-_- Double post. Sorry everyone.

It isn't hard, it just takes practice and patience. They will give you tons of projects to work on your 'craft'.




I will say, however, that going into something and being this worried about a small piece is more to be concerned with. You will face a lot tougher challenges than gluing two pieces of chipboard together.

If you are so worried, start now, don't waste time on here!

What? don't they have a shop class? I didn't think having a shop class was unique to my college, from what i read it just might be, we did everything from working with Wood, welding metal, making jigs, using tablesaws, cnc machines the list goes on. Nothethan, email me and maybe i can recommend you some books to read.

+1 on the 'patience and practice'. So much of model-making is about learning your materials (what they do and do not do, how to use tools to reliably make them do what you want them to reliably, how thick they are and how they bend, etc.) that it's probably not something you would know that well 'going in', anyways. You sort of pick it up through repeated work with the material, and the collective wisdom of your studiomates will help as well.

Incidentally, the process of learning the limits of a material will help you a lot when you go out and design buildings; even standardized building products have their own limits, properties, etc. that will definitely have an effect on your design. If you ignore the limits of the material, you do so at your own peril.

Eventually, enough success from mastering 'hard' things will build you as a person, and you will develop the skillset you need to approach any problem. So try the hard things!

sobo is king

1. apply sobo with toothpicks, or a small implement, for clean craft

2. need to build fast? use keyboard cleaning aerosol upside-down to harden the sobo immediately

Studies show that if you devote at least 10,000 hours of practice to a craft, you master the form. Consider how long it took you to walk. Walking is a skill we take for granted. It's an art form if you consider all the mechanics it takes to walk. Robots cannot even master this form (at least not yet). So if you want to take model making a shot, know that you have to put in the time to master this form.

basswood + elmers

acrylic + weld-on 3 or 16

forget balsa wood....

chip board + elmers

keep xacto blades sharp and watch your fingers....

NotEthan, one important aspect about midel building is that at some point, eventually and inevitably, you will slice your finger open.

Yes, there will be blood everywhere.

Important thing to do is to wipe your model clean of blood before the presentation. There was a thread on here that talked about that, but I'm too lazy to look for it.

You're welcome!

on a seperate thread I found out that there are about 42,000 architecture students in the US, rusty if you succeeded in scaring Notethan away you only have about 41,999 to go. Actually, while I was in college, there was one kind of serious table saw incident, the student almost lost a finger, she was a great student too full of potential, and smart, after that bloody incident i dont think she was the same, and didnt come back. Rumor has it that she is doing very good though in a different profession, but still related to construction.

If you are squeamish, think twice about going into architecture. My classmate saw someone else cut their hand, and she promptly fainted head first into a concrete floor. Pretty sure she had a concussion because her studio project stopped making any sense from that point on. Yes, she did fail the year.

now this thread is getting interesting

Is it bad that this is encouraging me instead?

notethan, does your college have Shop class? from your opening post you were asking if they will teach you how to make models?

i ran a wood shop for an arch school for 4 years and seen a few injuries.... mainly getting kick backs on the table saw and bits binding in the drill press that then whips the wood around into your rib cage....and watch your hair near the sanders also....

@creativity expert: I don't know. I will be transferring there next Fall. I will ask about it. Would the shop be architecture specific or just a general shop class?



@Binary: That's a good point... I am going to cut my hair before I go. I don't trust my rather long hair around the machinery.

oh, i see, where are you going to study? if you do have a shop class, they should at least teach you how not to cut your hurt yourself around the equipment, and should teach you the basics about using equipment.

Shop class was for specific purposes. In 7 years of model making, I never once went to the shop to build my models.



I did love it too. I've got a few models, one of my best/favs I spent 24 straight hours welding/soldiering (I had to use one of those micro blow torches, soldiering iron wouldn't get it hot enough) the main truss. Good times!

The spiders at my folks house have really taken a liking to it.

Shop class was for specific purposes. In 7 years of model making, I never once went to the shop to build my models.



I did love it too. I've got a few models, one of my best/favs I spent 24 straight hours welding/soldiering (I had to use one of those micro blow torches, soldiering iron wouldn't get it hot enough) the main truss. Good times!

The spiders at my folks house have really taken a liking to it.

I'll be transferring to University of Oklahoma. If you happen to look down upon it, consider that it will be a major improvement to where I am. I hear the architecture program at Oklahoma State is considerably but love calls me to OU... (Though, I may still transfer there later)

Notethan,
If you keep trying to learn ahead of time what architecture school is, from archinectors, before you set foot on campus, you are going to be a very cynical student by the time you get to 2nd year so be careful you are talking to people like me that have been through college, and have practiced more than a few years, so we know how as they say "architects eat their young".

Knife and straightedge for board, X-acto saw (very fine teeth, removable handle) for sticks of wood. HAve fun ! It's the same disciplines as drawing, basically.

table saw kickbacks...

at our school, there was a big hole in the concrete block wall 15' behind the saw; you do the math

a friend of mine was using the table saw and sent a piece of wood shooting back into his junk (you always push the piece between the fence and blade clear of the blade). At the hospital visit the doctor discovered that he had testicular cancer (not from saw incident). His lack of shop skills saved his life (or at least the life of his sack)

in terms of model building, there are two approaches to building models:

1) building beautiful, accurate miniature representations of your building/project

2) building artistic interpretations of the ideas behind your building/projects


both types of models have their place. Look at as many different types of models that you can and try to experiment with as many different ways of model construction/representation as possible

Even if you arent Bob Vila, you can still build a great model out of items that you essentially found in the trash (I had classmates who did this) that would convey their ideas really well

Always keep a tube of Crest Toothpaste on hand..you never know when your going to need to Brush your Teeth or make a stream in your model.

Table saw kickbacks usually result from something changing in size, shape, or position while the cut is in progress: this could be an uneven piece rocking, or a wedge of wood freed by the cut jamming between the blade and the fence. Thus, never put a piece thru the saw that doesn't sit flat and true against the table and the fence, or that has an irregularity of shape or a split in the grain, etc.

Cuts made with the blade tilted require much more vigilance in these matters.

Make a trial move with the saw off and the blade lowered, to feel how the piece will travel. Always use a pusher of some sort -- a plywood piece on edge with a tooth at the back to securely push the piece, to hold it down, and to keep your hand well above the blade. A sharp awl can provide the same function for a small piece an/or a narrow cut. Keep the piece against the fence at all times.

The saw should have a well-fitting throat piece over the blade that is smooth and flush to the table. The smaller the workpiece being cut, the more important it is to have a minimal opening (slot) around the blade.

Keep the table and the fence waxed and clean. Make sure the fence locks securely precisely parallel to the blade -- measured by the parallel miter-gauge ways (grooves) in the table.

Don't change your mind in the middle of the cut. Hold the piece down and push firmly and at a consistent speed through the saw until the piece is clear of the blade. Never put your hand beyond the blade for any reason; let your pusher do that. Concentrate on the workpiece being cut; let the waste part move away from the blade on its own. Provide adequate table to the left and beyond the saw to handle the parts as they exit the saw.


Sorry -- it's a lot of stuff to say. But it's what I know after fifty years of using the saw.

"Don't change your mind in the middle of the cut." The exception to this rule is when a piece of solid wood has its stresses relieved by the cut and begins to bind (squeeze) the blade. When this happens you will feel it resist your forward motion, and you will see the kerf (slot) ahead of the blade, closing. If the saw motor maintains its speed, continue to push the piece through the saw without hesitation. If the motor threatens to stall, you can as a last resort lift the piece out of the blade with a swift and sure motion.

Modelmakers cutting small, thin, and light pieces of material will not encounter this problem, at least !


Working on the saw is fun, and satisfying. Enjoy it, don't fear it. Stand with a secure stance directly behind the work, and make it happen. Sharp blades raised to the right height (not too low, not too hight) will produce the result you want with ease.

Another important factoid about large powertools: all of them were designed to seriously injure left handed people. So, if you are left handed, you will probably die trying to run your first piece of wood through a table saw.

Enjoy!

ps. I used to have a lot of left handed friends. Now they have no hands. No hands!!

if you need to crosscut a piece of wood on the table saw, make sure you are using a crosscut fence

I know this sounds like common sense, but dont use power tools while you are drunk, high, tired, or hungover. There was a girl who came to our schools shop high and ran her hand through the table saw; apparently it is much harder now for her to smoke a bowl