Christmas houses?

I see your point about relaxing, but repetitive not being relaxing. I think your idea of press-moulding would work quite well - and you might make the mold without certain details, so that you can individualized the facades when the pieces are leather hard.

You might want to take a look at Steve Mills' post today, and see if you "get" that tool better than I do. Maybe it would work for you? Also, you could use very soft clay to put the pieces together, so that the angles don't have to be perfect, as the clay would compensate as you squared the edges and squished them together? You might want to ask the others on the group about this, but it would be something I might try out - especially on such small work as this.

I get plastic or metal, but thin bamboo or balsa and then painted? I think that would look nice!

Goodness me! I am in no way insulted! Just curious, as I was not aware of your Norse roots. If you are curious about Advent and Christmas, you can take a look at this person's page that has a description of her experiences as a Norwegian:

I am, in fact, only too happy to give information about Norwegian customs (the ones I know) and such things, so you are most welcome to send me a mail if you have any questions :-)

Marianne - fellow norskie

If you turn it upside down with the horizontal leg uppermost, you have a piece of wire at a 45 degree, with the wire attached approximately in the middle of the end of each leg. You should have a 1 inch piece of wood, which with care will run along the edge of the cut slab, cutting the chamfer as it moves. You take the tool to the clay not visi-versa.

Short of a drawing (which this NG doesn't allow) that's the best I can describe it.

Steve

In article , Bubbles writes

Ahhhh! You use the thick end of the L to stabilize it against the table! Now I get it! Thanks Steve - you are a peach! (or a cherry, if you don't like peaches ;-)

Marianne

Speaking of binaries... If anyone does want to show a picture it can be posted at alt.binaries.crafts or alt.binaries.crafts.pictures ...

Nice idea by the by.

And when you join the walls with slip, I would also press thin coils into each corner to improve the strength to the connection.

Thanks to DKat.

I've just posted a JPEG. of the cutter on alt.binaries.crafts.pictures

Steve

In article , Bubbles writes

Nice picture! Glad you posted it because I was making things harder than they had to be.

Thanks, Donna

yes good idea, I thought that I should have said that when I woke in the middle of the night and couldn't get back to sleep, ya know how your mind ticks away :o)

Seems my server doesn't support binaries groups. Can you mail the pic to me?

Marianne

I just read the whole string and its most interesting. I don't fully understand why you'd use mitred corners instead of butt joints. In wood assembly I use a mitred corner because it gives you a greater surface for glue, but in clay, I would think that wouldn't make so much of a difference. Also in clay, doesn't that make the outer edge more fragile? Especially after you wet it with slip? With a mitred corner you work the outer corner which I was under the impression you want to keep crisp, where a butt joint doesn't touch the outer corner, leaving it crisp. Also, on a mitred corner, if you don't have it exact and perfect and I mean exact, you'll have gaps to fill. I'm no expert but from what I gather from what I just read, you're no expert either and for you, the simplest approach might make more sense. N scale is a very small scale, you're making tiny houses, wouldn't using templates go faster and be more practical than making molds?

~Kroozr

You get a neater finish if you use mitred corners. It is more difficult to keep the joins not showing if do it any other way.

Steve Mills mentioned in passing :

I think that's what I will end up going with, but this next part made me think about a multipart mold again.

Some how I missed Andy's post. I don't see an Andy in this thread at all.

Maybe I can make one or two, single part roof and sides mold, which would match with my specially carved fronts and backs. End up with a three part mold that I could pour. Hmmm... I might actually start this project by next Christmas.

the ''Kroozr'' mentioned in passing :

Depends on what you mean by templates. I have done quite a lot of minature carving in plaster and clay to make flat molds for ceramic jewerly and decorations, so I am not really new to that part. But assembling parts to make something is less familiar. I have only made a few multipart molds, and I have never had to put parts of clay together.

So, what do you mean by templates?

Hi Bill, Andy here, I'm in there somewhere, just look for 'plodder'!

Ah, all this talk of the north so near to Christmas. Although I consider myself to be mostly English my surname is derived from the Sami of Lapland and for years I've been telling my kids that we're related to Santa. Andy

plodder mentioned in passing :

Ah... Now I see...

Ah ha! Hi again Bill, I've made and worked with very small plaster moulds for slip casting (mostly miniature teapots); eventualy I had to conclude that the best way to make such work is to use a multitude of forming techniques keeping each one as simple as possible and from them different assemblages giving an infinite variety(e.g. simple one or two part slip or press moulds with small extruded parts and details added). 'Hope this helps,Andy.

"Only the very foolish think themselves wise" Andy Sames