The Radius Teardrop Trailer

Last March I posted about a teardrop trailer that I designed and has been on my mind for more years than I care to think about.  With that post I got the itch once again to work on the design.  I had lost all of the files for the trailer in a major computer crash earlier this year so I thought I would start once again using Fusion 360 design software from Autodesk.  (Free from Autodesk by the way!) 

  I got a really good start on the design over the past couple of weeks and I wanted everyone to see what the design looks like now in better software than what I had originally worked with to create the design.  I have a long ways to go before I can say I am ready to make parts but like every project you have to start with the first step..... or just start..... period.  So that is where I am at right now just starting once again. 

(Click on the image to make it larger)

I had a short talk with my brother last night and we discussed my design and what color to make it. This I am sure will change several times over before this project sees the light of day but it's still interesting to play "What If".  I had originally had the trailer in white with blue trim as shown below. 

After looking at it this afternoon I came up with a straight red trailer with some chrome base trim as you can see by the image above (not a photograph) that I created in Fusion 360. It gives you a great idea of what the trailer would look like if and when I ever do get started with the actual build.  Within my design work I did manage to get a few specs about the trailer.  It would stand 5' 6" tall, a little over 6' wide and the body being 10' long.  The wheels that you see on the trailer along with the doors and windows all can be purchased so it actually could be built the way it looks.  Encouraging to be sure.

  I will have to make a printout of this image and hang it up in the workshop to constantly remind me to keep working on the design.  It would be a great project to build and even a better one to use and have the rights to say "I designed and built this!" 

  Been on my bucket list way to long.  But as I said every project needs to have a first step and this is as good a first step as any.  I'll post more when I get farther along with the design and some of the ideas I have for it. Enjoy the images.

Hydrofoil Concept Modeled In Blender 3D

I was trying to track down some files on my computer today and came across a Blender 3D model that I created awhile back that I had not posted about.  This being a high tech looking hydrofoil that has been bouncing around in my brain for years.  I thought I better get this posted before it slips my mind again and so here it is.

This is my vision of what my dream hydrofoil would look like.  With all of the car models that I've created using Blender I thought this would be another good subject to try my hand on since the process of making the model is very similar.  In the photos above you can see the foils of course along with the rear view of the jet-ski water drive.  The water would be drawn in from the front of the main fin in the rear of the craft and then shoot out the back.  That's the theory anyway.  The craft would be steered by the twin rudders also at the rear with a front wing  to level the craft while "In Flight" so to speak. I think also that the front wing would have to also pivot to make smooth coordinated turns.

These two shots are what the craft would look like sitting in the water.  Even with these views it looks to be an interesting idea.  The enclosed canopy would keep you dry and I suspect that even the canopy could be partially removed while in operation on warm sunny days.  Otherwise it would be pretty hot inside unless you had air conditioning (not likely).  I would have to do some investigating into how a hydrofoil works exactly and even then figure out the correct controls to even get a model version of this up and running.  If I did put together a model of this I would want it to be at least three feet long.  With my fiber glassing skills I think it is something I will have to look into creating at least in model scale anyway. Just an idea for some time in the future.  Enjoy the Blender images and if you have any ideas about this concept I'd like to hear from you.  Have a good one!

Captain America Ball Chair Foot Stool?

With the work I have been doing on the painting of the Captain America ball chair I am within inches of getting ready to do the final assembly.  I know... I know....  You've been hearing about this project for months and probably been saying "What's taking so long?"  Well like anyone else I am not an expert in everything that I try.  This has been the case with the ball chair as the painting of the parts for the chair have been a real challenge to say the least but I am finally getting a handle on that part of this project and am very near to calling it done and happy to say so.

  With the help of my temporary paint booth that I put together in my garage it has made this part of that project go that much smoother.  Worth the effort and time just to get it set up and working.  So to the point of my ramblings here?  I realized that when I finish the ball chair project that I will tear the paint booth down and store it away for another day when the painting is done.  But before I do that I thought it best to start working on the small foot stool I have designed for the chair, paint it in the booth and then tear everything down.  It would make the most sense don't you agree? 

  So this is the posting for today.  The start of the Captain America ball chair foot stool. In the photos above are a good portion of the parts that are drawn out onto Styrofoam panels and then fiber glassed on both sides.  Lots of parts to be sure.

Once the fiber glassed panels had cured I cut the parts out using my band saw. This gives me good solid parts with fiber glass on both sides of each part.

Along with the foam pieces for the stool I need the plywood disks that you see in this photo.  The top disk that is a double that was glued together for easier assembly in the project.  The four holes in each part will mount the threaded rods that will hold the three finished assemblies together once they have been fully fiber glassed and painted.

Here the first pieces of fiber glassed Styrofoam are hot glued onto the double circular disks that make up the top section of the stool.

Once all of the foam pieces had been hot glued in place I was able to turn the assembly right side up as shown in the photo above. 

In this photo you can see all three of the sub-assemblies that will make up the stool.  The upper portion of the stool is shown in the upper left of the photo.  The mid section is on the right of the photo and the base of the stool in on the lower left.  All fiber glassed foam pieces have been hot glued into place at this point.

This is how the stool will look before the outer skin has been applied to the project.  To finish out the stool once it has been painted there will be a padded cushion that will sit within the recessed area at the top of the stool.

To fill in the voids between the first fiber glassed foam parts I inserted additional foam spacers. This will make it easier to fiber glass the assembly when the time comes.  You have to fill in these voids otherwise it get to be a real pain in order to get a good strong part and a nice smooth finish when you want to prep for priming and paint.

Here's a good shot of where the stool project is at this moment.  All of the sections of the stool have been completely covered with 1/4" foam strips to close up each section.  Then after assembly any voids or gaps between these strips are filled in using a micro-balloon and fiber glass resin mixture to seal everything up.  Once each section has had a day or so to cure  I can sand all of the assemblies smooth and start laying down fiber glass cloth to get everything sealed up.  I will let this cure for at least another day and then putty the outer surfaces and prep the parts for primer and paint as I did with the ball chair itself.  Then back to the paint booth once again.  After all of the painting is completed then I can assembly the stool using threaded rods, nuts and washers and then get the cushion put together.  To give you a little preview of how the painting is going with the Captain America ball chair itself check out the photos below.

This is what I call the dome section of the ball chair this is the center back of the chair where the star for the Captain America shield will be.  In the photo above I had to figure out how to lay out this star. I put together an oversized divider.  This is just a couple of pieces of wood that are bolted together with points cut into the ends.  I measured the diameter of the dome and then figured out that the divider tips had to be 17-5/8" apart to get the five pointed star marked on to the dome that I needed.

 I put painters tape down first to mark out where each point of the star will end up.  Then I laid down automotive pin striping tape to create the star.  I looked at this photo after I had done this and had to chuckle as nothing looks straight on the star with this shot except maybe one or two lines.  This is due to the curvature of the dome itself.  Actually all of the tape you see in the photo is as straight as I could possible get it. You just have to be looking straight down at the dome to see it correctly.

Having a need for a white star I then used painters tape and craft paper to cover up the taped off star that I did not want to paint over.  The pin striping tape gives me nice crisp lines and makes laying out the blue painters tape and paper an easy task.

I spray the dome with Navy blue paint and presto.... I have a white star on a field of blue.  I am very pleased with my efforts at this point in the painting of this part and called it good.  This is one of the reasons this portion of the Captain America ball chair project is taking as long as it has.  Fine details.....fine details..... and more fine details.

To get a really good sneak peak at the paint scheme for the Captain America ball chair I had to shoot this photo this afternoon.  Looks pretty impressive and I still have the last red piece of the ball to dial in yet and I will be ready for final assembly!  Hopefully next week will be the big day.  I'll be sure to post all about it as soon as I can.  Enjoy the photos and have a good day in you workshop!

 

Five Millionth Visitor To My Blog On Google+ Today!

Hello Everyone!

  In a little less then five years my blog has progressed farther than I could have ever imagined in my wildest dreams with the link to Google+ the number of visitors has now exceeded five million!  To all of my readers I wish to thank you for making this moment in the history of my blog a grand one.  I started the blog in September of 2011 just as kind of an experiment.  I thought at the time if someone should read the blog at all my response would be in one word "Great" and if no one read the blog I would scratch it off my bucket list and move on to something else considering it a lost cause from the start.  Instead it has become something a lot larger than I could ever have imagined having reached five million visitors in over 96 countries! 

  I have heard from a lot of people from around the world with comments and questions about the projects that I either build in the shop or created on my computer.  With this kind of response over the years it gives me even more incentive to create bigger and better projects to share with everyone.  So with heart felt appreciation I am sending you this posting and hope that you will all continue to follow along on my journey of creativity, discovery and learning. All of you make this process worth my efforts.

Thank You!

Dave Langkamp

The Tinker's Workshop

Another Day.... Another Blender 3D Car...... 1964 Porsche 356

Being kind of between projects in the shop this week I thought I might as well try and tackle modeling another favorite car of mine in Blender 3D.  The past couple of days I have accomplished more than I thought I would on this great little classic and I am never one to just hold on to everything until the last minute so once again I am sharing my creative side.

(Click the images for a larger view)

As you can see I've got a pretty good start on this Blender car model already.  Starting to look like a "356" anyway so that is always a good sign.  I was able to reuse the tires that I had on my last Blender car model and from there work out the rims and hub caps. This saves me a bunch of work by doing so.  

With most cars that I look at to model in Blender 3D I always seem to find some little detail that I never thought I would have a problem with give me more problems than I could imagine.  This being the case with the rear fenders and the front hood alignment on this car.  It looks good now but hours ago I had to do some major fussing to finesse the problem areas into shape. 

  It is artwork and like most people who draw, paint, create, build or in my case create Computer 3D images such as this one, we are always our own worst critics.  I always research online for photos of vehicles that I model to help me better understand the small details or the way a vehicle looks at different angles to get it to look just right.  Or at least as right as I can get it anyway.

  The Porsche 356 model here as I've said is a good start and I have a lot to do yet to get all those little details put in correctly for the finished images that I am looking for.  It's a labor of love to be sure simple because I will never be able to afford half of the vehicles I model using Blender.  But it's nice to come this close and share what I can manage to create with everyone that follows my blog.  

  I'll post the completion of the Porsche once I get it to my liking.  In the meantime enjoy this little preview and have a good day on your current project too!