Author Topic: Textile Mill Diorama  (Read 112149 times)

Offline J.L.

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Re: Textile Mill Diorama
« Reply #15 on: February 25, 2018, 09:08:58 PM »
I agree Chris. That is a wonderful model. A real treasure.

I am finding that foam board is a great material for starting a diorama from scratch. You can make all kinds of mistakes or design changes and start over again many times until you get something that you think will work.

For example, I thought the mill's boiler would be on the left side to the diorama near the engine's cylinder. That engine was not to be, so the boiler was simply removed and put on the other side. No harm, no foul.

Hopefully I can get the engine I want with its cylinder facing right.  :-\




Offline zeeprogrammer

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Re: Textile Mill Diorama
« Reply #16 on: February 25, 2018, 10:24:50 PM »
 :pinkelephant: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn:

Did I say I like dioramas?

And yours are exceptional.
Carl (aka Zee) Will sometimes respond to 'hey' but never 'hey you'.
"To work. To work."
Zee-Another Thread Trasher.

Offline J.L.

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Re: Textile Mill Diorama
« Reply #17 on: February 26, 2018, 03:39:03 PM »
Thank you.

In the first picture, we see the boiler now on the right side of the engine room. In many mills of this sort, a separate boiler house housed the boiler close to the mill. In this setup, the boiler room is attached, but a thick brick fire wall separates the boiler room from the engine room.

But notice the error on the left side of the model. There is a window there. That does not make any sense as we are modelling the southeast corner of the mill. The mill is much wider than what we are representing here. Why the window?

Here is another advantage of working through a prototype mock-up first. That window should be a door.  ::)  It would open out onto the mill floor which was probably planked (the engine room floor will be concrete).

So the second photo shows such a door instead of a window. 

Edit: Oops. Looking south, with the line shafts running over our heads back into the mill, we are looking at the southwest corner of the building. Right?

 
« Last Edit: February 26, 2018, 05:39:10 PM by J.L. »

Offline Roger B

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Re: Textile Mill Diorama
« Reply #18 on: February 26, 2018, 08:00:04 PM »
Another splendid build to follow along  :ThumbsUp:  :ThumbsUp: Your attention to detail is excellent  :praise2:
Best regards

Roger

Offline crueby

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Re: Textile Mill Diorama
« Reply #19 on: February 26, 2018, 08:23:56 PM »

.......

Edit: Oops. Looking south, with the line shafts running over our heads back into the mill, we are looking at the southwest corner of the building. Right?
uh oh, now you need to model the rest of the world to keep it all straight!

 :popcorn:

Offline J.L.

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Re: Textile Mill Diorama
« Reply #20 on: February 27, 2018, 10:26:14 AM »
 ;D

The project begins in the boiler room. I wish to thank Jason Ballamy for his helpful information about the design and function of large industrial boilers. He taught me much about the Cornish (one flue) and Lancashire types (two flues). As we will see, their front faces were configured in many different ways. but they all shared the same basic element.

I am very glad I did not sell my General wood lathe last year. It beame invaluable in turning the boiler shell and diameters of very thin material.

A wooden core was first turned to give the boiler shape and allow plating to be bent over it. Only half  of the 'barrel' was laminated. The rest was counterbalanced with wooden blocks.

Here the drum is turned and a foot added to the end.


« Last Edit: February 27, 2018, 10:30:07 AM by J.L. »

Offline Ramon Wilson

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Re: Textile Mill Diorama
« Reply #21 on: February 27, 2018, 10:36:50 AM »
Hi JL - I do admire the way you mock your project up beforehand - indicates a great degree of patience and forethought  :ThumbsUp:

You also have an obvious flair for keeping your work clean, another admirable attribute.

I wish you well with this new adventure, if it turns out as well (and there's no doubt it will) as the previous two we have another enjoyable journey to witness :)

Regards - Ramon (Tug)
"I ain't here for the long time but I am here for a good time"
(a very apt phrase - thanks to a well meaning MEM friend)

Offline J.L.

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Re: Textile Mill Diorama
« Reply #22 on: February 27, 2018, 02:16:14 PM »
Thank you for the nice compliments gentemen. Hopefully the build will live up to your expectations!  :D

At first, I was prepared to purchase thin sheet metal and curve it over the drum to make the boiler shell. However, that would have required going to a sheet metal shop and having the fellows run the sheet through their hand rollers to achieve the correct diameter. Often, shops do not always appreciate walk-in one off jobs such as this. It takes them away from their tasks at hand. They are not willing to drop everything and give you their undivided attention. Understandable. I began looking for an alternative that I could do myself.

I found in a Lee Valley woodworking catalogue, 1/32"  Finnish 3-ply plywood, Hmm....

It bends very easily. I was also able to use the matierla later on as well for the face of the boiler.


Offline J.L.

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Re: Textile Mill Diorama
« Reply #23 on: February 28, 2018, 12:41:56 PM »
To keep the 1/12 scale, #18 and #16 guage brass escutcheon pins were used to represent boiler rivets. The holes in the plywood were predrilled and the pins cut down to 1/4" in length.

My wife watched me set a few in the shop and jokingly said that I have too much time on my hands.  ;D  Well, as we both knew, having time on my hands is a good thing. I, going through a bit of a rough patch with health lately.

The modelling and this site is therapeutic.  ;)

John


Offline b.lindsey

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Re: Textile Mill Diorama
« Reply #24 on: February 28, 2018, 01:07:27 PM »
John, is there going to be a "real boiler" for this diorama?  Is so, I can understand the need for a "stand in" for planning purposes (size, position, etc.), but why the detail down to the escutcheon pins if this is just for planning?

Bill

Offline J.L.

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Re: Textile Mill Diorama
« Reply #25 on: February 28, 2018, 02:08:38 PM »
Hi Bill,

This will be a faux boiler Bill. It will have sight glasses, safety valve, steam stop valve, grates, fire doors, ash pits and a chimney. So it will be as close to the real thing in appearance only.

An air line will enter the boiler from below the chimney and turn up and out the top of the boiler shell at a steam stop valve. A tee will also be fitted inside the boiler shell to carry air to the steam whistle.

Had you scratching your head didn't I?  ;)

Offline b.lindsey

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Re: Textile Mill Diorama
« Reply #26 on: February 28, 2018, 02:48:33 PM »
Yes you did John but that explains it !! Thanks.

Bill

Offline J.L.

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Re: Textile Mill Diorama
« Reply #27 on: March 01, 2018, 10:23:16 AM »
There must be internal reinflorcing struts on the inside front of the boiler. Their fastening rivets are arranged in groups, which I discovered were angled like a clock face. I used to use clock face templates when turning clock dials. They are very useful for quickly determining angles around a circle.

One of them is shown here in photo one.

The second photo shows the boiler face with the rivet location lines marked.



Offline J.L.

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Re: Textile Mill Diorama
« Reply #28 on: March 01, 2018, 10:41:24 AM »
Another handy device for working with circles is the hermaphrodite caliper.  A concentric circle can be marked around an existing hole with a drafting circle template (photo 1), but the caliper is easier to use and because the material is wood, it leaves a very nice little scratch line. Unlike attempting to centre holes along a pencil line with a awl as would be the case with the circle template, the groove created by the caliper's sharp tip allows the tip of the awl to set itself in the groove giving a nice concentric row of holes.

Offline crueby

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Re: Textile Mill Diorama
« Reply #29 on: March 01, 2018, 01:18:31 PM »
Interesting pattern of struts in that boiler - they had to put braces on flat end caps to keep the steam pressure from bowing them out. A boiler like yours is quite large, with the multiple chambers, would have been an interesting one to see the inside of.

 :popcorn:

 

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