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Good panel scriber?

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  • Member since
    May 2003
  • From: The flat lands of the Southeast
Good panel scriber?
Posted by styrene on Thursday, July 9, 2009 7:32 PM

Need a good scriber for aircraft panels.  I've seen the Squadron one but never used it. Opinions?

Are there better ones than the Squadron offering? 

I've tried making my own out of old dental instruments but I'm at the point that I need a "real" one.

 

Thanks in advance for all the help, and sorry if this has been posted before.

Gip

1882: "God is dead"--F. Nietzsche

1900: "Nietzsche is dead"--God

  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: clinton twp, michigan
Posted by camo junkie on Thursday, July 9, 2009 9:34 PM
not sure about the squadron one but micromart sells one that seems to be pretty good...although i havent used it!
"An idea is only as good as the person who thought of it...and only as brilliant as the person who makes it!!"
  • Member since
    June 2008
  • From: Piscataway,NJ
Posted by jtrace214 on Thursday, July 9, 2009 10:27 PM

Maybe a month or so ago I orderd one from Hawkeye Hobbies (member here) awsome service and a great tool just go to his website I have gotten the razor saw,panel scriber and the sprue cutters from him great guy to deal with and has quality stuff. I will be trying his natural metal finishes soon when I get to finish my new bench  and start on the Academy P-38 I picked up at a show in April.

John

the pic to the left is my weekend condo lol

  • Member since
    July 2014
Posted by batai37 on Tuesday, July 14, 2009 2:30 PM

The UMM scriber is fantastic...especially when  you're scribing compound surfaces, you have a lot more control than with the typical "pen-like" scribers. Hawkeye's carries it, but as of this writing he is currently out of stock...but don't despair, you can also order directly from the guy who designed it

http://umm-usa.com/onlinestore/product_info.php?cPath=21_105&products_id=474&osCsid=319dbbb6a4db7af183e6914731023223

Wish I had this tool years ago!

  • Member since
    June 2005
  • From: San Tan Valley,AZ
Posted by smokinguns3 on Tuesday, July 14, 2009 5:30 PM
i have the  squadron scriber itdoes a decent job, one should really have a few diffrent scribing tools.
Rob I think i can I think i can
  • Member since
    July 2014
Posted by batai37 on Tuesday, July 14, 2009 7:31 PM

 smokinguns3 wrote:
i have the  squadron scriber itdoes a decent job, one should really have a few diffrent scribing tools.

One can never have too many tools! Big Smile [:D]

I have 4 scribers myself.

  • Member since
    June 2005
  • From: San Tan Valley,AZ
Posted by smokinguns3 on Wednesday, July 15, 2009 12:16 AM
 batai37 wrote:

 smokinguns3 wrote:
i have the  squadron scriber itdoes a decent job, one should really have a few diffrent scribing tools.

One can never have too many tools! Big Smile [:D]

I have 4 scribers myself.

In a hogan voice Amen brother.

Rob I think i can I think i can
  • Member since
    December 2002
Posted by tyamada on Wednesday, July 15, 2009 8:56 AM
The best scriber is cheap, use a sewing needle chucked in a pin vice.  The commercial scribers really can't do rounded corners very well. 
  • Member since
    July 2014
Posted by batai37 on Wednesday, July 15, 2009 11:10 AM

 tyamada wrote:
The best scriber is cheap, use a sewing needle chucked in a pin vice.  The commercial scribers really can't do rounded corners very well. 

I beg to differ. The UMM scriber is designed specifically to make scribing compound surfaces more easily, and with more control. I only say this after trying it myself, not to promote a product BTW.

  • Member since
    May 2003
  • From: The flat lands of the Southeast
Posted by styrene on Wednesday, July 15, 2009 5:06 PM

Thanks to you all for the great replies.  I've looked closely at the UMM offering and the one from MicroMark, and I think I'm going with the UMM one.

Gip 

 

1882: "God is dead"--F. Nietzsche

1900: "Nietzsche is dead"--God

  • Member since
    April 2003
  • From: Hayward, CA
Posted by MikeV on Tuesday, July 21, 2009 2:03 PM
I have never heard of that UMM one. I have always used the Micro Mark one and have been very happy with it.

Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom. " Charles Spurgeon
  • Member since
    July 2009
Posted by tomcat4evr on Tuesday, July 21, 2009 3:11 PM
i used the squadron scriber its ok i got the tamiya scriber which works great and also have the trumpeter panel scriber that one is great too!
  • Member since
    May 2003
  • From: Right side of the Front row.
Posted by kirk4010 on Tuesday, July 21, 2009 9:07 PM

The best thing I ever bought was my Badger Air brush (OK now I have 2) the second best was the UMM scriber.  I have the squadron scriber and have tried needles in a pin vice.  The UMM is superior.  

The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving.-Ulysses S. Grant
  • Member since
    December 2005
Posted by Schnord05 on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 11:05 AM

 tyamada wrote:
The best scriber is cheap, use a sewing needle chucked in a pin vice.  The commercial scribers really can't do rounded corners very well. 

tyamada and I are on the same page. Go through your back issues of FSM to November '07. There's an article on the subject. Tools? Primarily a sewing needle in a pin vice and templates. Old-school? Yes. Low-tech? Yes. Does it work? You make the call.

My suggestion would be to try the simple tool method first. Practice on some expendable or scrapped subject. If you think you need a fancier tool, they certainly are out there.

 

  • Member since
    September 2006
  • From: Bethlehem PA
Posted by the Baron on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 11:22 AM

I think we're talking about this in another thread right now, too, so I apologize if this is duplicate content.

A needle in a pin vise is good, I've been using that up to now, but you must take into account the scale of your work, and the size of the needle or pin you use.

Some sewing needles or straight pins have points that are a little too blunt, except perhaps at larger scales, so that's something to consider.

Recently I've been using a new #11 X-Acto knife for scribing, in 1/48th, because of the fine tip of the blade.

With sewing needles, something else I do is to cut the extra length up at the eye end, so that the portion exposed in the pin vise is not too long, and so the needle stays a little more rigid as I draw it along the straight edge.

Regards,

Brad

The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen.

 

 

  • Member since
    December 2003
  • From: Indiana
Posted by hkshooter on Thursday, July 23, 2009 1:45 AM
I have the UMM tool that I'm learning to use, the Squadron tool and the Bare Metal Foil tool that nobody has mentioned yet. The Squadron tool never gets used now and didn't last very long. The BMF tool is the one I've used the most and is still very sharp even after many small jobs and an entire 1/48 SR-71. I'll be using the UMM tool on the next project. Very sharp and makes a very fine line.
  • Member since
    July 2014
Posted by batai37 on Tuesday, July 28, 2009 10:44 AM

What I've found in my current 1/48 project is using a variety of scribers as a process, and which I use depends on the shape of the surface, how long the scribed line will be, whether it's a raised line I'm scribing or a factory-scribed line I'm rescribing, etc.

To start the line and for small round, square, etc., shapes I've found the needle in the pin vise method good. At that scale, it's hard for me to manipulate a tool with a larger point in circles and whatnot. For the longer straight lines, I'll then step up to one of the "pen-like" scribers to etch the line a little deeper. Finally, to clean up the line and put the final etch on it I'll typically use the curved end of the UMM tool, which leaves a nice clean scribed line...the straight edge is good for terminating lines that go over curved surfaces like wing edges - you just kind of rock it back and forth rather than scrape or push it along. Again, the curved edge is good here for putting the finishing touch on the scribed line.

One advantage of this tool is that you aren't limited to just pulling the tool to scribe...you can also PUSH it along to finish those lines to minimize what I call "overscratch" where the line is supposed to terminate. I've also found that the curved edge follows raised panel lines I want to scribe quite well if you're slow, apply minimal pressure, and patient...I just gently push it along the line, although keeping a straight line gets harder the longer the line is - that's where I'll employ dymo tape or a small rectangular strip of .010 styrene stock held or taped onto the surface as a guide.

I guess the lesson here is that no one tool really suffices for all tasks...for me the best strategy is to employ multiple tools, using each tool I find most effective for the particular task at hand.

  • Member since
    May 2003
  • From: The flat lands of the Southeast
Posted by styrene on Tuesday, July 28, 2009 10:18 PM

I just received the UMM scriber in the mail last week.  UMM's service was efficient and incredibly quick; I had a scriber and razor saw within a week of order submittal. 

The scriber is, in a word, SHARP.  I've only had the chance to use the curved end of the tool, and am impressed.  With just light pressure it will remove small ribbons of styrene resulting in a very fine panel line.  With more pressure, of course, the amount of plastic removed increases, and the line widens and deepens.  What's nice is that it actually removes styrene and doesn't simply create a furrow in the plastic.

Question:  I've seen several referrals regarding Dymo label tape.  When using the stuff do you remove the backing and stick it to the model, or simply hold it in place like you would a straight edge? 

Gip

 

1882: "God is dead"--F. Nietzsche

1900: "Nietzsche is dead"--God

  • Member since
    July 2014
Posted by batai37 on Wednesday, July 29, 2009 10:33 AM
 styrene wrote:
Question:  I've seen several referrals regarding Dymo label tape.  When using the stuff do you remove the backing and stick it to the model, or simply hold it in place like you would a straight edge? 

Gip

 

People usually remove the backing and stick it to the model. However, the adhesive isn't particularly strong, and after a few times it won't stick anymore. One guy in another thread suggested sticking the tape to a same-sized piece of Tamiya masking tape, that way you can keep using the piece of dymo more times than you otherwise could.

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