More detailed technique info for shaping small metal parts...

[projectologist]

Also a little warning... when I said the following in my CG mod post...

"I've found it easy to replicate this by taking a small diameter wood dowel and wrap a small piece of polishing cloth (I used a Tiger cloth) and running it along just the edge at a 45° angle to the CG body. This is after I've knocked down the edge sharpness a litte doing the same with 1200 grit wet/dry."

I forgot to clarify in my last sentence that the same didn't mean using a dowel or any round object like a screwdriver with sandpaper to take down the edge a little prior to polishing.

You need a more stable platform to do this task. I suggest cutting strips of the appropriate grit and securing them to a craft stick with double-sided carpet tape as pictured below.

Bending wet/dry around a small dowel or similar can risk putting micro kinks in the paper as well as offer a very small surface area of contact. If you use the slightest bit of too much pressure, the sharp edge of the CG body can potentially start cutting through the sandpaper (the carpet tape offers a small amount of give). The goal is to stroke the edge (I know, don't go there) as evenly as possible and in one direction only, never back and forth (I said don't go there).

Buy a box of craft sticks and you'll have a lifetime supply of a very handy tool. I make up a variety micro files with these on a regular basis. I lay out strips of 2" carpet tape and then lay down different size strips/different grits. After that I cut them out and stick them to the sticks.

Not just for impromptu files... you can carve them down to tweezer-shaped points and use them with Rodico to place screws and tabs when installing movements (or picking them out of the movement). Lots of other uses as they will never scratch metal surfaces.

Same concept as originally suggested to me by w0lf using a paint stirring stick for a broader file surface... in the case below, 320 grit/carpet tape for a perfect Pre-V CG brushed finish. I learned the hard way that you'll never get the crisp desired result applying a brushed finish holding the sandpaper with only your fingers.

[mikellem]

Hey I,

Excellent tutorial..

Thanks,

MM

[Utheman]

Nice tutorial! Do you use them to shape crown guards as well?

[projectologist]

Nice tutorial! Do you use them to shape crown guards as well?

Yes, the larger one in the last pic for the CG body.

The smaller file was in reference to the mod in this post... http://www.rwg.cc/topic/143410-the-CG-mod-nobody-talks-about

[lfovco]

That's so awesome, and this is one of many things why rep world is so much more fun then Gen world

[paneraitom]

Thanks bob, you are a wealth of knowledge!