Restoration of Bassett Lowke "Albertic" by michael mott - FINISHED - Scale 1:100

[cog]

Do you sell through ebay, or another site ...? Love that setup, Michael. I think we are all suckers for tools, and jigs ...

[BANYAN]

Michael, I think having two of those little beauties (third hands) is excessive; to save you the embarrassment I am happy to take the second one off your hands (all puns intended)

 

Seriously though, they look great.  I purchased a GRS third hand (soldering station) but yours, especially with the machine clamps look very usefull for rigging as well as many soldering set-ups.

 

 

Would you mind posting a pdf of the mechanical set-up of the arm version (how you make it grip the bar yet remain adjustable etc)?  I am not keen on grub or thumb screw option and I really like what you have done here.

 

cheers

 

Pat

Edited November 27, 2016 by BANYAN

[popeye the sailor]

you made me laugh...........one funny makes the other one funnier        looking real good Michael.......glad to see more positive progress    even the crack looks better  

[michael mott]

 

you could just stop the restoration and go into 3rd hand production.

Actually Keith I can't sorry.

 

 

Do you sell through ebay, or another site ...?

Carl, no these are one offs

 

 

Would you mind posting a pdf of the mechanical set-up of the arm version (how you make it grip the bar yet remain adjustable etc)?

Pat, Just for you

 

 

new soldering tool.pdf

 

I will post the PDF  in the tool section as well.

 

The drawing is basically accurate the sizes are all nominal and is drawn 1:1 the PDF is a broad sheet size the reason being that I did not work from a drawing originally but from material I had in the scrap boxes more or less. and whipped up the drawing this morning.

 

I am thinking about a design that could be easily made from stock supplies, wood and brass, and nuts and bolts that can be purchased at any local hardware store. it needs to be simple and with the sort of control that I am able to achieve with the fancy ones. 

 

Now back to the ship.

 

Michael

[KeithAug]

Thank you Michael. And I just happen to have some tripod legs sitting in my scrap box. It must be destiny.

[BANYAN]

Thanks Michael,  that is very helpful.  That would be very useful if you go ahead with a design using commonly available materials; I for one would value it.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[michael mott]

 

 That would be very useful if you go ahead with a design using commonly available materials; I for one would value it.

Well that is just what I did all day today.

 

 

The tool is made from stock wooden dowel 

1 x 3/4 x 3 1/2 long

2 x 3/4 x 2 1/2 long

1 x 1/2 x 8 long

2 x 1/2 x 2 1/2 long

2 x 3/8 x 2 long

6 off 8 x 32 x 3/4 long round head machine screws

1 off 8 x 32 x 1 long round head machine screws

7 off 8 x 32 brass thumb nuts

1 piece wood for base, mine is 8 x 4 1/2 x 3/4  oak

 

The top clamp arms do not have the second rotation but for most tasks this would not be an issue there is still lots of control, and on my one I ran out of brass thumb nuts so I had to use different nut on the base post, and the 8 x 32 round head screws are reversed on one side to show that it can be done without the brass thumb nuts.

 

basically the screws are threaded in from the bottom with the clearance hole on the top so that the brass thumb screw presses the top half of the dowel down.  without the thumb nuts the machine screw pulls down the wood.

 

 

 

 

wood third hand tool.pdf

 

So I hope that this information is useful to those who want to make one for themselves The only machine tool I used was a drill press to drill all the holes, this could have been accomplished with a good hand drill

hand tools included a small back saw

a hack saw

a thin file

an 8 x 32 second tap

 

Michael

[BANYAN]

Many thanks Michael - off to the shed tomorrow

 

cheers

 

Pat

[cog]

The best tools are simple, very fitting to make a wooden tool for a boat/ship forum Thanks for sharing, very much appreciated

[FriedClams]

Hello Michael,

 

You are so inventive.  What a great wooden version of your third hand tool.  I'll be buying dowel soon.  Still - don't take me off your growing wait list for the original.

 

Your restoration is coming along beautifully.  Keep up the great work.

 

Gary

Edited November 28, 2016 by FriedClams

[michael mott]

Thanks for all the visits and positive comments.

 

My new miniature sander works nicely by using the same principle as when I was sanding drywall I can get a nice even pressure in some tight corners.

 

 

Michael

[Chasseur]

Good progress and love the tool you made!

Lines look straight and clean, well done*

Nice.

[druxey]

Your mini drywall ceiling sander gave me my morning smile, Michael!

[amateur]

Did you made up your mind with respect to rhe paintjob?

Jan

[michael mott]

Thanks for all the comments and support by hitting the like button.

 

Jan, I have sort of made up my mind but first i want to get the divets filled then take it from there.

 

The new sanding pad is proving to be one of those tools that I wonder how I ever got along without it, and why some manufacturer hasn't already got them on the market.......remember that you saw them here first.

 

I have been spotting the small divets with paint then a day later doing a semi wet sanding by just licking my finger and wiping my wet finger over the sanding pad. It wets the wet and dry paper just enough to stop it clogging, but not enough to cause any problems with the model.

 

 

I have also been continuing to wind up stay cables and a shot of more progress.

 

 

The stay station central

 

 

Oh yes and in my spare time I have been reworking the bathroom in cottage style with Cedar wainscotting, to keep on the good books of my lovely wife Judy.

 

Michael

[druxey]

Nice to see a bit more progress, Michael!

[Jim Lad]

Painstaking work, Michael, but she's getting there!

 

John

[captainbob]

Glad you're keeping the wife happy so you can work on models and keep us happy.

 

Bob

[michael mott]

A little more progress today I did modify the procedure a little now I am using a drop of water in a saucer to wash off the sanding pad. A couple of new pads with some added thickness glued to the T section using styrene strip which was then rounded on one edge. 

 

 

 

I have started to sand down the area under the lip of the main deck using this new pad.

 

 

I am also using a new small jewelers saw cutting V block with a couple of 8x32 thumb screw to hold the parts it is set up to also cut into the end of dowels up to 3/8 diameter. The picture shows one of the new pads being shaped with the jewelers saw. The thumb screws are really helpful for this sort of task.

 

The screws are threaded up through the wood and locked up to the wood, this allows for the thumb screws to be loosened and tightened without the screws falling out the bottom or having to hold them while making adjustments.

 

 

 

Again thanks for all those who have been following and pressing the like button

 

Michael

[BANYAN]

Nice work Michael, those stays especially are looking very good.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[wefalck]

Have to start noting down all those little ideas ...

[Chasseur]

I like the idea of the thumb screws. Now that's creative thinking on your part!

 

Jeff

[Mirabell61]

Michael,

 

very good restoration and recovery work on the "Abertic".....

many smart little special tools   

 

Nils

Edited December 13, 2016 by Mirabell61

[michael mott]

Thank you to all who have been watching and following quietly. And for the nice comments about the progress.

A little more work to report.

 

One of the eyebolts that holds the lower end of one of the funnel stays was missing. On close examination of those that are remaining they look to be formed from a Jump ring soldered to the head of a small brass escutcheon pin. After looking through the pin drawer and not finding the right size I had to make a pin. 

 

I used the blue third hand to set up to solder and used the weight of the clamp to create a steady pressure so that as the solder melted on the head the ring pressed down using gravity.

 

 

 

Yesterday after looking for the micro turnbuckles that Nils had Mentioned and not finding any really small ones I had a go at making one the same size as those of the ship and used one of the solid pretend ones as a guide.

 

I used a 00x90 thread into some .082 brass rod (actually I turned it all down from free machining brass rod) then machined a swivel hook for one end that fitted through a .040" hole in the bottom of the threaded center part. I annealed the swivel and made the eye with some round nose pliers. The threaded eye was also turned on the lathe. The eye was filed and drilled from a ball formed while turning. In retrospect it would have been better to form the eye the same way as the swivel end.

It is only a single acting because I don't have a 00x 90 left hand tap and die.

 

 

I found out that the car needs a new computer......Oh well, at least it warmed up a bit it's only -14C today.

 

Michael

Edited December 12, 2016 by michael mott

[KeithAug]

Very nice detail Michael. Must get round to making a 3rd hand.

[WackoWolf]

You detail work is outstanding as always. The tips I have been getting from watching this tread is second to none. Thanks you for sharing everything you doing.

[BANYAN]

Nice technique with soldering that ring into place Michael.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[michael mott]

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year, and thanks for all the support and positive feedback on this project so far.

 

I have been working away at filling the paint damage with just paint I did not want to use any different types of material other than the enamel paints over the wood and restored metal.

 

A couple of shots to show this progress.

 

 

Just a small bit left on the black where the almost 1/8th inch deepest gouge was. Once it is filled I will paint over the repaired area and then polish the surface to bring it to the same level of finish as the rest of the black on the side, to blend in the edges.

 

Michael

[druxey]

Good to see you back. Polish with what, Michael: pumice or rottenstone? The repairs above looks great!

[michael mott]

Druxey, I have had really good results in the past with a drop of this stuff on a small pad of Matt Board.

 

 

It is a good plexiglass polish, and the liquid carrier gets absorbed into the card and softens it a little leaving the polishing compound a little thicker on the surface. It would not surprise me if this is not made from either of the two materials you mention.

 

I will add another foot for the mini sander so that I can maintain the same level of control and pressure that I have been achieving with the sanding pads.

 

Michael