Double Axe - where?

[Drachenherz]

Slorak, no, I meant that some of the positions you need to get the drill bits into can be more than a bit of a PITA. Plus, from my own experiences, if you have ANY sort of damage to your hands, be it joint injuries, tendon damage, arthritis, etc... the pain becomes literal rather than metaphorical. The real difficulty in conversion work generally just coems down to the mental part; trying to decide just exactly what to do. So, hope I cleared up the misconceptions.

 

[slorak]

Yeah the hand vises definitely get tiring. That is why I switched over to a dremel. The dremel is definitely one of the best things I have gotten myself. It is also really good for smoothing down flash lines on metal (I had to go and get a more pointy griding bit). As for drilling - I drill out a lot of gun bits for 40k and find the dremel with a vice make a great combination. I can do assembly line and nock them out!

Yeah you definitely need to plan things out when doing large conversions. The lastest conversion I am doing was a logistical nightmare as I was trying to decide how to best mount the figure to the base! I have been working on it for over a month now and just recently got it ready to paint!

Cheers,

-Mike

 

[Drachenherz]

I can't use a dremel for the fine work, because it is just way too uncontrollable. The blasted thing tends to skip and jump all over, gouging the crap out of the details. I honestly prefer the pin vise, and I use a wide selection of needle files for my smoothing.


*Sleep, what's that? Twitch twitch*

 

[slorak]

If you get the flex shaft attachment you end up with a lot more control over the dremel. They even have a foot pedal (that I want to get) where you can control the speed with your foot.

I have one of those $80 Dremel sets that came with the flex shaft and I also purchased the stand for the dremel (I think it was around $20 or so - looks like an IV holder ) I think the foot pedal is about $50.

Not exactly cheap but really does speed up your work. Also much easier on your hands.

As for the conversion that Jon is attempting. The Pin Vice should be just fine as he is not drilling too much and the conversion is still a very easy basic conversion.

Cheers,

-Mike

 

[Jon Potter]

As for the conversion that Jon is attempting. The Pin Vice should be just fine as he is not drilling too much and the conversion is still a very easy basic conversion.

Well, I didn't even bother pricing a Dremel, but I did check out the cost of a vise to hold the mini while I drill. A nice small "hobby vise" with rubber grippers came in at $20. Perfectly reasonable price and I might have picked it right up, but I'd just been to another store and shelled out $30 for "Races of Destiny", so I passed on it.

I'll pick it up if I opt to do more conversions after this one.

 

[slorak]

Well, I didn't even bother pricing a Dremel, but I did check out the cost of a vise to hold the mini while I drill. A nice small "hobby vise" with rubber grippers came in at $20. Perfectly reasonable price and I might have picked it right up, but I'd just been to another store and shelled out $30 for "Races of Destiny", so I passed on it.

I'll pick it up if I opt to do more conversions after this one.

Yeah I do a lot of multi-piece models, conversions, and 40k figures so I drill a lot (mainly to pin) so a dremel was a good choice for me (actually a christmas preset last year!) It works great with the vice for drilling out bolter's and such. If you ever get a dremel I highly recommend you get the flex shaft (which you usually get with the dremel kits that are available.

Let me know how your project turns out when you get the figure. If you want to see complex conversion work - check out the Sarpedon figure I am doing on my website.

Cheers,

-Mike

 

[Drachenherz]

Pin Vise/Drill set

Jon, I can get a great set WITH @ 10-12 bits (can't remember which) for @ $12.00 + tax. $20 is what you'd pay at a hobby store. If you want, I can pick one up and mail it to you, no extra fees. I'll go price one and send you a figure, if you'd like. My email is Lord_Drachenherz@yahoo.com if you want to contact me about this. I hate to see folks who are just starting out getting the shaft by being forced to pay high prices.

 

[Jon Potter]

WOW!!!

If you want, I can pick one up and mail it to you, no extra fees. I'll go price one and send you a figure, if you'd like.

That's very nice of you, Drachenherz! That's one of the nicest things anyone's offered me personally over the internet (discounting offers of fee Viagra and such)

But we're miscommunicating. I have a pin vise (paid about $15 for the vise and the bits). I was out pricing an actual vise - one that mounts to your work surface and holds your mini in place while you drill.

 

[slorak]

That's very nice of you, Drachenherz! That's one of the nicest things anyone's offered me personally over the internet (discounting offers of fee Viagra and such)

But we're miscommunicating. I have a pin vise (paid about $15 for the vise and the bits). I was out pricing an actual vise - one that mounts to your work surface and holds your mini in place while you drill.

Here is the one that I have:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000302YK/qid=1104342351/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl60/103-5999341-3795027?v=glance&s=home-garden&n=507846

It is the Dremel 2214D D-Vise $24.99 from Amazon. The thing I really like about it i s that it is on a ball socket that rotates so you can adjust the angle at which it rests. Very useful for odd shaped pieces that you may work on.

cheers,

-Mike

 

[Jon Potter]

Well, I finished the mini yesterday with mixed results.

Drilling went horribly for me, even with a pilot hole, drilling lengthwise into the axeheads was virtually impossible for me. I persisted, however, and ended up drilling the holes off-center. The shaft of the staff that the fig was holding proved to be far too narrow to drill into, but I was able to sink the end of the staff into the askew holes on the axeheads. A little Super Glue and some JB Weld secured things into a workable (if not truly beautiful) whole. I glued the second axehead to his cloak on the mini's back for additional stability.

Even so, I predict that it'll fall apart within two game sessions.

It was still fun to paint once I got it assembled. I'm no Michaelangelo, but I think it turned out fairly well considering that it was only my third painted mini. I'll post a pic tomorrow to show off the final results.