On 7/13/2012 8:58 AM, willshak wrote:
Nick wrote the following on 7/12/2012 7:19 PM (ET):
Hello folks,
I'm from the other side of the pond and would much appreciate all the
advice I can get.
Our daughter has recently made us proud grandparents. This is a good
thing.
My wife and daughter have entrusted me to make a dolls house for
granddaughter. This is not a bad thing.
I have enjoyed working with wood all my life and am reasonably
equipped with tools & know how to use them.
But.
(1) I have a tendency to get bogged down with detail.
(2) I would like to make something that Elouise [granddaughter] can
enjoy not only when she's old enough but also for her future.
(3) I haven't seen a dolls house for about 50 years.
Scale 1:12
Anybody know of good books or sites to get some reference please?
All tips and hints would be muchly appreciated.
Thanks,
Nick.
When my daughters became old enough to handle things without breaking
them, I built them a doll house. This was back in the mid 1980s. I
started with a victorian type house kit bought at a local arts and
crafts store (A.C.Moore here in the US).
Like you, I tend to go into too much detail.
I tended to get more satisfaction out of building the furniture than
buying it.
Since I would be working in 1/12 scale, my standard wood tools were all
too big and too powerful. I had to go out and buy miniature power tools.
I bought a Dremel miniature table saw with a 4" blade, a Dremel wood
lathe (6-1/2" max length) for table legs, bed posts, and newels, a
Craftsman 10" scroll saw for other small cuts. I still have the lathe
and jig saw. The table saw was lent out some years ago and got 'lost".
As far as I know, Dremel no longer makes the lathe or table saw, at
least that was so when I last checked some years ago. I see some offered
on eBay.
For books and plans, Google the following;
'1/12 dollhouse plans'
'1/12 dollhouse books'
'1/12 dollhouse furniture'
BTW, there doesn't seem to be any newsgroups for dollhouses.
Perhaps a forum somewhere?
Good point about the size of tools required for dollhouses. A source
for mall tools:
http://www.micromark.com/
Anything you might need / want, including small table saws, scroll saws,
lathes, etc. etc. etc.
Matt