JPZ66

A bit late perhaps, but possibly useful for others.... If the photoetched parts are in layer or have little to no stress on them, using clear lacquer applied via artist brush works well as a "glue".
 
-Joe

I should also like to mention, that when multiple waxes are created, they will each need to be imspected, cleaned up (of parting lines, etc) and assembled into a 'tree'...looks a lot like a Christmas tree when done, and then is ready to be made into the investment mold stage....the great part about investment molded metal castings, is that they have no parting lines...only the attachment point of gates and vents, which are easily trimmed and cleaned.
 
It is certainly possible to create low temp metal castings at home, but there are a number of downsides. Foremost of them is that the low temp metals available typically do not have much strength and many will 'rot' over time. Some contain lead. For low temp metal castings, you can simply mold your master in a high temp resistant silicone and won't need to worry about any plaster molds or the like. If you are a DIY'er...Please follow the directions of any casting kit you buy and be very carefull with even the low temp metals...they most certainly can cause serious injury to you and your household equipment if not handled properly.
 
When you move up a step to actual shop castings, one must consider there are a number of different formulas even for brass. Not very home casting friendly due to the required temperatures, proper crucibles and so on.
 
I was supposed to have my shop up and running by now, but got sidetracked with a different venture......at any rate, I will be setting up my casting operation in the coming months, and will once again be able to cast large or small quantities in everything from resin to lead free pewter / brittania, brass, silver and gold ( forget about platinum ! )
 
Anyone desiring more information about molding, casting in resin or metal, feel free to shoot me an email with your questions. I'm happy to assist if I can.
 
- Joe

Hi,
 
There are a couple of ways to go about this process...I won't go into that except for this much ....
 
You can create a master...from nearly any material, mold it in a type of heat resistant silicone, and make injected waxes for the investment casting process, or you can create wax masters for either 'one off' ( risky ) or to use for other forms of molding, and again making additional wax copies for the investment process.
 
The "Investment" is a type of refractory grade material, similar in appearance to plaster, but capable of allowing very high temperature materials to be poured or cast into it. Brass, silver, gold, platinum, etc.
 
No matter which way you tackle the front end work, once you create a 'tree' of wax masters and set up, pour and create the investment mold, the mold is then cured and baked in a high temp oven for very specific cycle of temps and time to both cure the investment AND melt out the wax masters....leaving behind the exact cavity of the master which then gets filled with your casting Metal. - The 'Flask' ( the part that is the investment mold in a metal cylinder ) will be taken from the oven or kiln, and either gravity or vacuum cast with the metal that is ready and waiting. The flask needs to be at a quite high temp when this is done. Again, a separate topic all its' own....for another thread maybe one day.
 
Throughout the process, there is a small percentage of shrinkage produced at the different stages, and knowing both the molding materials and the final casting materials will be a part of the initial design...i.e; the original master is often created at anywhere from 1-3% oversize to account for this. For very small parts this process shrinkage may not be noticeable, but if the parts have a bit more size or mass, and are requird to fit as a part of an assembly.....well, you get the idea.
 
The good thing about creating a silicone mold for wax injecting, is that if you decide you want more of the castings, you simply make more of them and repeat the investment process for more metal castings.
 
BTW - there are quite a few silicone mold materials to choose from and the type of investment will depend on the desired finish, type and temp of the metal to be cast....none of these parts of the process are " one size fits all ".
 
I hope I have not added any confusion here....hopefully it sheds a little light on the process. There are a few decent videos on the internet out there, but most that I have seen are less han satisfactory for really explaining things well.
 
- Joe

Surely you are not going to put the model in the garbage, Gaetan! If so, let me know which night it will be put out....

All I can say is; Wow, what a masterpiece ! To see what you have done with simple, ordinary trees......Amazing, master class artistry.
 
Bravo Gaetan, Bravo !!!
 
- Joe

I should also like to mention, that when multiple waxes are created, they will each need to be imspected, cleaned up (of parting lines, etc) and assembled into a 'tree'...looks a lot like a Christmas tree when done, and then is ready to be made into the investment mold stage....the great part about investment molded metal castings, is that they have no parting lines...only the attachment point of gates and vents, which are easily trimmed and cleaned.
 
It is certainly possible to create low temp metal castings at home, but there are a number of downsides. Foremost of them is that the low temp metals available typically do not have much strength and many will 'rot' over time. Some contain lead. For low temp metal castings, you can simply mold your master in a high temp resistant silicone and won't need to worry about any plaster molds or the like. If you are a DIY'er...Please follow the directions of any casting kit you buy and be very carefull with even the low temp metals...they most certainly can cause serious injury to you and your household equipment if not handled properly.
 
When you move up a step to actual shop castings, one must consider there are a number of different formulas even for brass. Not very home casting friendly due to the required temperatures, proper crucibles and so on.
 
I was supposed to have my shop up and running by now, but got sidetracked with a different venture......at any rate, I will be setting up my casting operation in the coming months, and will once again be able to cast large or small quantities in everything from resin to lead free pewter / brittania, brass, silver and gold ( forget about platinum ! )
 
Anyone desiring more information about molding, casting in resin or metal, feel free to shoot me an email with your questions. I'm happy to assist if I can.
 
- Joe

All I can say is; Wow, what a masterpiece ! To see what you have done with simple, ordinary trees......Amazing, master class artistry.
 
Bravo Gaetan, Bravo !!!
 
- Joe

Hi,
 
There are a couple of ways to go about this process...I won't go into that except for this much ....
 
You can create a master...from nearly any material, mold it in a type of heat resistant silicone, and make injected waxes for the investment casting process, or you can create wax masters for either 'one off' ( risky ) or to use for other forms of molding, and again making additional wax copies for the investment process.
 
The "Investment" is a type of refractory grade material, similar in appearance to plaster, but capable of allowing very high temperature materials to be poured or cast into it. Brass, silver, gold, platinum, etc.
 
No matter which way you tackle the front end work, once you create a 'tree' of wax masters and set up, pour and create the investment mold, the mold is then cured and baked in a high temp oven for very specific cycle of temps and time to both cure the investment AND melt out the wax masters....leaving behind the exact cavity of the master which then gets filled with your casting Metal. - The 'Flask' ( the part that is the investment mold in a metal cylinder ) will be taken from the oven or kiln, and either gravity or vacuum cast with the metal that is ready and waiting. The flask needs to be at a quite high temp when this is done. Again, a separate topic all its' own....for another thread maybe one day.
 
Throughout the process, there is a small percentage of shrinkage produced at the different stages, and knowing both the molding materials and the final casting materials will be a part of the initial design...i.e; the original master is often created at anywhere from 1-3% oversize to account for this. For very small parts this process shrinkage may not be noticeable, but if the parts have a bit more size or mass, and are requird to fit as a part of an assembly.....well, you get the idea.
 
The good thing about creating a silicone mold for wax injecting, is that if you decide you want more of the castings, you simply make more of them and repeat the investment process for more metal castings.
 
BTW - there are quite a few silicone mold materials to choose from and the type of investment will depend on the desired finish, type and temp of the metal to be cast....none of these parts of the process are " one size fits all ".
 
I hope I have not added any confusion here....hopefully it sheds a little light on the process. There are a few decent videos on the internet out there, but most that I have seen are less han satisfactory for really explaining things well.
 
- Joe

I should also like to mention, that when multiple waxes are created, they will each need to be imspected, cleaned up (of parting lines, etc) and assembled into a 'tree'...looks a lot like a Christmas tree when done, and then is ready to be made into the investment mold stage....the great part about investment molded metal castings, is that they have no parting lines...only the attachment point of gates and vents, which are easily trimmed and cleaned.
 
It is certainly possible to create low temp metal castings at home, but there are a number of downsides. Foremost of them is that the low temp metals available typically do not have much strength and many will 'rot' over time. Some contain lead. For low temp metal castings, you can simply mold your master in a high temp resistant silicone and won't need to worry about any plaster molds or the like. If you are a DIY'er...Please follow the directions of any casting kit you buy and be very carefull with even the low temp metals...they most certainly can cause serious injury to you and your household equipment if not handled properly.
 
When you move up a step to actual shop castings, one must consider there are a number of different formulas even for brass. Not very home casting friendly due to the required temperatures, proper crucibles and so on.
 
I was supposed to have my shop up and running by now, but got sidetracked with a different venture......at any rate, I will be setting up my casting operation in the coming months, and will once again be able to cast large or small quantities in everything from resin to lead free pewter / brittania, brass, silver and gold ( forget about platinum ! )
 
Anyone desiring more information about molding, casting in resin or metal, feel free to shoot me an email with your questions. I'm happy to assist if I can.
 
- Joe

Hi,
 
There are a couple of ways to go about this process...I won't go into that except for this much ....
 
You can create a master...from nearly any material, mold it in a type of heat resistant silicone, and make injected waxes for the investment casting process, or you can create wax masters for either 'one off' ( risky ) or to use for other forms of molding, and again making additional wax copies for the investment process.
 
The "Investment" is a type of refractory grade material, similar in appearance to plaster, but capable of allowing very high temperature materials to be poured or cast into it. Brass, silver, gold, platinum, etc.
 
No matter which way you tackle the front end work, once you create a 'tree' of wax masters and set up, pour and create the investment mold, the mold is then cured and baked in a high temp oven for very specific cycle of temps and time to both cure the investment AND melt out the wax masters....leaving behind the exact cavity of the master which then gets filled with your casting Metal. - The 'Flask' ( the part that is the investment mold in a metal cylinder ) will be taken from the oven or kiln, and either gravity or vacuum cast with the metal that is ready and waiting. The flask needs to be at a quite high temp when this is done. Again, a separate topic all its' own....for another thread maybe one day.
 
Throughout the process, there is a small percentage of shrinkage produced at the different stages, and knowing both the molding materials and the final casting materials will be a part of the initial design...i.e; the original master is often created at anywhere from 1-3% oversize to account for this. For very small parts this process shrinkage may not be noticeable, but if the parts have a bit more size or mass, and are requird to fit as a part of an assembly.....well, you get the idea.
 
The good thing about creating a silicone mold for wax injecting, is that if you decide you want more of the castings, you simply make more of them and repeat the investment process for more metal castings.
 
BTW - there are quite a few silicone mold materials to choose from and the type of investment will depend on the desired finish, type and temp of the metal to be cast....none of these parts of the process are " one size fits all ".
 
I hope I have not added any confusion here....hopefully it sheds a little light on the process. There are a few decent videos on the internet out there, but most that I have seen are less han satisfactory for really explaining things well.
 
- Joe

Hi,
 
There are a couple of ways to go about this process...I won't go into that except for this much ....
 
You can create a master...from nearly any material, mold it in a type of heat resistant silicone, and make injected waxes for the investment casting process, or you can create wax masters for either 'one off' ( risky ) or to use for other forms of molding, and again making additional wax copies for the investment process.
 
The "Investment" is a type of refractory grade material, similar in appearance to plaster, but capable of allowing very high temperature materials to be poured or cast into it. Brass, silver, gold, platinum, etc.
 
No matter which way you tackle the front end work, once you create a 'tree' of wax masters and set up, pour and create the investment mold, the mold is then cured and baked in a high temp oven for very specific cycle of temps and time to both cure the investment AND melt out the wax masters....leaving behind the exact cavity of the master which then gets filled with your casting Metal. - The 'Flask' ( the part that is the investment mold in a metal cylinder ) will be taken from the oven or kiln, and either gravity or vacuum cast with the metal that is ready and waiting. The flask needs to be at a quite high temp when this is done. Again, a separate topic all its' own....for another thread maybe one day.
 
Throughout the process, there is a small percentage of shrinkage produced at the different stages, and knowing both the molding materials and the final casting materials will be a part of the initial design...i.e; the original master is often created at anywhere from 1-3% oversize to account for this. For very small parts this process shrinkage may not be noticeable, but if the parts have a bit more size or mass, and are requird to fit as a part of an assembly.....well, you get the idea.
 
The good thing about creating a silicone mold for wax injecting, is that if you decide you want more of the castings, you simply make more of them and repeat the investment process for more metal castings.
 
BTW - there are quite a few silicone mold materials to choose from and the type of investment will depend on the desired finish, type and temp of the metal to be cast....none of these parts of the process are " one size fits all ".
 
I hope I have not added any confusion here....hopefully it sheds a little light on the process. There are a few decent videos on the internet out there, but most that I have seen are less han satisfactory for really explaining things well.
 
- Joe

Hi,
 
There are a couple of ways to go about this process...I won't go into that except for this much ....
 
You can create a master...from nearly any material, mold it in a type of heat resistant silicone, and make injected waxes for the investment casting process, or you can create wax masters for either 'one off' ( risky ) or to use for other forms of molding, and again making additional wax copies for the investment process.
 
The "Investment" is a type of refractory grade material, similar in appearance to plaster, but capable of allowing very high temperature materials to be poured or cast into it. Brass, silver, gold, platinum, etc.
 
No matter which way you tackle the front end work, once you create a 'tree' of wax masters and set up, pour and create the investment mold, the mold is then cured and baked in a high temp oven for very specific cycle of temps and time to both cure the investment AND melt out the wax masters....leaving behind the exact cavity of the master which then gets filled with your casting Metal. - The 'Flask' ( the part that is the investment mold in a metal cylinder ) will be taken from the oven or kiln, and either gravity or vacuum cast with the metal that is ready and waiting. The flask needs to be at a quite high temp when this is done. Again, a separate topic all its' own....for another thread maybe one day.
 
Throughout the process, there is a small percentage of shrinkage produced at the different stages, and knowing both the molding materials and the final casting materials will be a part of the initial design...i.e; the original master is often created at anywhere from 1-3% oversize to account for this. For very small parts this process shrinkage may not be noticeable, but if the parts have a bit more size or mass, and are requird to fit as a part of an assembly.....well, you get the idea.
 
The good thing about creating a silicone mold for wax injecting, is that if you decide you want more of the castings, you simply make more of them and repeat the investment process for more metal castings.
 
BTW - there are quite a few silicone mold materials to choose from and the type of investment will depend on the desired finish, type and temp of the metal to be cast....none of these parts of the process are " one size fits all ".
 
I hope I have not added any confusion here....hopefully it sheds a little light on the process. There are a few decent videos on the internet out there, but most that I have seen are less han satisfactory for really explaining things well.
 
- Joe

Just a thought on the deck build... When building a strip kayak over frames and strongback, duct tape is used to cover these so that when the cedar strips are glued and clamped tight, they can be lifted off later. Usually the outside is finished and 'glassed, then it is lifted off and the inside is 'glassed.
 
I would think it's possible to build your deck this way. Use a layer of fiberglass on the inside, and it will be waterproof and strong. If you preplan the locations, additional sections of reinforcing plywood need only be epoxied and glassed in at specific locations.
 
Whatever you do, the example you made looks fabulous !
 
-Joe

Just a thought on the deck build... When building a strip kayak over frames and strongback, duct tape is used to cover these so that when the cedar strips are glued and clamped tight, they can be lifted off later. Usually the outside is finished and 'glassed, then it is lifted off and the inside is 'glassed.
 
I would think it's possible to build your deck this way. Use a layer of fiberglass on the inside, and it will be waterproof and strong. If you preplan the locations, additional sections of reinforcing plywood need only be epoxied and glassed in at specific locations.
 
Whatever you do, the example you made looks fabulous !
 
-Joe

Check out a some videos for more on 3D printing....
 

 

 
 
 
.......Just sayin' ...!
 
Joe

That is just FANTASTIC ! !
 
-Joe

Hi Here's a photo of my Model Shipways Gunboat Philadelphia 1/24 scale that I planked using 1/32 Red Oak veneer glued onto 1/32 basswood for all of the decking and hull planking. I  first splied the plank shape in the 1/32 basswood.
Then after getting the shape for the plank needed,I roughed up the mating sides of the basswood and oak veneer (the red oak veneer that I was using had a cloth backing to it,so I scratched cross hatch patterns with a xacto knife blade point,so that the Titebond would have something to hold onto. I tried to glue the veneer without this"roughing" but it would just not hold onto the basswood).
I then glued them together with the TiteBond and clamped the glued plank to a straight steel surface,so that the ply will dry flat. Both woods curl when you put the Titebond on one side only. Then after an hour I would unclamp the "ply" ,trim off the 1/16" larger Oak veneer to the basswood plank shape and then glue it onto the bulkheads.
When you cut out the red oak veneer to glue onto the splied basswood plank,make the oak cutout about 1/16 to 1/8" larger than the basswood plank. After gluing them together,go around the mating edges and make sure that you have a fillet of titebond around the smaller edges of the basswood. If you do not,there might be gaps in the glued edges of the "ply" after you trim the oak veneer down to the shape of the basswood.
 
Like said above,you have no room for sanding down a hump that is not the shape of what you want,but getting the type of wood and grain that looks better than what is normaly used for planking makes the effort well rewarded.
 
I won 1st Place in our Regional IPMS show this September with this model. I bought my Red Oak veneer from my local WoodCrafters staore. The sheet was 3' X 4" and cost me a grand total of $45.00.

Charlie,
 
At this stage, based on limited space and no tools.....I think I would look at purchasing two items. 1. Some sort of work-mate bench top clamp. Being able to hold the hull securely will be important no matter which way you attempt to hollow the hull. 2. A good quality rotary tool might be just the thing. You will be able to use it for many different tasks ! Of course you will need a fair selection of bits to go with it.
 
If you go at it in a logical progression, you can hollow out what you need to...maybe not the most expeditious manner, but one that will work. Take your time, and measure often !
 
 
Good Luck with the project !
 
Joe

In a previous post on this thread I suggested that the two part epoxy that is used to provide a flexible, crystal clear coat to the whipping/bindings on fishing rod guides/runners might be used to create `glass' for ship windows. I decided to experiment with the idea.
 
The epoxy I used was Erskine Epoxy. I think it is an Australian product but I am sure similar products are available overseas. The epoxy can be purchased from most fishing tackle stores (my second home!!)
 

 
I use syringes so as to get a precise (50/50) mix of Part A & B of the epoxy.
 
I made a `window frame' out of scrap material for the experiment. It was mounted onto a board that had been covered with cling wrap. I hoped that the cling wrap would not stick to the hardened epoxy and that the window frame with its `windows' would come away easily. The window frame was clamped to the board covered with cling wrap to prevent epoxy seeping under the sides.
 

 
I applied the epoxy mix to the window frame using my `squadron' CA glue applicator. After leaving overnight to harden, I removed the window from the cling wrap. Happily it  came away very easily. The result of the experiment is shown below.
 
 
 
Having succeeded with the experiment, I decided to apply the epoxy to windows and stern lights that are soon to be fitted to my current build, HMS Supply.
 
I had already used clear plastic backed by black card on the stern lights of the supply so I applied the epoxy directly over the plastic. It worked well, giving a more 3D look to the windows. Because this epoxy is used on fishing rods, it is flexible and will bend and twist without cracking. Another advantage of using it.
 
  
 
The first picture (above) shows the job half done and the second one is complete. I think that the epoxy finish looks far better than the `flat' finish visible in the windows not epoxied in the first picture.
 
I had not as yet put clear plastic behind the ship's other windows but did so after seeing the results above. The epoxy was again applied directly over the clear plastic and also produced a more 3D effect for the windows.
 

 
I had an amount of left over `mixed' epoxy. rather than letting it go to waste, I raided the Admiral's kitchen cupboards and found some food colouring. I added a very, very small amount to the epoxy and was surprised to see that it actually mixed smoothly and evenly with the epoxy. It also dried hard and flexible. I have no need for `stained glass' in this build but will keep this in mind for the future. I hope the results of my experiment are helpful to others.
 
I would also like to thank `Neek" the ship's cat for her valuable input in this experiment!!
 

 
 
 
 

Well, she is complete in plenty of time for the Admiral's birthday.  The Admiral is happy and as we all know when the Admiral is happy everyone is happy.    
 
The build was 9 months of fun and learning.  Completion is very rewarding.
 
I would like to thank everyone who helped with the build especially Von_Kossa.  His log is what inspired me to build the Oseberg in the first place and his research kept me on the right track.   Also, thanks to Vivian Galad (we are watching your Oseberg) and all those who followed the build, your encouragement was necessary and wonderful.
 
I probably would not be involved in this hobby at all without the MSW community.  There was not much information out there the first time I tried years ago.  Now, whatever you need just ask.  Thanks for the help.
 

 
Time to move forward.  I will now attempt to catch up with Grant and Mobbsie with our first shot at the dark side "Bomb Vessel Granado 1742".

Von_Kossa, Fam, Vivian Galad and Mobbsie all helped greatly with the rigging research.  Thanks to all.  The bottom line is that it is mostly guesswork as very little historical data exists.  Von_Kossa sent a link that he got from the museum in Oslo which showed a sheave at the top of the mast.  Since my new lathe had just arrived I thought it was a great opportunity to practice.
 

 
I got so excited about playing with my new toy that I forgot to take pictures.  I used a dowel that I had laying around to turn a tube and placed it over the top of the mast.  The picture below shows the stub of the tube and the tube itself on the mast.
 

 
The tube and mast was then slotted and I cut a wafer off a different dowel and used it as the wheel.  A piece of black annealed wire was used as the pin.
 

 
I painted the sail using 3M blue masking tape and the Tulip fabric paint mentioned earlier.  I was amazed that the first attempt was a keeper.  The next step was to sew the rope all the way around the sail.  
 

 

 
One of the reasons that I chose the Oseberg is that it has only one sail and minimal rigging.  It is a chore to me.  I tried to get my daughter to sew the rope but her timetable was much longer than I was willing to wait so I had to do it myself.  None the less, all of the rope used is  from Chuck Passaro"s Syren Ship Model Company.  It is beautiful stuff, I have never seen anything like it.  Chuck did a demonstration at the NRG conference to teach us to make our own rope.  It had the opposite effect on me.  I never, ever want to do make rope myself.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Here is the current status.  Rigging is underway.  
 

 

Very clever those mirrors ! I had to look twice....hehe...
 
Joe66

Charlie -
 
I had a similar situation with a cargo hold I wanted to incorporate into a solid hull.  What you want to do is a lot more complex, but maybe this might work.  Like you, my biggest concern was maintaining a consistent thickness while carving out the hull.  I think the photos pretty much explain what I did.  The pegs were 3/16" long, but you could make them any length you wish.  Once the area was hollowed out, the rest was pretty straight forward.  I ended up installing mirrors behind the cargo to give the illusion of depth.  I hope this helps.  Good luck!
 
BobF

Charlie,
 
At this stage, based on limited space and no tools.....I think I would look at purchasing two items. 1. Some sort of work-mate bench top clamp. Being able to hold the hull securely will be important no matter which way you attempt to hollow the hull. 2. A good quality rotary tool might be just the thing. You will be able to use it for many different tasks ! Of course you will need a fair selection of bits to go with it.
 
If you go at it in a logical progression, you can hollow out what you need to...maybe not the most expeditious manner, but one that will work. Take your time, and measure often !
 
 
Good Luck with the project !
 
Joe

That is just FANTASTIC ! !
 
-Joe