TOS Tri-Viewer Pyramid and Body

As with many of my projects, there is a lot of trail and error. What will often work perfectly in my mind does not translate to the real world. Sometimes I just forget a piece of information, which ends up being my undoing.

Case in point.

My plan was to construct a template out of styrene in the shape of the pyramid, then slush cast resin in it to get the final shape. The factors at work here are the styrene is very easy to work with, it's very easy to get a high degree of precision with, and best of all, resin does not bond to it.

I very quickly put together this master form, after making a few cardboard prototypes to make sure I got the overall shape right.



The thing I forgot is that the resin I'm using heats up a lot when it cures, and heat warps styrene :( The piece I produced was very decent, but was warped a bit too much for my liking.



So it was back to the drawing board, though this time I was committed to using a material I had more faith in. MDF.

Here I've cut out the pieces using the same templates I used for the styrene.



Here's the MDF all taped together and being glued.



Here's the underside, with a bead of wood glue on it that is drying.



I also did some work on the main body. One of my dimensions changed slightly, so I re-cut the walls. I used my belt sander to bevel the edges. This way the pieces will fit together better at final assembly.



I would say things are going very well with this project. The only thing really remaining that could be problematic is the base, but I think I have that all worked out. (Please re-read the first paragraph of this post right now)