It has been a long haul, but the light at the end of the tunnel is starting to get brighter, but there is still a way to go. For many of you that put your trust in me over a year ago and paid for their stowage bin it has been a long wait, some of it out of my hands and some of the delays on my side due to taking on other projects before this one was completed. However to maintain my business I had no alternative and I hope you will understand the reason for the delay from the following post.
Before I get into that there is a product named solder paste I found that I would like to pass onto you all. This is very simple to use with great effect when soldering brass and other non-ferrous metals. A company named Solder-it offer the paste in a syringe for easy application. They also offer Solder-it for Aluminum and Pot metal (white metal), I have not had the chance to test the aluminum and pot metal solder-it but if it works as well as the regular Solder-it it will be an asset to any modeler.
If you have never tried soldering, this is easy. Just apply the paste to a joint, heat and your joint is soldered.
Here is the link to their website: http://www.solder-it.com/
Back to the stowage bin. This has been a headache from the start and I want to explain the problems I encountered, solutions and hope you will all understand the reason for the long production time of this product. The main reason for all the problems was I tried to make it to accurate and detailed. The first major problem was the photo-etching of all the rivet holes on the parts and expecting them to line up, after three failed attempts at photo-etching I gave up on this and only etched the holes in most cases on one part, this meant that parts had to be soldered together and then the holes drilled to except the rivets. There are around 230 rivets in the stowage bin with close to 200 of them requiring the hole to be drilled. During assembly these rivets are hand placed and riveted or soldered.
Another problem to solve was the interior angle brass in the lids to form the recess for the water tight seal. Each lid has four angle parts, one of them curved and each one has to be cut at the correct length with a right angle at each end. To do this by hand would be near impossible with accuracy. I have recently found a mini cut off saw that can be set at angles and has a stop so cut parts are all the same length.
The bin lid hinges also posed a problem in finding suitable ones of the correct size and thickness in all brass as they had to be soldered in place. Having spent the best parts of a year looking for them with no success I decided to make my own, these have been made and the problem solved.
Final major problem was how to hold rows of rivets in place so they could be soldered without doing them one at a time. The solution was solder paste, Kaplon tape and a soldering station. For those that have purchased the bin as a kit, solder paste and Kaplon tape are a must. A soldering station cost around $750.00 so this would only be advisable it you have many other soldering projects, a simple soldering iron will work. Kaplon tape is a heat resistant tape that will work up to temperatures of 500 degrees and can be removed without leaving any residue on the part. Solder paste melts at less than 400 degrees. The use of these products are explain below.
Link for Kaplon tape: http://www.uline.com/Browse_Listing_640 ... code=WE491
Link for solder station: http://www.americanbeautytools.com/site/
This past week I spent 14 hours assembling the first stowage bin, during this time I was taking photographs for the assembly instructions and also figuring out the best way to assemble the bin. I estimate that assembling the bins 6 to 10 at a time will relate to 6 to 8 hours per bin. I will be sending all those that have ordered a bin a e-mail about the production process over the next two months. If you have a bin on order and do not receive this e-mail by March 3, please contact me.
Following are pictures and short explanations of the bin assembly.
1. The Kit
2. Parts for the bin top.
3. Hand riveting parts of the bin top.
4. Bin top tabs and sides bent into place.
5. Soldering rivets in side panel, these should not be riveted as the side panel is .010" thick and rivets will twist and deform side panel. Rivets are held by Kaplon tape, solder paste applied to base of rivet and soldered.
6. Fitting side panels to bin top. Two rivet holes are marked and drilled in bin top tabs, panel is attached with two rivets. Panel is curved and clamped in place and soldered at both ends.
7. End panels are clamped and soldered in place.
8. When panel is soldered, each rivet hole is drilled using a .032" drill.
9. Rivets are put in place and held by Kaplon tape.
10. Solder paste applied to base of rivet and soldered.
11. Rivets cut short to solder point.
12. External view with rivets fitted.
13. Bin base with tabs and sides folded.
14. Assembling bin recess for turret lift point. All decorative rivets held by Kaplon tape, soldered and cut short.
15. Recess box folded, soldered and drill to clear rivet holes.
16. Recess box rivets held by Kaplon tape, soldered and cut short.
17. Fitting recess box to bin top. Having done this I decided it better to fit the box when first assembling the bin top. Instructions will reflect this.
18. Drill rivet holes and solder rivets in place.
19. Soldering side panels to base. This required a simple jig and a piece of Teflon or wood. Solder paste applied to each tab and sides of bin base. The front panel is pushed against tabs and soldering iron applied to tab from the inside of the bin.
20. Side panels soldered in the same way.
21. Base interior soldered.
22. Fitting bin access ridge for water tight seal. This is 1/6" x 1/64" brass bar. It is bent and cut to shape for each access. Solder paste applied to ridge grove, wipe away access paste using a cotton bud leaving only paste in the grove. This will stop access solder forming on the bin surface.
23. Ridge clamped in place and soldered. Hint, do not apply solder iron to ridge as it will burn it, apply heat to bin top.
24. Assembled bin latches.
25. Assembled bin lids
26. Bin lids, hinges and latches fitted.
27. Fitting the rear panel, all tabs and side bent into place.
28. Self tapping screws fitted to parts as shown, then holes drilled in top and bottom tabs for remaining screws.
29. Finished bin with turret securing plates fitted. Bottom bin brackets to be marked and fitted when fitting bin to turret.
I hope you have all found this informative and gives you an idea of what is involved in producing a product like this. My hat is off the those that design and build a complete tank in metal.
Having now established a time frame for completing these bins I have decided that the price of a fully assembled bin will be raised in the future. I am not taking any more orders for them until I establish a new price. The bin as a kit price will remain the same. Assembling the bin will be a challenge for most modelers with hours of enjoyment.
Mike
