During the many years that I have been modeling there is always the same question asked especially from newcomers of should I buy the modeling tools or should I make them. The first answer that I would give is are you confident in your ability to do the necessary metal work especially if you are going to make rakes, wire tools and to some extent steels. The other question that I would ask is, where are you situated in the world for buying the raw materials. If you are fortunate to live in the United States as I do then there is virtually an endless supply of companies who can supply the necessary materials to make these tools at a fraction of the price of buying them. The only trade off is, your time and possible the aesthetic look of the tool after you have made it compared to the purchased ones but there again you have the added knowledge of knowing that they are purpose built for your style of modeling.

For this purpose let’s look at modeling steels, these flat spring steel plates are the difference between a rough surface and a smooth surface in the hands of a competent modeler. With this particular tool in its various thicknesses and shapes, it will transform the sketched in model to a finished, smooth ready to go model for paint or Dinoc. As far as the overall look compared to the manufactured steel there is little difference, so for the purpose of making them there is plenty to gain.

To show you an example of the difference in cost, let’s take a steel that is 0.015″ thickness by 2 inches wide by 12 inches long, a relatively soft steel that you could use for a positive shaped or negative shaped surfaces. This steel if you were to purchase it from one of the tool suppliers would cost in the region of $11.00 – $25.00 depending on exchange rates but don’t forget shipping costs. Now this is but one steel so consider if you were also going to purchase a few shaped steels of the same material thickness, in no time you would be looking at $100.00. This material with aviation snips can be cut easily and these tools are available from most Home Depot centers so you don’t even have to have specialize equipment to cut the steel.

The cost of the actual blue finished spring steel from McMaster-Carr for a coil of 50 feet by 2 inches is $76.10, OK this is a considerable length of material but you can buy it in smaller lengths at a less attractive price. A smaller length of 10 feet by 2 inches is $30.89, plenty of material to make your straight and shaped steels and it has cost the price of one or two purchased steels. If you were to consider making most of your steels the cost saving would be enormous but there is still the time factor to take into consideration.

The one disadvantage would be the thickness that you would be able to cut with the aviation snips, at the best 0.020″ thickness before having to use heavy duty shears. The shaped steels would have to be finished on a sanding disc, preferably one for metal, although you could file to shape but the time involved may put pay to making your own. Either way, if you are on a tight budget this may be the best way of saving some hard earned cash.

The only option for many of these specialized tools is to construct them yourself and with the angle bracket this is no exception. To actually purchase a couple of metal aluminum or magnesium angle plates would cost quite a considerable amount of money, such as you would get from Norton Equipment Corp. The biggest problem is to find a supplier who has the size that would suit the task at hand at a reasonable cost. Initially that was what I had in mind but after considerable research I found that the cost was prohibitive for a project set for the garage, the setup is for hobby modelmaking and not industrial or commercial, so option two comes into play, make your own.

With making your own equipment the biggest factor is whether you are up to the task and do you have enough free time to get the job done. The material aspect of this project is a relatively small cost, it’s more a matter of woodworking skill.

John, aka “Geep” has enhanced the initial design by adding cut-outs in the webs to the angle head and lightening holes to the main spine of the bracket giving it a more purposeful look. The adjustment knobs have been taken to the next level, giving them a sprocket type feel with the use of a nice variety of hardwoods.The initial design is available via the link to plans above for anyone who wants to have a go as a download PDF.

One of the design issues at present is to add weight to the base of the angle plate to prevent it from toppling when in use. The use of plywood as the material of choice has the benefit of being light, easily worked and readily available but it doesn’t have the added/needed weight for stability when actually put to the test. The answer is to add additional weight to the base, be it as lead shot as John has suggested or affix an additional metal plate to the top of the base to provide more ballast.

Johns suggestion of routing out the underneath and filling with a mixture of lead shot and resin will retain the aesthetic look of the design but may present a additional problem of ensuring a flat base, be it only a slight problem. Additional care would have to be taken in the setup before pouring the resin/shot mix. My suggestion of affixing a plate on top of the base is the simpliest solution although not the most aesthetically pleasing. No doubt I will have to put more thought to this before deciding the best course.

Do you have any suggestions? Checkout the forum and add your solution there or post here. The best results always spring from combined thoughts.

Single cut files have been used for this very purpose for many years and the price for a smooth cut, single cut file can range from as little as $10.00 for an eight inch length to $30.00 for a fourteen inch length. My preference would be to spring for the longer length, as this can handle all the sharpening tasks on the steels in your arsenal.

I have in the past and still do use single cut files. This type of file is used primarily for the purpose of obtaining a clean finish on cured plastics, fiberglass, acrylics and polyesters, which makes it ideal for edge finishing because it is extra sharp. These single cut files when setup in a sharpening table configuration make it easy to manipulate a shaped steel against the file to produce a razor sharp edge. When I say sharpening table I’m referring to setting up the file at right angles to a flat plane such as in rebating a piece of wood and setting the file on edge. With a few rubber feet to stop the board from slipping you have a purpose made table for sharpening, be it just the length of the file.

The beauty of this setup is it’s a simple solution with good results. The only drawback is the burrs can leave larger scars than normal in the finished surface. This only becomes more apparent when the surface is dinoced and the film sucks into the surface. It doesn’t mean that the surface is incorrect but it can be a little off putting to the untrained eye.

There are several ways of reducing the amount of visual damage as such.

Re-dress the steel with an oil stone on each face to eliminate many of the larger burrs.

Use a sponge to brush the surface to close up the open cells of the clay giving a more uniform appearance that will transform through the dinoc.

Either way it will reduce the amount of “Show through” on the dinoc but generally this is not an issue when reviewed at a distance. The whole purpose of a dinoc review is to study the form, then if the design is acceptable then the model can move on to the next level.

For me these files work great in a combination with the DMT® sharpening system, giving the best of both worlds. It is the sharpness of the steel that will make the art of surfacing easier without the fight to make the steel cut. A blunt steel will lead to more unwanted surface blemishes than the scars left by a sharp steel. Remember, sharpness is the key.

The bottom line is, the cutters are going to be changed more frequently than before and the cutting feed will have to be that much slower to avoid cutter bounce especially with any cut that is on the deep side. That being said, what does it mean for hand tools that are being used on this hard clay.

During my time using this clay I am finding that the tools are being sharpened more frequently than before and for me the best sharpening medium so far is by DMT®, Diamond Machining Technology.

Previously, before I had diamond stones I use to rely on Swiss files, oil stones and wet and dry paper to produce the edge that I needed. These methods are still valid but as far as being convenient the diamond stone is far less messy. Admittedly you still need to file in the teeth on your steels and rakes, be it more often now but using an oil stone requires oil to prevent the stone from clogging from the filings. With DMT® the steels are sharpened dry and to remove clogging to the fine diamond coating it is a simple case of washing with water and removing the clogged area with a stiff brush.

With the DMT®s lighter weight and smaller size, it will takes up minimal room in your tool box or traveling case which is an important aspect for contract modelers. The weight of both the DuoSharp® and the Diafold® will probably weigh the same as a small oilstone but giving the advantage of sharpening everything from steels to finishers, certainly beneficial when weight consideration is a major factor with the plus factor of no mess from oil.

What is your take on sharpening preferences, do you think this is the best method at present?

On receiving the items he was surprised to find out that they had been milled from aluminum extruded stock, the type of aluminum that is used for double glazed window frames. This type of aluminum is not the hardest grade but being purchased from a reputable supplier and coupled with German craftsmanship, he never questioned it but he did have his reservations. Generally you would never question the materials used or the workmanship, as in all German made equipment it is usually of the highest standard. These clay mice were machined nicely but would they stand up to the use on hard industrial styling clays, afterall they were manufactured for that very purpose.

The cost of these two items were 25.00 Euro’s for the small mouse (32.00 USD) and 33.00 Euro’s for the large mouse (42.50 USD) so the actual monies that were paid for these items was close to $100.00 with tax and shipping cost. When you consider that Industrial Clay Tool manufacture the same items made from steel, brazed together for strength and anodized for protection and aesthetic looks at a cost of an extra $50.00 then maybe the extra cost would be worthwhile. They are manufactured in the USA but the only drawback is you usually have to wait a while for them to be shipped. These tools tend to have a waiting period because of the popularity amongst the sculptors. They are what I call “The industries benchmark.”

OK, the small mouse from Industrial Clay Tool is $56.67 and the large one is $83.33, these can be purchased through Kochi Corporation who acts as the vendor for Industrial Clay Tool as they have no website of their own. My own clay mice are 20 years old and they have been used on the hardest clays known and have yet to let me down.

The only visual thing with my mice is it appears that the anodizing is rubbed thin with a little rust showing now and again due to handling.

With his return to the studio my colleague shows us his latest purchase and we all agree that it’s a little disappointing that they were made from extruded aluminum but we thought they would do the job nevertheless. I myself have made the same type of mouse from aluminum T-bar stock and have found it to work quite satisfactory, maybe not as nice in the visual stakes as the Kolb tools but even so the dimensions are very similar. This is what I use to use before the purchase of the steel equivalent and I still keep it, just incase I happen to misplace my steel mouse. I have made the steel type mouse using the Industrial Clay Tool mouse as a guide which you can see on my Claysculptors website.

With the projects mounting up in the studio the new tools were soon put to the test. This particular instance was to cut in the cowl line on a 1/3 scale model, not a big job by any means just a case of releaving the clay and extending the glass plane forward. For this task he was going to use the large mouse because the depth was at the maximium point for the small mouse. The clay we are using is Chavant I307, a reasonably hard clay that can be milled with good results and finished to a high level.

On the first cut to the cowl line the large clay mouse promptly folded over to the astonishment of my colleague making the tool totally worthless, with no chance of straightening the cutting face without snapping the clay mouse completely. From that moment, the high regard for these particular tools hit rock bottom and confirmed his first impression. The material was not strong enough to meet the task at hand.

For me, what comes to mind is, why didn’t Kolb state what grade of aluminum was used to make the tools. Nowhere on the website does it state the material used for the clay mouse even though you can clearly see that it is some kind of aluminum extrusion. There are so many grades of aluminum, from the very soft to the very hard that a quick statement indicating what is used can easily be looked up on the internet so that the buyer can determine whether the product is a good deal.

Needless to say the company has been contacted about this inferior product and my colleague is awaiting the outcome. Hopefully it will be resolved to everyones satisfaction.