It's Bigger on the Inside - New TARDIS Build

[wbalzer]

Working on the top signs. The first step is routing the cavity for the hinges for the side pieces near the posts.

Not pictured: I created a frame for the signs with a 3/8 inch deep groove for the top and left side, and a 3/16 inch deep groove for the bottom and right side. My thought was to assemble the signs with barely enough clearance to slide in the acrylic panel when it was all done. It turns out that my pre-cut acrylic panels are too big. If I were to do it over, I would put an 1/8 inch groove or less at the bottom and right side.



I also made a router jig to make place for the 3/8 inch pine back to rest against. Notice the clamp I am using around the side of the frame for the sign. My first one, I didn't use a clamp figuring it was "tight" enough.



I'll fix it with wood putty.



Here is the other side of my first one. It's not the best fit, and the router nicked the corner. Wood putty is becoming my friend today.

 

[wbalzer]

I place the biscuits as close to the edge as I could so I wouldn't be cutting into the groove inside the frame. You can see a "properly" routed edge of the left side of the frame with a small lip for the back piece to butt up against.

We have both the larger top sign, and a smaller sign used for the half-TARDIS configuration.

 

[wbalzer]

Time to start cutting out the frames for the panels. I used fairly clear wood, but darn it if some of those pieces just as soon as you cut them started twisting all over the place. I have a small joiner, but it doesn't do very well on anything longer than a few feet, so I have had to improvise with 1/8 inch thick by 3/4 inch angle aluminum that is 8 foot long. I shim out the gap with some scrap, and I cut the opposite side with the table saw.

Then with the arch side cut down to a straight edge, I remove the angle aluminum and cut off the bow. Now I have a "fairly" straight piece of lumber.

I also cut 50 plus horizontal pieces that get shaped with several passes through a router. This is a very PRECISE part of the work, or the pieces will not match, so I vary carefully measured everything with digital calipers.

The first cut is using an overhead router with a 45 degree beveled edge. Since the wood comes in various thicknesses, it must be measured from top with the top facing the table edge.



Then I trim off the bottom edge on the table saw using the 90 degree miter and the fence. I'm looking for a perfectly trimmed piece of wood.



Then I verify that the trimmed side is EXACTLY 15 1/16 inch with a large caliper that I got from Harbor Freight.



Finally, I use the UNDER table router to place a 45 degree bevel along the edges.



I have 50 of these to do, plus all the vertical pieces. It's going to take me a while.

 

[wbalzer]

Using the Krag pocket hole jig, I drill the screw holes on the backside of the horizontal pieces of the frame.

I found it was BEST to clamp down the vertical pieces to the bench because when I clamped the horizontal pieces to it, they would tend to lift up the frame and screw in leaving a large gap on the other side. The double clamps minimized it.

I would start from the bottom completely flush, and using a 16 3/8 inch EXACT spacer, I would work my way up to the top. For additional verification, I used the window frame which is also exactly 16 3/8 inch to verify it would fit.



Then I would flip the frame around and work the other side (from the bottom) also using the 16 3/8 inch spacer working my way up to the top.



I used the window to verify everything fit. These panels and doors will all be trimmed to fit.

 

[wbalzer]

I decided to use contact cement to glue the panels to the frame. It seemed it would be "easier" than traditional glue, and lots of clamps and drips.

First, I trimmed the oak plywood to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch oversize. I clamped the frame to it and traced the panel glue line. Then I masked off where the panels are visible because I don't want glue where it shouldn't be.

I "painted" on the contact cement, and in about 30 minutes it was dry and ready to instant bond. I laid out a couple of wooden sticks across the top of the plywood to keep the frame from touching the plywood until it was perfectly aligned. Then I lightly set the frame onto the plywood on one side, and then the other.

It was beautiful. The contact cement bonded instantly with pressure, and I was done once I applied pressure everywhere. No clamping! Well... not exactly. The first of the panels were the doors, and I had to perfectly align the back side of the frame around the front side. Would you believe those goofy things would warp a little bit, and so I had to apply some pressure because the backside of the frame was not touching everywhere, so I had to do a little more convincing.



The first door that I finished is going to need to little more convincing. I don't expect that any of the other panels will have the same problem.

 

[wbalzer]

Time to work on my sign. After doing a lot of "searching", I never found a perfectly matched police door sign. Everyone was pretty close, and some were closer than others. The problem is that NONE of us have perfectly matching fonts. They are close to the point that they work, but nothing is exact.



Using the "best" straight on shot I could find of the Matt Smith TARDIS, I corrected the perspective distortion as best as I could in Photoshop. I worked my way through the sign converting the text to curves in Adobe Illustrator. Several of the letters had to be "thinned" down to match the sign, and individually placed.



Here is my final artwork overlaying the Matt Smith TARDIS sign. I can't complain. Sent my final artwork to Rebelscum to cut out the letters for me.

 

[wbalzer]

I bought a vinyl cutter, and after calibrating it and my third attempt at making reversed sign, I finally got it "perfect" and applied it the back side of the clear plexiglass.

It is actually very nice just as is. I like the backlighting which is a cool effect in and of itself.

 

[wbalzer]

Applying the letters from Philip Wise ( Rebelscum ). His words are "scary sticky". Be sure that you don't press down until you are absolutely sure the letter is where you want it.

From cutting the vinyl to the finished sign was about 7 hours worth or work for me.



Here is the finished sign.



Here is with the backlighting effect with some of the light escaping through the cracks behind the letters.

 

[MattMunson]

Great build and awesome documentation, man! Reading this thread brought back a lot of memories of my build! Thanks for sharing your work!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[wbalzer]

Looking very nice , your joinery looks top notch ! As a carpenter by trade a Tardis is on my short list to build also .

Thanks Jim. Looking forward to seeing your build in the near future.

Wade

 

[wbalzer]

I have some tips for the inside (something you can work on in your down time, maybe).
I built light boxes for each window. I lined some plastic totes with reflective tape and screwed a fluorescent light into them (two lights for the front windows). I velcro'd one box to inside of each panel so each window has its own light source. (this is also handy for some events where you need to have pictures made. I had mine against a green screen once but light from one of the side windows was reflecting off and causing problems. Since that window isn't visible in the pictures anyway, I was able to shut it off easily and everything turned out fine).
This also makes it possible to decorate the interior. I stopped working on mine due to the weather, but I plan to paint the interior to match the roundel pattern from the series.
Lastly, you can have a 4x8 banner printed for cheap online and hang it inside. It fit perfectly for me. All I had to do was backlight it with a single light and it looks great for photo ops.
http://i958.photobucket.com/albums/...10201494723227466_139023659_n_zps7ea838bd.jpg

Thanks Xxblackbird! I have plans of making light boxes with LED lights, but I am going to try and make them so that the doors can open all the way without a problem. So I will be testing how close the LED lights have to be together and how far the white acrylic has to be from the LEDs to make them "disappear".

I like the banner idea. If I were to do that, I would want it to be a Matt Smith interior. What resolution of picture did you use?

Wade

 

[wbalzer]

Wow, 15 posts? Really?

I originally planned to be done in October, then November, then before December 1, and now I am pushing to be "done" before the new year. So I didn't spend any time posting my progress so I could keep focused building. When I decided to start a new build thread, I wanted to get caught up to my current progress so I was posting every 10 minutes or so, and now that I am current, I am responding to the comments.

Wade

 

[wbalzer]

Ooooh! looking good!

Thanks Bluebox303!

 

[wbalzer]

Great build and awesome documentation, man! Reading this thread brought back a lot of memories of my build! Thanks for sharing your work!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Matt, I have to say that you were a big inspiration. Between your videos and sillysparrowness on youtube, I decided I could actually do this project. I found the hardware I needed because you showed it in your videos. Now... actually getting it shipped from the UK was a bit of a challenge, because although I have bought stuff from Amazon UK and had it shipped to the U.S. before, Amazon Prime in the UK would not ship hardware at any price. They will only ship certain catagories of items such as DVD's, music, etc.

By the time I found a vendor that would ship internationally, I was paying around $50 for a $5 item from the UK. Oh well.

Between you and Philip Wise, you guys offered a large degree of craftsmanship that was rare to see in a build, and I really appreciate the work you guys have done.

Wade

 

[wbalzer]

....From a Time Lord's perspective, BBC's idea for the TARDIS was "inspired" by a TRUTH that is far more real that is yet known. TRUTH is the only thing that travels faster than light, and therefore time is bent around it.

There are a couple of new observations I made today that help "solidify" my resolve in building my TARDIS. About 7 years ago I began uncovering a very fascinating structure in a very controversial document that people have either embraced, hated, or felt indifferently about. Regardless of anyone's opinion, the historical record has shown time and time again, the words it contained have shaped nations. If you believe its words, the "author" is the same as the Creator of the Universe who by his own word created everything from the words of His mouth, and the frame of his words hold everything together outside of time. If this is true, then it should be demonstrable in a very real way. If you disagree, that is okay, but you will have a hard time explaining why there is such a high level of order and patterns that shape its structure in such a way that it appears to be written outside of time.

I am not here to argue with anyone, so if you have a different perspective, I'll be glad to talk about it with you "offline" at wbalzer (at) newjerusalem.org. My job is merely to show evidence, and you can consider it or dismiss it by its own merit. Since my thread is about building my TARDIS, I am not going to spend much time in this type of discussion, but I may give you a "spoiler" now and then.

Looking at the thread number of this discussion... http://www.therpf.com/f9/its-bigger-inside-new-tardis-build-201923/ ... we see the 201923. If you were to follow this pattern in the Bible to Book 20 Chapter 19 Verse 23 (Proverbs 19:23) you will find that if you count the verses of the Bible, you are at Verse # 16949. Counting the entries in the 1828 Webster's dictionary, you will find this word:

Webster's Word # 16949 = DOCTORSHIP, n. The degree or rank of a doctor. [Doctorate is now generally used.]

That is pretty cool! Just discovered that today.

The second thing I discovered today has to do with the first person who "inspired" me to build a TARDIS. I happened to come across sillysparrowness' video on YouTube...

So I went to the "CENTER of the TARDIS" and found her... well... you be the judge. Spelling TARDIS with the keypad of your phone...

Phone # 827347 = TARDIS

The CENTER is = (827347 / 2) = 413673.5

Counting the words of the KJV Bible beginning from Genesis 1:1, we land on a Verse # 15839 (Psalms 115:8). You can verify this here:

http://www.newjerusalem.org/Ps.115.8?from=Number(413674).KJVWordNum.Verse(Ps.1 15.8).Analysis

Webster's Vol 2 Word # 15839 = SILLY

The distance to the END of the Bible from Psalms 115:8 is 15263 Verses. Using this measurement...

Verse # 15263
Ps 84:3 Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, [even] thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.

Do you know that THIS is the very FIRST mention of the SPARROW in the Bible. What are the chances?

You have seen nothing yet! Calculate the "relative" distance in words between TIME and SPACE in the KJV Bible.

KJV Word # 2173 = Time
KJV Word # 19996 = Space

19996 - 2173 = 17823

Verse # 17823 is Isaiah 8:15. What you can't see is that is Book 23 Chapter 8 Verse 15.

Numerically...

W = 23
H = 8
O = 15

Verse # 23815 is Matthew 20:22 which is the 670th verse of the New Testament.

Guess who is next door?

Webster's Vol 2 Word # 671 = MASTER

I can keep going! This does not end... I am reading straight from the structure with the same rules I have been using for 7 years. I've only started watching Doctor Who last year.

You can go to my website and see that I have in my banner two words that are on fire in Hebrew with the Strong's number below it. That has been there since August 2009 long before I watched Doctor Who. Basically, it is the reason or the TRUTH behind why BBC has given the The Doctor TWO HEARTS. It doesn't really matter why they think they did it, because subconsciously they painted a mathematical marvel of truth that echoes back in the frame of Scripture.

Hebrew Strong's # 3820 = HEART

You could write TWO HEARTS numerically like 23820.

Webster's Word # 23820 = GINGER

I am not going to spend time explaining the significance, because you may or may not agree, but you do have to admit that it is pretty remarkable that there is a silent resounding echo that is unexplainable without acknowledging the fingerprints of the Author.

I can keep going with volumes of things you may have never noticed along these lines, but I'll close for now.

Wade Balzer
wbalzer (at) newjerusalem.org

 

[wbalzer]

Here I have a gap in the first door that I put together after the contact cement dried. I didn't clamp the door when I put the back frame on the door because it seemed pretty stuck. After all, it is "instant bond". Basically, the wood in the door frame on the backside isn't as nice of wood as on the front, so it is not "perfectly" flat. Actually the wood on front isn't perfectly flat either, but it isn't noticeable because the 1/4 inch plywood flexes to the frame. Sticking both frames together back to back, left a gap that I didn't pay attention to when I put it together.



The "nice" thing about contact cement is that it can be "reactivated" with a fresh application. Wood glue would not run down into the gap as nicely as this "milky" cement. I found a syringe in the medicine cabinet that was no longer being used to apply the cement. Then I added a lot of clamps.... A LOT of clamps. (Might have been overkill, but since I had them, I made sure there was even pressure everywhere there was a gap. I kept it in clamps overnight.



It worked. All the gaps were gone after letting the cement cure overnight.

 

[Professor Steve]

Love this build, can't wait to see it finished. I don't know if you have thought about the finish yet but this may help :-


The paint used ( Eccleston & Tennant versions) is made by a UK company called Bromel ( they also made the Dalek Bronze paints) although it does cost around £40 a litre but having the Pantone code makes it easy to have it colour matched at most paint factors.

 

[wbalzer]

Here is the process for attaching the panels. My 1/4 inch plywood is cut oversized about at least an 1/8 inch all around. The panel frame is clamped to the plywood to keep it steady while I draw where the panels are.



Using a mechanical pencil, I marked the glue edge where the frame touches the plywood. I labeled each piece of plywood with the frame. (They should all be the same, but just in case, I want each frame to be paired with the plywood that the glue edge is drawn on. Then I masked on the inside of the panel.



Apply the contact cement. (It probably isn't the "safest" place to keep tray of cement. An accidental spill on the open panel would have been not so good. It would be better to place it where the window would be cut out.)

I found it was better to remove the masking tape immediately after applying the glue because the glue has a tendency to pull up with the masking tape if it starts drying.

Follow the instructions. (Not pictured) I used some scrap 1x sticks to keep the frame from touching the plywood while I lined it up. Starting with one end, I removed one of the sticks and gently setting it down perfectly on the glue line. I did the same to the other end. Once the plywood was bonded (instantly), I applied some pressure on the frame to make sure it was sticking really good. Then I flipped the panel over so the 1/4 inch plywood was on top, and I used a rubber mallet to apply the force necessary to make a good bond.



Since I was doing all the remaining panels at the same time, I was applying glue to several pieces and letting them dry to the degree that they are ready to bond which is about 45 minutes. You have up to three hours to make the bond, but I would have two or three drying, while I would be bonding the frame to the plywood on another. When I was finished, I decided to stack them and clamp all six panels together... face to face, back to back. If by chance I hadn't made a good bond earlier, the clamping would allow the panels to cure under pressure.

Now... I just have to finish by cutting out the windows and flush trimming the plywood with a router.

 

[wbalzer]

Love this build, can't wait to see it finished. I don't know if you have thought about the finish yet but this may help :-
View attachment 265175

The paint used ( Eccleston & Tennant versions) is made by a UK company called Bromel ( they also made the Dalek Bronze paints) although it does cost around £40 a litre but having the Pantone code makes it easy to have it colour matched at most paint factors.

Hi Professor Steve,

I actually do have a finish in mind.



Basically, it is the same that Philip Wise (Rebelscum) used on his. After doing research myself, I think it is a very close match based on pictures and discussions I have seen of the 2010 Matt Smith TARDIS on tardisbuilders.com.

2010 TARDIS Paint

My paint stick is a little dark compared to what it should look like when it is sprayed on, but it looks pretty close.

Wade

 

[wbalzer]

Here is the process I used to finish the panels. I first drilled holes near each of the four corners of the windows. You will see that I had some drill-out on the backside. I started holding a scrap wooden block on the backside to minimize the drill-out. I also placed masking tape between holes to also minimize the chip-out from the saw. I spy with my eye a missing battery where it shouldn't be.



Using a 3/8 inch flush trim bit in my router, I trim out the window hole flush with the panel. I do the same on the outside so that the plywood is flush with the panel. I went over each edge a couple of times just to be sure it was flush. We see the final panel flush trimmed. This will yet to be trimmed once more on a table saw ever so slightly when I am ready to fit them in the TARDIS. These panels are made very slightly oversized or "perfect fit", and will need some clearance when they are installed which will be determined upon assembly.



Finally, I used a chisel to create a square corner for the window. You can see the chip-out from the drill. I will fill it in with wood putty.