Fixing A Mistake...
I Left You a couple of weeks ago, Dear Readers, with the comment that "All" I had to do was repeat the just described window process for the final large window with the opening lower panes. I had it all figured out! I charged ahead with confidence of easy success. The frames were already cut and just needed the glass panes prepared.
The glass panes were quickly cut and the leading added.
The window opening was cut to receive the hinges and holes drilled.
The hinges went on with no trouble at all!
I had decided to begin with the left hand window pane
as it would be more challenging to hold it in place
while screwing the hinges into it...
with nothing behind it to push against...
and my hand awkwardly in the way...
The frame was prepared for the glass...
The holes were drilled...
But when I tried to screw it into place,
I could not get the screws to grip the wood well enough
to tighten down on the hinges!
and the holes would need to be filled and re-drilled!
I tried using "wood putty" hole filler...
(see the frame on the left above)
But it was not strong enough for the screws to grab it either.
Here you can see the puttied holes re-drilled....
Alas, they were still too loose.
So then I tried filling the holes with toothpicks....
But they were still not "tough enough" to grab the screws.
I needed small dowels....
and discovered that the tip ends of spindles
were the right size if I whittled them a little bit!
This all took days and days...
waiting for the glue to dry before re-drilling....
And I discovered that the screws in the
newer packages of hinges were a tiny bit
smaller in width than the older kind.....???!!!
No wonder it was too loose with the drill bit I used!
With the smaller bit it needed a lot of "torque"
to get it all the way screwed in.
The only way to get enough pressure applied
was to remove the Great Hall Door panel...
Lay it flat on the work table with support for the window pane....
And put my weight into the screws!
One by one I got them tightened all the way !
The hinges no longer wiggle on the screws!
I reattached the Great Hall Door panel....
And proceeded to complete the rest of the window...
First attaching the interior frame in the wall opening...
Then gluing the outer frame with the upper glass panel in place.
And "All" this took, Dear Readers,
was about ten days of trying and trying again...!
But I got it done!
And it wasn't the hinges fault....
The tricky part was in the screws!
That is so frustrating Betsy!! I am glad you persevered and finally got the windows attached (and worked out why it was such a problem), but still, frustrating!!
ReplyDeleteOMG, that is so annoying!!! And so you wére well prepared and in the right way and it should have (and would have) been easy as you rightfully expected, if only those screws would have been the same, sigh..... It's weird isn't it and not something to look for or check of course, because: WHY?? Lol :D (well, not so funny for you, poor you, I can imagine you wrecked your brain why it continued to be too loose).
ReplyDeleteBut you did it and I'm so proud of you because you did a great job! And I love how you found different ways to solve this little conundrum. Also, the more things required of us - time, patience, perseverence etc - the more sense of victory once we succeed right? Well, you have every reason to feel very victorious!! Comes with the territory of being a miniaturist as it is, right? Always something going completely different in several ways, taking forever to get right or correct etc, hahaha ;). I wish you a great week Betsy, Monique
Oh, that must have been so frustrating, Betsy! But you accomplished you task and they look wonderful! I'm sure all the dollhouse people gave you a round of applause!
ReplyDeleteMy, I missed three posts...(I had to stay away from my computer for a while due to some extra arm trouble) - and most of all... a post about hinges AND frustrationn caused by hinges!!! But wait... it's not the hinges' fault - the blame is on the drill holes! Phew... what a relief!!!
ReplyDeleteBut without any more weird hinges humour - I'm sorry this task gave you so much trouble... even more as it was the least you ever expected. The things you tried to fill your holes alone tell a tale of trouble. However, there's another tale we all can contribute a few chapters to - the tale of things never going the way we expected and trouble coming along when we were not prepared for it. I'm sorry you had to spend so much time, effort and work for finally attaching those windows. However, what counts in the end is: Working hinges!!! Deep bow to the Queen of hinges who always finds a way! ;O)
Hugs
Birgit