Thread: Gatto Grader WIP

I must say that Gatto uses the smallest font you can cram onto a piece of paper. Before I started I enlarged the A4 plans to A3 and printed at work. Now I don't need my coke bottle glasses.

After ripping the stock I only managed to mark and cut out the first five components before my stomach got the better of me and the dish licka was annoying me for his dinner.

So here's the first instalment, mostly cut out on the table saw, bandsaw and disk sander. Holes with he bench drill. These pieces are yet to be sanded, which I'll do tomorrow and move on to the rear frame beam.

The Blue Gum made me a bit sneezy, something other Eucalypts haven't done before. Going to have to take some some extra precautions.

I've never showed much of my work on these forums as I feel quite humbled by the quality of work which is shown by other forum members. Saying that, I hope you like what I'm going to do.

A question though. This model is quite intricate and the attention to detail will need to be meticulous. Normally I finish (paint or lacquer) my model when I've finished. With the Grader, I'm not sure what to do. Do you think I'll have to finish each major component before I assemble?

The paint thing is upto the builder.The Gatto Graders I have seen finished have all been painted when finished by the look of them.I would paint as I go.It is just me. But I think it takes many hours more to paint as you go.These days I would use Wattle spray Satan in a can.

sjt...looking very good so far!! I'm in the process of finishing my Model T trio and having the same debate as you on order of finishing. So far I've cut and sanded all the pieces and checked for dry fit, etc. At this point I'm kind of doing glue-ups and finish as I go. I'll glue up a sub-assembly and then let it dry, finish it(I'm using beeswax/mineral oil for child safe finish) and then set it aside and glue/finish the next assembly. It's definitely taking about 3 days to do all the parts this way, but I'm getting a good finish and access to areas that would be hard to finish properly if fully assembled. Since I'm doing all three models at the same time, it's not too bad though.

G'Day Scott,
Surely a big project.
I'd encourage you to listen to Aussie as he advised Bret on his Scania Truck finishing and it came up a treat.
Wolf said it'll take you longer but I think the results will be so much better.
Looking forward to seeing your WIP Photos & reading your working notes, thank you.
Cheers, crowie

PS - Again great to see everyone helping each other.......

This looks like its going to be a great WIP. Look forward to watching this one.

Thanks Aussie and others for your invaluable advice. I was originally going to use WOP as the finish however the Wattle spray on will be the way to go. Also thanks for confirming my thoughts on finishing as I go Aussie.

It is a big project Crowie, it looks big on paper. I've already made a couple of boo boo's such as travelling a half a millimetre or so too far with the sled on the table saw and cutting the wrong side of the line. I put it down to "new project nerves". A cuppa fixed that.

Looking good Scott. I agree with Aussie and Wolf on the finishing part. It makes you kinda think ahead of what parts are glued and where and then you can do the finishing. It would have been impossible to finish the Scania once built. I didn't use rattle can though. I brush painted semi gloss poly with a 3/8" artist brush. I don't like to spray as I dont like overspray on everything. Either way you go I know it is going to look awesome. I have studied the Grader plans and at first it does seem daunting. But as you build sub assemblies it will all come together. Don't worry about mistakes I made plenty of them on my truck and my train. Keep the WIP coming.

Bret

Me Again
Bret saying he brushed his model made me do this post.
What I do if I want a top finish these days is What Bret says,But I put it on with a bigger brush I warm the paint in hot water for a few minutes.Brush it on and dont go over it.Being warm it flows into the grain and fills it better.
Then the fun starts,I let it dry hard.Usually a few days.When hard I rub it flat with various grades of paper including Micro Mesh.If grain is not filled I put another coat on ,and go through the rubbing again.When rubbed flat and scratch free I do a final coat.The final coat used to be wipe on Polly Now I use the spray Satan.It is easier.
All a lot of work.
I am now experimenting with a brand of spray can paint,that is made for grafitti painters,would you believe.It is thicker,dries very hard and you can get a lot of different nozzles for different jobs.Along with other advantages > wont name it here but if I know you I can email the www site to you
Never ending this finishing thing. Late last year I purchased an air brush and an air blaster (mini sand blaster) to play with.Havent got into them yet.
Here I go again.Waffling on again

sjt There's a lot to be said for finishing as you go. I've just finished this Toys & Joys lattice boom crane & I almost always spray lacquer as I usually let the differant timber give the colour contrast. This time I used a spray can of semi gloss polyurathane on the finished job ( big mistake ) first being too miserable to go out & buy a new 4litre can of 50% gloss lacquer. Second trying to get a nice finish without being able sand between coats with all the detail fittings on the project. The finish can sometimes be the achilles heel of the project after weeks of painstaking work. My timbers were recycled old red cedar & karie pine.

Originally Posted by sjt

Okay Bret et al, here it is, my Gatto Grader WIP.

The minister for everything has gone north for a couple of weeks with my two girls and I have the place to myself. As I work shift work I mainly have Thursdays and Fridays off so today was a good time to start this project. Not too hot like it has been lately. I bought the plans for the Grader before Christmas and I've had a good time to digest, convert dimensions and sort out a plan of attack.

https://www.woodworkforums.com/attach...1&d=1327571235

The plans recommended Cherry and Walnut as the choice of timber however because these are not common timbers around here I decided to use my stash of Sydney Blue Gum as a Cherry replacement and (maybe) some nice pieces of Merbau as a replacement for the Walnut. I think they should contrast against each other well. Because I only have 40mm thick stock, I had to rip and thickness the stock to 1/8, 1/4, 3/8, 1/2 and 5/8 inch thick:

https://www.woodworkforums.com/attach...1&d=1327571714

Now the fun begins!

Hi Scott
Great to see the Road Grader under way it's a lot more completcated than the the toys and joys one that I have started. You will have yours finished long before me at my work rate, which is about to get even slower as I am off to Soldiers Point Port Stephens for six weeks.
Can still stay in touch have wireless on lap top.
Colbra

LOOKING GREAT SCOTT

Thanks for the words of encouragement gents, I'm enjoying the feedback. I've eyed off that Toys and Joys Crane for a while Linesman and I think you've done absolute justice with that one, great job!

One of the things I like about this hobby is that you can shut yourself away and while away some time. Today was one of those days in the shed with the Cricket on the ABC from Adelaide and a nice day.

I managed to sand the Front Beam and glue together as per the plans. After which I grabbed a piece of my 3/4 stock and proceeded to mark out the Rear Frame Beam and drill the holes. This is one of the parts of the project I'm dreading as the marked out stock needs to be tacked to a sled and cut at a 15 degree angle (see image below). Not sure how my old 14" bandsaw is going to cope with this one. Glad I gave it a tart up before Christmas.

For what it's worth, I use an Incra T-Rule, a 0.5mm click pencil, and a steel rule with metric and imperial measurements on alternating sides to mark out. I also have an aluminium t-square which I've had since High School. I'm amazed the t-square has remained incredibly accurate over the last 20 years. I hate converting imperial to metric because I have so much trouble thinking in imperial (anything other than 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 has hair on it!!). Therefore everything is being converted to the nearest half millimeter.

It got to 3pm and I was sagging and not concentrating. Had a look at the temp inside the shed and it was 42 degrees (32 outside)! I gave up and had a Nanna nap on the couch. Hope you enjoyed the update. I'm back at work tomorrow for 4 days so not sure what I'll be able to update till then.

Originally Posted by AUSSIE

The final coat used to be wipe on Polly Now I use the spray Satan.It is easier.

Hi Aussie, when you say easier does applying a finish with the spray can mean an equal finish to the WOP?

Originally Posted by sjt

years. I hate converting imperial to metric because I have so much trouble thinking in imperial (anything other than 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 has hair on it!!). Therefore everything is being converted to the nearest half millimeter.

Hi Scott how would you go just using the imperial measurements you can easily purchase a set of brad point drills in those sizes and most on the measuring stuff has both metric and imperial unites it would save a lot of time and might be easier and quicker
When you have angles to join put small drop of super glue each end of the joint and then two part epoxy in the middle you can use elastic bands to hold things in place and a profile cut to the angle that your gluing acts as a brace till it dry’s I can help you with the wheels as well let me know when your on skype it’s a bit easier to explain
Hope this has been of some help
Col