Chuck Seiler

I am a long time PRIME member already.  Price is above and beyond that.

In the NROTC program Naval History was a 1 semester course, I believe sophomore year.  Like OCS, Victory at Sea was part of the curriculum.  Some guy, a fellow Midshipman was allowed to bring his stereo to class so we got full benefit of the music.
 
Roger

Oh, yes . . .

The clue is in the caption - a "naval odometer" according to Vitruvius (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitruvius )
 
Steven

I wasn't aware that there were paddle wheelers in the middle ages.  😁

Upon checking Prime, I see it is available, but I would either have to rent at $.99 for 4 episodes or buy at $.99 per episode.  If you buy full 'season' it is about $20.

I have the entire series on DVD. I've had it at least 10 years and it cost less than $20.
 
I have no idea how many times I watched this as a kid - every time it came up on TV. And then while in US Navy Officer Candidate's School we were shown episodes just about every day as part of our "training" (indoctrination).
 
I still love to watch it!
 
Gung Ho!

Upon checking Prime, I see it is available, but I would either have to rent at $.99 for 4 episodes or buy at $.99 per episode.  If you buy full 'season' it is about $20.

I wasn't aware that there were paddle wheelers in the middle ages.  😁

I'm starting on a model of the Golden City, a paddlewheeler which operates on Ballarat's Lake Wendouree, run by volunteers  and taking passengers for trips around the lake every summer Sunday (weather permitting). It is a replica of one of the paddlesteamers which did the same thing back around the turn of the 20th century (unfortunately destroyed by fire some years ago).
 
It will be a Solid model, and I'm first making one at 1:50 to iron out the bugs. After that I'll be making another at 1:25 to present to the people who run her, who also run a museum dedicated to the vessel itself and its history. 
 
I've spoken to one of the organisers who's very keen on the idea - apart from anything else, visitors to the museum get disappointed when they can't see the vessel if she's out on the lake, so a decent sized model (68 cm or 27 inches long) would be a great help.
 
I've actually started on both models already, and if it all works out I'll simplify the design and make multiple 1:50 models to sell to visitors, as a fund-raiser for both the museum and for the Men's Shed where I make stuff (and which has so many wonderful boys' toys, like bandsaws, lathes, bench saws etc etc).
 
Here are some photos of her


And some I took close up while she was in her boatshed.




Plus photos of the plans which the museum kindly got out for me, and which I then redrew to make the model.


And here are the smaller and larger models so far. As you can see in the first and second photos the deck overlaps the hull considerably.

Upside down, showing the overlap.

And with 'paddleboxes' - just cut from a bit of 20mm wood with a hole saw and cut in half.

Comparative sizes - 1:50 in front and 1:25 behind.


The two together with paddleboxes. The bit in front is the roof awning, which fortunately is flat. And another shot of the two together. (The phone camera reduces the size contrast in the first photo and exaggerates it in the second.)

I think the most difficult bit for me will be the posts that hold up the awning and the railings. I can't see any way to make them except out of wire, and I'm currently rubbish at soldering. Well, another skill I'll need to learn . . .
 
Steven

Based on y’all’s feedback, I ended up modifying my block sander with 320 grit and replaced the paddles with sandpaper. I just stapled a double ply to the center mandrel. Worked like a charm! Chuck’s blocks came out looking incredible. 
 

That’s looking very nice indeed.

All, bar one, of the rigging lines are now in place, and the foresail has been lowered.

I wanted the foresail lowered, so I gave it a brief soaking under the bathroom tap.
This made the paper flexible and workable, but loosened the glue (generic white PVA) I'd used for the sail's seams and ropes.

The one thread that wasn't affected was the string wound around the forestay.  This made life difficult by not wanting to adapt to the folds I was adding to the sail.
That was replaced with wire rings (bronze in this case, brass or copper would work as well), followed by another trip to the bathroom.

This time I attached the edge ropes after folding the sail into place; a slow process.

 
Most of the rigging lines are in place, the loose ends need tidying:

 

Chuck,
    What did you use as a container?

'Tis a common tale.  Sometime very small details take alot of time and effort.  You wonder if it is worth the time/effort, but later realize it is.  A poor detail distracts from a good model.

I bought a case of metal cans with a screw top.  It cost me $15.  They are the size of a can of peanuts give or take. 
 
Folks use them to make candles or to store candy and other stuff.  Got them on Etsy.  I thought I would need many and I would wreck them after a while but this is still the first one after about 6 years.
 
Chuck

Probably too coarse(I use 320 grit)....but more than anything you are not gluing up those layers securely with enough glue...and or not waiting long enough for the layers to completely dry.  Dont be afraid to use enough glue.   In my case usually CA.   A drop on each area needed to be secured.  And I tumble at the highest speed in my tumbler...3000 RPM.  Note how my tumbler is home made and very simple.  No wood flapper and instead just a few sheets of 320 grit which are very flexible yet stiff enough to do the job.
 
the center shaft is also simple…a wooden stick (cherry) with a slit in it to accept the sandpaper.  Like a tuning fork of sorts with some cross strips in the center to prevent splitting.  
 
This thing gets a ton of use and does the trick beautifully without any broken bits afterwards.
 

 

Us lurkers like this kind of thread, too.  Thanks for posting. 

Thank you both! The support on this forum is incredible, when even the guy who makes the blocks is there to help! 
 
I’m going to try and modify it to get rid of the paddles like Chuck’s. Even when I threw in normal blocks it jammed them against the sides and chipped the paddles.
 
Sir, you’ve got another block order coming tonight. Let’s try this again!

I used to use Xacto exclusively but after more than one episode of it rolling off the bench and onto the floor, or worse, onto a thigh, when it comes to blade holders I went to flat handles.   Saws and other attachments are not a problem for me with the Xacto, but definitely not scalpel blades.  My go to is Swann Morton handles and blades but there are others that are similar.
Allan

Short answer: Yes, you are. This area of the forum is specifically for discussing issues related to how the forum works. We used to have (and occasionally still do) members posting questions here about some particular modeling topic; those questions should be posted in the appropriate area of the forum. So, here's some examples:
 
"I can't figure out how to change my avatar." (Goes in the "How to use the MSW forum" area.)
 
"How do I shape the first layer of planking?" (Does NOT go in the "How to use the MSW forum" area.)

Another quick little job.
 

I didn't set this up as tight as I could have.  I wasn't concerned with small deviations, but maybe should have been.
These pieces are the tentative quoins for my tentative Rattlesnake cannon.  I needed a hole to insert the quoin handle.
With hind sight, a little jig to do them securely one at a time, would give me more precision..   Next time.
 

Still in prototyping phase.  Experimenting with mahogany for some contrast on the gun deck, as I have chose not to paint.
I will probably go back and do a better job of centering the quoin handles, because it's one of those things I would lose sleep over.
 
Anyway, just another sea trial for the drill press.  It is really up to the task, but I need to prep better.

Thanks for the info.
 
I guess I've never done the type of work that calls for that type of precision.
 
I 'll just have to see if this set up does what I need to do.

'Tis a common tale.  Sometime very small details take alot of time and effort.  You wonder if it is worth the time/effort, but later realize it is.  A poor detail distracts from a good model.

Some work on the stem.  Added the coamings.  Drilled and filed the slot for the rope to help secure the bowsprit.  Added the gallant rail knightsheads at the bow.
 

Here's with the new 12.2" ( 310mm ) rod installed.
 

I set the old one there for compare.  The rod from Amazon is very good quality and a perfect 12mm fit.
I set the height for the micro bit, but there is plenty of room for longer tools.
I don't have anything screwed down yet, but it will be a nice fit for my limited workspace.
Here is a rundown of basic cost.
Drill Press  $69.99
X-Y Vise Table $57.59
Steel Rod $9.99
 
Time will tell if it is good for the work to be done.   I look forward to working with it.