Tapering masts

[Thomas]

I just secure an end of a dowel into electric drill chuck. Then I take a drill with my right hand, take a piece of coarse sanding paper into the other hand and apply it onto the dowel. I am measuring the taper diameters once in a while. I change the sandpaper to finer one a few times towards the end of the job. I did all masts and spars this way for my Victory model 1:90 scale.

This is the only way to go in my opinion--it's fast and accurate. I use thin cardboard about the end of the dowel in the drill chuck to prevent marking and wear a glove on the hand holding the sandpaper because it can get warm. Use a variable speed drill and start slow and work up. You can taper spars that way, too. The biggest thing to be careful about is getting the dowel centered in the drill, if it's off-center it will wobble and that can lead to breaking the dowel (don't ask me how I know that). Good luck

 

[Doggo]

What's the best way to taper the masts, I've seen videos use planers but that seems a little risky to me. My plan is mark off 1" sections, sand the whole mast then move another inch down and sand again, keep going till its tapered, yes its slower but less risky.
Is there a better way I haven't thought of

Place one taped end in drill chuck with speed on slow/mid. Then in gloved hand wrap sandpaper around mast and move up and down and apply own pressure with ample checking aginst scale plan. You'll see the mast taper nicely down to whatever you need. Practice on some dowl and get the knack. It's not hard.

 

[Relic]

Y.T., depends on how the dowel lays on the belt sander, laying perpendicular to the belt or lying parallel along the running centerline of the belt.

David
True statement. I find I get better tapering control w/ the later. (e.g., running parallel with the belt along it's width). It's very much a careful "hand skill thing" requiring constant rate of rotation w/ fingers. The slightest pause or dwell of rotation will put the dowel out of round. That's why I like to combine the 2 methods mentioned and chuck the dowel in my cordless hand drill with belt sander clamped upside down in bench vise. Yields consistant controlled results by far.

 

[Tim Green]

I tried putting a mast in a drill - but it wobbled, and one side was sanded more than the other.

But - I've had great success with cutting them down - either from dowel or square.

What you do is make a square, and then an octagon, and then sand off the corners. When you square it, you measure it, making sure the sides of the square are a bit larger than the required mast diameter at that point on the mast. Sanding rounds the octagon down the last half a mm or so - to the exact dimension needed.

 

[Norgale]

I just secure an end of a dowel into electric drill chuck. Then I take a drill with my right hand, take a piece of coarse sanding paper into the other hand and apply it onto the dowel. I am measuring the taper diameters once in a while. I change the sandpaper to finer one a few times towards the end of the job. I did all masts and spars this way for my Victory model 1:90 scale.

I do this same thing. It's about the best way unless you have a wood turning lathe and that's IS the best.