thibaultron

I use the Constrictor Knot in these situations. Its a very simple, very compact, very strong knot perfect for seizing. Here is a tutorial I put up a while back on the most simple method of tying this great useful knot: http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/4029-the-constrictor-knot/?hl=constrictor
Tie the constrictor ahead of time in the small stuff you are using for the seizing, don't pull the knot tight yet, leave the loops wide open. Pass a bight of the heavier thread you are using for the blocks strop THROUGH the Constrictor Knots loop and then over and around your tiny little block. As mentioned above, clip your block into the holding contraption of your choice.
Pull the two ends of the Constrictor Knot tight. The knot will Constrict and from now on it will behave like a collar that will NOT loosen, you can take your hands off it and it stays put. Pull the two ends of your stropping material apart and work the Constrictor Knot down snug against your tiny little block.
The beauty of the Constrictor Knot is that it will HOLD when you tighten it. You can tug and pull it to manipulate it where you want it to go. You can use the two leftover long ends to put more turns on your throat seizing or you can just cut the ends short.

To handle the CA take a brass wire and insert it into a dowel. Then form a small ring in the end of it. Put a drop of CA on a piece of parchment paper or some other surface it will not soak in on. Then take your block wrap the line tightly around it and hold the two loose ends between your fingers. With the other hand dip the ring in the ca and touch it to the rigging on the side of the block. Use thin CA and it will immediately adhere to the line and block. The tool allows you to contro, the amount of CA you apply. This is what i found works for me.

First I clamp the block in my vise. I use tweezers to hold the block while I tighten the clamp. Then I brush a liberal amount of diluted PVA around the groove and also dampen the line with it  - this helps hold the line in place. Then I loop the line around the block and tie an overhand knot in the line, brush on a bit more PVA if needed, and pull it tight and adjust it so it hangs realistically. Then I clean up any excess glue with a Q-tip. Finally I snip the tail off after the glue has dried.
 
  Danny

I use old broken Drills to hold them :-)
 

 
                                          #374                         
 
XXXDAn

Get yourself a cheap fly tying vice - used for making flys in flyfishing. There are lots available on EBay. It will grip any block (or any other part for that matter) firmly and allow you both hands free to work. For really small blocks use in combination with a magnifier on a stand.
 

I agree with that. It takes about an hour to go through and setting guide-bearings, thrust-bearings, making sure the wheels are running true with the blade centered. Then squaring up the table in the X and Y directions to the blade. These are things that need to be done with any of them to ensure good performance. 

Bandsaws come from the factory needing a tune up.  There are several good websites and books available that go through a step by step procedure.  Not difficult to do unless something is really out of kilter.  Biggest single improvement is alining the wheels.  That alone will eliminate a lot of vibration.  Other things like truing up the tires and getting all the bolts tight will further improve things.  Take an hour to go through your new bandsaw and you will be much happier with its performance.

A few months ago, I picked up this Rikon 10" band saw model # 10-305, and found it to be really quiet, which is important here in an apartment type setting. It came with a 1/4" x 70-1/2" blade and 4 tpi, and will cut stock 4-15/16" thick. They run around $300 US. They are all steel and cast, with no plastic, a 1/3 horse motor at 3.5 amps, and come with a 5 year warranty. They are 77lbs, and as I said very quiet, not bolted down, and setting on wood.

The Bateau final pic's...

Hi my Friends,
Well it was time to turn the Swivel ½ pounder for the Batteau. Since I did have experience working with Ebony Gabon I knew the warning of the type of wood. You might say you can treat it like a Bee Sting. Some people get stung and get a hard pinch feeling. Few with be rushed to the hospital because the glands swell up and they can't breath.
So with Gabon you should wear a respirator or the very least a paper face mask. Plus eye protection. The danger comes from the dust of the Ebony Gabon. Ebony can cause eye irritation, respiratory problems, or even a skin irritation.
So me I was going to live with the skin irritation if the ebony bothered me. Because from my high school we were taught to never wear long selves when working with a lathe. So no long selves for me in this case....
but with all these negatives with ebony it is a very wonderful wood that was born to be turned... easy to work with. But you must use HSS turning tools because if it's hardness...

SO EVERYONE HERE ARE MY RESULTS. PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. IT WAS A LOT OF FUN WITH THIS LITTLE CANNON....

A WHOLE LOT OF PITURES...COMING UP(28)

B y F or N ow M y F riends

John, I'd only prime if I was painting a yellow or red color. These are more translucent than the other shades we use. White or light gray primers under the yellow.
 
You may also want to get some sanding papers with adhesive backing. And get some wood popsicle sticks or coffee stirrers. Make yourself some small, narrow sanding sticks. Cut the stick ends to shapes you need.

Hi everyone

I stumbled apon this when trying to think of a way to make the mouse on the mast stays look realistic without having to weave the cover to get that knittled look. Here is a photo of the actual mouse for the Endeavour replica vessel




I am using rope from Syren Model Ship Co for the stay, it is cable laid four strand rope.

First I worm the rope on my Domanoff serving machine. I'm using black cotton so its easy to distinguish during the worming process, (the stays will be painted black later to simulate the tar)




The rope is then served just beyond where the mouse will be



The eye is formed by unpicking the ends of the rope, gluing them down to simulate a splice



Then it is served over the splice



The mouse is made by drilling a hole in a piece of dowel. The dowel is sanded to a cone shape on the end then cut off and sanded to shape and slipped onto the rope.




The create the woven effect over the mouse I am using a flexible cloth wound dressing, its self adhesive so very easy to attach.







The lower part is served. A little bit of PVA glue on the join will stop the self adhesive letting go in the future.



The completed stay

Guys I use a simple little jig. I use two straight strips of hardwood with a small screw and nut. I position the mast and the rack of the mast. I wedge the bottom of the jig where the deck meets the bulwarks. Then I wedge the cross hairs up against the mast. It works well for me while I rig the mast. Once done I just remove and my mast is right where I wanted it. I do not have a picture of this procedure of mine, but here is a quick drawing.
 

Is the work done already ? If not, why not using very thin polystyrol sheet ? This would save you also the filling and rubbing down to get a smooth surface.
 
Otherwise, I would use liquid plastic cement for glueing paper strips. This seeps into the paper and dissolves the polystyrol of your hull, forming a solid bond. You can apply more cement afterwards as a filler, before sanding the strips.

True, but my house has several cats, who like to "help", so I do all my modeling in the shop. The workbench presently has 3 plastic models in progress (I'm trying different methods to simulate the look of wood on the plastic, for them). Also the reconstruction of a 144th scale Type V sub with interior that I built, admitidly from a prepainted kit, that fell and broke at the seams. Trying to locate the deck piece for the bow now. If I can't find it, I have another kit I can raid, but do not wish to ruin a complete kit for that. It is one of the Takara series kits (came in I think 7 boxes). I had to buy a box of 2 complete kits to get it.

True, but my house has several cats, who like to "help", so I do all my modeling in the shop. The workbench presently has 3 plastic models in progress (I'm trying different methods to simulate the look of wood on the plastic, for them). Also the reconstruction of a 144th scale Type V sub with interior that I built, admitidly from a prepainted kit, that fell and broke at the seams. Trying to locate the deck piece for the bow now. If I can't find it, I have another kit I can raid, but do not wish to ruin a complete kit for that. It is one of the Takara series kits (came in I think 7 boxes). I had to buy a box of 2 complete kits to get it.

14 Gun Brig “Fair American”, Circa 1780
 
The 14 Gun Brig Fair American, circa 1780 is based on Model No. 60 of the Henry Huddleston Rodgers ship model collection at the U.S. Naval Academy Museum, Annapolis, Maryland.  Due to the number of vessels named Fair American that participated in the American Revolution and the amount of conflicting data pertaining to these names, it has not been possible to identify the specific vessel the model represents.  However, the model is representative of many of the small ships used as privateers during the American War of Independence.  The brig Fair American had a length of 68’ 0”, beam of 24’ 0”, depth of 8’ 0”, and tonnage of 130 tons.
 
The model is based on the Model Shipways Fair American kit developed by Erik A. Ronnberg, Jr. and updated by Ben Lankford.  Additional research was conducted using Steel’s Elements of Mastmaking, Sailmaking, and Rigging (1794) and by examining the original Fair American model at the U.S. Naval Academy.  The model is plank on bulkhead construction at 1/4” to the foot scale (1:48) with single planking and scratch built details/fittings.  Paint colors are based on examination of the original Model No. 60 and contemporary practice.
 
Planned enhancements to the Model Shipways kit include: (a) main deck planking will incorporate hooked scarphs outboard; ( quarter deck planking will utilize curved/tapered planks; © cannons/carriages will be from Kingshouse Cannons and the Lumberyard; (d) the stern lantern will be from Caldercraft Scale Ship Models; (e) proportional linen rigging line will be from Bluejacket Ship Crafters and Warner Woods West; and, (f) rigging blocks will be from Warner Woods West.  In order to more fully evaluate these changes, cannon port clearances, bulwark, and hull straking; a Bulwark and Deck at Side mockup was constructed from frame 2 to frame 4.8 starboard.
 
 
Pete Jaquith
Shipbuilder

I started building the MS2015 Fair American this past Sunday and wanted to start a build log for this site.
 
I am going to attempt some minor kit modifications per Bob Hunt's practicum and appreciate all the help and support I have gotten from the folks here.
 
I took stock of what I had in the kit and noticed that the keel section that accepts the bulkheads is no longer made in two pieces and that much of this is also plywood.  From other build logs I have read of inferior materials in regards to this, but my wood stock seems to be okay.
 
After a bit of cleanup, I test fit the bulkheads.  I made the listed modification to show the "great cabin" and some exposed framework of the ship.  I added the filler blocks to the bow and began to fair the blocks and the bulkheads to prepare them for planking.
 
After reading some of the great work done on the models from artists here, I am planning to add filler blocks between many of the bulkheads.
 
If you have any thoughts or ideas, I would greatly appreciate them.
 
Jeff

No it will be a little while before I start on the Alert. I am expanding my shop, and until that is finished, I'm only working on a few plastic models. about 1/2 my shop is electrified and insulated. Now I'm finishing the rest, and I can barely move in the original 1/2, as everything from both halves is piled in it.

Well, I hope I am off to a good start with naming the log appropriately. It's a scratch build even in the sense that this boat doesn't exist at all in 'real life', so it doesn't really have a name. Yet.
 
BACKSTORY
Before diving into the details, I'll share the backstory of this project. I am a Naval Architect, and while I was at school, another student was getting rid of an old fiberglass hull shell model that he acquired during one of his internships. He wasn't going to use it, and, at the time, I aspired to be a cruising sailboat designer. So, he let me have it.
 
I immediately had visions of a fully detailed interior arrangement (complete with books on the shelf, that sort of thing), as well as a detailed exterior. Very similar to a doll-house miniature type display.
 
So, I now had this hull, and lot's of visions for the future of it. And, also was a full time student at a rigorous college taking what's effectively a double major's worth of work in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. And I had a long-distance girlfriend. So anytime not spent studying and doing school work was spent on the phone or traveling back home. Once can see where on the priority list a complete designed-and-built from scratch model of a sailboat fell - completely off the list!
 
Fast forward 5-6 years. Now married (to the same girl), with a nearly two year old little girl, and another baby on the way. Also, just under halfway through the third year of my career (at a builder of high-speed aluminum government and military boats...not exactly the cruising sailing yachts I was hoping for as a college sophomore!), coming off a major push to get a first-of-class patrol boat in the hands of the Navy. This hull was still sitting in our spare room, albeit with some dust on it. [To be fair, in the time between graduation and the beginning of this new saga, I did have time to finish two plastic kit builds (1:350 Tamaiya Bismarck and 1:350 Minicraft Titanic, both of which I had started in high school), and do another complete kit build of a Netherlands Coast Guard rescue vessel that I semi-customized into a research vessel.]
 
After a major house clean-up and organization push, my wife decided we have to do something with the boat. She has been wanting to get some dolls for our daughter, and while thinking about that, she came up with the idea of making the empty hull into a 'doll-boat' - like a doll-house, but, you know, a boat. I immediately latched on to the idea - usually, a little girl gets a doll-house, but her Daddy's a NavArch, so she gets a  doll-boat!
 
So, I agreed to the doll-boat. My only condition was that once we are past the age of playing with dolls, I can take it back and finish it to completion beyond what I would be comfortable doing while it was still being played with.
 
And that is the story of how this project was conceived. My next post will start detailing the design progress I've made, some of the major challenges I am facing that I am looking forward to getting input on, and an outline of the general path I am wanting to take to achieve the goal of actually completing it.
 
And, since everyone likes pictures, attached are several of the shell I have to work with. It's a pretty contemporary looking hull form, about 40 inches long, and 10-1/2 inches wide. The daughter loves it already!
 
 

Very nice model, well done!

I put up this short video to help answer some of the email questions I've been getting...
 

 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZDujJy5wdI
 
Paul

Since you are thinking of pinning this topic, these links might be helpful.
 
With larger models like ships, I really recommend using a large airbrush or a miniature spray gun.  You will find that the better atomization will return a much smoother and finer surface finish, especially for primers.  These two videos help explain...
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_-v7-Wp6no
 
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6gI9ljJsdo
 
This will help to understand air pressure and setup...
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5BAqPQCpGg
 
This one helps explain what airbrushes work best for specific applications..
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2_YEoGunu0
 
I also have a webpage devoted to airbrushes with some additonal information...
http://paulbudzik.com/tools-techniques/Airbrushing/airbrushing_for_modelers.html
 
I hope these help,
Paul