fnkershner

If you were to R/C this boat you could have a 3rd channel for the drop keel. It would help you when pointing upwind.

Richard, I am blessed in that I have access to all of Jim's tools. And Jim being the thoughtful guy that he is. He has designed all of them to have the same fitting for the shop vac. In my case it didn't fit. But for about $10. I went to the local H/W store and found a fitting that did fit and 2 hose clamps and a short piece of Plastic tubing of the right diameter. So now one end fits all of Jim's tools and the other end fits the hose for the Vac. Now all I have to do is remember to turn the Vac on before I start the tool. Now if you are really crazy for about $40 you can get an outlet that turns the Vac on when you turn on the tool and keeps it running for about 30 sec after you turn the tool off. Like you I am also thinking ahead to a time when my income is less. so I use that as the justification for buying the fine quality tools. I know they will last until I finally can retire.

In my case, my local club agreed to pool our funds and buy one from Jim Byrnes. I can tell you we are much more satisfied than that strange thing from ME. I would put it next to the loom-A-line as another useless ship modeling tool.

I can tell you I bought it and tried to use it. It is now in my dust bin.

Richard - Let me try to answer your questions in sequence. First I would love to do the thickness sanding before I cut the planks. But there are 2 problems. 1. My thickness sander is not wide enough. & 2. When you are trying to get planks down to the thicknesses we use for modeling it is hard to cut a sheet that is .5 MM thick. It does get rather monotonous going back and forth with the thickness sander. And when you have to do this with 20 planks, well think of ratlines. The piece of Walnut I describe above cost me $15, and there is plenty of wood for several models. I am not sure I would do this for the cost savings. I may get there eventually. It is more for the flexibility to do what I want. I also have the advantage of being the president of our local club which has agreed to pool our funds to buy some of these tools. As to Sawdust, Well I live at the pleasure of the Admiral. And she despises sawdust. She even hates the smell of fresh cut wood! So one of my first purchase was a shop vac. And there will be no sanding inside the house thank you! I have rigged an adaptor from the shop vac to the tools and it gets turned on before the tool.

Richard - As I describe above I go to my local specialty lumber store and buy what ever they have that fits my need. More often than not that is a 1 1/2 inch by 1 1/2 inch by 36 long piece. With 4 inch blades I can't cut much larger. Also we all want tight grain and anything larger is likely to not have the best grain for my needs. In the example I list above I took a piece of walnut of these dimensions and I cut a slice off that was 6 mm thick and 1 1/2" wide. I then used that slice to cut my planks. If I needed more planks I would cut another slice.

Dave I can't wait to see your progress at the meeting next week. Also for the deadeyes I took 2 pieces of wire and twisted them together in the middle. then I bent all 4 ends and inserted them into a hole in a deadeye. Roughly what you did but by using 2 wires and 4 ends it didn't twist.

Mark are you left handed? I know it will work but I hardly ever cut with the fence on the left. And your Jim Saw is showing its wear. But I understand what you are saying and it is a good idea.

Oh boy I am so going to be getting into trouble with the Admiral. I might just have to dig my kit out. Are going to have the drop keel exposed?

Thanks Chuck. What is the thinnest plank you can cut with your Jim Saw? I will try the other blade. So far I haven't had too much trouble with the 020. but I get the point. And it is harder to cut something that is almost 1/4" thick with the 020.

Mark - This is why I use the forum. Such a silly thing as which side is the cut. The resulting plank is between the blade and the fence. I will give your idea a try. Part of the reason I did it my way is from long experience with a full size saw. If you want the resulting planks to be the same size you use the same settings. It eliminates any errors. Doing it your way I guess I would use the Micrometer tool on the saw to adjust the fence. What is the thickness of planks you have cut? Alex - I am not sure I understand how a thicker blade helps? Too me that just creates fewer planks and more saw dust. And yes to all I am using a zero clearance insert. Any feedback on the fuzzy edges after sanding?

I would like to add this topic for discussion. I will list in detail the steps I use to create planks for my hull. I would like to hear comments on these steps. Are there other ideas out there and have you had a different experience. Step 1. I select a piece of wood of the right specie with tight grain that is not too large for my Jim Saw. Step 2. I determine the size of plank I want to make and the number of planks needed. For this example I will be creating Walnut planks that are .6 mm thick and 5 mm wide and 640 mm long. Step 3. I first set up my Jim Saw to cut a slice of wood that is 5 mm by 640 mm Step 4. I then change to my slitting blade (I have a .020) I don't want to was too much wood Step 5. I now cut my planks to the thinnest possible thickness. I find that the thinnest I can cut is about 1.2 mm and still get uniform sizes. Step 6. By the time I have finished Step 5 I now have about 20 or so Walnut Planks. These Planks now measure 1.2 X 5 X 640 mm Step 7. Its time now to turn to the Thickness Sander. I use Jim's thickness sander. I use one plank and insert it in the sander and turn the thickness gauge until the plank is snug. Of course I start on the coarse side of the sander. Step 8. With each pass of the planks thru the Thickness Sander I adjust the thickness control 3 gradients (the white marks on the wheel). I use my micrometer to measure the final thickness. I should also mention that I try to flip from 1 side to the other with each pass. Step 9. Repeat the above until I get to the approx. thickness desired. At this point I switch to the fine side of the sander. and go 2 or 3 passes to reach the desired thickness. So what is your experience? I am finding that with Walnut I am getting a feathery edge to my planks. What is your experience.

I am in tears with Laughter. I am absolutely convinced!

The most important question is do you have the rest of the kit including the plans and instructions?

Great work Anthony. I like your choice on the chalking. I agree that at this scale you should you black paper. I look forward to a wonderful build.

LOL, I think I can read that compass from the bow!

Did you kit have the sheaves for the catheads? Mine di it is a nice touch having copper pulleys in the catheads. I like your choice of woods. And yes a very nice tiller.

If I may step in here. I would start by replacing all the blocks with blocks from Chuck. Then I would go on and do the same with all the rigging. Next I would replace the cannons and the carriages. That is all that Chuck offers for the Syren at this time. I bet that by the time you complete the hull he will have more.

Great Job. Sam, I wish you well.

So Harvey, are you going to build the mast as if she was real? step one portion at a time? How is the Rope Walk? Are you going to teach a seminar for the club on using the Rope Walk? I am glad to see you update your log. Even as she stands now I could spend hours just looking at the fine work.

Jerry - I wish I lived closer to you. I would love to see the Pride under sail. Beautiful work!

Richard - Remember 1 rule of Planking - Your tapered plank should never be narrower that 1/2 the width of the original plank. Also when tapering you want to taper the side of the plank that will adhere to the previous plank.ie if you are working from the wale down you need to taper the top of the plank. The reason for this is the result leaves you with a perfect straight edge for your next plank. I wouldn't worry to much about your planking most of it will be covered by your copper plates. But this is a great time to learn. On the subject of spiling - If it is the first layer of planking I would never bother. it is a pain. but if it is the 2nd layer (which thankfully Chuck did not design into this kit) you will have to consider it. I am running into this with my Harvey.

I vote for the OSS with option of tilt. I also vote for the manual seizing machine.

Well I guess I am being unfair. I set you up so I could tell another story about Jim & Donna's customer service. A few years ago when my Jim Table Saw was new. I was bragging to a family member about what a wonderful tools it was. So for Xmas that year I received a feather board from that family member. But they had ordered it from MicroMark. It was for the Proxxon Saw. I sent Jim a note explaining my situation. He replied that if I would send the feather board to him and pay shipping both ways he would adapt it to the Model Machines Saw. So I have a one of a kind Feather Board. Thanks Jim! PS The family member who gave it as a gift is very proud to see me use it and has no idea these details.

Brian - I am the proud owner of a Jim Byrnes feather board. and I got it for the price of shipping!! I also want to comment again on customer service - I just ordered another blade for my saw last week. Donna (alias the "Boss") sent me a note. she knew I was going to be out of town and offered to hold my order so that it was not sitting on my porch until I get home. As soon as Jim comes up with another tool. I am sure I will be standing in line to purchase it.