staircase model making

Whatever goes on top needs to be kept reasonably thin, because it will change the dimensions slightly (but this difference will only be noticeable on the top and bottom steps of course because if the steps get an even treatment the proportions of the others will remain unchanged). If card is being used it needs to be a relatively soft one, such as mountboard, and .. this is important .. not too thin, i.e. those usually made of metal, often with open steps) is a round central pole, as above, and this is the starting point for construction. Theres nothing harder than trying to construct something in mid-air! What staircases of this more contemporary type have in common (i.e. Holding onto that position put the tip of the scalpel in the end of the line and move that end of the ruler against it. Similarly ones methods of working with them need to accord with the above; they must be affordable timewise; they must be flexible enough to give freedom to the development of the design; they must keep the sense of discovery alive! The general method is fairly similar. If left on permanently they will lose their tack over time but will still improve the rulers grip. Ive been quoting the spiral staircase from the beginning of my teaching, as an example of instances where model-making interferes with design. You may think that its going to be easier to curve thinner card, but it may not keep its shape well enough. The best way to start constructing is, as I say, to superglue pairs of tread and riser together first, trying to keep to right-angles. Thinking in terms of base layers and add ons. You will then need to trace this with the scalpel. I think .. not as easy to find. That version may have been updated or expanded since. It pays to be divergent and explore all sorts of different options but after a while it also pays to converge upon a chosen few that one knows particularly well. This is my point though .. Ive made my selection from exploring many! We may be able to visualize thewhole process in some detail, if weve done it or something very similar before. Its worth asking yourself consciously whether youre working under the best conditions or whether they can be very simply improved? Here I am gluing it into position against the top and bottom support curves in stages, starting by fixing one end firmly, pressing it tight and then introducing thin superglue into the seam from outside (the technique of gluing from outside illustrated earlier). The materials chosen need to be reasonably durable (though not to last forever); affordable; obtainable when needed; ideally within ones comfort zone in terms of familiarity or technical ability; but perhaps not so familiar or comfortable that they engender predictable results i.e. Especially when cutting longer lines its usually better to stand up for this so that you can reach over the work properly and use your own body as a measure of uprightness. The only way to solve this (until it wears down a little with use!) 1.5mm mountboard is usually fine. The best blade to use with it is the 10A. Swann-Morton No.3 handle, on the left below) is by far the best knife to use for model-making work. As for the question of size, and especially if this is a design intended to be built and used, one must take into account the building regulations which, in the case of spiral staircases, advise that treads must be at least 26inches (c. 66cm)in width. Here a thin plastic solvent is being used to glue styrene plastic, but thin superglue can also be used and this can also work with card. Have you really got enough proper light to work by? But it doesnt start with quality necessarily .. it starts with quantity. I have confidence in being able to construct whatever I want in Pvc plastic, so the best answer for me is to construct in plastic and thinly clad with wood. There are dangers, both in terms of scrutinising the present in too much detail or trying to look too far into the distance. Does this mean that the first task is to cut out six perfectly identical squares? The ability to see ahead .. to actuallywork in a very practical and realistic way, butin ones mind ..is the first and most important tool that the designer reaches for! Ones focus at this stage should be more on the edge of the ruler than the material to be cut. Its a favourite catch-thought of mine that success in model-making lies more with the head than the hands, meaning that it rests upon thorough planning or thinking through; that nothing reliable can be achieved without researching the right information; that problems are solved by a mixture of focused and divergent thinking; that one can only be as good as the materials one knows about. .. by feeding the mind with better information for a start! For this reason Ivearrangedthese notes .. going from the general to thespecific .. firstlyunder the heading General approach, which is more about ways of thinking; followed by Practical guidance which turns more towards ways of doing; ending with more specificWorking examples which aim to illustrate how these ways of thinking and ways of doing combine at the worktable level. When we are reading a novel for enjoyment we just need to set the scene for ourselves vaguely, without even being really conscious of it, just to get through the storyand unless the writer refines or directs our vision with a more specific description, that image of ours has to serve. Ive only made a portion here to show the principle. Below this is the strip for the treads waiting to be cut. Specially made supporting forms like this are known as construction jigs. Metal blocks like these can be bought from metal retailers such as www.metalmaniauk.com for just a few pounds (see Lexicon entry metal construction blocks). After getting a reasonably good idea of the length of card you need to complete the curve, cut a piece to size but with some extra length (Ive used foamed Pvc plastic below, because I wanted these demonstration samples to last and I prefer foamed Pvc over card anyway). Doesnt this mean that the steps are slightly .. i.e. Curves almost always need a support behind them to keep them in shape. before you start reading this older post that I have long since included a version in my, The Origins of Artistic Expression Part 1 Things looking like otherthings, The Origins of Artistic Expression Part 2 The making ofmarks, Full course description and dailyschedule, Technical drawing for theatre, film or televisiondesigners, Introduction and provisional dailyschedule, Figure modelling reference images caryatids, atlantes and hemis, quick view comparisons of castingmaterials, Using plaster as a filler in polyurethaneresin, Filling polyurethane resin with usedtea/coffee, quick view comparisons of mouldmaterials, Creating surfaces with Kapa-linefoamboard, Making relief patterning tools usingSculpey, Printing patterns for scale wallpaper, curtains andcarpets, Pressing decoration into foam, shaping andwire-brushing, Template drawings for furnituremodel-making, Beginners Basics mouldmaking and castingexplained, Making a simple 2-piece silicone block mould for a puppethead, Making a small mould for a four-legged animal figure and casting inresin, Making a supported silicone mould for a life-size head and casting infibreglass, Making hollow casts in open or closed moulds, Updated sources/prices of specificmaterials, Some of the principles of technical drawing simply illustrated Part1, Some of the principles of technical drawing simply illustrated Part2, Advice for anyone interested in beachcombing or mudlarking the ThamesForeshore, Thames Foreshore Collection projectlog, Deptford: Upper Watergate Stairs, St GeorgesStairs, Surrey Docks: Trinity Wharf (Surrey Docks Farm), Horn Stairs, PageantStairs, Rotherhithe: Globe Stairs to PageantStairs, Faim de sicle multiple series1997-2003, Model-making Basics mainconstruction, the importance of scale in sketch model-making, tips for dealing with maths in model-making. It often delivers the ideal, based on a string of assumptions when it gets blunt) should be the easiest thing in the world (if the world were fair) but unfortunately it can be a bit of a nightmare with a new scalpel handle, because the fixing is often too tight at first, making it hard to slide the blade either off or on without fear of injury. After gluing I just needed to remove the pieces of masking tape and slide the scaffolding construction off the supporting form. Another way is writing on a piece of masking tape. The best way to make a stable rake is to cut a number of those trianglesand glue them at regular intervals to the underside of a sheet. Believe me, its best and easiest to make it this way, even if the stair itself is going to be enclosed between other walls. Im sure I must have said many times that theres a whole little book to be written just on cutting with the scalpel, hence the devotion of space to it here! Make repeated and regular-spaced half-cuts (i.e. The glue takes longer to set completely but the piece will stay together in the meantime and can be moved .. it just shouldnt be put under any pressure for a while. Bystarting at the top step (aligned as it will be with the platform edge)and countingthe progresssion of steps downwards on this plan you can find out how the spiral ends (or rather how the staircase begins). Its much easier to maintain the knife upright if you can actually see the angle while cutting, i.e. If you dont feel confident that the ruler will stay where youve put it, you either need a better ruler or you need to do something so that it will grip better. You need the practise to get an idea of how your hand behaves in that situation; how much you can rest it on the material but still slide it along smoothly; whether its easier holding the blade upright or more oblique; whether it goes more smoothly using a sharp blade or a slightly blunted one; whether you need to be sitting down or standing up over it. There are so-called cutting compasses like the one below which usually dont cost too much. The more weve seen in our lives, whatever the sources, the more well be able to visualize. Even with a simple staircase unit itwill become clear after a bit of thought that certain things need to be found out before starting .. firstly the standard acceptable proportion (i.e. Instead, the kind of planning Im advocating is episodic rather than epic! It cant just be taken for granted that everyone will be able to do this with just a little practise and often people who could otherwise become excellent makers are put off the whole idea of model-making just because this one aspect is never really conquered. This means that difficult-to-glue pieces such as the curving sheet below can be set up in the correct position and the glue is introduced along the joint afterwards. Its a subject for another discussion whether thats at all possible for us of course, but then afterwards.. our reading has to become very selfconscious, biased and critical. Although the second point on this list is the accepted way of dealing with any deficiency, or safeguarding against being misled, there is still a great deal that we either dont have time to test or dontrealize theres aneed to. Consider the drawing a master-plan .. take time over it, treat it with respect, put it up on the wall if you can, update it immediately if you make changes. If youre having to press so hard to get through the material that you cant control the straightness of the cut anymore it means one or more of the following:- the material is too tough or thick to be cut with a scalpel and you will have to try with a Stanley knife or failing that a saw; you can turn the sheet over and try cutting in exactly the same place on the other side (when cutting thick materials its the friction on the blade that becomes the problem and starting new from the other side often works); or you need to build up some more strength in your hand and arm through practise. The quality of what comes out depends on the quality of what goes in. Models can easily go too far into unnecessary or gratuitous detail and it is the same with planning. Its the most general-purpose but also the most precise. Whichever materials are being used and whatever the properties of the glue (i.e. The two of these then need to be temporarily secured to something so that they stay upright, parallel, synced etc. In the past I often drew up a larger grid so that I could make use of the cut zig-zag for both profile pieces. Some need to be a little smaller youre ok and on your way, but if it was Yes and you really cant see why this could be wrong youre going to be challenged! In the first place, never assume that a sheet of card (or especially an off-cut of card) has perfect right-angles even if its straight out of the shop. Here I cut a strip of card exactly the right width for gluing between the uprights and cut all the riser pieces from it. Maybe its not so surprising because its a beautiful form, and is often the only attractive solution within a confined space. I left that fact out to make this point .. does it really matter? What follows is a very basic schema for a generalised look.. it doesnt answer every detail or for every type but may provide aframework method to build upon or adjust. This ensured that the upright piece was glued in the right position along the edge of the base piece. Ive used 1mm Palight foamed Pvc for this construction, using superglue. All of these, and more, are considerations and only you can discover what works best for you. often as far removed from reality as it can get! It should feel locked there, able to run freely along but not to depart from the edge. Its usually only the very tip of the blade that gets blunt so its best to focus on sharpening just this small part, flexing it a little into the paper. First of all you need to focus on whatexactly it is that you find difficult, and it could be just one, a few or a number of things. not all the way through) from top to bottom. .. looking at a mass of cut pieces on the cutting mat having lost track of which of them were pieces and which were off-cuts. Against this though, one has to weigh up the fact that a great deal can only be learned by doing; that theres a limit to what can be visualized beforehand; that being hands on withmaterials will suggest and inspire different and unforeseen ideas! These pieces need to be labelled as soon as cut, including the record of where the top or bottom is etc. Maybe its the only way of doing it anyway, its just that Ive seen attempts at steps that appear to be more organically improvised shall we say! This drawing can form the template for cutting out the individual treads later (if copied and tacked on with repositionable spraymount), but it is also essential for working out how many steps will be needed for the height required.

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