Last Ride
Completed October 2013
I had long wanted to build a model hearse and then I discovered this one at Blaauwklippen Wine Estate, outside Stellenbosch. The hearse is of simple design and not nearly as ornate as the ones used in England and the US during the same time period. The plaque has an inscription that reads “W.J. Marais, Builder, de Aar” (De Aar is a small town in South Africa).
It was presumably made in 1910, as also indicated by the plaque.
After getting the necessary approvals, I spent a whole day (9hrs) measuring, photographing and drawing every millimeter of the original hearse, returning home with 32 A4 pages of sketches, and 294 photographs. I was even inside the back! That was a bit spooky, but was something that had to be done! If you look at the photos of the interior, (especially the ceiling) you can imagine how long I was in there. So, after a while, it was no longer spooky....
At scale 1:10, the parts are also rather delicate compared to wagons that I had previously built. My intention was not to take shortcuts (i.e. not opting to use easier materials such as wood for metal parts, and even paper) but to make this model as accurately as I possibly could, given my current level of skill, and practicality – and considering that the scale is 1:10.
And to think that this was the last smooth ride many people took…….
For the axles, I considered using brass square tubing with a brass rod inside, then I considered using wood, but decided against it and opted for using 3mm square key steel instead. It is stronger, and closer to the actual materials used in construction of the original hearse. Though I have a 4-jaw chuck on my lathe, I was unable to cut the ends of the axle because the chuck could not go that small. So I asked an engineering friend to cut it and thread the ends for me.
Construction of the Undercarriage
Axle end caps
Using 6” nails, I lathed the broad part of the axle end nuts, and then tapped them. For the square section, I used brass square tubing that I soldered in place.
Bolsters, perch, fifth wheel and fittings.
I used a combination of SA pine, karri, and jelutong for the wooden bits, and a combination of brass and chromadek for the metal fittings, nuts, bolts, etc.
Springs
Man, these springs are tiny compared to those I had made for my previous two wagons! They are also thinner and narrower, with fewer blades. I made one set that was PERFECT – except that they were too big. So I had to make another set. I’ll definitely keep these for another project.
Karri wood is rather hard so I used it for all curved bits.
I had some street sweeper brush bristles from a contact in Canada. These are however SUPER hard, so had to be annealed to be usable.
For painting brass, I use a primer for non-ferrous metals (hence the reddish-brown colour).
I use electrical copper wire for bolts, into which I cut thread using a very fine thread cutting tool.
Nuts are cut, shaped and threaded from flat brass. Metal cutting fluid is essential!
Wheels
Though wheels are tedious to make, it is not a difficult job at all. As always, I made use of a jig for the spacing of the spokes.
I chose to make the rims from PVC this time because of their thinness. (I don’t make separate felloes. I find it pointless if the wheels are to be painted anyway).
The hubs are made from a local hardwood - Imbuia, spokes from Jelutong.
The tyres are made from 0.7mm chromadek.
The hinges for the rear doors are constructed from 0.3mm aluminum. The door latches are made from plastic. They are all very small.
Construction of the Body
Windows
The glazing was done as follows:
The glass is 3mm, so at 1:10, obviously needed to be 0.3mm.
I used 0.3mm transparency sheets, onto which, I printed the graphics using a laser printer.
The pixels on the printing isn’t as tight as I had hoped for. Nothing to be done about that.
I could not find a company willing to print transparencies. I had to print them myself.
These were then carefully laid inside the painted carriage body, and then thin wood edging strips were glued in to keep them in place.
Interior
Fitting the undercarriage to the wagon bed.....
Interior
Having taken the courage and time to have crawled into the back, I really needed to make it look good! I carved the pillars out of wood and used beads for the ornamental heads. The coffin rollers are stainless steel rods.
Final shots
Coffin
What's a hearse without a coffin, right? There are many, many different photos of coffins on the internet but nothing that showed what coffins in South Africa looked like in 1910. So I designed my own from what seemed to be going on at that time. I don't do shiny, but the coffin had to have a shine to it.... Flowers were made according to a tutorial I discovered online.
To make the wheels, I cut blocks of jelutong and shaped them. Then I took a piece of hard nylon and made a jig that had a square hole on
one side, and a round hole on the other. These holes are for the copper wire pins that will be used to join the rim, spokes and hubs. I then applied sanding sealer for a smoother finish.
together and had drilled perpendicular holes through the rims, to meet the holes that I had drilled into the spoke ends, and securing them by means of brass pins and cynoacrylate.
The hubs were made next, after which, I made a jig for sanding the spokes to size on a bench sander.
Once I had fitted everything
Wheels dry fitted to the undercarriage and axle end caps fitted. All chromadec and brass parts have been painted with non-ferrous metal primer.
And that is that. Thanks for looking. (Total build time: 242hrs 25min)