HOW TO: Add a “Working” dip stick to your engine

[klutz_100]

HOW TO: Add a “Working” dip stick to your engine

I’ve been playing around with doing some scratch built detailing on my 2CV build and I thought that you might be interested in seeing how I added a “working” dip stick to the engine.

It’s pretty quick and easy and fun to do – if you like that kind of thing

Here’s what I used:



2 hypodermic needles.
Pin vise to drill the engine block
Butane torch
Punch tool
Pliers


I used 0,8mm and 0,5mm needles but you can use anything that will fit better to your scale.
The idea is that one needle fits inside the other like this:



Alternatively you could use thin wire and rod.



The first step is to make your main pipe with the larger needle.

SAFETY FIRST – either Dremmel off the sharp end or bury it in a piece of cork!!

Drill out a hole in the engine block where the pipe will be placed. Insert the needle to establish out what length you will need and then cut it to size.
I recommend using a Dremmel to do this. If you cut the steel needle with e.g. pliers, you will squeeze and deform the needle and won’t be able to insert the thinner needle - I know from experience!!

You should have something like this





Now we make the actual dip stick. For this we use the thinner needle which is first cut to an appropriate length.

Most dipsticks seem to have a flat loop for a handle so after cutting the needle to length I used pliers to close and flatten the needle.

Hypo needles are made of a high grade steel and are VERY hard which makes them difficult to bend - this is where you need the burner.

Holding the needle in pliers place it in the flame until it gets red hot and then let it cool down. This process is called annealing and makes the steel soft enough to bend quite easily. An added benefit is that it discolors the metal and you won’t need to paint it afterwards

You should have something like this:





Now you can start shaping and detailing the dipstick.

I bent the loop and used a belt hole punch to make a small disk and slipped it onto the dip stick like this:





Finally I used a black permanent marker to make the plastic disc look like a rubber sealing plug. In my case the feeder pipe will get painted together with the engine block.





I’m sure that you guys can think of many different and better ways to do this but I hope that this will maybe give the general idea.

HTH

[1986Z28]

awesome, great how to

[Merkava]

Thanks! Very ingenious, and sure to be a useful technique for garage dioramas.
I'd be super-careful around those needles! I hate needles....

[mickbench]

Nice one.. Working dipstick in a scale model... I like it..

[drunken monkey]

i dont mind needles.
it's having them stuck into me that i don't like.

[Lambo003]

Awesome HOW TO!!!! Great job!

Also, if you have a hard time finding hypo's, R/C guys and Rail Road shops sell the equivalent used for applying grease into tight areas and they are already squared off at the end and blunt.

Here I used 'em on my Countach engine . . . Look hard, it's buried in there just before the first ignition wire. . .lol



EDIT: Also wanted to add, that a photoetched DZUS fastener with it's center drilled out makes an awesome mounting flange for your new dipstick. A bit tricky and took several attempt to get right, but it's worth the effort. I found out afterwards Replicas and Miniatures Company of Maryland sells DZUS's that have the center etched out. . .

[Murray Kish]

I see it! I see it!

Nice tut. Better and better ideas all the time!

Murray

[klutz_100]

Originally Posted by Lambo003

Here I used 'em on my Countach engine . . . Look hard, it's buried in there just before the first ignition wire. . .lol

Now THAT'S engine detailing!! Brilliant!

PLEEEASE tell me that's a 1/12 sacle engine though! LOL If that's 1/24, I'm quitting

[Lambo003]

Man. . . nope, it's Fujimi's enthusiast Countach in 1/24th. . .

What a pain. . .lol If ya look just below the air box on top, you can make out that I added photoetched arms to each of the carbs with a tiny "spring rail" and linkage arms and such @ the rear. . . There's a few other pics of that engine in the Lambo Meet section. I've taken addition pics too since buying a new camera and will add them later today to that thread.

Originally Posted by klutz_100

Now THAT'S engine detailing!! Brilliant!

PLEEEASE tell me that's a 1/12 sacle engine though! LOL If that's 1/24, I'm quitting

[klutz_100]

Originally Posted by Lambo003

If ya look just below the air box on top, you can make out that I added photoetched arms to each of the carbs with a tiny "spring rail" and linkage arms and such @ the rear. . .

I did look, I did see and I'm outta here!

[gionc]

Originally Posted by klutz_100

I did look, I did see and I'm outta here!

and great tutorial Steve, quick, simple and on the beam