kemck

Well thanks guys. Encouraging that there are options. I'm just worried that every connection at least in the upper level is going to go like this! Fingers crossed. At least there are some things to try now.

Hi everyone, It has been a few years since I've been on the forum. I was working on wiring the Arthur, ran into a frustration point, and life got busy, but... time to finish this project (or at least make progress again!). To avoid trying to pound an eyelet into the weak upstairs wall of the Arthur I tried using a manual drill someone suggested, but the eyelet connections are really loose and there is not electrical connection in the joined wire because I couldn't hold the drill steady enough (I did try to use the block of wood that came with the drill for support). Is there anything I can do to salvage the connection I tried to make or do I have to try to make another one? If I do have to re-do it how can I avoid the same mistake in the future? Thanks!

I used wood glue, and wasn't pounding hard at all. The upper wall just isn't held in by much at this point since the joint with the lower wall is just a straight line and the joint with the side walls also doesn't stick into any other wood part like the other walls and floors do. The roof is not complete yet, because I want to add the wallpaper before I secure it in place. I'm sure having a secured roof would add stability to the wall, but since this is my first time installing wallpaper too I'm hesitant to complete the roof at this stage. If you add staples how do you trim or hide them on the inside of the wall?

Hi everyone, I'm sure this may have come up before, but I haven't found it in my search so here goes- When I started trying to add tape wire and hammer in eyelets in the back wall of my Arthur, I noticed that the glue began to come loose around the walls, and I have been stalled on my build ever since. Does anyone have ideas for how to keep the back walls that are less structurally integrated stable when hammering on the house? I'm very stuck. I don't want to permanently damage the house. I thought about wiring mostly from the floor which seems more stable, but I'd also like a ceiling light in one of the upper rooms and porch lights, so will need to solve this problem eventually! Thanks for any ideas!

Aww... I miss that house! I had it as a kid. Yours looks great!

I found cutting things square much harder than just cutting straight, and I learned the hard way how not to do it. I started making some mini furniture earlier this year and thought it would be no problem to just cut along the lines I traced from pattern using a razor saw. I spent weeks cutting out all the pieces and in the end I don't think a single piece of the 20 I cut actually went together like it was supposed to. I did a lot of sanding and guess work, and I've temporarily abandoned that particular project... However, I've since found a really helpful set of instructions on a blog, and I've had much more luck with recent projects. The blog author goes by "George the Miniguy" and I was able to find post with the instructions that helped me get started- http://tallminiguy.blogspot.com/2010/02/back-to-basics.html

Hello everyone, I'm in the middle of my first build (Santa's workshop in an Arthur) and have some project specific questions about the order of next steps. I have built the house as far as adding the front portion of the roof (but not the gable roof or the cutaway part that looks into the house, and I have not built the porch yet. I do not plan to add the stairs between the floors so that I will have more space for decorating. Here are some other plans specific to my questions- -I plan to add electricity (tapewire) and plan to add a few outlets inside and then a few outside so I can add Christmas light strings. I don't plan to add any lights or outlets on the roof/ceiling of the upper floor -I plan to brick the exterior -I'm terrified of wallpapering- (especially the upper floor with all those fancy angles!) since I've never done it before Here are my questions- 1) Can I do my tapewire and wallpaper now before I add the rest of the roof? Or is it better to wait? (again- I'm not planning on adding lights on the ceiling, just putting in a couple outlets along the walls of the upper rooms) 2). It seems to me like one would want to brick (and by extension add tapewiring) where the porch is going in before attaching the porch. Does this sound right? Thanks for any advice! Kim

Oopse posted twice.

Endless possibilities for things to create and no deadlines or pressure! I spend all day taking care of or teaching small children and it's nice to have some quiet project time away from everyone at the end of the day. Also I'm randomly obsessed with looking at real estate listings online, and now I can call it research...

Fountain pens made of casein plastic are really nice and often really pretty because the plastic takes dye really well. They have held up well over time much better than the celluloid stuff from before which is almost all stained (My dad repairs old fountain pens as a hobby, and I remember seeing lots of stained celluloid). I don't know if casein plastic stains also, but I don't remember this as distinctly. I bet this video is showing a try at home version of a complex process though. As I've looked at some more websites I keep reading about casein plastic taking a full year to cure, whereas this sample was let to sit for 2 days. Really cool though. I hadn't realized that's how it was made.

Thanks everyone, I'm feeling a bit better now. I had my husband fit it with me, and it just took two people to get things lined up, though the front roof had to gap to make the back go together. (phew). I do have one more tab to cut down in the back, but I'm more encouraged now. I may just have to wait to glue those back roofs at the center. You did that, Holly, right? Did you have to do anything special to get them to stay?

Hello, I've been reading all the construction blogs on the Arthur. Many show the roof magically appearing or show it easily going together. Mine is not going together at all now, and has been a challenge from the first dry fit. I finally (thought I) had things working, and to be forward thinking I had dry fit the back roof to the house every time I glued other parts of the house together, thinking this would ensure that it fit later. (I may or may not have put this part on upside down by accident during the early stages, so maybe that messed things up??) Well it doesn't fit now. On my current dry fit of the roof (the main part of the house is assembled and glued) I can place the front roof together with one of the two sides lying flat on the gable and the other a little raised (not sure what's preventing the other from lying flat , but that's a smaller issue), and they meet nicely in the middle. Anyway, If I then add on the back roof I can only get 1 or 2 of the tabs to line up at any one time with their respective slots (3 if you count the tab that the center wall goes in) and the others are always about 1/4 inch from where they need to be, and if I manage to get one tab in slot on each side the front roof pops apart (so I'm guessing I shouldn't glue that seam at this stage during my particular build??. Ideas?? Also, (sorry this is getting long) I'm planning to add electric, and wondered if I don't put lights on the ceiling in the upper floor,is it too early to do now and then wallpaper with the roof off, or am I likely to damage things if I tried given that the house may shift while I fiddle with the roof and porch etc. Thanks for any advice! Kim

Thanks for the detailed advice, Sable! I'm feeling more confident to try it now!

Yes! That's what I was trying to say, they always seem to curl at the bottom in pictures! I'm a little nervous about the 15 minute work time with the liquid nails glue. do you focus on the edges or cover the whole surface?