ChuckT

Thanks for the ideas.

I am trying to make a jig which requires me to drill a bunch of tiny holes (.009"/.25mm) in a piece of plexiglass. I am using a modified Proxxon drill press stand/compound table with a Foredom motor tool to give me the slow speed and control needed for this operation. So far it has resulted in me breaking two drill bits! > I am drilling at low speed and backing out the bit frequently but still no success. Does anyone have any pointers on how I can do this successfully? Thanks in advance, Chuck.

That's a nice looking G! Any pics of the build online?

Looking fantastic! I love how it all comes together on the fuselage.

Oops! Kind of big pics! Sorry everyone. I'm still leanring here.

Here you go;

That's what I have for my set up already. I just need to get another pressure safety valve for my pressure pot. After trying to do a few Pressure tests to 40 psi (my intended casting pressure) it kept going off at roughly 30 psi! I need it to go off between 50 and 70 psi. It does look adjustable, but I don't have a split straight edged tool to tighten the nut that presses down on the spring. Any ideas?

Thanks Tim for the detailed explanation. I think I'm starting to get a grasp of it all. I have a pressure pot and compressor already so I want to step up to pressure casting, incorporating as much of the good advise everyone has shared here as possible. I hope in the new year to have the funds to get a vacuum pump, but until then I want to get the most out of my pressure set up. Thanks guys, Chuck.

Good question. I thought that same thing.

Thanks guys. All the info does help. I think I need to redo my mold taking in consideration which way the resin will flow and how the air can escape as it does. I didn't with my first mold. On it I used a single pour/vent hole and of course, it didn't allow the air to escape (duh)! I like the idea of the pour hole being lower than the vent hole(s). I will do this next time. Thanks Jerry for the seperate pour method. I never would have though to try that! I think I will try fixing up my mold first, as I could see myself screwing up your seperate pour method but if that doesn't work, I'll give your method a try. Thanks again, Chuck.

I'm trying to cast a replacement early style bf 109 seat (A-E) in 1/32 scale for my Eduard kits. I have made a master that I'm happy with and now want to resin cast copies to use in the kits. I used a vibrating plate when making the silicone molds to help settle the silicone and encourage the trapped air bubbles to rise up/ out. It seems to have worked. I do hope to get a vacuum pump and degass my silicone in the future for mold making, but for now I'm unable to do so. When I then went to make my first casting with the new two part mold, I found that the resin did not make its way down and into the furthest reaches of the mold. Will pressure casting and better venting of the mold fix this?

Even though I see there are much lower prices (and much higher mid you) to be had for this kit, I'm happy! Great deal for a kit of this complexity and size from Revell Germany. Let's hope they have more large scale kits in the works (like a 32 scale Do 17, Ju 88G, bf 110G...)

Fantastic!

I never though of aluminium! I might have to give that a try for my spark plug wire tubes!

Ah. I thought it was for one of the wing nut wings kits outfitted with a Mercedes engine! It has the same looking pipe with spark plug wires coming out along the tube just like that. I think I will make a jig for those kits as many have this same engine and will all need the same part. Not to mention each engine has two pipes (one on each side). Thanks for sharing, Chuck.

Looks great Radders! Did you make a jig for drilling that?

Loki, I tried your technique early on when I was making my first attempts at drilling rod/tube and it often resulted in me not drilling evenly through that material. I'm sure it would work on larger material, but when you get down to .4mm kind of sizes, it's pretty tough to keep things square. Thanks though, Chuck.

I want to get a valve done entirely before I post some pics. I thought I would see if a thicker piece of plexiglass for my jig would be even better. As I drilled through the plexiglas I broke ANOTHER drill! Argh, now I'm out of drills. I have more bits on order but I won't be able to do any more micro drilling until they arrive next week. Stand by.

Success! I made a jig out of clear plexiglass. On it I glued two plastic strips, the same thickness as the rod I wanted to drill through, spaced to allow the rod to sit in between. In the trough formed by the plastic strips I then drilled a #80 hole all the way through the clear plexiglass. I then inserted a .4mm brass tube in my jig and made two attempts to drill through the brass. Both attempts ended in failure as the drill bits broke! I then tried the same thing but this time using plastic rod. I was able to drill a hole centered through the plastic rod with the jig keeping things nice and square. I'm now in the process of making another jig to allow me to drill out the ends of that same plastic rod so I can then insert copper wire into the ends, simulating handles. Thanks again everyone, Chuck.

I was thinking about using clear plastic as well. I'll give it a try and report my results. Thanks again, Chuck.

Agreed.

I was thinking of something along these lines. Thanks for confirming. Just to clarify, I meant to type .4 and .5mm dimensions.

Does anyone have some tips on how to drill a hole cross ways through micro tube or rod? I am trying to drill a .04mm hole crossways through a .05mm plastic rod and for the life of me can't seem to keep the drill centered as it drills through the rod when using my pin vise. Any ideas? Thanks in advance, Chuck.

Ha ha! Boy, this plane is much bigger than I expected. She's a big bird!

I just picked up a Revell Germany 1/32 "Uhu" from Burnaby hobby for the grand price of $69 Canadian! They brought in 10 kits which are all spoken for but more are on the way! The kit looks great and the box is huge! Thanks Dave, Tom and Revell Germany for doing it right!