Category Archives: Woodwork

Woodwork

TARDIS corners

A flaw in my design was leaving out a detail on the timber corner posts which had been bugging me. In order to achieve the ‘correct’ exterior dimensions and not build something that would collapse the ground under it, I decided on the whole to use relatively thin timber (12-18mm hardwood)  for the various aspects of construction.

Various details such as above the windows, around the light boxes, and the corner posts have a very much stepped design giving the prop a 3 dimensional depth. By the time I’d completed the corner posts, I’d noticed that I’d omitted an extra ‘step’ and thought that I’d add these back in by creating some shaped timber slats to straddle the height of the corner posts.

This is also a slight design variation as the timber detail highlights the light box (as used by the Ecclestone & Tennant doctors) but is not seen on other props where the lightbox simply sits on top of the corner posts.

Woodwork

TARDIS windows

A lot of activity over the past few weeks to do with the window frames for the TARDIS. The design I envisaged used slats to make up the actual frames, then to have the window panes inserted into these. The better way of doing this from a consistency point of view was to make each slat exactly the same dimensions so that assembly and replication was the easy part (as opposed to easily making them up and then spending ages making them fit).

Three days of jig making, panel saw cutting, and drum sanding later, I had 56x millimetre identical sticks of timber with half laps ready to fit into each other. Glazing now pressed on the mind and we decided to go with rebating trenches into the backside of the timber and to bead the glass in as the very last step so that any timber movement did not damage the 3mm thin glass.

I obtained the glass at Essendon Glass which was a very simple process. Googling various TARDIS constructors would have you believe that the exact glass type is difficult & expensive to procure. The bobbly glass (to my eye anyways) looked very similar to translucent bathroom glass, so that’s what I bought. The bottom left and right panes of each window (in various incarnations) is a slightly different design giving a “T” shaed appearance which I don’t mind.

For final installation, I’ll trim the holes in the TARDIS frame made all those years ago from sandwiched ply so that each window fits. I also need a method of attachment. The window frames are slightly recessed into the frame and since I don’t have many millimetres to play with, I’ll sit the entire frame in a bit by means of some slats attached to the back of the window.

Woodwork

TARDIS windows

Who’d have thought a bunch of windows could be so difficult? I’d mocked up a prototype of the 2x 6 pane window frames for each panel way way back before I’d even had the body structure built thinking that this would be an easy thing to do, put aside, & resume. How wrong I was!

I tried a number of designs including mortise and tenon & bridle joints and in the end setttled for the half notches (not actually a join, but a fit). The main reason was ease (relatively speaking) of construction however, the joins will then be bonded. Probably use brads and glue.

I trenched some grooves in the prototype and had some glass panes made up at Essendon Glass. The glazier didn’t give me grief when I said I was building a TARDIS so kudos to him!  Richard & Leon (TAFE teachers) pointed out with that design the glass may break whist final clamping, so in the new design I’ll rebate in some grooves that the panes can be fitted after the frames are complete.

So, it’s taken 2 weeks of jig making & calculations on the panel saw so that I can exactly and precisely reproduce 56 sticks of timber with precise grooves for fitting. As they say, it’s all in the preparation. I spent the last hour after arvo smoko to complete the corner joins on the 24 horizontal bars. Also made some spares just in case…

Woodwork

TARDIS roof lamp

The interesting thing about this particular construction is that there are actually two different styles of skill involved. There is the gross structure, the pillars, walls & doors which in retrospect weren’t too hard. Then there is the finer fiddly stuff. As Leon, one of the TAFE teachers said: “You can spend a week building a house, but then spend 4 months fitting it out”.

The roof is attached, albeit temporarily as I’ll remove it back to ground level to putty some cutting defects and paint. The roof lamp box took two weeks of fiddly work. I’ve managed to source some glass panes so the next challenge is upskilling to some glazing.

Woodwork

TARDIS – yay!

Well, after one and a half terms learning about static machines, it’s back to the Tardis. Because I’ve been working on it in dribs & drabs since late 2009, I kinda forget what & where I’m up to. Like a tv episode, the Tardis looks at me every Tafe class and mocks me. Spiders & other insectivorous life have taken resident as has the dust.

Still, finally determined what to do with the roof, and here’s the finished (to be added to the frame) product. I need to make a light fitting for the flashing blue light and there are a number of designs that I could use – so a little more thinking music required.

 

Woodwork

TARDIS roof

Finishing the roof of the TARDIS required a little more contemplation than just banging some bits of roughly triangular ply together. Teacher Pete suggested a hip & rafter design which is probably a bit more substantial than required, but in the name of learning a new skill: I’m game. It’s also good practice for the eventual gazebo that Anna wants.

Woodwork

Timber show

The pelting rain didn’t help my mood at the Timber & Working with wood show, especially as we were made to park at the diametrically opposite end of the Showgrounds to where the exhibition was. Walking dripping around the exhibits for the first half hour was not fun. Still, this Gabbet’s CU300 all in one panel saw, spindle moulder, jointer, thicknesser took my fancy.