mtaylor

Nice work, Ian. The belfries I've seen and admittedly not enough to be an expert, show them above the rail. At 3 feet, this will be as tall as the rail. Maybe it's supposed to sit on top of it?

I like your approach and what you're doing, OC.

Thanks for the explanation, Anton. Ah.. unions, insurance companies and politics... Yuck!!!!!!

Apologies, Patrick... carry on.

Beautiful work, Dan. You're mini-tutorials are most helpful and I appreciate it. The customer should be most pleased.

Rock on, Jay. It appears to be a great plan.

Beautiful work on the "rush job" for the Black Pig and on the cross-section, Mobbsie.

Sweet looking deck, John.

It's not a nice finish? You got me fooled. I think it looks great!!!!!!!

Anton, I'm curious. The shunt lines from deck to the top of the mast? If someone fell, is there a way that would stop them? I ask because back in the DDM days, one of the admins did the Lady Washington and accidentally clipped onto a stay instead of using the shorter lines for that purpose. He happened to fall and basically went from the top of the mainmast to the deck. He survived but had some serious injuries. Luckily some others where on the ratlines and managed to grab him as he went by which slowed his fall.

Lovely work, Bill. The contrasting timbers add great look to it.

She looks very much at home in the water, Jerry.

PVA probably won't stick to CA.. unless you sand down to wood where it hasn't soaked. Which probably defeats the stiffening. Test it on some scrap. Also make a 50/50 mix of PVA and water and brush it onto scrap and test that. It should soak in a harden things up a bit.

Great looking stove. It looks like iron to me.

Good points, Chuck... I'm going to add that Automation Technology is one that has the 40W cutter that I'd stay away from. It's one of the imports with the MoshiDRAW softerware and board. Quite honestly, I'm not sure any 40W cutter right now would be a good idea.

Jaager, Check some the DIY stores for sticky back sandpaper. Maybe that might be an option.

Part 2. Buying a Laser Cutter. I'm using the MM Laser as a baseline for comparison. There's much good and bad about MM as a company and their products but they seem on the right track with this product, though, IMO, it's still pricey. The ones on E-bay/Amazon are a nightmare. They're designed and made in China (the so-called K40 or KW40 model) and the basic design has been around about 5 years or so. They use MoshiDraw software, the quality varies on the laser and for the most part, the unit is drop shipped at the terminal and the buyer must make arrangements to pick it up. MoshiDraw is software of choice for these machines as the system board is compatible only with this software. Running it on any version of Windows higher than XP is iffy. Even Corel with the Moshi Plugin is not reliable. The hardware is again, iffy. It may or may not work as it's shipped by container to the terminal. Reports of many of these coming in damaged are rife. And since you're dealing with a Chinese company in China, they really don't provide customer support. Documentation is minimal and very badly translated. So.. pfffft on those. What many users have done is buy the cheap one and then upgrade everything with either aftermarket parts and software at which point the cost has climbed to above the MM price. A laser tube runs about $150+ and lasts 1000 to 1500 hours depending on power levels for the cut. That is a lot of hours for something I think many of us would use rather infrequently compared to say, a table saw. Most sellers state that these are not production type machines and only hobby machines.... but some don't state that so bewary. I followed some online advice and looked at what was available that had English instructions, support, and parts. I found quite a few. The prices are all over the map and much is dependent their level of support. Some good. Some not so good. Now for quick look at MM's product.... pricey but they use a different motherboard for the Corel Software and this seems to be why they need a transformer unit (extra!) for ones sold here in the States. They have a warranty and support. They do test the units they sell so you're not getting one dead on arrival in the US. Unlike many of the others, you can get this thing out of box and assembled and ready to run pretty quick if you know Corel. The one thing I did like is that it had pretty straight forward documentation (online - you can read before you buy... I've read it) that seems to take the guesswork out setting it up. Downside, the cutting area is small and this is their first unit as it's called Mark I... Final thoughts: I do believe for someone who wants to experiment they should. If you have deep pockets go for what Chuck bought or one like it. Many of have bought lathes and milling machines that aren't used all that much but we like to have them and use them. I think that the laser cutters are like the 3D printers... it's a new technology for the hobbyist, not mature yet. Prices will come down and quality will go up. For now, if it's purely dollars and cents.. go with laser cutting as a service. But if you're into DIY, then go for it, but put your own research into it. Pesonal note: I'm holding off. There's lots of things I'd like to do, but I'm following some sage advice: Don't use new software until Service Pack 1 and never buy a new car in the first model year.

This topic got me thinking and reading.. So... I'll post what I've found, for those interested in two parts... Part 1. Laser Cutting as a service. There's lots of people offering laser cutting out there. I wanted some deck beams cut as I didn't want to spend the better part of a week cutting 75 deck beams... actually it would have been closer to 150 and tossing half them as being unsuitable. I needed two different sizes on two different thicknesses of wood. Naturally, my first step was research. Locally, I supply the wood and the drawings. Extra cost for them to take a blueprint and make ready. Then there's setup charges and the cutting charge. None of these were "model builders" as such though they claimed they could do the work. One of the locals was trying to convince me to use pine and then cut it across the grain instead of with the grain. Others, were asking me questions like "power settings"? Hell.. I haven't a clue.. they're supposed to be the experts. Non-local, I talked to Chuck. He's a modelbuilder as well as designer. He supplies the wood. Rick, I've not worked with but given the nature of customs and money exchange rates I choose not to. There's some others out there but I decided to stay within the MSW community. So perhaps someone who has used him might need or want to comment. Result: I went with Chuck. His price, including shipping was half of the local guys including him supplying the wood.

The bandage...???? Oh .. the ship's stern not CaptainSteve's stern. Whew!!!! :D Nice but obviously frustrating. But also as you get them right, the satisfaction will be there. We're holding fast with you, lad!!!!

George, go to the link Matt provided. They run two ships up and down the coast with stop offs. There's also several "adventure" type trips for a day, as I recall. It's on my 'bucket list'...

Jay, I'm no expert here on this. I think your both on the same or similar pages.... On this first area, I'm working towards the batten. If I end up short, that's fine as these planks are wider than the rest of the planking. Luckily, I have extra wood, isopropyl, and patience. I just hope I don't have to rip it all off...

You forgot... it's also very noisy. There's a quote, which I am unable to find from Benjamin Franklin about a ship being like a prison... crowded, smelly, etc. but without the 'security'. Wonderful Daniel. I just love the way this is coming alive and letting us see what it was like.

I got my fingers crossed that the recovery goes well. I think she's in very good and loving hands. Given the size of the "bits"... she must be a large breed.

Looking good, Jeff. As for 'rush', 'deadline', 'delay'... no worries. Life always comes first.

Now that would be a garage sale worthy of a 15 hour drive....