Miniature Tools

[Art Rafael]

Hi, everybody.  A short video is up on YouTube.  Thanks for watching.   Ralph


http://youtu.be/xiIoYGwTtaI?list=UU-GXI1Wp8qMJcEsSWF5Eu5A

[scottg]

Hey Ralph
I was sick, and then my wife of 40 years died with no warning. Thought you knew.

Anyway the construction techniques here are really rockin.  The brackets and hooks and bolted parts are just jumping hot.
  I can't tell if the gauge of the metal strapping approximates the scale, but it looks like it from here.  Nice and beefy.   
yours Scott
 

[turnnut]

Ralph,

as always, I enjoyed the video, watching you demonstrate the road grader makes me
feel that I know you better.

thank you for sharing your great projects, Frank

[bear_man]

Ralph, very very nice!  Thanks for sharing the grader and video with us.

[Art Rafael]

Scott,

I am so sorry about your wife passing and that I didn't know.
This will hurt forever.  Please take good care of yourself.
We need you, your wisdom and wealth of knowledge.

I don't know about the scale of the beams and braces on the grader.
Materials were just not available, so I used what I found and fabricated what I needed,
It all seems good -- good and robust, so it should hold up well under rough play.

Thanks Frank and bear_man, and you are welcome.  I enjoyed documenting this build to share and for posterity.

Ralph

[Lewill2]

Ralph, I ran across this real salesman sample of an old grader on Carol and Larry Meeker's web site.

http://www.patented-antiques.com/Backpages/T-F-S/FARM/misc_farm.htm

[Art Rafael]

Hi, Les. 

Yes - very nice.  Frank (turn nut) had shared that picture with me.  Thank you both.
I am impressed and amazed at the intricacy and level of detail of that model.
And wonder how many of those salesman's samples were built and how.
The asking price is incredible.

Ralph 

[john k]

I was wondering, a tiny plane is one thing, but what are you going to coat the grader with to keep the brass nice, before it turns black or green?

[Chillylulu]

I would propose using renaissance wax.  Keeps brass brassy.  Made in england, dries hard very fast. Resists fingerprints too.  Bottle says "Refined waxes blended to a formula used by the British Museum and restoration specialists internationally to revive and protect valuable furniture, leather, paintings, metals, marble, ivory and many other surfaces both housed and exposed to the weather. Freshens colours, imparts soft sheen."

I don't know all that, but it does work on silver, brass, and copper in my experience.

It isn't easy, kind of like polishing shoes. Its not shiny wax either. But after buffing it stays on well.  I would say forever, but I am not that old yet. Use or handling rubs it off in time, but I have made anticlastic bracelets, darkened them, then finished with this stuff. No tarnish years later, even through wearing.

Chilly

[Art Rafael]

I don't know what to use, John, but it is already beginning darken / tarnish, and I do want to keep it brassy shiny.   
I'll need to buff it up again and then go with Chilly's idea.  Thanks Chilly. 
Where can I get some of  that resistance wax?   Ralph

[turnnut]

Ralph,  if you use ebay, use advanced search, put in renaissance wax

over 100 hits show up.

Frank

[Art Rafael]

Thanks, Frank.  I should have thought of that.  Sometimes the obvious escapes me.   Ralph

[Branson]

Renaissance Wax is a brand name.  The wax here is microcrystaline wax.  Very good stuff.  It's virtually inert, and therefore used by museum curators for the preservation of artifacts.  For museum use, it comes in colors, a brown for wooden items, and black for smithed artifacts.

[Chillylulu]

Ralph,

For your area try Naja Supply, in Denver.  It comes in a little tub, maybe 1-1/4" round and tall, but a little goes a long way. I think 7 or 8 bucks. 

If you want me to I can pick up a tub.  I am headed down there to Garden of the Gods road at the end of the week. I have some interesting tin snips and a couple of other vintage tools to pick up at goodwill.

For fun, here are the snips:

[Art Rafael]

Thanks, Chilly; I'd appreciate it and can meet you anywhere, or invite you over to my house for a visit and a drink. 
Let me know when, and I'll keep it chilled and clean house some - if I can (clean house - that is - or for that matter, keep it chilled).   Ralph