Stage F : The base
A quick note on the assembly order.
The instructions, fairly obviously, start at A and carry on in order. However, This means that you have the movement sitting around, and likely to get damaged, while the base is constructed. I've therefore disassembled stages A & B and have re-started with the base, stage F. The order of the menu on the left will reflect the order I've followed.
Firstly a note on polishing. I am using a bench grinder with a tail on which will hold a polishing mop. I've got a selection of mops, from a sisal mop up to a g-mop, which is an unstitched mop. These, combined with the appropriate polishing soaps will bring most metals up to a high polish.
This stage makes up the base, with 4 pillars and 4 ball feet. The photo below shows the parts that make up one pillar and foot.
The pillar had some quite deep machining marks and I had to use 240 grit paper to get these out, followed by coarse polishing soap and a sisal mop. Then progressively finer polishing soap and mops brought the pillar up to a nice polish.
When polishing these small parts I found that there is a nasty tendency for them to occasionally get flicked out of my hands by the polishing mop. A large sheet of cardboard (an old packing box) gave them something soft to land on.
The base needed a lot of work. The edges needed filing smooth, and the whole thing needed a lot of polishing to get all the surface marks out. It was finally finished off with metal polish and a soft cloth, done by hand.
Here is the first pillar assembled onto the base.
There is a great feeling of satisfaction taking a piece of raw brass, and polishing it up to a mirror finish.
Finally the four pillars are completed.
