cheers Derek 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