[T-Man]

I went crazy with the plaster and revived an old project. First I molded the sides I need from a good shell.

This was the first side.

Unfortunately I had the e unit slot open and the pour ended up inside. Luckily I kept the project on wax paper.

 

[T-Man]

Larger hole

The other side has more missing. Kwikster was right I am running out of plaster. I was checking prices of 5 lb bags today.

My mold is comom construction paper. The side is folded under and taped the top is taped flate and the ends are tabbed. SInce the sides run long I fold the eds back and out and have more tapping area for support. A rather quick way to set up a wall.

This pour was less messy and had little waste compared to the first one.

Vaseline on the shell did the trick for the plaster form removal. Also not shown the crevace near the top of the engine. Is very sharp so I inserted an extra piece of paper to ease the removal. I did not need this section but it was in the square.

 

[T-Man]

Problem

The molding was easy. I guess I got carried away after seeing what Downtowndeco could do. Amazing stuff. :thumbsup:

I have to mount the engine. That means I need to support the front wheel assembly. This piece has the slots for the motor. ALso this piece screws into the sides of which now there is none. Earlier I experiment with making metal braces that will fit inside. Now it is clear that I need them They will support the mold surface and the front engine mount. One piece broke toaday so I have to start over. These brackets will be in place when I get to the epoxy stage.

Progress today but this one will take a while.

This is an older picture but it shows how the brackets work.

 

[gunrunnerjohn]

I never thought that engine would see the light of day when you first posted a picture of it. Can't wait to see the reconstruction!

 

[Kwikster]

You're getting really good at plaster castings. I'm curious to see the final result. Learning things here that may just come in handy down the road. I humbly bow to the plaster master

Carl

 

[tjcruiser]

T-Man,

That is an amazing rebuild you have in the works. I'm with John here ... I never thought that old shell would see the light of day again.

You know that I did some side-shell patchwork on a similar-style 1688 shell. One thing to watch out for with your inner-shell reinforcements ... make sure you have enough room / clearance for the drive rod components to rotate around with the wheels OK. There's not much clearance between the drive rod attachment screws and the inside of the shell, so any reinforcment buildup you do on the inside closes that gap further.

I'm glad the Vaseline idea worked out well. I honestly didn't know if it would or not. Glad you tried it.

Any tips on how you fine-tuned the front-to-back position of the mold on the side of the broken shell? Did the intact details (indents) in the shell sort of give you a self-aligning index?

Cheers,

TJ

 

[T-Man]

I have taken pictures of the clearance. I need the steel to hold it together. That is when I know it will fit since the steel is inside when I test fit the motor.

The plaster is not as strong as the bondo. I have to make the molds thick to hold up. So far everything aligns up. The big piece has a curve of the cab and the smaller side aligns from the curve on the top front side. I am planning on using a plastic wind block from Home Depot as a filler instead of epoxy. It is a 3m fire block, sold in a tube for 6 bucks. It should be interesting. The material is strong but again I will need the steel for adhesion and support. I will have to drill many holes out in the metal too for the stuff to ooze through.

I will take another look at the center rod. Looked. It barely goes under the shell. I can grind that if need be.

 

[gunrunnerjohn]

Eagerly looking forward to the finished product!

 

[tjcruiser]

T-Man,

I hate to suggest a "cheat", but maybe forego the siderod that goes from the middle wheel to the shell alltogether? That way, you could shorten the crank on the middle wheel, and not have to mount the forward end of that rod to your rebuild shell?

A bit of a shortcut, obviously, but it could save you some aggravation.

Cheers,

TJ

 

[T-Man]

That's a good idea.I will have to decide to change or modify the wheels. I don't think I replacements.

I worked on the adapter.
Started by epoxy on two studs.

Drill a few holes

test fit

 

[Kwikster]

Going to be really nice seeing that shell rise from the grave. Can't wait to see the progress.

Carl

 

[tjcruiser]

I don't think Steve Austin (the Bionic Man) had as many body parts replaced as will this 1668!

Nice work on the front motor mount bracket, T!

TJ

 

[T-Man]

I am concerned about the wings. The front wheel attachment point to the frame. I wonder if I should cut them off. I may use the hole for a wire and then feed it back. The piece may be not removable after I add the sides.

I got this far.

 

[T-Man]

I got a days wait. This stuff is water based. I wonder of it will work. At least it is gray.

 

[tjcruiser]

The fiberglass mesh is a smart idea for reinforcement.

Why didn't you go with your standard JB Weld ???

TJ

 

[T-Man]

The areas is just too large and mix at one shot. The new stuff hardends well it just takes time.

I plan on getting more plaster and mold up the rear ladder area, the part you fixed.

 

[tjcruiser]

Don't forget the slow-cure JB Weld. An hour or so of work time.

I never thought of a mold for those steps. I like your mold concept. Your "female" plaster molds retains excellent, crisp edge detailing. I'm very interested to see how much of that transfers to the "male" final parts.

Keep the Vaseline flowing, though.

Oh ... you may recall that I added some plastic credit-card reinforcement strips to the inside of my rebuilt back stairs ... you'll need something there, too, of course.

Cheers!

TJ

 

[eljefe]

My grandfather used to say all you need to fix anything is duct tape and WD40. With T-man and tjcruiser, it's JB Weld and hotel key cards.

 

[Kwikster]

I can remember when the "standard" fix was bailing wire and a pair of pliers Guess I'm showing my age a bit

Carl

 

[T-Man]

I scraped it. The humidity is a pain. I may go with the slow cure epoxy.