help with deck gratings

peter22 · 08-04-2008

anyone got any tips for making gratings i.e. cross-halving,drill and square file,cut and glue small squares to form the square holes, or any easier way [hopefully] the model is a scratch build 17th cent. British frigate

Gaz · 08-04-2008

Hi Peter, I just wanted to say thats a beaut of a ship your building.
She look great already.

peter22 · 08-04-2008

Hi Gaz
Thanks for the compliment - i've just discovered how upload photo's [mine were to large] so i've put some more of Unicorn in my gallery + my only other model Sea Witch thanks again
Peter22

**rjwood_uk** · 08-04-2008

you can buy sheets of phot etched grills/gratings. try googling it or search on a modelling site such as netmerchants.

what scale is that? it looks great!

the p/e stuff might not be what your after but if you can post a picture of what your looking for i might be able to help further. there are lots of different styles of p/e meshes/gratings so you might find what your looking for.

here are a few examples:

Netmerchants > Plastic Scale Model Shop Home > Your Search Results

Richard

alan2525 · 08-04-2008

I think Peter wants to model this kind of thing, used around ships wheels etc as a non slip flooring:

Caillebotis de bateau 98 / 69 cm - antiquites de marine, casque de scaphandrier, meuble de marine, décoration de marine.

A lot of model boats are let down by using plastic moulded gratings.

I'd be tempted to try to fix a lot of small strips of wood edge to edge to a jig and then use a dremel router or some such to cut the halving joints. If you made a lot of these I'm sure you'd end up with sufficient quantities to get atleast one grating!

You could try to make a jig similar to that used when cutting finger joints on a table saw, with a pin which fits into the space cutout by the previous cut, and then move the parts across a notch at a time.

Obviously you'd need a very close grained wood and depending on the size of the strips you might have a varying degree of success.

It'd be a little like an inverted form of this setup:

Song of the Great Lakes - Box Joint Jigs

Edit: Forgot to say - the ship is looking great by the way!

peter22 · 08-04-2008

Thanks Alan
A jig was something I had thought of [I made one out of an old TV aerial clamp - for my cannon carriage sides and it worked quite well - making 10 sides at a time] I have a band saw and was thinking along those lines for the cross-halving
peter

alan2525 · 08-04-2008

you could make a router cross slide carriage for a dremel, along these kinds of lines:

http://www.idealtools.com.au/images/page3812.jpg

Some routers have holes bored through the base too for the side fence. If you could pick up some silver steel rod it'd make a nice smooth running slide. Alternatively you could make a new base plate for a router base and simply drill all the holes at once so as to ensure alignment.

**Bunkerbarge** · 08-04-2008

It might be just as easy to drill a grid of holes and file them out with a square file. You can get white metal ones but for your model I would expect you to want to make them from wood.

I think probably the most realistic though would be, as you say half cut through matches at appropriate intervals. I'm sure if you laid them together and cut across carefully with a blade it wouldn't be too much of a chore.

peter22 · 08-04-2008

Just realised I should have included a picture - DOH.
thanks for all suggestions
perer22

**Bluewavestudios** · 08-04-2008

Hi Peter,

That is certainly a very impressive looking model you are doing there, I can imagine the rigging stage is going to be a lot fun to do too, nonetheless she will certainly be an impressive model.

What sort of depth do the grates need to be..?, I have a very nice idea in mind which is quick and easy...I just need to know the sort of depth to know if my idea would work.

Regards.......Mark.