Slate Bases & Pinning

[Jericho]

Hey everybody,

Quick question related to basing. Can / should you drill through the piece of slate to pin the model to the base? I have no idea how well models will grip to the slate on their own, and I also don\'t know if the slate will drill out or split up under the pressure.

I\'ve done up a couple of slate bases for my own stuff, but haven\'t really worked on the models yet. I\'m wondering if I should go back and re-do the joint or if they\'ll be okay.

Honestly commissions/auction figures are the bigger concern.

Thanks!

 

[matty1001]

Yep, no problem, wax the drill bit first (don\'t know why, but iv heard it helps) and go slow, iv snapped a few drill bits pressing to hard while drilling slate.

 

[Jericho]

Thanks, I never would\'ve thought to wax it.

Lubrication ftw

 

[Shawn R. L.]

Dosent that chew up your bit\'s quickly though? Wax or no wax...

 

[generulpoleaxe]

normal metal bits will blunten quickly on slate.

get the correct ones for the job, it will save you time and money.

 

[Jericho]

So do they make rock drilling bits in this size? I have no idea where you\'d get some ~1mm drill bits for slate.

 

[Onis Lair]

Yes it will chew up the bit rather quickly and as to the wax, it acts as a lubrication that lowers the amount of friction heat created by the spinning motion of the bit. This has the two fold benefit of helping the bit spin easier and lessens the chance of the bit becoming stuck.

 

[doombadger]

\"wax on... wax off\"

Sorry!!

 

[EArkham]

Could also just break the slate apart and stick it into a wad of green stuff. Or arrange it so that there are holes where you need to pin and fill those with green stuff. Then drill through the green stuff, not the rock.

Kep

 

[Highbulp Billy]

I\'ve used slate a couple of times and have no trouble drilling and pinning directly into it. Try to avoid using excessive pressure when drilling as there is more chance of accident. You don\'t need to go too far in (same with the mini) to provide enough purchase to create a steady bond. I think the Feb edition of WD has a feature on the pin vice which may be of some use (or possibly not)

 

[desertdragon1964]

I cheat when it comes to slate bases I create them the way I want them to look then I make a mould of it and pour it in resin therefore I have a reuseable source of bases for future models and mini exchanges.DD

 

[Dragonsreach]

I\'ve found that an Archimedies Drill works better than a pin vice.
Drilling slate is time consuming and dusty, but I\'d never heard of the Wax idea, just dipped the Drill bit in Vasiline.
I keep a separate set of drills solely for Slate as they are not as sharp anymore and not much use for drilling holes for pining.

 

[demonherald]

I have generally had no trouble pinning into slate. A couple of other ways are..
Use cork in the middle and build slate around it then pin into the cork.
or I currently use a lot ov vallejo Black lava and grey pumics pastes.
Build the slate up with them then use the paste to stick the model tends to work ok if the model has a flat bottom .(anything with robes etc,.

 

[Ritual]

There\'s dremel bits for jewelers. Those should work well for drilling through slate. You can use dremel bits in most pin vices by changing the bit grip.

 

[Angelos3000]

use super glue press it down for about ten secs and voila!

 

[Albert Moreto Font]

i drilled my dark elf\'s slate base with the normal GW drill bit without wax or anything and it didnt break, just go slow and dont press too much, anyway thats the way i did

 

[Dragonsreach]

Originally posted by Angelos3000
use super glue press it down for about ten secs and voila!

And as superglue has no sheering strength the slightest tension on the join will break the mini off the base, which is why the question about pinning was raised.
Pinning a mini to the base, specifically for competition entries is the safest way to ensure secure location and transport.

 

[james sequeira]

If the slate is stacked I always pin the slate and then the miniature to the slate.

 

[matty1001]

Originally posted by Dragonsreach

Originally posted by Angelos3000
use super glue press it down for about ten secs and voila!

And as superglue has no sheering strength the slightest tension on the join will break the mini off the base ...

And even less tension if you paint the base seperate from the model then attach them together at the end.