OK how would you??????

[panzerjager2]

So this post is going to be both having fun, (with myself and others) and asking a serious question....so please take it or leave on that basis.....
So my friend Dierk, poked a little fun at me by mocking my lack of a tapered barrel on my latest build. Now this wasn't the first time I've heard this observation. So for those in the audience that chose to play along.............. How would you taper a barrel on a SCRATCH BUILD, you can't use a fruli, huli, muli after-market, verlinden, jordi boo boo, meng ding anything. Honestly, how would you....It's not 1/35th, or 1/48th it's 1/25.... and NO you can't scale back say a 1/35 German 7.5cm to  1/25 5.cm.....I am honestly looking for suggestions... If you have an idea or two please let me know...


Thanks  

[Deleted]

Start with a thick walled tube or use rod stock somewhat larger in diameter than what the finished piece will be. Measure the length plus the portion you won't see inside the recuperator housing. Chuck the whole thing in a cordless drill.

Start with course grit paper wrapped around a short piece of metal, something in thickness akin to two metal rulers. Carefully sand the taper into the rod by holding the strip at an angle commensurate with the taper. Finish up by wet sanding with finer grits wrapped around the rod. By wet sanding, you won't have the heat buildup thus preventing warp.

Probably best to have another set of hands hold and run the drill. Practise practise practise.

A poor man's lathe!


G

[TRM]

I think you are on the right track with the 5 cm Kampfwagenkanone 39 L/60 barrel. My take would be to look at the barrel you have in three sections....the breach is one (uniform is diameter), the taper just in fornt of the breach and then the tube While there is a taper to the tube, this is extremely slight and can be obtained by tossing the barrel into a variable speed drill clamped into a vice...slowly taper as you would think. The part where you have an aluminum sleeve over the plastic, the breach tapers to the tube at the mantlet collar to about where your aluminum section touches the plastic. Add a slight sloping taper smoothing the joint between the aluminum and plastic.

If you can find a piece of plastic or aluminum rod with a thick outer wall, you should be able to do this all in one piece.

Just my take.....best of luck! 

[John Everett]

Get a lathe. Yes, I know that's expensive and you will only use it occasionally. But for certain things there are certain tools. Serious scratchbuilding requires a gradual collection of those certain tools. Collect a lathe.

[afvfan]

May 23, 2017 11:58:06 GMT -5 John Everett said:

Get a lathe. Yes, I know that's expensive and you will only use it occasionally. But for certain things there are certain tools. Serious scratchbuilding requires a gradual collection of those certain tools. Collect a lathe.

Shopping around, you can find inexpensive (under $100) wood mini-lathes that would probably serve the purpose quite well. No sense in spending $500, or more, on a real precision metal working machine.

[panzerjager2]

Gentleman, THANK YOU for all the input. On a side note, I will get Dierk for damming/shamming  me into re-working the barrel...LOL 
As it turns out, TRM and AgentG's idea seem to bare the most fruit. While MAYBE SOMEDAY I might get a lathe, turns out, (my experience ONLY) is they revolve/spin/turn too fast for plastic.  I have a friend with a Micro Mark version, GREAT unit, we could not get the results desired without disastrous results to the plastic. 
But I do appreciate the comments and inspiration.