Garfield - question about tabs and gluing

[iwishtofish]

Holly is using the stapler effectively on Greenleaf kits, so the wood is the same as in your Garfield.

Pickets are on fences, balusters are on railings.

Ok, I understand. Just couldn't picture it.

"Consider staining or painting your stairs and railings before assembling.

Please don't ask me how I know this is such a great idea. sigh ...."

I think a lot of us know why you said that. Thanks for the laugh.

Everyone except me, perhaps! ;)

Since holly only prefers to build Greenleaf and Corona Concepts kits, I use those staples on 1/8" and 3/16" plywood quite effectively, thank you.

Are these from a typical staple gun?

[Selkie]

She was meaning that she understood that I had most likely had a terrible mess/disaster doing the stairs and, no doubt, it happened more than once. It was not something I was very proud of. Kinda the red cheek embarassememt, hanging head, scuffling feet sort of incident.

Btw, unfortunately repeated mistakes are my specialty!! I have a reputation ... sigh .... (Hangs head and scuffles away)

[iwishtofish]

She was meaning that she understood that I had most likely had a terrible mess/disaster doing the stairs and, no doubt, it happened more than once. It was not something I was very proud of. Kinda the red cheek embarassememt, hanging head, scuffling feet sort of incident.

Btw, unfortunately repeated mistakes are my specialty!! I have a reputation ... sigh .... (Hangs head and scuffles away)

I'm fairly certain we'll have that in common.

[GirlPiper]

I use a heavy duty stapler to hold edges together whilst glue dries, since they'll get covered later by whatever I use for exterior treatments.

I have also learned the hard way to paint and stain stair parts before assembly. I don't stain both sides of the risers and only the backside of the front edge of the treads, and I don't paint the edges of the stringers where the treads and risers attach: http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/index.php?app=gallery&image=13781 and http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/index.php?app=gallery&image=13782

Why would you stain them different colors? I haven't seen real life stairs stained different colors.

Here in the Midwest, the risers are often painted, the spindles, too, with stained treads and handrails. In lumberjack/furniture country, different woods were used for the spindles, newels, treads and risers, and the same color stain on the diverse wood changes the color. (Just south of Grand Rapids, home of many fine furniture and wood turnings since the 1850's.)

[havanaholly]

...Are these from a typical staple gun?

Like this one:

[iwishtofish]

I think I have a similar staple gun. Will have to look for staples. Thanks for the picture.

[iwishtofish]

Got motivated and tackled the stairs while I'm waiting for my replacement foundation piece to arrive in the mail. Finding it really tough to separate the wood when it's not scored through very well:

Snapped the tips off a couple razor blades, but figured out how to minimize both that and damage to the wood from poor technique.

And finally. Now to sand and then tackle the treads and railings. Any tips on sanding these tiny places?

Also, if linking to my Photobucket photos like this is a no-no, please let me know! I'm not always very good at finding the forum rules...

[Selkie]

Emory/nail boards or tiny metal files work well.

[KathieB]

And finally. Now to sand and then tackle the treads and railings. Any tips on sanding these tiny places?

I like to use emery boards that I split in two lengthwise. They make handy sanding sticks and can be purchased in large packages for not much money in the cosmetic sections of dollar stores, drug stores, etc.

Edit: Selkie, get out of my head! :lol:

[iwishtofish]

I like to use emery boards that I split in two lengthwise. They make handy sanding sticks and can be purchased in large packages for not much money in the cosmetic sections of dollar stores, drug stores, etc.

Edit: Selkie, get out of my head! :lol:

That's a great idea! Now, where might my wife keep those??

[mk56]

An xacto knife works well to help 'recut' the individual pieces of the dollhouse. Like, kind'a cut it out not punch it out. I read this somewhere on the 'Net in the last couple o'days.

[havanaholly]

I use a Stanley utility knife with retractable blades that I replace frequently. They are great for coxing those die-cut pieces to come out. Buy you own emery boards.

[iwishtofish]

An xacto knife works well to help 'recut' the individual pieces of the dollhouse. Like, kind'a cut it out not punch it out. I read this somewhere on the 'Net in the last couple o'days.

I did buy some xacto blades, but I have yet to find the handle for them. I do find that cutting out the pieces works best.

I use a Stanley utility knife with retractable blades that I replace frequently. They are great for coxing those die-cut pieces to come out. Buy you own emery boards.

Haha, I did buy some today - don't worry. I don't think my wife uses them anyway. I also bought some paint and paint brushes. Already have the latex primer for the areas I'll paint, as the instructions recommend "sealing" the wood with that (excepting areas to be stained).

[mk56]

You're goin' to town! I bet it's gonna be pretty. Can't wait to see pictures.

[iwishtofish]

You're goin' to town! I bet it's gonna be pretty. Can't wait to see pictures.

Thanks! Hopefully I'll have something to show soon. I really hope that foundation piece doesn't take too long to get here, although these stairs might take me a while.

[iwishtofish]

I'm realizing that I'm going to have to do a lot better job sanding on the staircase pieces if they are going to look any good finished. And I'm not even done punching out all the pieces for the 1st floor staircase! Unfortunately some pieces were worse quality material than others and will take a lot more work.

Looking at Gina's Garfield build blog (thanks again for that link, Lene [moonberry]) really helps a lot with ideas on how to finish the pieces and seeing how they'd look with a combination of stain and paint. I'm also able to see in advance how they fit in the house and what surfaces face which room. Invaluable stuff for a visual person such as myself.

I'm leaning toward painting the bottom wall portion of the staircase white (since I probably won't be wallpapering), and staining everything above. I'm having difficulty deciding if a different stain should be used for the flooring of the rooms to provide some contrast with the staircase stain. Having trouble visualizing this.

Well, back to punchout and sanding (R & P, as Greenleaf says)!

[KathieB]

I'm realizing that I'm going to have to do a lot better job sanding on the staircase pieces if they are going to look any good finished. And I'm not even done punching out all the pieces for the 1st floor staircase! Unfortunately some pieces were worse quality material than others and will take a lot more work.

Well, back to punchout and sanding (R & P, as Greenleaf says)!

Sometimes sanding isn't enough. To fill in the tiny chinks and splinters, rub the edges with a bit of Spackle or wallboard mud/joint compound. It fills in the cavities and with gentle sanding when completely dry will make a surface that feels like silk.

Also keep in mind that a photo will pick up irregularities that the human eye won't see.

[havanaholly]

I wait to install stairs, windows and doors until I've decorated where they're to go. I dry fit the shell to se how it goes together and that's usually when the house begins to tell me specifically what it wants. Once I start the build I dry fit sections. Dry fitting helps me because I;m visual, too.

[iwishtofish]

Sometimes sanding isn't enough. To fill in the tiny chinks and splinters, rub the edges with a bit of Spackle or wallboard mud/joint compound. It fills in the cavities and with gentle sanding when completely dry will make a surface that feels like silk.

Also keep in mind that a photo will pick up irregularities that the human eye won't see.

Thanks for that tip!

I wait to install stairs, windows and doors until I've decorated where they're to go. I dry fit the shell to se how it goes together and that's usually when the house begins to tell me specifically what it wants. Once I start the build I dry fit sections. Dry fitting helps me because I;m visual, too.

I'll definitely dry fit, then. You all might cringe, but I'm just going to pre-paint walls and ceilings white prior to assembling. I'll just have to be careful not to paint where I need to glue. That part sounds really tricky to me, and dry-fitting should help me see that. I'm going with white to try to keep visibility higher in the rooms, as this dollhouse doesn't have a completely open backside. Opinions on that most welcome, though!

[iwishtofish]

I'm wondering about wiring for lighting, suddenly. Sounds pretty neat. I'm reading that there is tape wiring and regular wiring. I'm assuming everything is modular. I'd appreciate any advice from personal experiences and about scale, buying sources etc.

[Selkie]

I painted my whole Garfield white first so it would act as a primer/sealer. As to the gluing areas, a light sand on the line where the glue goes usually provides enough tooth to hold.

Check out Cir-kit Concepts for tapewire kits and tutorials.

[iwishtofish]

I painted my whole Garfield white first so it would act as a primer/sealer. As to the gluing areas, a light sand on the line where the glue goes usually provides enough tooth to hold.

Check out Cir-kit Concepts for tapewire kits and tutorials.

Selkie, you're talking about sanding the pre-painted area for gluing? Did you prime all the surfaces, including the edges? Obviously not anywhere to be stained... (I know nothing about this!)

[Selkie]

I primed everything white. My plan was building my own floors and staining those to go on top of the kit floor. The edges can be left unpainted for gluing but I tend towards extreme laziness at times and just slopped it on all over and then lightly sanded later when I was ready. My Gar isn't finished yet. It's part of a 6 kit mansion ~ 4 kits for the main house area (1 Garfield, 2 primroses, 1 orchid), 1 conservatory, and 1 motorcycle garage made from 2 small Greenleaf contest kits.

[iwishtofish]

Oh wow - just the thought of such a large-scale project blows my mind!

[Creamcheese]

Welcome, Bryan! The Garfield dollhouse is a beautiful dollhouse. I'm still in the process of finishing mine but if you get a chance you may want to check out my gallery too to see how I approached decorating it as I went along. I found it to be much easier to decorate as much as I could before the walls got glued. Many parts of this dollhouse will be very difficult to access once walls are permanently glued in place. Good luck on your Garfield; I look forward to seeing more of your progress. Doing a dry fit and also looking at other galleries sure helped me out and this forum is so helpful.