Down to the Details
By: Chris Delva

Since the days are beginning to get a little cooler, many of us are heading out to our shops to work on customs and displays a little more. I though about spending a little time discussing tools needed for building construction would be a great idea for this time of year.

I have been very fortunate to share a very well equipped workshop with a very serious craftsman. I have had access to a drill press, table saw, band saw and numerous other tools for my entire model building career. I will not lie; this has been extremely helpful in building many of my projects. But for most of my projects I find myself using a very limited arsenal of hand tools that can be found at most hobby shops and hardware stores.

The most important tool I have I touch two times. Once putting it in and once taking it out. Lighting is by far the most critical tool in my shop. In our workshop we have enough florescent tube lights to eliminate any possible shadows that could arise. We paid special attention to provide enough light over the work benches, since this is where we spend the majority of our time working. Special lights have also been mounted on our drill press and band saw to shine light directly on the focus area. Depending on the size of your shop or bench, the amount of light you will need to properly light the surface will vary. Try out different lighting positions and amounts of light until your bench becomes shadow free.

I acquired a tool three years ago that I have come to depend on and now wonder how I ever lived without it. This particular tool is a 6" dial caliper. For those of you who are not familiar with calipers, they are used for measuring. Most calipers have the ability to measure the inside, outside and depth of an object. I find myself using the outside and depth measurements the most. Calipers also read to different tolerances. The particular caliper I have reads to the thousandth of an inch, which is a tighter tolerance than I can build to, but I find it to be very helpful when fitting windows and cutting walls down to size. There are many different styles and levels of quality calipers on the market. I would suggest starting out with an inexpensive set to become accustom to working with them and then upgrading if you find it necessary.

A utility knife and an ample supply of replacement blades is something no modeler should be without. I have multiple knives in my shop so one is never far from reach. I also have a few hobby knives with a number 11 blade on my bench for smaller work. With either knife, make sure you have replacement blades handy. I change my blade based on the amount of cutting I do. During a day of heavy use, I may change the blade three to four times. The regular replacement reduces the pressure required to cut through materials and also increases the precision and crispness of the cut.

Along the same lines as the knife, I have begun to use a chopper a great deal. A chopper is a razor blade mounted on a pivoting handle. Choppers are extremely handy when you need to make multiple cuts of the same size. This is achieved by setting up a stop on the chopper. Choppers also make square cuts very well since most have a backstop that is mounted perpendicular to the cutting blade. I also found a chopper that has an angling stop that lets me make angled cuts with relative ease. Both of these tools are not a necessity by any means, but they do make building much easier.

A combination square is another tool that no modeler should be without. I use mine for measuring, squaring up walls and making short, square cuts in sheet material. They also come in handy for weight when gluing up walls on buildings. I also have a three foot straight edge that I use for making longer cuts in large sheet material and for a straight edge when gluing walls together.

There are many other tools that I use on occasion for building construction. A razor saw and miter box is something that is very handy for all types of modeling. A soldering iron is another great tool to have around. While not used so much for buildings, a Dremel tool is a great investment for any modeler. A hand drill and a good set of bits is another great thing to have.

Expensive and elaborate tools do not make or break a building, it is time, patience and a little bit of skill that makes them great. I am crossing my fingers that I can make it to the National Farm Toy Show this year. If the weather holds for me, I will try to share a few of the details that I find in Dyersville with you next month!

Until Next Month,

Chris