Thread: 3D Shapes - fantasy landscapes

Don't know about plans being readily available but it should be easy to make your own designs from the simple one you show.

I have see some that are actually quite complex and fascinating.

Maybe you could use a drawing program to help you out.

Do a Google search for Collapsible Castles

Thanks DJ. It's the correct term I was after. Now it's so easy to get Dave some plans that he can really enjoy.

You're the master of info, as usual.

Cheers
LiliB

Fox Chapel used to have a book called "Scroll Saw Castles on your scroll saw".... just checked... can't find it there... but Amazon still has it:
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Scroll-Saw-Castles-Make-Collapsible/dp/156523135X]Amazon.com: Scroll Saw Castles: How to Make Collapsible Castles on Your Scroll Saw (9781565231351): Jim Stirling: Books[/ame]


you can have a look inside there too, to get an idea.

Chances are artme is right... once you look closely you won't need a pattern.
Here are a bunch to look at:
Gallery | KinjaDesigns.com - Your source for collapsible castle gifts

It does seem important to find the right piece of wood , best with some bark still on it.

Happy Scrolling
Juvy

Hi Juvy
I'm glad to say that the key thing I needed, the correct term, opened up the net to search for collapsible castle information. It directed me back to a post earlier on the forum which talked about the history of the castles, as well as a video which showed a small snippet where the instructor made one.

It seems that Jim Sterling's book is the only one showing how to make these, and I have ordered this for Dave.

It will arrive sometime the week after next, and once we get some suitable wood, Dave will try his hand at making some. We will naturally post the results on the forum.

It appears our weekend drives will now be accompanied by a chain saw and handsaw, so that we can look for promising logs. It might become a bit of an obsession for a while. I have also ordered quite a nice little book on how to make scrollsawn baskets, which I'm quite excited about, so there will probably be some new baskets to look at soon too.

But, at the moment, the task of setting up the new workshop will continue, and once the room is set up properly, production will begin again in earnest.

Cheers
LiliB

The castles seem fun for a while... but they just sit and look neat... and intrugue people when you show them how they work.
The baskets are useful.... I found it's always a winner when you manage to combine fun, useful and good looking

Oh.. here's a tip..... sometimes it's difficult to picture how a basket will actually look like.... so what I do is I minimize it and use 1/4" or even thinner wood and make a mini version. ( little girls like those too!) It's fast, easy and cheap and gives a much better idea what the full version will be like or where there might be any problems.

The biggest one I have with them is to drill the holes for the nail/screw that holds the basket.... to get them straight...... if you don't.. the basket will not turn correctly. I wish I could tell you the secret.. but I haven't found a good way to do that yet.
The second problem I have is the sanding of the handle and the place where the basket has to turn... in order for it to have enough room to turn easy you have to round the edge over a lot. At least that's my experience... might be doing something wrong. If you find solutions... how about you post them here?

Juvy

Hi Juvy

Your baskets look lovely. I can imagine they'd be very popular.However, they are slightly different from the book I ordered.

The book I ordered is shown in the pic attached. I don't know what sort of problems will raise their heads, when Dave starts on them. However, he has a knack of being able to solve technical problems very well.

No wonder I used to refer to him as "The technical Department' when I was working!!

Cheers
LiliB

Oh yes... totally differnt basket.... I have some of those patterns but after looking at them I decided against them simply because they take an awful lot of wood. There's a new type out that sort of cuts them in half ... makes two out of each frames - hides the connection.. those are a little better.
They do look like real baskets tho... very pretty...

The ones I did fold flat... could be used as trivet... double the use is always good... but only sold one.. too much sanding to go into mass production.

Juvy

Good luck Libi with the baskets as in your book. I bought that book a while back thinking they wood be good to make but they didn't turn out very well and I have given up. As Juvy said they take up a lot of wood and I still have a lot of round bits sitting around doing nothing. Lucky I used pine and they havn't cost me an arm and a leg.

The biggest problem I found was the inside. The rings don't come together properly and as a reasult it takes away the workmanship. I suppose that could be overcome by putting them on the lathe but I just lost interest.

I put a couple out for sale and after a long time one sold. Lots of interest but no $

The castles look good but I have taken note of what Juvy has said

good luck

Red Gum

Awwwww guys, please don't take my word for it.... do give it a try yourself.
I didn't mean to discourage anyone. Everyone has different tastes and interests, what I find tedious someone else might love to do.
Do stand by what I said about the baskets taking too much wood tho.

As for all your little round bits..... you can always use them as bases for small clocks, or if nothing else cut them into little animal shapes and give to kids during shows.... or just to neighbour kids to play with

Juvy