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| BUILDING HOOD SIDES WITH CANNON & CO. PARTS |
Before I get started on hood building techniques, it might be a good idea to go over some of
the tools I use.
- Knives. It is important to use very sharp blades. I change mine often. If you are good at
sharpening, that is good too. If a tip breaks, even the smallest break, replace it. I am very
happy with EXCEL blades. Lucky for me, my father bought me a couple sets of X-ACTO knives
when I was a kid so the handles are made of a heavier material than what you find
today. The clamping barrel closes nicer as well.
If you can find older sets at flea markets or such, I highly recommend buying them.
- Steel Scales & Straight Edges. I have many of these and use them not only for measuring,
but also a good hard straight edge. There is one straight edge I do not have that I want to get.
You can get it through Micro Mark and probably other hobby supply outlets. The Micro Mark
part numbers are 14162 for the 6" long version and 60916 for the 12" long version. This tool
looks to have the weight and size for cutting long strips of styrene sheet. I want to get it for
rough cutting the hood side backing sheet.
The scales you see below have good weight to them. They have a nice straight edge and will
help you produce a nice clean cut. You do need a longer scale to cut the hood backing sheet.
For that I used a 12" metal scale. I will get the Micro Mark tool though for future use.
- Sanding Sticks. The sanding sticks I found to be the best are nail files. I found mine at the
local ULTA store. They are very rigid and have a nice flat surface. You can cut them for
different sizes and you can get them in various grits.
After cutting a backing sheets I used the sticks to slightly clean up the edges. They also work
great for flat sanding. I can tell you, these sticks are the best and next time my wife needs to
go to ULTA, I am going along to get more. I am sure you can also get good sanding sticks at
your local grocery store, Walgreens or CVS pharmacy.
- DIal Calipers. I use this tool for just about every measuring need. I do need to get a new set
though, the points on this one are starting to show signs of wear.
If you do not have calipers and are going to get one, my suggestion is to get a good set. You
do not have to get the most expensive set, but a good quality set. You want a S.S set and not
a plastic one. Do not get one with blunt jaw tips. Get one with nice sharp tips.
I have had my calipers now for about 21 years and they have served me well.
- Squaring Blocks. These I found to be priceless when setting up the hood sides. They really
help you get the door spacers trued up. The ones with the holes in them are called 1-2-3
blocks. These are precision machined blocks that measure 1" x 2" x 3" hence the name 1-2-3
blocks. The other great thing about these blocks is you can really true up your adjustable
protractor. The brass blocks I made myself with my mill. I made them to help with keeping the
bottom edges straight and for smaller truing needs. You can also use your steel scale rulers
for this as well. I like the brass blocks I made because they are heavy and thicker.
I also use these blocks to sit on top of the sides when I am done to keep them flat.
You can get a good set of 1-2-3 blocks from any machinist supply store. I got mine from ENCO
tools at
http://www.use-enco.com PN: DL630-4010
I also have a set of precision ground triangles. A 45/45/90 and a 30/60/90. I also bought them
through Enco. I pretty much get all my tooling from Enco except for micro mills and micro drills.
I get those from Small Parts Inc. in Florida.
- Adjustable Protractor. Not much to say about this tool. What is important though is that the
protractor is accurate for the 90 degree angle. That is why I said above that the 1-2-3 blocks
come in very handy to true up the protractor. With the protractor squared up, you can double
check to make sure your hood backing sheet is square.
- The NWSL Chopper. You know, I have had this tool ever since I can remember. I owned the
original one and never used it and then bought the new revised one you see here and never
used it. Well I can't say I never used it. I will say that I rarely use it. The tool has draw backs
when used as is. The straight edge side has to many gaps that allow small strip styrene to fall
into and the angular cutting pieces that come with the tool have to much of a rounded edge to
them. So as you can see with my setup, I changed a few things. I use my metal straight edges
as strip guides and an X-ACTO right angle tool as my stop. The ruler that runs 90 degrees to
the black ruler just helps me push the smaller strip up against the edge better. The black ruler
runs right up against the blade.
You could use this tool for cutting the door spacer strips to length, but I do not.
The one tool that is not seen here and is really not a tool is my work surface. It is a piece of
1/4" thick plate glass. It cost me all of about $6.00 to have made at a local glass shop. For
years I have heard of modelers using glass as a work surface and never took interest in it. I
thought I would give it a try and I found I should have used it years ago. It is great for having
the flat surface to build on. It is another item I highly recommend you using to build models on.
Another great surface to have would be a surface plate.
That is about it for the tools section of this article. I guess it is time to move on to actually
building the sides.
the tools I use.
- Knives. It is important to use very sharp blades. I change mine often. If you are good at
sharpening, that is good too. If a tip breaks, even the smallest break, replace it. I am very
happy with EXCEL blades. Lucky for me, my father bought me a couple sets of X-ACTO knives
when I was a kid so the handles are made of a heavier material than what you find
today. The clamping barrel closes nicer as well.
If you can find older sets at flea markets or such, I highly recommend buying them.
- Steel Scales & Straight Edges. I have many of these and use them not only for measuring,
but also a good hard straight edge. There is one straight edge I do not have that I want to get.
You can get it through Micro Mark and probably other hobby supply outlets. The Micro Mark
part numbers are 14162 for the 6" long version and 60916 for the 12" long version. This tool
looks to have the weight and size for cutting long strips of styrene sheet. I want to get it for
rough cutting the hood side backing sheet.
The scales you see below have good weight to them. They have a nice straight edge and will
help you produce a nice clean cut. You do need a longer scale to cut the hood backing sheet.
For that I used a 12" metal scale. I will get the Micro Mark tool though for future use.
- Sanding Sticks. The sanding sticks I found to be the best are nail files. I found mine at the
local ULTA store. They are very rigid and have a nice flat surface. You can cut them for
different sizes and you can get them in various grits.
After cutting a backing sheets I used the sticks to slightly clean up the edges. They also work
great for flat sanding. I can tell you, these sticks are the best and next time my wife needs to
go to ULTA, I am going along to get more. I am sure you can also get good sanding sticks at
your local grocery store, Walgreens or CVS pharmacy.
- DIal Calipers. I use this tool for just about every measuring need. I do need to get a new set
though, the points on this one are starting to show signs of wear.
If you do not have calipers and are going to get one, my suggestion is to get a good set. You
do not have to get the most expensive set, but a good quality set. You want a S.S set and not
a plastic one. Do not get one with blunt jaw tips. Get one with nice sharp tips.
I have had my calipers now for about 21 years and they have served me well.
- Squaring Blocks. These I found to be priceless when setting up the hood sides. They really
help you get the door spacers trued up. The ones with the holes in them are called 1-2-3
blocks. These are precision machined blocks that measure 1" x 2" x 3" hence the name 1-2-3
blocks. The other great thing about these blocks is you can really true up your adjustable
protractor. The brass blocks I made myself with my mill. I made them to help with keeping the
bottom edges straight and for smaller truing needs. You can also use your steel scale rulers
for this as well. I like the brass blocks I made because they are heavy and thicker.
I also use these blocks to sit on top of the sides when I am done to keep them flat.
You can get a good set of 1-2-3 blocks from any machinist supply store. I got mine from ENCO
tools at
http://www.use-enco.com PN: DL630-4010
I also have a set of precision ground triangles. A 45/45/90 and a 30/60/90. I also bought them
through Enco. I pretty much get all my tooling from Enco except for micro mills and micro drills.
I get those from Small Parts Inc. in Florida.
- Adjustable Protractor. Not much to say about this tool. What is important though is that the
protractor is accurate for the 90 degree angle. That is why I said above that the 1-2-3 blocks
come in very handy to true up the protractor. With the protractor squared up, you can double
check to make sure your hood backing sheet is square.
- The NWSL Chopper. You know, I have had this tool ever since I can remember. I owned the
original one and never used it and then bought the new revised one you see here and never
used it. Well I can't say I never used it. I will say that I rarely use it. The tool has draw backs
when used as is. The straight edge side has to many gaps that allow small strip styrene to fall
into and the angular cutting pieces that come with the tool have to much of a rounded edge to
them. So as you can see with my setup, I changed a few things. I use my metal straight edges
as strip guides and an X-ACTO right angle tool as my stop. The ruler that runs 90 degrees to
the black ruler just helps me push the smaller strip up against the edge better. The black ruler
runs right up against the blade.
You could use this tool for cutting the door spacer strips to length, but I do not.
The one tool that is not seen here and is really not a tool is my work surface. It is a piece of
1/4" thick plate glass. It cost me all of about $6.00 to have made at a local glass shop. For
years I have heard of modelers using glass as a work surface and never took interest in it. I
thought I would give it a try and I found I should have used it years ago. It is great for having
the flat surface to build on. It is another item I highly recommend you using to build models on.
Another great surface to have would be a surface plate.
That is about it for the tools section of this article. I guess it is time to move on to actually
building the sides.
Other really useful tools are these precision ground triangles. I bought these from ENCO tools
also. Part number 418-4820. They work great with the tool I made shown below. I made this
tool to cut long SD length hood sides. I made this from 1/2" x 2" x 9" aluminum bar. I squared it
up and then trimmed the top down to have a straight edge to place the hood against. I cut two
slots for trimming. I use the above triangles and trim the long hood to have perfect right angles
at each end. I can also use this tool to build hood sides on.
also. Part number 418-4820. They work great with the tool I made shown below. I made this
tool to cut long SD length hood sides. I made this from 1/2" x 2" x 9" aluminum bar. I squared it
up and then trimmed the top down to have a straight edge to place the hood against. I cut two
slots for trimming. I use the above triangles and trim the long hood to have perfect right angles
at each end. I can also use this tool to build hood sides on.
