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Volpone's TARDIS build...

Started by Volpone, Nov 18, 2011, 10:44 pm

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Volpone

Bah. My hat is off to the folks that can do detailed planning here.  I got my quick-and-dirty overlay in front of me to make up my cut list and realized that if it is accurate the mods won't be as simple or effective as I'd convinced myself.  So tomorrow I've got to do the "Logopolis" and head out to the TARDIS with a tape measure and a notebook before zapping off to the hardware store. :(
"My dear Litefoot, I've got a lantern and a pair of waders, and possibly the most fearsome piece of hand artillery in all England. What could possibly go wrong?"
-The Doctor.

Mark

I can do the detailed planning - its the actual building I need to get round to!

Took about 6 months of measuring the real Crich box/drawing up blueprints/ironing out details etc and that was over 7 years ago!

I wish I had the get up and go (and space for a box) to build obe so hats off to you Volpone. Interesting to see what modifications your box gets.

Volpone

I "called and audible" at the hardware store. Actually, I called a couple, but the boring ones were switching from cedar to pine to cut costs by 1/3.  Still, it ran $86.  The interesting one is the veneers for the corner posts.  The boards I was set to buy were 5 1/2".  I didn't feel like ripping 1.5" off eight boards.  I would have, but the remnant would have been too thin to use as my inside 1/4 rounds.  So instead I grabbed a sheet of some kind of plastic that was suggested for use as a tub surround.  I'm still not entirely sold on that, so I may wind up back at the store to get the boards I wanted in the first place.  Give me an excuse to use my new table saw. 

Got the roof off.  Re-engineered the top for the new signal lamp glass, notched the corners so it would sit at the proper 2" instead of the 3 1/2" it was, and cut out my rotten plywood.  As it was I had some Hardy products (kind of like siding and drywall, only concrete-based so basically waterproof) that happened to be the perfect size to replace my rotted wood.  I was screwing the last piece on when my cordless drill battery died and I lost my sunlight. 

I'll try to get some pictures up, but I've still got to clean up for the night and put stuff away, but first some lunch/dinner. 
"My dear Litefoot, I've got a lantern and a pair of waders, and possibly the most fearsome piece of hand artillery in all England. What could possibly go wrong?"
-The Doctor.

Volpone

Apr 13, 2014, 08:20 pm #63 Last Edit: Apr 13, 2014, 08:21 pm by volpone
OK.  Yesterday's pictures:  
1397335233530.jpgAfter stripping off my "waterproofing", I found most of the plywood was rotted through above the front topsign.
 1397335309046.jpg Detail of the current windows, SJA badge, and phone panel.
1397343747276.jpgRoof off
1397343759345.jpgRoof before refit (and I, of course, forgot to take any pictures of the work done.)
1397353003746.jpgCut-down roof in place. (I still need to finish up the lamp housing.)
"My dear Litefoot, I've got a lantern and a pair of waders, and possibly the most fearsome piece of hand artillery in all England. What could possibly go wrong?"
-The Doctor.

Volpone

End of Day Two.  The Fog of War kicked in and I didn't get as far as I planned.  I have an active lifestyle, but carpentry uses entirely different muscles and even after 10 hours of sleep I felt like I'd been dragged down a flight of stairs. 

After doing my daily chores I headed off to the store to swap out the plastic sheet for proper lumber.  On the way home I got to figuring out ways to use the trimmed off wood so I should have very little waste. 

Today was also demo.  And scary demo at that.  To widen the corner posts and get the proper rectangular shape to the panels, I set a circle saw to the width of the crossbar lumber and marked them to the width I'd be trimming out.  Then I chiseled out the pieces so I can fit a new rail once I've trimmed down the window panes.  There was more rot than I'd have liked to find but nothing deadly, structurally.  I'm hoping I can finally figure out a way to seal up the roof so water can't get in. 

Next was the really scary bit.  I'd accidentally used an old 2x8 for my lintel signs instead of the 2x6 I thought it was.  Luckily this meant I could trim the bottom and insert an admittedly smaller step than the prop, but I will have the "steps" under the lintels now.  Got those up on all sides but the door.  It involved more cursing and fighting than I'd hoped but there you go. 

It is possible that I'll be able to finish the major structural work tomorrow and get her buttoned up until next weekend (and against the chance of rain).  Doing the lintel signs will be a pain and cutting out the windows so they actually let light in.  But I may have a way to do that after the fact.  We'll see. 
"My dear Litefoot, I've got a lantern and a pair of waders, and possibly the most fearsome piece of hand artillery in all England. What could possibly go wrong?"
-The Doctor.

Volpone

Start of Day 3 of the remodel:
20140414_135250.jpg
Didn't get as much done as I'd have liked, but I got the windows cleaned up and got the new rails fitted.  Got her buttoned up so she's at least water-resistant for the rain that is supposed to come today.  Turns out my "vapor barrier" under the floor has been a dismal failure as well.  It has nicely trapped water from *wherever*, creating a nice damp humid environment for inside the TARDIS.  I may need to clean her out to pull up the floor and remove the plastic under it. 

Here's where we're at for the end of Day 3:
20140414_175723.jpg

I'd love to press on, but I'm not as far as I think I am.  Part of me says "you just need to cut your corner post material to size and fasten it up, but if I wasn't working I'd be lucky to get that done in one day.  And then there's still a ton of caulking, painting, and weathering.  And that doesn't even get into signage or windows.  And I should probably answer some e-mails and do dishes and such. 
"My dear Litefoot, I've got a lantern and a pair of waders, and possibly the most fearsome piece of hand artillery in all England. What could possibly go wrong?"
-The Doctor.

superrichi1a

Im genuinely delighted to see this, the new rails transform the whole profile of the build, and with the steps factored in things are starting to look decidedly more screen-accurate.
That post sums up TARDIS Building in a nutshell, you love your build and do fantastic work on it, but the mistresses of real life: time, weather and dishes won't leave you alone. :-\
Isn't it how ironic that we have to think of solutions out of the box, in order to build our boxes a lot of the time?

Volpone

Dishes are done and I may have an hour to work today.  Rain is almost a certainty tonight.  I'd like to get my inside "quarter rounds" (actually 1x2s that the veneer will be fastened to) on but if I'm smart I should get busy with caulk and paint to help protect the wood.  (Or just have a day off and catch up on e-mails.) 
"My dear Litefoot, I've got a lantern and a pair of waders, and possibly the most fearsome piece of hand artillery in all England. What could possibly go wrong?"
-The Doctor.

galacticprobe

Apr 16, 2014, 05:36 am #68 Last Edit: Apr 16, 2014, 05:37 am by galacticprobe
Oh, that poor Old Girl! She has seen better days, hasn't she? But I have full faith that you'll have her set to rights before too long. (Of course, you do realise that she won't let you in while she's rebuilding, don't you? ;))

Dino.
"What's wrong with being childish?! I like being childish." -3rd Doctor, "Terror of the Autons"

Volpone

Minor progress today.  It has been raining the past few days, while I've been using my time to make money instead of renovate TARDISes.  My temporary waterproofing has not been up to the amount of rain we've been getting, but I'm hoping any damage is minor.  It is supposed to be (relatively) dry tomorrow, so I have hopes of tightening up a few leaky spots and getting paint on everything.

I cut my last 3 "quarter rounds" to size and fitted them in place.  I also started cutting the facades for the corner posts.  Because my top signs are structural and some of the 3" screws holding them in place will not come out, I've had to notch out the facades to fit around the signs.  This was slightly nerve-wracking.  And because nothing is quite exact or square, I could only cut half of them on a jig.  I'll have to custom fit the other half, but I got enough cut to get an idea what they'll look like in place.  Or at least I hoped to.  It is hard to tell because I'd lost my light while I was working.  And because they aren't painted I can't quite see how they look--a bit like when they camouflage future car models with bits of tape, paint, and fabric to keep spy photographers from leaking photos prior to the official unveiling. 

I'll have to go into detail on some of the bits and bobs and MacGyver solutions to things that I've worked up on the way but that will have to happen another time.  So will the detail work.  The windows, the signage, that will be at a later point.  Right now the goal is to get her sound and watertight.  Then we'll add some of the paint and detail work to the body before adding the fiddly bits. 

Part of the reason for that is also that I haven't entirely decided if/how I'm going to do a couple things.  If I make the windows actually functional can I cut away the plywood from behind?  It would be simpler to pop off the remaining window trim and lift off the windows--assuming they'll lift off without breaking.  They're glued to the plywood. 
"My dear Litefoot, I've got a lantern and a pair of waders, and possibly the most fearsome piece of hand artillery in all England. What could possibly go wrong?"
-The Doctor.

galacticprobe

Apr 18, 2014, 04:41 am #70 Last Edit: Apr 18, 2014, 04:47 am by galacticprobe
Quote from: volpone on Apr 18, 2014, 04:07 am
If I make the windows actually functional can I cut away the plywood from behind?  It would be simpler to pop off the remaining window trim and lift off the windows--assuming they'll lift off without breaking.  They're glued to the plywood.


This is a tricky one to call without seeing exactly how things are glued in place, or knowing what kind of glue was used. But from what I can remember from watching my Great Uncle work on my house when I was in high school - he was in construction and used to visit often, and my mother and grandmother (his sister-in-law) would always find something for him (read that as "us") to do - he did on a few occasions cut things away from plywood from behind.

He would carefully measure the depth of the bit to be cut away such that when he set the depth of his saw blade it could cut within a hair's breath of the plywood. That same principle could be applied here. Carefully measure the depth of the ply and set the saw blade such that it falls just shy of your door stiles. Then take a carpenter's knife and gently slice down the cut until that last fiber of wood was cut to free things and let you lift them away. (The last bit of cutting would need to be done by hand anyhow: circular saw blade won't end in a flat cut in the corners, and I don't think you want to overlap the cuts onto the other part of the plywood.)

But once you do cut it away like that, it should leave you with a bit of a "window jam" for the new window to close against. Keep in mind, though, that you'd probably want to make the bottom cut about even with the bottom of the actual window opening as this is where the hinges would go. If you cut below the window bottom then they might look odd when tilted inward.

Does any of this help?

Dino.
"What's wrong with being childish?! I like being childish." -3rd Doctor, "Terror of the Autons"

Volpone

A fairly good day.  Got my "quarter rounds" routered and screwed into position.  Did a first coat of paint on the roof, 1/4 rounds.  Cut all my corner post facades and got them mounted too.  Got 1/4 of them painted.  I think the thing is almost watertight.  Pictures to come soon.  It is turning out very well. 

I'd made a couple decisions about the build:  I picked up a quart of the darkest blue I could get off the shelf for a darker look but I was still planning to do blue window trim.  And instead of Brachaki signage, I was going to do Met box signage.  A lot of that is still a go but I'm really liking the way my existing blue is looking with the more accurate appearance.  And I'm liking the way the white trim is looking.  (Truth be told, a lot of it is just the grungy edges of where I pulled up the trim, but it still gives me a good idea how it will look. 

I'm also liking the new lamp.  It makes me really want to do actual windows and lighted top signs.  I've got an idea how to do them, but they'll be a pain in the butt...

At any rate, tomorrow is supposed to be wet.  Instead of working signage, I think I'll catch up on Life.  Then at some point I'm going to have to rummage around and find the castoff plexiglass I have laying around before I can move ahead on signs.   
"My dear Litefoot, I've got a lantern and a pair of waders, and possibly the most fearsome piece of hand artillery in all England. What could possibly go wrong?"
-The Doctor.

Volpone

Some pics of today's work:
The notched facades for my undersized corner posts:
20140418_144109.jpg
A detail of a couple in place:
20140418_144130.jpg
Paint on the "quarter rounds" (and one facade):
20140418_173803.jpg
Status at the end of the day:
20140418_194410.jpg
"My dear Litefoot, I've got a lantern and a pair of waders, and possibly the most fearsome piece of hand artillery in all England. What could possibly go wrong?"
-The Doctor.

galacticprobe

Apr 19, 2014, 04:30 pm #73 Last Edit: Apr 20, 2014, 04:35 am by galacticprobe
She is coming along very nicely! It's probably some very hard and tedious work, but just look at her; all of that work is worth it, and so is she!

Dino.
"What's wrong with being childish?! I like being childish." -3rd Doctor, "Terror of the Autons"

superrichi1a

The transformation that's going on here is remarkable, I am actually waiting with baited breath to see how the finished product looks! :)
Isn't it how ironic that we have to think of solutions out of the box, in order to build our boxes a lot of the time?