I am in need of help from the forums yet again. I am assembling some Brass Car Sides basic body kits for a project. (For those of you that have been following my posts, this is the same project that I have been working with off and on since last April.) I need to trim the roofs to get them to the correct length (and the ends square). What would be the best tool to allow me to trim these roofs properly?
I have been looking at getting a Midwest Products miter box (Walthers 472-1136). However in checking the forums, there are people who don’t like it. I have a NWSL chopper but I think that the roofs in question are too wide for the the throat. (Besides, my chopper seems to chop crooked when I try to cut anything. I have been able to work around that for the projects I have used it on.) The only power saw I have access to is a radial arm saw. Unfortunately, for another piece of those cars, I don’t see how that monster would cut the small pieces that I need.
As usual, any ideas the forums have would be very much welcomed.
Hi FRRYKid:
First, I agree that your radial arm saw is not the right tool. There is far too much power involved to make cutting small, thin materials safe. Others with fingers to spare may disagree.[swg]
I think your best bet is a mitre box, although not necessarily the Midwest Products one if it has negative reviews.
The alternative is to use a Dremel tool with a cut off disc. Make the initial cut a little bit to the waste side of the cut line, and then use a file to carefully remove the remaining material to the cut line.
Dave
I’m not familiar with the Brass Car Sides that you wish to cut but I use my tin snips the few occasions that I’ve cut brass sheet. As Dave said
http://www.caulfieldindustrial.com/product_images/32bda22a-2ec4-4965-9cac-b75e246468b0/1-305_L.jpg
I’m not sure if Irwin Gilbow 12” general purpose snips are available in the States.
DON”T buy the serrated “Aviation” snips!!
Cheers, the Bear.
I’m confused because some answers talk about the sides and some the roof. For the sides I would score them with an exacto knife and then break them with pliars. For the roof I would make a three sided box as wide as the roof like a miter box and use a sanding block against the end to remove and square the excess roof.
I agree with the miter box. Make sure the capacity is at least as great as your roof. I’m not familiar with the Midwest which is plastic, but have had good results with aluminum ones. You can make your own as well. Use a razor saw.
Good luck
Paul
Not quite sure what you are trying to cut. Are the roofs thin sheet metal, a metal extrusion, milled wood, or molded plastic, or something else?
Tin snips are the way to go for thin sheet metal. For fine work you want a new sharp pair of snips. Old and tired snips that have been kicking around the shop for decades will mess up the cut.
A razor saw (Zona is a good name) will cut metal, wood, or plastic. For a nice square cut make a miter box from scrap wood. Your RAS will knock one out in a few minutes. Make it just wide enough to let the roof material slip inside it, and steady the work.Mark the cut line on your miter box with a square and cut it with the razor saw.
I’d be perfectly happy nipping a bit off the ends of a wood roof with my RAS. Long as I can keep my fingers three inches away from the blade, I’m happy. I’ve had my RAS for 40 years, I also have all my fingers. I don’t recommend a RAS for plastic, it’s apt to melt the plastic and leave an ugly blobby cut.
I don’t recommend a Dremel. I’ve had a Dremel even longer than I have had the RAS, and I cannot get them to cut a really straight line. The cut always wobbles and requires a bunch of filing to clean it up.
I do a lot of kitbashing as well as scratch building and the razor saw works the best for me. I use an Aluminum Miter box (from Hobby Lobby ?) and for delicate work the Dremel router table works great with all kinds of Dremel cutting attachments. It really works great using a sanding drum for edging all kinds of materials, metals included.
With a bit of experimenting you can even use a Dremel cutoff blade in the router to make very straight cuts.
Mel
Just to clarify, I am talking about the wood parts of the body kit and there will also be some pieces of doweling that need to cut that will be used as a mounting base for the trucks. Where I do most of my modeling doesn’t give me easy access to power equipment. I do have a regular Dremel tool that I could use but in this case I don’t see how that could be used in this situation.
For cutting the wooden roof, I’d use a hacksaw with a fine-toothed blade in a mitrebox, but cut in the waste portion, fairly close to the line, then sand to the line.
You could cut the dowel the same way or use a utility knife, rolling the dowel under the knife’s blade. However, depending on the intended set-up for mounting the trucks, I’d substitute brass tubing for the dowel.
To cut thin brass sheet, I prefer a utility knife - mark the desired cut line, then score repeatedly in the waste portion close to the line. Use a straightedge to guide the knife, sharpening the blade as necessary, then flex to remove the waste, and file to the finished size. This avoids the curling effect often imparted to the material when using tinsnips.
Wayne
The doweling is intended as the bolster for mounting the trucks. Given both the base and the centersill of the kit are both wood, this is for ease of attachment. My plan is to drill and tap the dowel for 2-56 screws to mount the trucks that I will be using for the four cars that will be built from the BCS kits.
