Thanks Pat! Yes, I thought of that, but the space is constrained. I explain in detail how I did cut the hole so read on.
As noted earlier, I did get a pretty full day in the shop. My full day starts around 1 p.m. I cleaned up the spiral stair and it was decent. There was some delamination under each step, but it wasn't a show-stopper.
What was almost a show-stopper was my original measurements. I made it too tall by one full step. It seemed to have fit in the SketchUp model, but not in the real-world one. What to do? I thought about re-drawing it correctly and reprinting, but I first tried to do some selective surgery to remove the extra step and associated railings.
In order to actually test it I had to cut that hole in the cupola floor. I was almost ready to purchase a MicroMark powered Sword Saw to do the plunge cut. I held off and went the 1/16" carbide router route. The FDM printed PLA plastic is tough, but melts. The carbide, even at my slowest Dremel speed quickly loaded up with melted plastic. I found I could plunge the running cutter into a wooden plank and melt and fling the plastic off so I could continue cutting.
I first had to knock off the reinforcing ribs, scribe the circle and start cutting. After I opened up the rough hole I finished it with a sanding drum, again at the slowest speed. I used a chisel pointed dividers to scribe the circle.
And here's the hole opened out before sanding.
Here's how the incorrect stair looked when installed in the opening.
I used the Dremel with a diamond coated conical burr to cut away the extra step. I cut the upper railing and a few of the vertical rods. I then had to add a landing so you could step off the stairs onto the floor. I needed to add a little extension on the landing to push the now-unsupported top rail which was springing inwards.
With spiral staircase properly fitted I airbrushed it with semi-gloss black.
The spiral is not finally glued yet. There was more to do. I had to cut the same opening in the ceiling liner of the turret room. I also installed the single grain-of-wheat incandescent bulb in the turret ceiling. I drilled a small hole in the cross-bracing in the cupola top and a similar hole in the ceiling liner. I then used Bondic to glue the bulb into the hole. I'm running the wires down the front corner of the turret room so it will be difficult to view. These wires will be tied into the hot and ground before the CL2s in the 2nd floor wiring.
Speaking of the second floor, I got the white photo paper ceiling installed there also. I drilled holes through the back center rooms of both second and first floors to take the wiring down to the basement. I also opened the first floor in the entry closet space to bring those wires to the basement also. The open space with the wiring is not visible because these back rooms have no windows. There will be an exterior door, but its windows are too small for effective viewing.
I got the legs installed on all of yesterday's printed furniture. They look pretty cool.
And just before dinner I pulled the re-printed china cabinet front off the Machine and cleaned it. I'll cut the supports off tomorrow. The drawer pulls did resolve and the surface finish is nice too.
Lastly, I printed the table tops and server in both photo paper and white decal film. I tried the decal for the seat cushion and it worked great. I also got the trim and paper onto that new dining room wall.
I then tried the decal on the table top and it wasn't so hot. I then tried the photo paper version and it will work nicely. Stay tuned. I'll continue printing furnishing and should have that done by weekend or early next week.
