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Mike40

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Kleppe Norway (southwest coast)
  • Interests
    Mainly my woodworking hobby during the past 20 years with experience in marquetry, wood carving, woodturning, box making, coopering, etc. and I'm developing a keen interest in model ship building, an area in which I have no experience thus far. I do however like to do challenging detail work and there seems to be an abundance of that in ship modeling.

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  1. I love that yellow Cedar. Wish I could get it here in Norway. The discussion about pear reminds me that I have a couple of large sacks of it in my shop loft. I got it from my BIL when he cut down his backyard tree about 30 years ago. Unfortunately he cut it into short logs, but I cut it into smaller chunks, stored it and forgot it. It would probably be ideal for carving small figures. It was also interesting to learn what Swiss Pear actually is. Thanks for that info Chuck. Your Cedar deck looks great.
  2. Just a follow-up to my last post on this subject. I did get the book. It has a lot of nice photos, but if you are looking for a 'how to' book then you will find this one to be a big disappointment. It is nevertheless a fun read a nice addition to any model library.
  3. Chuck could well be right about Basswood at very small scales. Most of my figure carvings are larger that 2", but I am using European Linden which some say is tighter grained and a bit harder than U.S. Basswood. I would like to carve a few crew members/officers for my current build and they would be about 1-1/2" high, so it will be interesting to see if the Linden will be suitable for that scale.
  4. Great work Mike. I hope my first model ship comes out as good as yours. I think perseverance is 9/10 of success. Looking forward to following you to the finish line.
  5. Nice work Nils. I'm always amazed how small some of these things are when pictured with a hand or other object that is a recognizable size. When you mention wood and steel combined on ships, I think back to the ship I served on during my navy days from 1957-1961. It was a 10,000 ton 500 ft. long freighter/refrigerator ship built in 1945 and I can't remember ever seeing a single piece of wood on it, except for cargo pallets of course. Quite different than the ferries and ships here in Norway where wood is always present.
  6. Great progress Karl. I like the idea behind your drilling jig which has given me some inspiration.
  7. E.J. Yes, we have to clean up a bit for photos, but I usually just clear up around the photo area or take an angle that doesn't reveal too much. I not sure if I'm lazy or disorganized, or maybe both! Michael Thank you. I could use the chevalet to cut frames with, but my scroll saw is just as good for that and motorized to boot. That said, the chevalet can cut some extremely small almost dust particle size pieces very accurately. I could see myself using it for very detailed scroll work on a transom for example or maybe some small details in living quarters furnishings below deck etc. Unfortunately the Washington doesn't have any fancy carving or scroll work. I do think it potentially very useful for cutting small sheet brass ship fittings parts. Brass is used a lot in traditional marquetry produced with the chevalet. The advantage being that vey fine blades can be used for the tiniest of details without overheating due to the much slower hand powered sawing.
  8. Thanks Albert and Scott. It gets really messed up when I'm doing general woodworking, but I have kept the mess from modeling to a minimum so far although I still have the bad habit of taking out tools and not putting them back as soon as I'm finished with them, so they wind up taking over my work bench. Good work habits can be a real blessing. I wish I had some!
  9. Your oars look terrific Robin as does your hoplite. A good paint job on anything can bring it to life or kill it. Your hoplite is alive and kicking!
  10. Thanks for your encouraging comments Mike, E.J. and Gary. I am enjoying the framing. Maybe because it's not too difficult. I'm sure the stern/transom construction and cant frames will be a bit more challenging. I figure that I will learn what I need to know as the build progresses. What I like best is that I can do most of the work sitting down. Quite a change from the usual woodworking I do and a relief at my age. It's also nice to not be covered in sawdust all the time! I thought you might like to see my work space. It is heated and insulated so I can work there comfortably all year around. It's really a woodworking shop of about 228 sq. ft. so it is more than roomy enough for modeling. I could make some really big models here, but I wouldn't know what to do with them when they were finished! In case you are wondering, the odd looking machine in the 3rd photo is my shop made 'Chevalet de Marquetry' which is used for cutting out intricate marquetry pieces.
  11. A little update. Still working on the frames. They are sitting loose on the keel with a couple of wood strips next to the keel to help keep them balanced. I noticed I put a couple in backwards from the photo. I still have a few small adjustments to do before gluing them in, but in spite of them looking out of wack they actually line up nicely only they don't stay that way by themselves.
  12. Thanks Joe and Ulises. Jay: Sounds like a good range of sizes. I will check it out.
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