derek Posted December 10, 2015 Report Share Posted December 10, 2015 So forgive my terrible explanation of what im trying to achieve here. So i want to build a display board around a 3x2 with slots in it for models to sit in. Idea is the bases are flush with the board so their bases would match whatever is on the display board. General idea is ill need a thick piece of wood some added stuff for flavor. Only problem im facing atm is how do i go about cutting said slotted holes in wood ive not a clue on power tools and stuff that would probably be used in this process. I want to add a sheet of metal in the board to magnatize my models so they dont pop out of place at the drop of a bad luck situation. I have a few kind of ideas about this in that i would take a thin piece of wood glue or screw down the sheet of metal then add a second layer of thin wood to hold metal in place and to hide it from site. Then add things for the diroama effect. Any help would be great and i apologize for the absolute wall of text. The Internet so far has provided no results for what im in search of 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy Posted December 10, 2015 Report Share Posted December 10, 2015 If you're set on using wood and I assume the slots you want are rounds, you need either a forstner bit or a hole bit for a drill. Preferably you'd use a drill press to plunge the bit into the wood and you could control depth while maintaining a perfect 90 degree angle. You can also use a hand drill with either, but you need to be careful about keeping it straight. Make sure the wood piece you're drilling is clamped securely, or your bit may snag and drag it. Forstner bits are much better, they create less tear away and cut more flush to the wood. They're more like router bits that cut vertically down. Hole bits are just used to drill...holes, but they basically just punch through whatever you're drilling through and aren't designed for a great deal of precision depth. Either comes in a variety of sizes. Alternatively if you don't want to acquire any specialized tools or bits, you could probably use a good dimensionally stable wood as a base (to prevent warping), and cut out your slots in a piece of foam core sheet, then laminate that on top. Once it's flocked, you probably wont be able to really tell it's foam core. If you're laminating a metal sheet in there, then you can't use wood glue to adhere it to wood (metal is non-porous); you would need some other type of epoxy. You could also just cut out circles from a metal sheet and glue them into your slots. This would be easier with a soft metal sheet you can cut with scissors with that degree of small precision like...maybe thin brass. Alternatively you could just countersink individual rare earth magnets into each slot, or even iron nail heads or tacks, but I would check that the hold is good enough for your purposes first. I would also consider weight. Even with just the display board, the pounds are going to add up fast with the wood, metal, etc. Plus the mountain of minis you'll be putting on it. Find some handles in the hardware section that you like and secure them to your board for easy handling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romans832 Posted December 10, 2015 Report Share Posted December 10, 2015 FYI many love using Styrofoam as it's super light weight and you can do a thin piece of wood under for durability. (Both of which I have sitting in my apartment never being touched) :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy Posted December 10, 2015 Report Share Posted December 10, 2015 Sorry, to clarify - the suggestion on laminating foam core to the wood base, I'm just saying "cut out the slots all the way through that sheet with a razor blade, glue that down to the wood, flock the surface to taste". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justjokin Posted December 10, 2015 Report Share Posted December 10, 2015 I used a cheap hand drill, and a few hole saws on a piece of MDF and glued it to another piece of MDF the same size. Both were less than 1/4 inch thick. Put a piece of sheet metal in there and you are good to go for magnetizing. The drill is certainly on the low end of the power tools spectrum. The hole saws can be as simple as a conversation with the guy at the hardware store with a few sample bases in your hand. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brick Bungalow Posted December 13, 2015 Report Share Posted December 13, 2015 I really recommend foam core for display boards. The stuff you would get for a high school science collage. If you make it three or four layers thick and seal it well it is very strong and weighs very little. You can cut it with virtually anything that is sharp. As long as you have a contiguous perimeter of 3 plus layers it will hold any amount of weight. Mine held an all metal dwarf infantry army without any flex whatsoever. Keeping it lightweight will make it last longer. A heavy display board is not only a bummer to haul around it will tend to chip and wear and far faster. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMGraham Posted December 14, 2015 Report Share Posted December 14, 2015 What game system? Round bases or square bases or square unit blocks? What's your price range? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek Posted December 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2015 40k army looking at 100 to 250 models at a minimum for an ork army Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChaosGerbil Posted December 16, 2015 Report Share Posted December 16, 2015 Sometimes corkboard is worth looking into. 100-250 is a huge amount of models to fit on a board, let alone do cutouts for bases. Cutout displays are more popular and easier to move, but you can just do some flat terrain / cork "rock" sheets and it works out okay. Foamcore over wood, definitely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pretre Posted December 17, 2015 Report Share Posted December 17, 2015 Yeah, the time taken to get them in the right hole as well at an event would be crazy. Put washers on the bottom of them and use a magnetic sheet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek Posted December 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2015 Yea was probably gonna make this to hard of a project so imstead gonna just make terrain for a board i have and use that the board is awkward though when going around the guardian cup lets say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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