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Landlubber Mike

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Everything posted by Landlubber Mike

  1. Have you tried using a steady or follower rest? I think those items help with some of the flexing issues. Given that folks are building billiard cue sticks using the Sherline lathe, I would think that flex can be minimized.
  2. Hi Chris, I’ve only put together masts and yards for my Badger build, and haven’t yet for the Pegasus, etc. For the Badger, the instruction manual had you prepare things in pieces. For example, the yards were in three sections, with the round tapered ends pinned to the octagonal middle section. That generally worked fine, but I distinctly recall having issues with a couple of them flexing at the joint particularly when rigging was applied. That was frustrating. For my next builds, to avoid that flexing issue, I’m going to try building them in a single piece on the lathe using square stock. Turn the rounded ends then part off. Just have to take careful measurements.
  3. That framing is incredible. Really nice job with this. I'd venture to say that this must be the most researched model on this site (or in the top five at least). You should release your own kit!
  4. Awesome work Popeye! I think my dad built this many years ago (or a similar subject). Brings back memories of when I was little and watching him put it together.
  5. I’d echo what Jhearl said and say if you are going to go with Sherline, think about the higher column and wider table for more flexibility. When I was looking a while back, it was recommended that I didn’t need the top of the line 3-axis model for ship model purposes. Also check prices on Sherline’s monthly sales and discount campus. Sherline is great with all the accessories that are available, many of which can be used with their lathe. Honestly I haven’t used the mill yet much for model work, but in part it’s because I was less clear about it’s functionality aside from drill press operations. I’ve used the lathe a ton for pen turning this past year and am a lot more proficient with it, which I think can carry forward to the mill. For those looking at the lathe, I would think about moving up to the 17” bed if you have space. The 8” bed quickly gets used up if you are going to start adding drill chucks, etc. For model work 8” is probably sufficient, but if you are planning on other turning projects, for $100 more I would jump to the larger size. I had a very hard time turning pen blanks on my 8”, so ended up selling it and buying a 17”. Now that I’m somewhat proficient with the lathe, I am planning to do masts and spars on it. Sherline recently introduced a live center for ship model work that has a cup at the end, rather than the typical 60 degree point. I haven’t tried it yet but it looks promising.
  6. I purchased the optivisor and got the LED light set for it. Makes working with tiny parts much easier. I ended up actually getting two sets with different magnification levels rather than have to switch out lenses.
  7. Nice work Elijah! Beautiful work indeed. If you don’t mind me asking, what line are you using? It looks very nice even in the macro photos.
  8. Just echoing what David said, I would sand it flat and then add the plankshear extension to the hull as a separate piece. Otherwise I think it will be next to impossible to maintain a consistent extension along the hull.
  9. This was the first model I built (you can see my log linked below). I highly recommend it - very well done, great instruction manual, great Caldercraft quality, etc. The only quibble I had is that some of the thin walnut sheets were kinda crumbly in places, maybe that's been fixed, but nothing that filler and paint can't fix. When I was looking at possible first models, I wanted to build something interesting that was more complicated than a weekend-type model, yet not too complicated. The Badger and the Armed Virginia Sloop were great candidates at the time. There are a lot of new kits on the market with improved instructions, building methods, etc., so hopefully folks with knowledge of them can send you additional recommendations. Other than that, if you buy the kit, I would consider building in a different order. For me, I think adding the cannons so early on ended up causing me a lot of grief because I kept busting them off when trying to add the rails and other external hull details. That could just be my building style as I typically build in my lap more than I should.
  10. Very cool subject. Looking forward to following along on this one Clare!
  11. Beautiful work Kevin! Very nicely done. Are you going with the Mogami or Chikuma next?
  12. Looking great! Those cranes really make for an interesting focal point on the model. Did the Yahagi have bands on the smokestacks (for lack of a better word, I forget what they are called)? The Shimakaze did and I’m thinking about how to best add them, especially given that there are 2-3 narrow bands to include. Hard to figure out how to weather, etc. when I also have PE to add to them.
  13. I like moving to a single piece if the Death Star can handle it. Only issue might be that if you are using plywood, finding a piece that long that is perfectly flat might be a challenge. Nice to see you back in the workshop!
  14. Very clever - thanks for sharing that!
  15. Thanks very much guys. Not sure that I would ever make pens to sell - I think I'd be even harder on myself to make them absolutely perfect. Right now I just enjoy puttering around and trying out new tools, techniques and finishes on them, and then give them out to family and friends. In terms of selling, it seems like there are a ton of people already selling pens. For many, they are mass producing using fairly inexpensive pen kits and blanks. There was one guy on the pen forums who cranks out thousands of pens a year, and had it down to the number of seconds it took per step per pen. I think if I did that it would seem too much like a job, and I probably wouldn't enjoy myself being my boss. I prefer to make them using higher end kits and more interesting blanks. Working with the burl and spalted woods takes a lot longer - you have to be careful because the wood can have cracks, voids, and punky spots that can catch your tools and chip or crack or otherwise ruin the blank. Then there is the finish as well - if there are cracks and voids, you have to fill them to help stabilize the blank and end up with a smooth finish. So, the finishing can take quite a long time. With all the steps involved, and higher priced materials, I would probably end up barely netting minimum wage when all was said and done. 😬
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