Post by DM Michael on Aug 29, 2014 17:41:44 GMT
I have wanted to try out a few new techniques. The bookcase on the left is what I ended up with. Gandalf is only there for scale. All the wooden parts are 25mm long, 1mm thick and it is 8mm deep. Despite the fact that it is looking quite fragile it is surprisingly sturdy.
I made a small pile of books using various techniques, all based on thick paper wrapped around wood. So I needed a piece where I would use them. Making a base and just gluing them on seemed less than ideal. (How often do you need a "difficult terrain"-marker shaped like a pile of books?) So I tried to make a bookcase.
First I tried hot gluing the stuff together. It didn't work. Either there had to be big visible blobs of glue, or it didn't have enough strength. Then I tried ordinary white glue, it worked. The backing is an ordinary piece of cereal box.
You need to know a couple of tricks to make it work though.
1: First I cut out 6 pieces of wood. I don't know for sure what kind of wood it is; it was some stuff that was left by the previous owner of my house. I assume that it is balsa wood.
2: Then I smooth of the ends using some fine grained sandpaper. I do all the pieces at once holding them all firmly together, that I know for sure they are the exact same size.
3: Then I cut out 6 pieces of 3mm MDF, slightly shorter and narrower than the shelves themselves.
4: Make a stack. 1 piece of balsawood, two pieces of MDF, and then another piece of balsa wood and so on. Continue until you have 4 pieces of balsa wood. Clamp the stack together. Make sure all the pieces of balsa wood are completely aligned.
5: Apply a little white glue on the ends of the balsa wood. Then attach the end pieces. Then clamp the ends together a let it dry.
6: Once it is dry, very carefully remove the clamps.
7: Put some white glue on the backside of the balsa wood, then attach a piece of cereal box paperboard, slightly larger than the bookcase. Let it dry completely, preferably while under light pressure. I used two pieces of polyurethane packaging foam to distribute the weight.
8: Once dry, cut of the excess cereal box paperboard.
9: Place the bookcase on its back. Pour in a little extra white glue between the shelves, for added strength. Then let it dry completely again under light pressure.
10: Paint it and add books.
The bottom row of books was made by cutting out at piece of very thin cardboard with the corrugation exposed. This was then glue on to one of the pieces of MDF, then painted and finally glued in place.
The candle is a piece of toothpick with a tiny wisp of hot glue for flame. I got the idea from one of valas craftwar entries.
I know the candle will break of. Don't glue the candle on the bookcase itself. Add one or two books on top, drill a hole through them and stick the toothpick in the hole. This will give it a lot more strength. Alternatively glue three or more candles together before you glue them to the bookcase. I regret not having thought of this before I added the candle.
I made a small pile of books using various techniques, all based on thick paper wrapped around wood. So I needed a piece where I would use them. Making a base and just gluing them on seemed less than ideal. (How often do you need a "difficult terrain"-marker shaped like a pile of books?) So I tried to make a bookcase.
First I tried hot gluing the stuff together. It didn't work. Either there had to be big visible blobs of glue, or it didn't have enough strength. Then I tried ordinary white glue, it worked. The backing is an ordinary piece of cereal box.
You need to know a couple of tricks to make it work though.
1: First I cut out 6 pieces of wood. I don't know for sure what kind of wood it is; it was some stuff that was left by the previous owner of my house. I assume that it is balsa wood.
2: Then I smooth of the ends using some fine grained sandpaper. I do all the pieces at once holding them all firmly together, that I know for sure they are the exact same size.
3: Then I cut out 6 pieces of 3mm MDF, slightly shorter and narrower than the shelves themselves.
4: Make a stack. 1 piece of balsawood, two pieces of MDF, and then another piece of balsa wood and so on. Continue until you have 4 pieces of balsa wood. Clamp the stack together. Make sure all the pieces of balsa wood are completely aligned.
5: Apply a little white glue on the ends of the balsa wood. Then attach the end pieces. Then clamp the ends together a let it dry.
6: Once it is dry, very carefully remove the clamps.
7: Put some white glue on the backside of the balsa wood, then attach a piece of cereal box paperboard, slightly larger than the bookcase. Let it dry completely, preferably while under light pressure. I used two pieces of polyurethane packaging foam to distribute the weight.
8: Once dry, cut of the excess cereal box paperboard.
9: Place the bookcase on its back. Pour in a little extra white glue between the shelves, for added strength. Then let it dry completely again under light pressure.
10: Paint it and add books.
The bottom row of books was made by cutting out at piece of very thin cardboard with the corrugation exposed. This was then glue on to one of the pieces of MDF, then painted and finally glued in place.
The candle is a piece of toothpick with a tiny wisp of hot glue for flame. I got the idea from one of valas craftwar entries.
I know the candle will break of. Don't glue the candle on the bookcase itself. Add one or two books on top, drill a hole through them and stick the toothpick in the hole. This will give it a lot more strength. Alternatively glue three or more candles together before you glue them to the bookcase. I regret not having thought of this before I added the candle.