Virtual Morgan in Action (2D & 3D)

A couple of years ago a group of Jaguar owners invited the MSCCC to do a country drive with them.  In their first news brief about it they said we would have a chance to drive the North American Jaguar Club Slalom.  See www.jcna.com/library/slalom/index.php for details about the slalom.  Since you go through the set of pylons three times following three slightly different paths; an hour glass, a figure eight, then an oval, I figured I would need some visualization practice beforehand to avoid going off course.  It turned out that they did not include the slalom in the event but by that time I had already build a computer model of it.

I turned to POVray (http://www.povray.org/) to model the course, and then generate pictures at several spots around the course. I learned you can produce animations with POVray by using its clock function.  The clock's 'ticks' can be used to step through a list of coordinates of a path through the course.  Then I needed a car to drive the course, that took a couple of months of measuring something on my '59 +4 and then working out how to model it in POVray.  The result was two Youtube videos.  The car's speed is calculated using acceleration and panic stop figures from the December 1967 Car & Driver road test of a TR4A powered Morgan +4.  The maximum g's in cornering was set to 0.8g by an edjumacated WAG. The resultant course time of under 47 seconds is not a winner but it is respectable.

Here is a track marshal's view from between the start line and the finish.


http://youtu.be/zCyoyRImfXU

 The next one is the one for training to drive the course, a driver eye view in 3D using the Blue/Amber anaglyph coloring.  The driver is looking ahead to where the car will be in 2 seconds.  The gauges on the dash show a green one when accelerating and a red one when braking.




http://youtu.be/34YiFh9jmrs

Morgans in 3D!!!

A little automotive eye candy for Christmas.

When I was photographing the Mogs at the Britsh Car Day in Bronte Park last September the auto focus flashed a warning when I took a picture of one of the yellow Morgans in the row, so I shifted position a little and took a second.  Both turned out well and I wondered if they would make a good stereoscopic pair.  They do.  Cross your eyes slightly and you will see.  The people in the background moved a little so looking at them is a little discordant.

 If you have trouble getting the effect in the above picture, get two cards or envelopes. Hold a card in each hand.  Hold the right hand card so it blocks your right eye's view of the right hand image but you can see the left image OK.  Hold up the left card beside the right so it blocks the left eye's view of the left image.  Now adjust the cards so each eye can still see the opposite side image.  Now look at the middle of the gap between the cards, this will cause the screen images to merge.  Pick a spot in the image, like the windscreen pillar or a head light, and try to get the two images of that spot to overlap exactly. You may need to tilt you head at little to one side or the other to get the images to line up. Your eyes should come into focus on the screen image in a few seconds.

Otherwise:
If you have a pair of the common red/blue 3D glasses:

Or a pair of the blue/amber 3D glasses the CBC was giving away a couple of years ago for their 3D show about Queen Elizabeth II.

I know that this isn't a Morgan but its owner Al Sands is a Morgan owner, so here is his Cadillac powered Allard in 3D:

Red/Blue anaglyph

Blue/Amber anaglyph

Wooden Morgan: 1950 DHC - Week 15

This will wrap it up for my weekly progress reports.  It looks like I'll be spending the next few weeks trying to get the finish looking good.  I'm getting a lot of hazy areas and not just in the corners where I've learned to expect it with tung oil.

 

Al suggested I should not be applying the tung oil with a brush, as that puts on too much.  So I am applying it now with pieces of felt from a buffing disk, focusing on just the front right wing.  The haze there is thinning.  The vertical face of the wing had a hazy patch just behind the wheel well which is gone now after four days, but at this rate it will take a week or more to remove the haze from all of the wing.  The whole job will likely take until the new year.

Now with this only taking 15 to 20 minutes of my time each day, I have several ideas percolating through my brain for the next project. 
< Another 3 wheeler, barrel back with Matchless or JAP engine.

< Or the rare one, a +4+

 (thanks for the picture JHSII)

< My 1959 +4 with the high body style.  I have a virtual model:

(If you have a pair of blue/amber(or yellow) 3D glasses this is a stereoscopic picture.)

< Revisit the +8 with wider 40 spoke wheels:

 

< 4 seater

< Use some different coloured woods, vera wood can get a green colour when exposed to sun light. i.e. BRG without paint.
http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/verawood.htm
Or two tone...
.
.
.
So many Morgans to choose from.

Wooden Morgan: 1950 DHC - Week 14

Almost time to glue it together.  I spent the afternoon working out how to assemble the spare tires.  With those staying in place with the help of a little double sided tape I went on to the headlights.  I cut the mounting bar to length and taped it to the underside of the wings.  Why stop there?  I decided to put on the wheels and take some pictures.



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Wooden Morgan: 1950 DHC - Week 13

Remember the log of Hop Hornbeam beside the car in the last picture from week 11?  It is now five hub caps, two headlights, and a fog light.

Hoping it would let me shape each hub cap identically, I made a scraper with the hub cap profile.

After Al turned the rest of the Hop Hornbeam work piece to hub cap diameter, we found that the piece, without the tailstock supporting it, wobbled too much to work the end.  So rather than turning each hubcap on the lathe then parting it off as planned, I cut six disks off the piece with the aid of the perpendicular magnetic saw guide (One extra for experimentation.)  I marked the centre on a face of each one, then drilled a shallow 5/16" hole for the axle on one of them to test if I could turn them on my drill press/lathe.  The disk spun with only a slight wobble ( the centre holes were all off by a 32nd)  The scraper proved hopeless for shaping the hub caps itself but was handy for checking progress with the Dremel. When the domed part of the hub cap was done, then the scraper was useful to mark the locations of the two grooves around the edge.  These marks then guided the tiny spherical burr for cutting the grooves.

With one success I was ready to tackle the rest of them.

On the car they will look like...

I traced the headlight profile on a piece of acrylic and cut out a template.

One last use of Al's lathe to turn one end of the remaining Hop Hornbeam stick down to 3/8" so it will fit my drill press' chuck. 

The headlights will need radial holes for a mounting peg that will attach to the cross bar.  I made a larger scale version of the jig I used for the handle on the spare tire hold down. 

To make a head light, start with using the above jig to drill a 9/64" hole 1/4" back from the end of the work piece down to the centre line of the piece.  Then mount the 3/8" end in the chuck of the drill press (on its side) and use the Dremel and the acrylic template to turn it to shape.  I used the tip of the cone burr to make a bezel/lens border around the front of each unit. Sand it, then saw off the piece.  Repeat. With the small diameter of the place the headlights were parted off it took just a little time with some 80 grit sandpaper to shape the tapered tail on each light housing. 

I made mounting pegs from 9/64" Hop Hornbeam dowel I turned in the drill. 

I reused the little jig from making the spare tire hold-down to drill a 5/64" hole across one end of each  mounting peg to fit the mounting bar.  The ends with the hole were rounded over by sanding while the pegs were spun in the electric drill.

Using the top view picture as a guide I glued the mounting pegs onto the 5/64" Hop Hornbeam dowel.

Glue on the lights and the light assembly is ready for Tung Oil.

A left over piece of the Hop Hornbeam for the radiator grill bars got turned into a Morgan wings badge.

Here it is with a bit of double sided tape holding it in place.

That is it for the bits to make.  Now it is down to applying coats of Tung Oil then assembling it for its coming out party at the MSCCC AGM December 2nd.



Check List Update


Done:

- Cut outlines of the doors and the bonnet.
- Do a wood inlay of some Hop Hornbeam for the bonnet hinge.
- Do a wood inlay of some Hop Hornbeam for the side trim.
- Bonnet louvers
- Trafficators
- Wing scuff guards
- Bonnet catch knobs
- Router off under the wings.
- Round off edges of wings.
- Glue on the wings
- Router off under the wings.
- Round off edges of wings.
- Blacken tires.
- Smooth the line under the wings
- Steering wheel (top that shows above the door)
- Wind screen pillars
- Wind screen frame
- Gas and rad caps
- Door handles
- Parking lights
- Tail lights
- Spare hold down
- Hub caps
- Morgan wings badge for the radiator
- Head lights


In progress:

- Apply Tung Oil finish.



To Do:

- Install wheels, spares, headlights, and badge.

Wooden Morgan: 1950 DHC - Week 12

The parking lights were made from a stick of Hop Hornbeam I filed to about 1/8" diameter spinning it in the electric drill.  Then shaped the tapered end and parted it off the stick and then repeated for the other one.  This gave me the two streamlined light housings.  The Hop Hornbeam bases were made by making a perpendicular cut across the edge of the work piece then drilling a 1/8" hole down the centre of the cut. (Just like making the jig for the door handles.) The drilled section was then cut from the wood giving me two pieces with half cylindrical slots to hold the parking lights.  These were then shaved and sanded to size and shape.

Next job was supposed to be turning hub caps and head lights at Al's using his lathe.  But on the morning of my appointment he had gotten a call that had him rushing to catch a flight to the U.K. so we only had about half an hour.  After sizing the work piece to the 0.85" diameter I want for the hub caps I figured I'd better let him go.  In saying goodbye I mentioned looking for a red coloured wood for tail lights, Al turned around picked up about a half board foot of Padauk and said, "Here you go."

I used the perpendicular saw guide to cut a wedge from the corner of the board.  Then cut off the thick end of the wedge.  The remaining wedge I sanded and applied some Tung Oil to get a feel for the finished look.  The little stick from the end of the wedge I shaved sort of round with the thumb plane and then mounted in the electric drill to spin it and file and sand it to 1/8" diameter.  These tail lights all have a chrome bezel so I drilled a 1/8" hole in the end of a scrap stick of Hop Hornbeam and glued the little dowel of Padauk in the hole.  This I cut out as a 5/32" x 5/32" square stick about 3/8" long.  Again using the thumb plane I rounded it enough to get it to spin without wobble in the drill as I filed and sanded it to 5/32" diameter.  The ends were then rounded over to give a lens and bezel look, and the piece cut in two.

The lights went on the vertical bit under the tail, with this lighting it looks like the brake lights are on.

While I was drilling the holes for the tail lights I decided to drill another in the recess under the tail for a tail pipe.

I completed the top of the spare hold down with another turned-in-the-drill short dowel of Hop Hornbeam with a 1/16" hole drilled across it guided by a door handle type jig.  I sanded down the tip of the 5/64" Hop Hornbeam dowel I have for the head light mounting bar until the tip would fit the spare hold down's 1/16" hole. A little smear of glue and it is ready for the final assembly of the spare wheels.

I have started applying the Tung Oil.  My new can of it is getting too old, the oil is getting thick.  But I found I have an old can that is fine.  Hopefully the two coats of the sticky stuff I put on will not interfere with the finish with the good stuff.

You can see the spare hold down and the tail pipe in the yellow squeeze clamp.

In preparation for Al's return, I'm taking his suggestion to make a template of the hub caps' profile.  If I can file the profile in one of the blanks that came with the edge beading tool then I can use that to make all the hub caps with the same profile.



Check List Update


Done:

- Cut outlines of the doors and the bonnet.
- Do a wood inlay of some Hop Hornbeam for the bonnet hinge.
- Do a wood inlay of some Hop Hornbeam for the side trim.
- Bonnet louvers
- Trafficators
- Wing scuff guards
- Bonnet catch knobs
- Router off under the wings.
- Round off edges of wings.
- Glue on the wings
- Router off under the wings.
- Round off edges of wings.
- Blacken tires.
- Smooth the line under the wings
- Steering wheel (top that shows above the door)
- Wind screen pillars
- Wind screen frame
- Gas and rad caps
- Door handles
- Parking lights
- Tail lights
- Spare hold down


In progress:

- Apply Tung Oil finish.


To Do:

- Head lights
- Hub caps
- ? Morgan wings badge for the radiator?
- Install wheels and spares.

Wooden Morgan: 1950 DHC - Week 11

    I blackened the tires with a black marker pen. Spinning the tires on the electric drill while marking gave me nice smooth lines at the rims.

    The body got sanded under the wings to smooth the transition to the flat section under the doors and remove wavers in the router cuts.  I also shaped the leading edge of rear wing where it goes down behind the tail of the front wing.

    I decided it would be easier to put in the steering wheel before the windscreen.  I made it from a piece of Black Walnut an eighth inch thick, cutting out a semi-circle of radius 11/16".  To get the smaller segment with the angled base for the steering wheel itself I made a holder by cutting a 31 degree angled slot across a piece of 1 by. I cut the wheel by wedging the semi circle in the slot with 3/8" showing and guiding the dovetail saw by pressing it against the block. 

    Sanding around the steering wheel revealed some deep tool marks in front of the folded hood area, meaning lots more sanding...


    I cut three more 1/16" thick pieces of Hop Hornbeam to complete the windscreen frame.  Then with toes crossed (I needed my fingers.) I glued on the windscreen and frame.

    I finally made use of a scraper my dad gave me many, many years ago, to square the windscreen pillars and get their sides flush with the side of the body.  It cuts slowly but can be controlled to prevent scratching the side of the car.  Then more sanding to blend the lines together.

    Next I turned rad and gas caps from Hop Hornbeam in the electric drill using a file, sanded them and glued them in place.

    The bases of the door handles were made the same way.  Then I cut a slot for the handle grip with the help of a jig with a 1/8" hole drilled down in the centre of a cut made with the dove tail saw.

    The handle grips are cut from left over radiator grill pieces.  After they were glued I sanded and filed them until I was happy with the shape.

    Last thing this week was to start working on the spare hold-down.  The part that clamps onto the tires was made from a scrap of the Hop Hornbeam, drilled in the centre to take a 5/64" dowel and then band sawed, chiseled, filed and sanded into shape.  I still need to make the part that screws onto the top of the hold-down.

The big chunk of Hop Hornbeam beside the car in the picture is earmarked to become hub caps and head lights.  And the body just needs a last check-over before applying the Tung oil.



To Do List Update:

Done:

- Cut outlines of the doors and the bonnet.
- Do a wood inlay of some Hop Hornbeam for the bonnet hinge.
- Do a wood inlay of some Hop Hornbeam for the side trim.
- Bonnet louvers
- Trafficators
- Wing scuff guards
- Bonnet catch knobs
- Router off under the wings.
- Round off edges of wings.
- Glue on the wings
- Router off under the wings.
- Round off edges of wings.
- Blacken tires.
- Smooth the line under the wings
- Steering wheel (top that shows above the door)
- Wind screen pillars
- Wind screen frame
- Gas and rad caps
- Door handles


In progress:

- Spare hold down


To Do:

- Head lights
- Parking lights
- Tail lights? (some do not have any in the pictures)
- Hub caps
- ? Morgan wings badge for the radiator?
- Apply Tung Oil finish.
- Install wheels and spares.

Wooden Morgan: 1950 DHC - Week 10

Most of my time this week was spent making 'extra fine' saw dust.  I do not want to have to squeeze the extra fine sand paper into all the sharp angles after assembly so I did it now. 

The wings were first, after plugging the punky centre, then I could  insert the scuff guards.  These were blackened using some Black Walnut stain on the Black Walnut wood.

I did some more cuts with the "V" chisel to outline the folded away hood (top).  Spent a couple of days sanding with 220 grit then I put in the bonnet catch handles.

Now I'm ready to glue on the wings.  I cleaned out the dowel holes along the lower edge of the wings and cut a three-wheeler spoke dowel into lengths to fit.

When the glue was dry I routered out a notch 3/16" high, 3/4" in under the wings and 1/2" in at the rear.

To make the slot in the windscreen pillars I made a jig to hold the little pieces.  A V cut along a piece of 1/2" pine with a hole for the router bit in the centre.

While I was using the drill press I also drilled a hole to take the rad cap.

I tried blackening the tires with the Black Walnut stain. (A home brew from Black Walnut husks and household ammonia cleaner.)  But it does not penetrate very much, a little rubbing with steel wool and it's gone. Maybe just use a marker pen...

I had to see how it is going to look:

Check List Update

Done:

- Cut outlines of the doors and the bonnet.
- Do a wood inlay of some Hop Hornbeam for the bonnet hinge.
- Do a wood inlay of some Hop Hornbeam for the side trim.
- Bonnet louvers
- Trafficators
- Wing scuff guards
- Bonnet catch knobs
- Router off under the wings.
- Round off edges of wings.
- Glue on the wings
- Router off under the wings.
- Round off edges of wings.

In progress:

- Wind screen pillars


To Do:

- Smooth the line under the wings
- Door handles
- Wind screen frame
- Head lights
- Hub caps
- Gas and rad caps
- Spare hold down
- Steering wheel (top that shows above the door)
- ? Morgan wings badge for the radiator?
- Blacken tires.
- Apply Tung Oil finish.
- Install wheels and spares.