David....

I'm flattered that you found my build inspirational I genuinely hope you can steal some of my ideas and make them work for you! Don't worry about early set-backs I had to build 5 or 6 of everything (so it seems) till I figured out what would work best. Review my build thread and see how I used bolts simply as pins (theres no nut screwing up from under the base) to hold the corner-post's in position on the base. The corner posts are then bolted through the walls near the roof and are apparently (through some 6 or 7 Conns my Tardis has been too by now) very stable...

You CAN do it!
-Jay

Thanks Jay, when I started the posts and decided on the signbox attachment I realised (only today) that I was half remembering how you approached it, by breaking the quarter-round length so the boxes slide between the gaps and bolts hidden behind it! Funny how the memory tricks you into thinking it was your idea in the first place, when all along it wasn't at all!

This has been stacked up in the corner of the garage since my last post regrettably and since, the garage has got alot busier so I've had precious little time to touch it. I think I was waiting for some extra time and money to make a start on the roof and sign boxes, but I really think I need to dedicate some time to structuring a sturdy base and create temporary signboxes - hell, I've even thought about create an internal structure just to establish the main form of the box before I continue.

The separate wall/doors themselves continue to puzzle me, I have concern I've cut them oddly and won't line up when pressed up against the central divide BUT I have a plan, a cunning plan (gleemed from Professor Cunning himself at Oxford University) to get them to line and sit nicely together without looking like a shambles.

O Dear Child of Mine, please allow me the time to go out in the garage. Thanks. Love your Dad.

Your input would be appreciated.

While this project is stalled at the moment due to workshop issues (as in, non existent) I'm having issues about how best to attach the posts to the base.

The posts at the moment (while very large and very heavy, mdf d'oh) are the height as required. As you may well have seen I tried putting bolts into the bottom but that didn't work too well. Besides adding more weight by doing the "new series" approach of a box in a box, does anyone have any suggestions on mounting the posts to the base?

On my first build I put 3/4" diameter 1/2" tall pegs in the base and locator holes in the bottom of the (substantial) posts. (I seem to have no pictures of this...)

For my second build I put gate bolts on the bottom of the posts on the inside which drop into holes in the base.

(The angle brackets are just decorative, and are removeable.)

In both cases I can stand the posts on the floor during assembly without them falling over, which helps...

The bolts/pegs are simply to keep the posts aligned with the base - neither of my builds is actually held together except by (external!) gravity, so they could not be tipped over or assembled on their side. On both builds the roof just sits on top - it's not actually held there.

Thanks SW. The bolt idea might actually help. I'll have to think about that given the weight of the posts - I struggle to lift one on my own until I find balance!

I wonder if once _bolted_ into the base in this way, I need to consider adding a support strip across the top to two posts so they support each other. But that first post will be the biggest bugger for setups...

On a side note, given the weight of the things, I'm considering getting fibreglass copies made. But then I'd need to offset the cost of making them in the first place...

I think MDF is about 50% heavier than softwood.
The softwood posts on my second build weigh 15kg each, and are not hard to move around. They contain more wood than they would need if they hadn't also needed to be reconfigurable. Those on my first build (which were pretty well square and solid through) were much, much heavier - even though they contained no MDF. For my first build I made the posts into two very solid arches, but I can barely lift them now, and I'm not getting any younger...
But then it was never meant to be moved.

Some of the BBC props were fibreglass - presumably for the lightness, but I'd worry about maintenance over time: can you fix them if they get damaged?

I think the trick with assembly is to find a way to assemble the first corner - then you don't have to worry about it falling over.
Usually I join two posts lying on the ground to make a door arch (that will stand by itself), lift that upright and then attach a wall to one side of it. At that point it's not going anywhere.

The other side of fibreglass posts is, since they'd be the main thing holding everything else together, would it actually support everything?

A flat formed arch and then pushed into place will be the bugger. Don't think I can manage two posts on my own! haha and there's me thinking about making this a travelling box - to some degree.

I could always bring out my original plan of a metal internal structure that had everything bolted to it, but thats a complication if making it a travel box. Hmm.

David, looking back through your build and seeing how your corner posts are assembled, you could (if you've got room inside the box) put two more pieces of wood on the back, making the posts square, hollow tubes. Then you could put a small solid "locator" post on your base (say, 6 or so inches high for stability), and slide the hollow corner post over the solid locator post on the base. The corner post would stand steady while you put up the other posts, and then the walls, etc. (I think that's similar to how the actual TARDIS' corner posts are built, and assembled.)

Sound feasible?

Dino.

Completely Dino.

I'll get access to the pieces again and see what to do I guess! I think I was reluctant to add more wood to the existing posts because they're heavy enough as it is...

INVESTIGATE!

Update but not an update
#sorrynotsorry

Merry Christmas! Catch you on the other side!

I think your Tardis has shrunk in the cold! 

I really want to paint the I.M. Foreman sign on the side of my garage.  I just have so many more pressing projects to do.  And I'm leaning toward a post 1966 paintjob on my TARDIS next time I paint her. 

I like the frequent repaints on the garage door.  And I like imagining the neighbors' comments to each other as they look out the window (Terry Jones in drag, looking out the window while Graham Chapman eats his breakfast and reads the paper:  "Ee's at it again..."  ) 

Speaking of which, that worried me a little when I first assembled my TARDIS.  When I finally realized how big it was going to be, I wondered what the neighbors would say--and if there were any zoning laws I was breaking.  Sure enough, as I was screwing the sides together (and thanks so much to my other neighbor, who saw me doing it and came over and helped), the neighbor behind my house came out his back door to ask "Is that a TARDIS?"  To which I replied "well, no.  It's a storage shed.  It just looks like a TARDIS."  His reply was "cool," and he went back in his house. 

The neighbor that was helping me put it together asked if it "did anything" and seemed a bit disappointed when I told him it stored paint and rakes and scrap lumber.  I should have asked him what he thought it might do. 

Still not quite an update, as I wanted to do each part in its own little diary but here's where I am today...

What is it your using for the texturing? Look forward to seeing some paint on this!

Quote from: moonbeam on Mar 15, 2020, 09:25 am
What is it your using for the texturing? Look forward to seeing some paint on this!

This is polyfiller mixed with wood glue.

Plan is to, "seal" it with primer then sand it down a little then paint again.