Jack Sparrow Compass from my kit

[Zlurpo]

Several long posts here, I expect.
I have a kit to build a Jack Sparrow compass, this is how I build it/instructions for those who have purchased it.

The Body

Get these 4 pieces, and stack them in this order.
View attachment 131692

Carefully align them and glue them together. I recommend superglue. It cures very quickly on masonite, so be careful to line it up well.
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Get these two pieces (the lid) and stack them in this order.
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Again, glue them carefully, using superglue.
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I don't have photos for the next couple steps, so I'll describe it best I can.

With the two main body pieces you now have, it's likely some sanding of all the sides is in order. This will ensure even sides, and remove some of the soot that comes from laser-cutting the material.
At this point, I don't recommend sanding the top surfaces of the lid and interior. A bit of that will come later

The best way to do this, IMO, is to get a clamp (not TOO strong) and clamp the lid and body together on 1 or 2 corners. Sand both the lid and body together, so they'll line up when the whole compass is assembled.
I used a belt sander for this, but a piece of sandpaper on a flat surface should work just as well.

Now for what may be the trickiest part of the whole build.
View attachment 131696
In that photo, there are recessed lines where the trim will be attached. The vertical recessions are pre-cut, as the laser cutter can do those. But it doesn't have the horizontal recessions. You have to find a way to cut those into the body and the lid. A few method's I've tried:
Table saw. I made it so the saw blade protruded just barely enough to cut the masonite. I passed the masonite over the blade everywhere that the recessions were needed.
Band saw. You can see what you're doing better, but there's less consistency.
File. If you have a file the right thickness/grit, this can work pretty well. It's just tricky to use the file to cut straight into the material instead of it sliding all over.
Router. I haven't actually tried this for lack of a router, but it could work if you had the right bit.
Mill. Also don't have a mill. Probably the easiest way, but I don't know.

 

[Zlurpo]

Trim

Here's some stuff in the kit:
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First, measure the length you'll need:
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Cut to the right length:
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Add glue
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If you're like me, there's a chance your recession cuts were not perfectly accurate, and there are some tiny gaps between the styrene trim and the compass in spots. I used cardstock in those spots. Cut a thin strip, wedge it between the trim and compass body. Glue and trim.
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Continue this all around the body of the compass, both on the bottom and the lid.
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Do the same thing for all of the vertical trim. Measure, cut, glue!
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The trim is often too wide for the recession. I used a knife to trim any excess, so that the top pieces will fit.
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Sometimes the trim on the lid and inside top face fit perfectly, sometimes not. Even a computer-driven laser isn't flawless.
I prefer to cut the pieces regardless, since I like having the lines appear. I cut the circle from the rest of the trim, then cut each of the 4 corner triangles off of the side trim. However you want to do it, that's up to you. Glue the trim into the recesses of the two top pieces. The inside top piece will have an extra side which you should cut off and discard.
View attachment 131710

Trimming of the sides may be needed, maybe not.

Then sanding, the propmaker's favorite thing.
I used a hand sander, but again, paper on a flat surface would work. I used 80 grit, then like 300 grit. Seems like a big jump, but it worked well. Sand every side with trim to ensure the trim is flush with the masonite.

And there's the trim!

 

[Zlurpo]

Hinge

The hinge flanges included are too big. They needs to be cut. A metal blade on a bandsaw is easiest, but a hacksaw or dremel should work fine. Make the cuts so the connecting part of the hinge (y'know, where all that great hinge-ing action is) lines up with the spot between the body and the lid.
One side should be very narrow, and the other side kinda narrow. Using 2-part epoxy, glue the top half of the hinge to the lid, with the protruding part of the hinge out, and the flat side toward the inside of the compass.
View attachment 131711

Once the epoxy cures, epoxy the larger side of the hinge to the compass body. I like to let the compass sit perfectly aligned as the second half of the hinge gets epoxied, which helps ensure it will line up well when you open/close it later.

Then, since the hinge flanges shouldn't be visible, use bondo to cover them.
View attachment 131713

I recommend using tape or a business card to keep the bondo off of the movement part of the hinge. Put the bondo on both sides, covering both hinge flanges. I recommend smoothing as much as possible before it cures, or else you just have to sand more after.

Once cured, file/sand the bondo so it's flush with the sides of the compass body and lid.

 

[Zlurpo]

Ring

The base of the ring is slightly too wide to fit beneath the hinge. Use a file/dremel/rough rock to file it down.
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Use epoxy to secure it to the bondo. The base should pretty much press against the hinge and reach to the bottom of the body.
View attachment 131715
This is where the ring should go. This is not how the compass should look yet.

 

[Zlurpo]

The Dome
Sadly, no good photos could be found for this. Yet. I may still take some, but not for sure.

The included dome is too tall and wide. The mold I have to make them is a certain size, and changing it would be a ton of work. The dome needs to be cut down a good bit. This can be done with a thin saw, or a dremel, or sometimes scissors. Or you can use high-grit sandpaper to wear it down.
The inside of the dome should line up as close as possible to the size of the hole in the lid. Attach with superglue. It will bond quickly, so be careful when lining it up.

Painting

Occasionally, the trim doesn't line up quite right. I've tried to improve the alignment issues for these kits, but in case, sometimes this happens:
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To make the trim wide enough, I use white paint.
Mask off where to paint, paint white, remove masking.
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That's also pretty much the process for the whole compass body. Mask, paint, remove tape. I use brown paint mixed with black paint to get a just-slightly-lighter-than-black.
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Also (slightly out of order here, but it doesn't matter) the edges of the inside lid need to be painted, as does around the inside of the dome. Also the inside of where the compass rose and dial will sit.
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Paint the outside of the dome black.

 

[Zlurpo]

The Dial

Carefully cut out the printed dial image, and glue it to the thin masonite disc the same size. I use a small amount of Elmer's glue. If you don't use much, it won't cause the paper to wrinkle.

Glue/epoxy the thumb tack to the middle of the bottom of the compass. There are small circles burned into it to give a placing guide.
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Sand any rough edges on the small half-sphere, and glue it to the top of the dial, in the very center. I use superglue.

Using another thumbtack, or a small pin, or anything else that will fit, poke up through the compass dial into the bottom of the glued-on half-dome. The whole dial should reach almost to the bottom of the thumbtack.
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The dial should easily spin on its own, or if you spin the small dome.

 

[Zlurpo]

The Compass Rose

I don't have good pics of the build process, but I'll reference the completed compasses a lot:
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Now, on the CotBP kit (larger compass rose) the masonite is too thick. I tried to find thinner, but I couldn't. So both of the rings (the one with the degree markers, and the one that goes under it) need to be sanded thinner. Otherwise, the sundial thing will poke the dome of the compass and it won't close.
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Once they're that thin, glue them together, the lower ring centered under the upper ring.

For the AWE/DMC kit, this step is NOT needed. It's needed on the CotBP kit because the sundial piece is so much taller.

Next, you need to shape the triangular support pieces. They are flat on top, they should be angled. Use sandpaper. Be careful.
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Once tapered, attach them using superglue to the underside of the part of the dial with degree markers, and flush with the disc under that.
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I used superglue for that. Place them at 0, 120, and 240 (top, and at 1/3 and 2/3 of the way around, like in the drawing above, and in the completed compass photos). Test to see if it will fit in the inside wall of the compass, just above the small dome. Chances are good that the tapered supports will need to be trimmed. They should not rest on top of the inside surface, but all the supports should be inside the hole, attached to the walls. See the above photo. If you can match the size just right, it will barely fit without being too loose.

Now to get the sundial part right. It can be a bit tricky.
On the AWE/DMC compass, it is a bit of a tight squeeze to get the sundial inside the compass rose ring. A bit of sanding on the "legs" should make it fit no problem.
On the CotBP compass, the sundial should fit in just fine, but it may be too tall. You will almost definitely need to cut/sand the bottom ring at an angle, like so:
View attachment 131741
This lets the compass rose sit a little lower.

Place the compass rose on top of the small dome on the spinning dial. Then balance the sundial in place on the rings, and see if the lid will close without hitting it.
If it hits, you can sand the feet of the sundial a bit, or the top where it's touching, or you can sand the inside of the compass dome a bit where it touches. I think on most of the ones I've built, I had maybe a millimeter of clearance.

Once it fits, glue it in place to the compass rose with superglue.

Before attaching it, paint the small dome on the spinning dial gold, and paint the compass rose gold/brass. Spray paint worked great for me, painted all the detail without losing it.

Glue/epoxy the compass rose inside the body of the compass, just barely above the small dome (if it's touching, the dial won't spin).

 

[Zlurpo]

The Inside Lid

Glue the included pleather lining to the inside of the lid. It should go all the way to the edges of the lid, but not to the edges of the circle.

Paint the inside of the dome very dark blue. I usually make up a new star pattern every time, but here's one I've used:
View attachment 134908

The Latch

The back of the latch isn't usually quite flat. Flatten it with pliers so it rests flush against a flat surface.

I then attach it to the front of the compass with epoxy. Sometimes I'll scrape away some paint so that it bonds to the masonite instead of the paint on it.
Here's a shot to show the position of the latch.
View attachment 134907

With the latch down, mark the spot where the hole is. In the spot, drill a small hole large enough for the included metal stub to be epoxied. This is what the latch attaches to (seen in the above photo).

Cut off the very tips (rounded side) of the included rivets. Glue them into the empty holes on the latch. Or go buy tiny little finishing nails and nail them in.

If you wish, file down the latch itself in the corners to give it this look:
View attachment 131747

 

[Zlurpo]

Finishing

Tie the leather cord to the ring in the back. Cut off pieces of the trim in these spots:
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and paint where they were the same near-black as the rest of the compass body.

If you have a good off-white marker (prismacolor, sharpie or similar) you can color the trim to be more ivory colored. I recommend it. Using a dry brush, add "dirty" paint to make it look old. A bit of black paint mixed with gold is great for aging the "brass" inside, as well as the hinge and latch.

And I think that's it! If anyone gets the kit and I failed to properly explain a step, please feel free to ask!!

 

[micks75au]

Question, to get the dome to fit the lid will I need to bevel the underside of the lid or does the dome go on from the topside down.

I hope that makes sense.

 

[Zlurpo]

Question, to get the dome to fit the lid will I need to bevel the underside of the lid or does the dome go on from the topside down.

I hope that makes sense.

The dome sits on top of the lid. So the lid does not need to be beveled. I never found a perfectly clear shot in the film of the inside of the lid, so this version is sort of a composite of the angles I could see in the movies and the MR version of the compass. But it's not beveled, unless you want to do that.

 

[Michael Bergeron]

Just seeing this thread now. Makes me appreciate my finished compass even more! :thumbsup

 

[micks75au]

Post 8 where you talk about the inside lid and the latch, 2 attachments don't show.

 

[Zlurpo]

Post 8 where you talk about the inside lid and the latch, 2 attachments don't show.

Thanks! Those pics were linked from another thread, I think, but now it doesn't seem to like them. I've added new pictures that show the same thing, I believe.

 

[connormwood]

Wow that actually looks really good!

 

[DrMcoy]

i'm almost done with my COTBP build -- i will post pics and a review of the kit, including a few pointers on how to avoid a few mistakes i made along the way and tips on how to make it more screen accurate for under $2.

I'll try to have it up by Sunday afternoon.

 

[Zlurpo]

i'm almost done with my COTBP build -- i will post pics and a review of the kit, including a few pointers on how to avoid a few mistakes i made along the way and tips on how to make it more screen accurate for under $2.

I'll try to have it up by Sunday afternoon.

Excellent!!

 

[Luke0312]

Looking forward to starting on mine hopefully this next week.

Still airing it out from the smell of the laser burnt hardboard, haha.

No, just haven't had time to work on it, though it does have that strong smell.

 

[Zlurpo]

Looking forward to starting on mine hopefully this next week.

Still airing it out from the smell of the laser burnt hardboard, haha.

No, just haven't had time to work on it, though it does have that strong smell.

Use a tiny bit of acetone/nail polish remover on all the burned surfaces, that helps get rid of most of the smell.

 

[DrMcoy]

my kit build & review:

http://www.therpf.com/f9/zlurpos-jack-sparrow-compass-kit-drmcoys-review-172598/#post2676503